Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Comments:

Here is a list of some of the most controversial things Barack Obama’s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright has said:

 ”The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people.” 

“God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”

“We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye.  We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”  (He said this five days after the September 11th attacks on 9-16-01)

Thanks to the Fox News Channel for these ones:

“The government lied about Pearl Harbor. They knew the Japanese were going to attack. Government’s lied.”

“We’ve got a paranoid group of patriots in power that now, in the interest of homeland stupidity – I mean homeland security …”

“The government lied about the Tuskegee experiment. They purposely infected African-American men with syphilis …”

“Fighting for peace is like raping for virginity.”

“… what’s going on in white America, U.S. of KKKA …”

“Black men turning on black men – that is fighting the wrong enemy. You both are the primary targets in an oppressive society that sees both of you as a dangerous threat.”

“We cannot see how what we are doing is the same thing al-Qaida is doing under a different color flag … And guess what else. If they don’t find them some weapons of mass destruction, they going to do just like the LAPD and plant them some weapons of mass destruction.”

“God damn America – that’s in the Bible – for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating us citizens as less than human. God damn America …”

Can we really believe Obama was not there when any of these statements were made?

Dos Gringos Fight Video

WARNING!  This video contains adult language.

YouTube Link

America really is a giving country

From Arthur Brook’s piece on the American:

Americans are remarkably charitable. But what sorts of people give the most? And how do we compare with the Europeans?

Q. How much do Americans give? Is the amount we give going up?
A. In 2006, Americans gave about $295 billion to charity. This was up 4.2 percent over 2005 levels, and charitable giving has generally risen faster than the growth of the American economy for more than half a century. Correcting for inflation and population changes, GDP per person in America has risen over the past 50 years by about 150 percent, while charitable giving per person has risen by about 190 percent. That is, the average American family has gotten much richer in real terms over the past half century, and charitable giving has more than kept pace with this trend.

I noticed this personally after Hurricane Katrina. I lived in New Orleans during that time and after broadcasting live during the storm. I lost my job. But, a couple of my friends reached deep into their own pockets to help me out. I’m sure this happened to thousands of others as well. This won’t even be reported in Brook’s article because that form of giving doesn’t show up in any statistic.

Another great example is the money raised for Dave last week on Ankarlo Mornings. Dave called into the show to say it was the little things in life that made him happy despite falling behind on his truck payments. Ankarlo made the call out to you. And you not only helped Dave catch up with his truck payment, you raised enough money for Dave to pay off his truck so the creditors can never take it from him. Dave, an old Marine, got emotional when he was told the news. America is a great and generous nation and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

More from Brooks:

Q. Are Americans more or less charitable than citizens of other countries?
A. No developed country approaches American giving. For example, in 1995 (the most recent year for which data are available), Americans gave, per capita, three and a half times as much to causes and charities as the French, seven times as much as the Germans, and 14 times as much as the Italians. Similarly, in 1998, Americans were 15 percent more likely to volunteer their time than the Dutch, 21 percent more likely than the Swiss, and 32 percent more likely than the Germans. These differences are not attributable to demographic characteristics such as education, income, age, sex, or marital status. On the contrary, if we look at two people who are identical in all these ways except that one is European and the other American, the probability is still far lower that the European will volunteer than the American.

The dream ticket

Sen. John McCain is struggling to get some media attention while Sens. Clinton and Obama fight for the Democratic nomination.  This week the focus has been on the “dream ticket,” a joint Clinton-Obama ticket.

On the CBS Early show, Clinton said “that may…be where this is headed.”  Then her husband, former President Bill Clinton added the two would be “almost unstoppable.”  But, who would be on top of the ticket?  Clinton says she deserves it, while Obama says the same thing.

Clinton thinks she deserves it because she won big states in the primaries such as California, New York, New Jersey and Ohio.  She also thinks she deserves it because she is Hillary Clinton.  Obama points out that he has won twice as many states as Clinton and maintains both a delegate lead and a popular vote lead.  Right now, Obama deserves it.  Yesterday in Mississippi, Obama said, “I have won twice as many states as Sen. Clinton. I have won more of the popular vote than Sen. Clinton. I have more delegates than Sen. Clinton. So I don’t know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is in first place.”

Allow me to inject race into the dream ticket because it is important.  By all accounts Obama is winning.  But, Hillary is laying claim to the throne.   Once again, I see the whitey holding down the black man.  Think about it.  It’s Obama, the black man, that isn’t experienced enough to be the President.  But, he’s good enough to be number two.  Just a thought…

The impossibility of change

Sen. Barack Obama’s motto is “Change we can believe in.”  Assume, Obama becomes President on January 20, 2009.  What exactly will change?

