A look at the varying faces supporting John McCain—in their own words.
The 2008 election year has seen voters split and split again along lines of ideology and cause, race and religion, hopes and dreams—and change. Ultimately we're all Americans expressing our voice as only Americans can.
Below are the voices of just a few of those who support Senator John McCain for president. What they share in common is that they're Americans first, they refuse to be separated along lines of gender, race or religion and most importantly, they know that John McCain can deliver the change that is needed for all Americans.
There are those of us who see through the frenzied media machine that is Barack Obama. We choose to look beyond his carefully crafted words, because we cannot take him at his word; beyond dramatic posters, because we do not buy into media hype; beyond skin color, origin or ethnicity, because we don't choose our leaders based on appearance. We want a president who is strong, capable and most importantly ready to fight to ensure that we, as Americans, all have the opportunity to live in a country of amazing freedoms, democracy and opportunity.
Jackie Mason pokes holes in the 'schlep' and tells voters to support John McCain—or whoever they want.
The "Great Schlep": Sarah Silverman encourages young voters to harass their grandparents into voting for Barack Obama. We've got to give it to her, Silverman is very good at monologues, like that one from her Sarah Silverman Program where she had to go to court and fight to get her dog back—after she was caught licking its butt. We can appreciate the metaphor as it plays out in the "Great Schlep," and wonder just how many nannys, papis, grandmas or grandpas want advice from Silverman on judging character. She's got the market cornered on f@#king Matt Damon and shirking every ounce of morality, but little Sarah-bots berating grandparents—who've certainly earned the right to apply their experience in making a decision—seriously?
Jackie Mason seizes this sentiment with his response to the overzealous if not completely disgraceful Silverman.
"The Great Schlep"
*** UPDATED 10/18 **** Another famous Jewish liberal opines on Democrats:
Barack Obama tells Joe he wants to spread the wealth.
When Obama went strolling through Joe Wurzelbacher's neighborhood to talk to the good people of Ohio, Wurzelbacher decided to confront him about his tax plans. Joe got the usual song and dance but not without a revealing comment from Obama, who was left feeling a little too exposed.
Family Security Matters.org also published an exclusive interview with Joe Wurzelbacher to get more details about his conversation with Barack Obama:
"... As soon as he said it, he contradicted himself. He doesn’t want to 'punish' me, but – when you use the word 'but,' you pretty much negate everything you just said prior to that. So he does want to punish me, he does want to punish me for working harder ..."
While you're here, watch these videos, too: click here
The Obama-Bill Ayers connection has recently taken center stage in the media, casting a threatening shadow on the issues Obama would prefer to address. Some are wondering how '60s radical Ayers is relevant and accuse the McCain campaign of steering off course. So why are we still talking about Bill Ayers, a man who was bombing buildings when Barack Obama was only eight years old? This is a man who is now a "respected" professor paying his dues to society. Right? Or, on the flip side, is this a man who, given a second chance at living the American dream, found another avenue to employ his radical beliefs?
For those who believe there is a disconnect between Bill Ayers' past, Obama's ideology and our collective future, I ask you to read this article, which presents a clear and concise connection.
"Starting college in 1979, Obama describes how he chose his friends carefully: 'The more politically active black students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and the structural feminists and punk-rock performers.'
He describes how they discussed 'neo-colonialism, Frantz Fanon (the Black Power hero and apostle of cleansing violence), Eurocentrism, and patriarchy'; and how he read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness 'to help me understand just what it is that makes white people so afraid ... Their demons.'"
Guilt by association is not the issue at hand, and Bill Ayers is not the core issue facing Americans leading up to this election. What America needs to contemplate is Who is Barack Obama? This is a young politician with ideas for "change." But what are his core beliefs and how do they apply to his leadership?
We choose our friends and associates—they are not forced upon us. Why is it then that Obama has chosen—and even sought out—radicals as his mentors, his friends, his neighbors and his colleagues. Why is it that all of these "associations" and allies in Obama's world share a common thread: revolution, socialism, communism, radicalism. Why is it that so many of these very same people can be traced back to relationships with groups like the Black Panthers and with ideologies like that of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan?
Americans need to ask the tough questions and think about how this really affects our entire country, our children, our jobs, our lives.
