The Dream Scenario

As highly unlikely as it is, the first thing that came in my mind when it was announced that Bill Clinton would speak before the Vice-Presidential nominee at the Democratic convention was that maybe, just maybe, Hillary Clinton would be announced by her husband as the Vice-Presidential nominee at the end of his speech.  As I said, it's highly unlikely, but a man can dream can't he?  I wouldn't give it more than a 5% chance of happening at this point, but if Obama hasn't announced his VP by the start of the convention, then I would say the chances of a surprise Hillary VP announcement by Bill on Wednesday night rise sharply.

Now many commentators rightfully point out that Hillary is slated to speak on Tuesday night and if she was going to be the VP, or was even in serious consideration, her speaking slot would not be announced until much closer to the convention when a final VP choice was made.  But could this be a ruse by the Obama campaign to keep the media speculating and focused on everybody but Hillary for VP?  Secondly, it stuck me as odd that Obama would want the Clintons to take up two out of the four nights of the convention.  Let's face it, unless the VP is Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton is mostly likely going to overshadow anyone who speaks after him and will suck up at least some of the attention that a VP address would normally receive from the media.   It seems that Obama would only risk two nights of Clinton if it was to advance a larger cause --- party unity and a simply beautifully orchestrated surprise.  Plus, would Barack add insult to injury by having Bill Clinton speak and possible introduce a VP that is not his wife?  Also, it is important to look back at history for some context.  It's not unheard of that a politician can speak twice at a national convention --- George Bush did it back in 1980.  

Again, I am not projecting that this is going to happen; I am just outlining some reasons that it could happen.  Plus, can you imagine what the crowd reaction would be at the DNC --- Bill Clinton gives a great address on the values of the Democratic Party, he begins to walk off stage, then at the last second, he turns around, goes back to the mic, and says, "Oh, and by the way, I forgot one thing: the next Vice-President of the United States of America, Senator Hillary Clinton."  I get chills up my spine just thinking of such a moment.  Surely I shouldn't get my hopes up, but it's announcements like the one today that keep that hope --- as small as it might be --- alive inside me and alive inside those other 18 million Americans who supported Hillary Clinton for President.  

You Read It Here First --- Obama's Energy Plan

Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, spoke in Michigan on August 4 and outlined what his and America's energy policy would be if he is elected president.  Much of what he said was outlined here first on Politidose in posts dated May 5, July 4, and July 31.

 

Renewable energy instead of our dependence on oil and gas; fuel efficient automobiles, and etc.  The greening of America would produce new industries, create new jobs that pay well and reverse the environmental problems that are piling up on us today.  A $1000 energy rebate to the people to help with rising fuel costs.  Tax credit of $7000 to purchase fuel efficient automobiles and etc.  All of that has already been written about here.  

 

Senator Obama rightly threw down the gauntlet.  America has to change its energy policy and its use of energy as we know it and start now.  The country can not wait any longer; time is running out and action is needed.  To erase any doubts that America can accomplish these goals, Obama reminded the people of President Kennedy's pledge to put an American on the moon when the doubters asked, "How can we do that?".

 

Obama's comprehensive energy plan is a positive and bold step towards the greening of America.  The people should embrace his sensible and practical approach to our energy problems. I would suggest that people read his entire speech on the subject.

Need Some Extra Cash?

As this economy is surely taking a toll on all of us, I just want to share with you a great website I found called Cashcrate.  It is 100% legit and you can make real money easily.  All you have do is complete surveys.  Just give your address and Cashcrate will send you a check the next month.  A survey takes about 1 to 3 minutes to complete and they pay anywhere from $.25 to $5.00 a piece.  Here's a tip: give a fake phone number and an email account you don't use often.  I have not had any problems, but I don't like giving out phone numbers and I don't want to start getting a ton of spam mail.  

Click here to sign up or click the banner on the front page of POLITIDOSE.  Good luck!

(And of course, if you are fortunate enough to be financially secure, you could complete a few surveys and donate your earnings to Barack Obama, the DNC, or one of the great Democratic candidates running in your home state.)

Road to Victory: Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)

Election '08: The People's Responsibility

We, the people of America, can play a major role in shaping our own future and the future of this great country in the November election for president, and for that matter, Senate and House races as well.  Although there are certain unknowns about the candidates, we still have to make a choice.  Experience is important, but not the over riding controlling factorsince, let's face it, there is no school to train future presidents.

 

So how do we choose?  By Campaign ads that attack?  But why should we believe ads when there exists an easy, clear, and factual way to check a candidate's record and position on the issue?  By character or personal attacks?  But do we really want to stoop that low?   