Remember, the executive branch is one part of our government.   Obama can’t change politics or government on his own.  In order to pass any legislation he will have to work with both the House and Senate.  Because Congress will remain in Democrats hands, Obama will have an easier time of passing legislation.  Again I ask, what will that change?

Say Obama passes his health care plan and more Americans are covered.  How will that change the costs of health care?  Can we all agree that our health industry is great, but flawed?  The insurance industry is a disaster.  Obama’s changes will result in cosmetic changes that may look great to voters but fail to enact real change.  Obama also promised to end the war in Iraq as soon as he takes office.  What will that change?  Iraq will still be in the midst of chaos as Sunni’s, Shiites and Kurds continue to battle over land, oil and rights.  In fact, Iraq could become a power vacuum without the U.S. military there with all the sect vying for control.  Once again, the change will appeal to our eyes, but fail to be real.

Sen. Obama also wants to change Washington.  This is no easy task and probably the biggest uphill battle anyone could face.  The President can’t possibly do this alone.  He would need cooperation of Senators and Representatives.  You have heard the phrase, “you can’t teach and old dog new tricks.”  Well, here are 26 Senators over the age of 70 currently serving with 35 more between the ages of 60-69 (to be fair Sen. Conrad turns 60 on March 12 while Sen Coburn’s 60th birthday is on March 14th.  I have included them in the 60-69 category.)  Are they ready to change with Obama?

The optimist in me has always hoped Washington would wake up and politicians would change.  The pessimist in me knows better.  The problem is, even with Obama running with his message of change, the pessimist in me grows stronger.

A few more thoughts on Hillary…

Sen. Hillary Clinton has some version of this several times on the campaign trail, “Now I think you will be able to imagine many things Sen. McCain will be able to say. He has never been the president. He will put forth his experience. I will put forth my experience. Sen. Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002.”

Clinton’s first point here in simple.  She is trying to place Obama in the inexperienced corner by saying that experience matters. But, as Time Magazine points out, if experience alone matters, “then second-term presidencies should be more successful than first-term.”  Let’s take a look at those.  In his second term, Bush hasn’t been has the Iraq War looming over his head, the NSA wiretaps, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.  Clinton’s Monica, Reagan’s Iran Contra Affair, Nixon’s Watergate, and Eisenhower’s Suez Canal all happened during their second terms.  After each President should have been “experienced” enough to avoid these mistakes.  Mistakes happen.  They will happen to a President Hillary Clinton, a President Barack Obama or a President John McCain.

Clinton’s second point is more cryptic.   Here is another example of her message, “I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.”  I get the feeling, Hillary would rather McCain win if she doesn’t win the nomination.  Don’t you also the feeling that Hillary feels she deserves the nomination despite Obama’s delegate lead and popular vote lead?

Head to the fallout shelter:

Every time you turn on the television and watch the news, you are told to the economic world is going to end. We hear headlines like this: The dollar is at an all time low, oil prices are setting records, the world’s richest man, Warren Buffett, says we are in a recession, CEO’s of major companies say we are in the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, unemployment and inflation are going up.

Just read some of the language and you will know what I mean. From an Associated Press story a headlines reads, “Employers Slash Jobs by Most in 5 Years.” Why put the word slash in there other than to conjure up fear? The media thrives on fear. Personal finance expert, Suzie Ormon, was on the Today’s Show yesterday explaining how scared she of the current economy because of the dollar’s fall and oil prices. Here is another headline from the New York Sun in November of last year, “Talk of Worst Recession Since the 1930’s” The media is brow beating us into submission. A google news search of the word “recession” turns out over 10-thousand hits in the past month alone.

What happened to the American spirit? The American Spirit that could overcome anything. The American Spirit that has the most productive workers in the world. The America that most other countries want to be like. The America where our standard of living is above all else. The America where poor people own homes, cars, televisions, cell phones and have cable.

One other footnote. The man who know says America is in a recession, Warren Buffett made $10 billion dollars alone in 2007. He is now the world’s richest man with a total value of $62 billion. That’s not a bad year at all.

Hillary Wins, Democrats Lose

Two days after Hillary Clinton’s big wins in Ohio and Rhode Island and her surprise win in Texas the tide has turned. First, it was an amazing victory. It was another Clinton comeback and never count the Clinton’s out. Now, Hillary’s win could mean disaster for the Democratic party.

Most pundits agree Clinton can’t overtake Obama in delegate count. But, she might be able to catch him in the popular vote. Real Clear Politics has Obama leading now when you include Florida with 13,568,983 votes to Clinton’s 13,277,974. A big win in the Pennsylvania primary on April 22nd could put Clinton in the lead. Then she can make a claim that the super delegates should support her. If she does not, Obama can lay that claim. Hence the chaos.