*****************
"It's hard to say when it started ... 1970 to 1980. It was underground for 11 years."—Bernardine Dohrn, Weather Underground member and wife of Bill Ayers
"There's no way to be committed to non-violence in the middle of the most violent society that history's ever created. I'm not committed to non-violence." —Bernardine Dohrn, 1969
"During his fugitive years, Mr. Ayers said, he lived in 15 states, taking names of dead babies in cemeteries who were born in the same year as he. He describes the typical safe house: there were usually books by Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh, and Che Guevara's picture in the bedroom; fermented Vietnamese fish sauce in the refrigerator, and live sourdough starter donated by a Native American that was reputed to have passed from hand to hand over a century."(New York Times, Sept. 11, 2001)
*****************
Sal Stern, in the City Journal, Summer 2006, wrote about Bill Ayers' entry into the American educational system. Attending Columbia Unversity's Teacher's College in 1984 (incidentally, during the same years Obama attended Columbia University -- both in NY), he experienced an "epiphany" while taking a class taught by Prof. Maxine Greene.
Greene told future teachers that they could help change this bleak landscape by developing a "transformative" vision of social justice and democracy in their classrooms. Her vision, though, was a far cry from the democratic optimism of the Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., which most parents would endorse. Instead, critical pedagogy theorists nurse a rancorous view of an America in which it is always two minutes to midnight and a knock on the door by the thought police is imminent. The education professors feel themselves anointed to use the nation’s K–12 classrooms to resist this oppressive system. Thus Maxine Greene urged teachers not to mince words with children about the evils of the existing social order. They should portray "homelessness as a consequence of the private dealings of landlords, an arms buildup as a consequence of corporate decisions, racial exclusion as a consequence of a private property-holder’s choice." In other words, they should turn the little ones into young socialists and critical theorists.
And what has been the agenda of the reformed Bill Ayers of the 2000s? Sol Stern, of City Journal, reminds of us Bill Ayers' rendevous with Hugo Chavez in November 2006 in an article published Oct. 6, 2008:
Calling Bill Ayers a school reformer is a bit like calling Joseph Stalin an agricultural reformer. (If you find the metaphor strained, consider that Walter Duranty, the infamous New York Times reporter covering the Soviet Union in the 1930s, did, in fact, depict Stalin as a great land reformer who created happy, productive collective farms.) For instance, at a November 2006 education forum in Caracas, Venezuela, with President Hugo Chávez at his side, Ayers proclaimed his support for "the profound educational reforms under way here in Venezuela under the leadership of President Chávez. We share the belief that education is the motor-force of revolution. ... I look forward to seeing how you continue to overcome the failings of capitalist education as you seek to create something truly new and deeply humane." Ayers concluded his speech by declaring that "Venezuela is poised to offer the world a new model of education—a humanizing and revolutionary model whose twin missions are enlightenment and liberation," and then, as in days of old, raised his fist and chanted: "Viva Presidente Chávez! Viva la Revolucion Bolivariana! Hasta la Victoria Siempre!"
*****************
(Updated 10/14/2008)
As if underpinning education with socialism and communism (disguised as "social justice") weren't bad enough, the Bill Ayers agenda goes even further. Linda Harvey writes this about the Bill Ayers "gay agenda" for schools:
In 2007, a group from the American Educational Research Association, or AERA, including Ayers, demanded major accrediting organization for schools, colleges, and departments of education include categories of "social justice, sexual orientation and gender identity" in its standards. Ayers and colleagues called their effort "Call to Action: A RED Campaign for Social Justice and Queer Lives." Ayers, formerly vice president for curriculum of the AERA, was the spokesman on behalf of the effort, calling on the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, or NCATE, to include these categories.
What would an Obama administration do? The record shows that Obama supported Illinois Senate Bill 99 in 2003, which, despite denials by Obama and false claims by the mainstream media, was not a bill to protect children from sexual predators. It was a sweeping, comprehensive sex-education bill that lowered the age of instruction from sixth grade to kindergarten, gutted an abstinence emphasis and prohibited "bias" based on "sexual orientation." The term "sexual predator" is nowhere in the bill, with inappropriate touching by peers included in a laundry list of the many aspects of explicit sex ed.
As a member of the Weather Underground, Ayers and Dohrn took part in sexual exploration which included group sex and homosexuality. This was somehow part of the groups manifesto. Impressing sexual education on children—and more specifically, homosexuality&mdashis part of the Ayers plan for education. But what should disturb Americans even more is the face you see plastered across your TV screen, your computers, your neighborhoods: Yes, Barack Obama supported lowering the age for sexual education&mdashto include your kindergartner.
" ... we'd do it again. I wish that we'd done more. I wish we'd been more militant ..."—Bernardine Dohrn, 1998 interview with Connie Chung (and William Ayers)
(Connie Chung interview, skip to the end of the video)
View the nine-part Weather Underground series here.