 

Every candidate has weakness and strength.  So how do we choose intelligently?  One important way is the make up of the candidate.  Will he/she govern by ideology or be progressive and look out for the best interest of America and its citizens.?Ideology is a loser because every issue has to be bent and shaped to meet one's ideology, and the problem is never solved. We've seen that with our current President. We need a problem solver in the White House this time around.  

 

Which candidate has the best proposal to fit the needs of the people and the country?  Does the proposal meet the current needs and problems?  Does it offer reasonable and attainable solutions?  Who is the forward looking candidate and which one will pursue the status quo and policies that have failed?  Which candidate do you think will best work toward the future you would like to see for your family, your children, and your grandchildren?  

 

Senators McCain and Obama are no strangers to the American people.  It is up to us to make the final judgement on who will best lead our country in the coming years.  We the people should not take that responsibility lightly.  The future for progress or stagnation is our choice to make.  Let's choose wisely. 

Big Oil: The Root Of The Problem

As a follow up to past post I have written concerning American oil companies, the following information has been released by the Associated Press in various newspapers.  They report:

 

The oil companies insist they are trying to find new oil that might help bring down gas prices but the money they spend on exploration is nothing compared with what they spend on stock buy backs and dividends.  The percentage they spend to find new deposits of fossil fuels has remained flat for years, in the mid-single digits.  The five biggest international oil companies plowed about 55% of the cash they made from their businesses into stock buybacks and dividends last year, up from 30% in 2000 and just 1% in 1993 according to Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.  Said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University, "if you're not spending your money finding and developing new oil, then there's no new oil".

With record oil and gasoline prices still going strong the bottom line for American Oil is still greed.  They are not concerned about increased drilling or production as proven by the fact that their expenditures to find new deposits have remained flat for years.  They don't want to drill on the millions of acres they already own, or lease in the U.S.  Instead, they want the government to open up ANWAR and the Arctic --- just another power play while holding America hostage to foreign oil and record prices.

George W. Bush & Ehud Olmert

George Bush and Ehud Olmert, the leaders of the U.S. and Israel respectively, have failed to live up to their responsibilities of doing what is necessary to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian situation.  Mr. Bush has been disengaged in the peace process for much of his tenure in office until last November when he hosted a U.S. peace conference for the Middle East.  That conference was about reaching a deal with both parties by this year's end.

 

The New Orleans Times Picayune, on July 29, reported that Olmert told a closed door meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that there is no practical chance of reaching a comprehensive understanding on Jerusalem during 2008 and that he has scaled back Israel's ambitious goal of signing a deal before Bush leaves office.  It should be noted and remembered by the people that the leaders of Israel and Mr. Bush had always taken the position that there could be no peace in the Middle East because of Yassar Arafat.  Well Mr. Arafat has been gone for awhile now, so yet another excuse is introduced. 

 

Now comes a report from The Washington Post that Israeli leaders routinely get half or more of their campaign contributions for party primaries mostly from American donors.  The fund raising trend is especially pronounced on Israeli's political right --- politicians who advocate aggressive military action against Iran and Hamas and who maintain an uncompromising stance against ceding land to Palestine.

 

Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League and a prominent Jewish American leader, said he's uncomfortable with the idea of Americans playing such an important part in determining who gets to lead Israel. It is the height of arrogance.

 

The U.S. does not allow foreigners to contribute to our political campaigns.  We should adopt the same law and forbid Americans to contribute to foreign campaigns.  There should be no outside monetary influence in any country's political system.  I have reported on more than one occasion that the leaders of Israel like nothing better than for U.S. leaders to emulate their sad and sorry behavior. 

 

The next U.S. President needs to change our foreign policy and relationship with Israel before that country gets us into an unnecessary war.  The policies that Israel carry out are done with impunity.  That is un-American.  Something has to change.  

Road to 60: The Ad Wars

As Democrats seem almost certain to pick up five Senate seats this November (Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Colorado, & Alaska), with many other races in single digits (Oregon, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Minnesota, & Maine), the ad wars have already gotten heated.  

This latest ad from the DSCC is up in response to Elizabeth Dole's ad claiming that North Carolina needs her because of her "clout" in the Senate:  

In Oregon, in a race that has gone from double digits to neck and neck in just a few months, incumbent Republican Gordon Smith would like to fool Oregonians into believing that he is an independent, maybe even a Democrat.  How is Smith going about doing this? Well, the latest two ads Smith has released tout his relationship and supposed friendship with Senators Barack Obama and John Kerry and claim that he (Smith) has stood up to George Bush.   Smith is clearly doing everything he can to hide the fact that he is a Republican, but Smith is a Republican and this ad exposes why Oregon needs to elect Jeff Merkley to the Senate:

It's great to see the DSCC putting its extensive financial warchest to good use early on --- exposing the incumbent Republicans as what they truly are while allowing the Democratic candidates to stay above the fray and talk about solutions to the problems of their respective states and the country at large.   