Bob Novak notes this in his column today:

Clinton’s transformation of the political climate by her decisive victory in Ohio and unexpected narrow win in Texas coincided with Obama facing adversity for the first time in his magical candidacy, and not handling it well. The result is not only the prospect of seven weeks of fierce campaigning by the two candidates stretching out to the next primary showdown April 22 in Pennsylvania, but also perhaps what Democratic leaders feared but never really thought possible until now: a contested national convention in Denver the last week of August.

So far, Obama has 1,573 delegates while Hillary holds on to 1,464. The Democratic winner needs 2,205 delegates to claim the nomination. Those delegates are broken up into two parts, pledge delegates and super delegates. Pledged delegates come directly from the primary and caucus process while super delegates are free to choose whichever candidate they want. Democrats have a total of 795 super delegates going to the convention in August. 242 have already chosen Hillary Clinton while 207 have selected Barack Obama. They are allowed to change their mind though, as John Lewis did.

In order to capture the 2,205 delegates needed Clinton will have to capture 94% of the 611 that are left. Obama will need to capture 77% of them. It just won’t happen. In order for Clinton to take the delegate lead she will have to win 59% of the 611 left. It’s possible, but it isn’t likely.

John Dickerson writes on Slate Hillary has the momentum, but it will still be hard for her to win the nomination:

Hillary Clinton is trying to make the story matter more than the numbers, and what she won Tuesday were some good talking points for her narrative. She’s got to make the case to the roughly 300 undecided superdelegates that they should overlook Obama’s advantage among pledged delegates. Her argument has two parts: Obama doesn’t represent the Democratic Party, and he is a flawed general election candidate.

Jonathan Alter writes in Newsweek:

Superdelegates won’t help Clinton if she cannot erase Obama’s lead among pledged delegates, which now stands at roughly 134. Caucus results from Texas aren’t complete, but Clinton will probably net about 10 delegates out of March 4. That’s 10 down, 134 to go. Good luck.

Ellen Goodman is the lone voice holding out hope. Democrats are excited about both of their candidates and it is driving voters to the polls. This will help come November.

Allow me to offer the contrarian view that “playing with our heads and hearts” has been a good thing, and that the primary campaign may strengthen, not weaken the party’s chances.

For openers, it’s the “embeds” — the traveling press who look as weary as the candidates — and the party honchos who want it over. Two-thirds of the polled Democrats think it should go on.

A good part of the energy and excitement of this campaign comes — still — from having a woman and an African-American on the ballot. So far, Clinton and Obama have brought more voters to the polls than any primary campaign in recent memory.

A full 59 percent of the Ohio voters were women this year, up seven points from 2004. In Texas they were 57 percent, up four points. Obama engages younger voters. In Ohio alone there was a 10 percent increase in the under-30 vote compared to 2000. If it’s good for Ohio, why not Pennsylvania? Indiana?

Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee will do whatever they can to avoid a fight at their convention in August. They remember 1968. The question will become who will agree to be on the bottom half of the “dream ticket.”

Dems: McCain same as Bush

Why Hillary Won…

The Democrats aren’t quite sure they are ready to crown their nominee yet. Who can blame them? In their eyes they have two great candidates in Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. Either will become part of history if they are elected. This excitement is driving up the turnout numbers on the Democratic side. Republicans have to be worried about this. For example in Texas, the Democrats turned out 2.8 million voters, while the Republicans turned out about 1.3 million. That might be meaningless come November, but this has been consistent in every state in the primaries so far.

As we know today, Clinton won big in Ohio and Rhode Island and surprised Obama in Texas with a popular vote there. The exit polls show a similar story after Iowa. Women voters made up a majority of the Democratic voters in Ohio and Texas and Clinton won that vote in both states. Clinton also won the White vote and the Latino vote. Obama continued to win the young vote and the Black vote. Democratic voters in both Texas and Ohio think Obama has the better chance to win in November, but Clinton has more experience and a clearer plan for America. The economy was the number one issue yesterday.

But, one of the most important facts for Hillary Clinton yesterday was the late voters. She won voters who decided within the last three days. Why? The 3AM experience ad obviously worked, Saturday Night Live poked fun at the media’s love affair with Obama, Clinton later appeared on both SNL and the Daily Show and was seen drinking a beer with the press corp. Obama has the charisma. But, Clinton stole some of it last week. As she said this morning on the Today Show, “voters are starting to ask tough questions” about Obama. Advantage and momentum: Hillary.

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