There have been a few articles these last couple of days addressing Sen. Obama's uncanny ability to dazzle the audience with not one but, well, a lot of magic tricks. Look at this hand--over here--while I hide my past with the other. Look at this hand--over here--and voila, no taxes for any of you. "How is that possible you ask? I'm not sure, I'm reading the teleprompter, but quick--look over here." One article takes a lighthearted look at his bait and switch tactics and imaginary plans for the country. The other notes a serious issue: Obama is lying on the "Fight the Smears" section of his own website.
The Cleveland Leader has uncovered Obama's ACORN trail. Documents which were once publicly available on ACORN's site have now been removed. But don't worry, folks, the good old WWW has been squirreling away these juicy nuggets for prosperity, and our friendly investigative reporters got their hands on Obama's, well, ACORN nuggets. What they found was that while Obama tells visitors of his website's "Fight the Smears" section that he "was never an ACORN trainer and never worked for ACORN in any other capacity*," hidden articles--once publicly accessible--indicate otherwise.
Caption from photo (above): ACORN members meet with Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama. Photo as printed in 2004 "Social Policy" article.
The Cleveland Leader says: "Is that really a FACT, or just another lie? Let's take a look at a quote from a 2004 article - Case Study: Chicago- The Barack Obama Campaign - written by Toni Foulkes, a Chicago ACORN Leader, which was published in the journal Social Policy. Did we mention that Social Policy recently pulled this particular article from their website, while leaving links to all other articles up?"
"Obama took the case, known as ACORN vs. Edgar (the name of the Republican governor at the time) and we won. Obama then went on to run a voter registration project with Project VOTE in 1992 that made it possible for Carol Moseley Braun to win the Senate that year. Project VOTE delivered 50,000 newly registered voters in that campaign (ACORN delivered about 5,000 of them).
Since then, we have invited Obama to our leadership training sessions to run the session on power every year, and, as a result, many of our newly developing leaders got to know him before he ever ran for office. Thus it was natural for many of us to be active volunteers in his first campaign for STate Senate and then his failed bid for U.S. Congress in 1996. By the time he ran for U.S. Senate, we were old friends."
Cleveland Leader goes on to note a March 2008 reference to the Obama-ACORN tie in the LA Times: "'At the time, Talbot worked at the social action group ACORN and initially considered Obama a competitor. But she became so impressed with his work that she invited him to help train her staff.' (LA Times, March 2, 2008)"
You read that right: Obama and ACORN and Project VOTE--they had a clear and definite tie. A tie which was documented in a case study written by an ACORN leader. Sorry to ruin the magic trick, ladies and gentlemen. If you're so inclined, do your own searching of the Way Back Machine at http://www.archive.org/index.php.
Mr. Obama has instructed us to check the facts on his website. But this is nothing more than another trick meant to amuse the masses. If you enjoyed the show, drop a dime or two in the bucket and thank Mr. Obama for the entertainment. But, America, it's time to grow up.
But wait, there's more! The Cleveland Leader published a follow-up to its first article after receiving information that the Obama Fact page had changed after "Barack Obama's Involement with ACORN Unearthed, Missing Article Recovered" article was published. The Obama site's new language is just another indication that his truth changes over time, read here. But how do you know when you can finally stop digging for it?
Will we see more from McCain now that we've scratched the surface? Let's hope this is just the beginning, but with under a month left can McCain make up for the failures of the media? If Americans can detach Mr. Obama from their visions of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream," they may finally realize this isn't the same man -- and this isn't the same dream. Martin Luther King was opposed by Louis Farrakhan. Rev. Wright, Al Sharpton, Father Pflegler, Rev. Meeks -- they all have connections to Farrakhan. They share an ideaology that Martin Luther King opposed. Americans can see that Mr. Obama not only condoned Bill Ayers viewpoints, but he launched his political career sitting in the man's living room -- just another neighbor down the block. Mr. Obama would like America to believe he has the character of the man endeared in America's heart, but that is only a dream. Please wake up.
"I don't know anyone in Chicago who is heavily in education policy who doesn't know Bill Ayers," she said. "But again I go back to the point that, you know, the American people aren't asking these questions." --Michelle Obama, 10/8/2008
I beg to differ Mrs. Obama. I'm an American, and I want answers.
Food for thought: Michelle Obama wants to speak for all Americans. Here she is pictured with Janell Meeks (wife of Rev. Meeks, Obama's "spiritual counsel") and Khadijah Farrakhan (wife of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan). Does Louis Farrakhan's message speak for you?