The Republican Cycle Of Record Federal Deficits And Debt

The champions of deficit spending and the creation of debt are indeed the so called conservative Republican presidents.  On July 28, Mr. Bush's White House announced that the federal budget deficit for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, Mr. Bush's final budget, will be another whopping record of $482 billion --- by far the largest ever.  It was originally projected to be $400 billion. 

 

The White House also announced that this year's budget deficit for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008 will be $389 billion.  It was projected early on to be $260 billion.  The White House and Mr. Bush are now trying to blame everything and everyone under the sun for this deficit explosion, but now it won't wash because of his record of reckless fiscal policies.  Lets look at Mr. Bush's irresponsible deficit spending and debt:

 

If the latest two projections on the deficit hold up Mr. Bush's total deficit spending for 8 years in office will be over $2.5 trillion and he will have added over $4 trillion to the national debt.  Ronald Reagan's total deficit spending for 8 years was $1.4 trillion and he added $1.9 trillion to the national debt.  Mr. Bush 41 (George Herbert Walker Bush) deficit spending for his 4 years in office was $1.03 trillion and he added $1.5 trillion to the national debt. 

 

I will let the readers add those numbers up so they can understand the reckless behavior of those so called conservative Presidents.  They will have served a total of 20 years when Bush 43 leaves office and did not balance one federal budget in those 20 years.  The reckless fiscal behavior of those 3 Presidents is the reason the economy was never sustained on their watch and why job creation was uneven and suffered job losses.  They never had a true economic policy.  They had a tax policy of trickle down economics which never worked to sustain the economy. 

 

Bill Clinton reversed Reagan-Bush 41 reckless behavior of 12 straight years of deficit spending and debt by reducing the deficit every year his first 4 years in office and then created a balance budget with surpluses each of his last 4 years.  His administration had a $62.8 billion surplus for his 8 years in office and paid down over $400 billion on the national debt.  Mr. Clinton had an economic plan that produced the greatest economy and created a record number of over 22.7 million new jobs.  He also left Mr. Bush a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion which Mr. Bush squandered. 

 

The Republican Party has no record of being fiscal conservative despite their lies.  The record shows their real intention, to bankrupt the country to deprive the government of funds for Social Security, Medicare, and other programs that have been a benefit to the American people.  Their tragic record speaks for itself.  And the present Mr. Bush is by far the most tragic.

Energy Crisis: People Power For Change

The American people can not wait on elected officials or corporate America to bring about change in using fossil fuels.  The exorbitant increase in oil and gasoline has been going on too long while the President, government officials, and corporate America only give excuses.

 

We the people need to change and make the sacrifice ourselves in order to start the process of greening America by drastically reducing our dependence on oil and gasoline.  At the same time, we have to demand our government start to act now.

 

In a report out of the Times Picayune, the largest newspaper in Louisiana, dated July 29, 2008, an AAA survey of people in Louisiana show that 77% of drivers made significant changes in their driving habits.  Here is how they accomplished that:  (1)  Moved closer to work.  (2) Carpooling. (3)  Using Public Transportation.  (4) Biking or walking.  (5)  Buying a more fuel efficient vehicle.  (6) Taking fewer or shorter leisure trips.

 

Taking matters in our own hands will be a sacrifice worthwhile even though it will some times be hard and difficult.  The alternative is much worse, harder, more costly, and we should understand all that having lived with the problem.

 

Those who advocate more drilling are supporting the status quo and falsehoods.  The Big Oil companies have enough acreage in the U.S. that they have yet to drill on.  They are not working that acreage because there is really no shortage of oil or gasoline.  If there were, they would be drilling up a storm on this acreage at the record prices of the last 2 years.

 

We the people should impose on ourselves 60mph speed limit on the interstate system.  Let the saved gasoline sit in the refineries until the oil companies get the message.  The inconvenience of truth has already arrived.  Shame on us if we ourselves pass up the opportunity to do some thing about it and make a better world for our children and grandchildren. 

 

Remember when V.P. Dick Cheney met with representatives of the energy industry after Bush came into office?  The results of that meeting, what they discussed, and the decisions that were made are still secret today and the public is still in the dark.  If that is not enough to make the people face realty, what will?

 

President Carter took bold action and leadership during the Arab Oil Embargo that actually reduced consumption.  Reagan reversed all that after he took office.  Its time for the people to act on their own, because if one thing is for sure, we can no longer sit around and wait for the government to.