A small school in Kenya bears his name, but his efforts there are a distant memory. In 2006, Barack Obama committed to helping this struggling school located in the small village, Nyang’oma-Kogelo, where his father was born. Principal Yuanita Obiero owns the land where the Senator Obama Kogelo School stands, and she banked her hopes for its future on Senator Obama's words. Two years later, she is still hanging on those words. Principal Obiero, 48, told the Evening Post in an interview in Kenya: "Senator Obama has not honoured the promises he gave me when we met in 2006 and in his earlier letter to the school. He has not given us even one shilling. But we still have hope. ... When the US Ambassador William Bellamy came to visit the school for the official renaming ceremony in February 2006, we gave him two copies of the proposal, one for the Embassy and one to give to Senator Obama. But we have not heard anything from either of them since."
Too often throughout this presidential campaign accusations of racism have been applied from all angles. It's hard to tell where the truth lies anymore, but I am convinced that Barack Obama is not the right leader for this country.
If you're getting this story from me, let's praise this woman for standing up for something what she believes in. She knows where Barack Obama is coming from--and she's not voting for him.
The Kenya connection: Barack Obama and Raila Odinga of Kenya's socialist Orange Democratic Movement, are cousins (Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., was from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya). In 2006, Barack Obama joined Raila Odinga in Kenya to help him campaign for election as Kenya's president. There were accusations of corrupt voting within the already volatile region. In January 2008, the International Campaign to End Genocide issued an alert and labeled the level of genocide a "Stage 6." Odinga, of the Orange Democratic Movement, lost the election by a small margin. What ensued following the election was widespread ethnic cleansing of the Kikuyu opposition. Georgette Gagnon of Human Rights Watch stated: "We have evidence that Orange Democratic Movement politicians and local leaders actively fomented post-election violence."
And maybe you heard about Jerome Corsi (listen to radio interview, bottom of page) being deported from Kenya on a trip to release an anti-Obama book. You guessed it, Barack Obama's cousin may have a hand in sending him home. (October 7, 2008)
*** UPDATE: 10/12/2008 ***** The Washington Times today published "HYMAN: Obama's Kenyan Ghosts," exposing the depth of Obama's ties with Raila Odinga.
Initially, Mr. Odinga was not the favored opposition candidate to stand in the 2007 election against President Mwai Kibaki, who was seeking his second term. However, he received a tremendous boost when Sen. Barack Obama arrived in Kenya in August 2006 to campaign on his behalf. Mr. Obama denies that supporting Mr. Odinga was the intention of his trip, but his actions and local media reports tell otherwise.
... Mr. Obama spoke on behalf of Mr. Odinga at numerous rallies. ... "The [Kenyan] people have to suffer over corruption perpetrated by government officials," Mr. Obama announced. "Kenyans are now yearning for change," he declared. The intent of Mr. Obama's remarks and actions was transparent to Kenyans - he was firmly behind Mr. Odinga.
...
Mr. Obama's judgment is seriously called into question when he backs an official with troubling ties to Muslim extremists and whose supporters practice ethnic cleansing and genocide. It was Islamic extremists in Kenya who bombed the U.S. Embassy in 1998, killing more than 200 and injuring thousands. None of this has dissuaded Mr. Obama from maintaining disturbing loyalties.
******************
From the video:
Raila Odinga is the leader of Kenya's largest opposition party, the socialist Orange Democratic Movement.
"The flamboyant politician became popular with Kenya's poor by pledging to distribute the country's wealth more evenly." -- CNN
Campaigned as a "champion of the poor" while promising to defend the underpriveledged
August 2007, Odinga signed an agreement with the National Muslim Leaders Forum to institute Islamic law in exchange for the group's support.
Louis Farrakhan is the Nation of Islam leader and has placed his support behind Barack Obama. Obama former paster of 20+ years, Reverend Jermiah Wright of Trinity United Church, holds Farrakhan in great esteem and honored him just this year with a lifetime achievement award at Trinity.
Farrakhan has repeatedly made hate-filled statements targeting Jews, whites, America, and homosexuals. He has called whites “blue-eyed devils” and the “anti-Christ.” He has described Jews as “bloodsuckers” who control the government, the media, and some black organizations. (Newsmax.com, "Obama's Minister Honored Farrakhan," January 14, 2008)
Odinga's supporters engaged in widespread ethnic cleansing of the Kikuyu opposition, and Odinga continued to fan the flames of genocide.
Odinga vowed to end Kenya's cooperation with the United States in the War on Terror.
Raila Odinga & Barack Obama: The Connection Raila Odinga and Barack Obama, Odinga says, are cousins, both descended from the same tribe.
In 2006, as a member of the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama campaigned for Raila Odinga in Kenya -- at taxpayer expense.
Some Have Argued That Barack Obama's Terrorist Ties in Chicago Mean Nothing ... can they defend his support and backing of the brutality unleashed in Kenya? Massive killings in the name of Islam? You'll recognize that socialism is a common theme--redistribution of wealth is promised by both. You'll recognize that voting scandals are a parallel of what's happening in the U.S. Will you recognize that only YOU can stop Barack Obama from bringing America to her knees?
Fiery Speaker with the Populist Touch "Although his opponents have portrayed him as a socialist who could damage the economy, Odinga insists the business community has nothing to fear. His manifesto policies are similar to those of Kibaki, except with regard to devolution of power, which Odinga insists is necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth."
About this blogger I started this post with a lot to say, but there's just too much--should've started this blog a lot eariler. I'm not a right-wing, rabid Republican--although that seems to be the standard response from the left. I'm not proud to admit it, but I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, as my head was filled with the propaganda spewed by my high school teachers--and union workers, one of which was in my household. Imagine my surprise to find my choice of president that year would result in making Monica Lewinsky a household name. Around the time of that election, I also learned a thing or two about unions and "scabs" and the scary world of forcing people to assimilate for the good of the masses. Bad workers cannot be fired. Good workers cannot move ahead. New workers cannot be hired. It's deadlock, and it's part of what's crippled the automotive companies. Socialism at work--making equality of inequality and inadequacy.
Suffice it to say that as I entered adulthood, my political views were in their infancy. Having skipped over that whole history thing in high school--or rather, having just barely picked up on the liberal view points but not really agreeing with them--I was a blank slate. And ready to vote? Bill Clinton was the choice--maybe the voice--of young people. He was on MTV after all. During my early 20s, I read Atlas Shrugged, I dealt with a tragic family death and had a child. I developed a new perspective on what it meant to be an American--an individual. As Thomas Sowell says, I grew up.
Who You Calling A Racist? "Say It Ain't So, Joe" or "Whatcha You Talkin' Bout Willis"? I like them both. If you don't like Obama, you're automatically a racist -- it's the automatic response from liberals. Does devaluing such a powerful word really help those who oppose racism?
Liberals tout Obama's education but discount his obvious ignorance in choosing his associates. It creates an interesting paradox. His followers and suppoters have turned a blind eye to any of these connections. They have no answers and can't bare to believe -- this is not a good thing.
For the little I knew about this league of Obama fans on sites like Digg, more importantly, I knew less about the Black empowerment movement that has been occurring in America all of my life. In recently researching Obama's ties to hate-filled groups, I'm truly astonished at this simmering revolution. Rev. Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton -- all have ties to Obama. The groups promote racism, hatred of Whites, of Jews. They promote the idea that white people -- White America -- are their oppressors, the enemy, the single wall between them and power, freedom, wealth. I've traced that legacy back through some other famous names: Malcolm X, Black Panthers and even MLK -- but MLK was considered a sell out to the white man. Louis Farrakhan encouraged a hit on Malcolm X, which ultimately led to his murder. In battling their oppression, they battled anyone who didn't completely agree with them, and their intentions are to fight ... to kill ... to conquer. It's been a wake-up call.
Without the influence of Obama's connections I might never have known that leagues of my fellow Americans -- Black Americans and other groups -- have been indoctrinated with ideas that I am oppressing them and they should rise up against me and even kill me (Farrakhan says in the name of Allah). Farrakhan has repeatedly made hate-filled statements targeting Jews, Whites, America, lesbians, Hollywood. He has called Whites “blue-eyed devils” and the “anti-Christ.” He has described Jews as “bloodsuckers” who control the government, the media and some black organizations. (Newsmax.com, "Obama's Minister Honored Farrakhan," January 14, 2008)
The Obama liberals don't want to address any of these issues -- and, to them, racism only exists in the form of Republicans, those who question Barack Obama. They have no problem calling me a racist on a daily basis. But where are the answers?
Fact-finding and sources: I will do my best to research all information presented as thoroughly as possible. Although I am biased, I'll try to stick to the facts--but you may also get my opinion. I will give you sources as links and/or as footnotes where applicable and available. This is not a guarantee but merely a statement. If I get something wrong, I will correct it. Contact me if you find factual error with what I'm presenting.
The Cleveland Leader
