I thought I would add another segment called Global Fusionist Motivational as short notes of wisdom I wish to impart to everyone. I encounter so many people who feed their minds with jealousy and envy that it thwarts their own progress. With all the hype and negativity the world throws at us, I shall start preaching, as I practice it in my own life, radical honesty.
Most disputes and disagreement could be resolved quickly and easily if only WE take the time to LEARN to COMMUNICATE WITH ANOTHER HUMAN BEING well. We MUST repudiate unnecessary ambiguous gullability and lethargic convictions. Simply, say what you mean and mean what you say. Do not say more than you mean or mean less than what you say. Pay attention on how you use your skills.
Make the most of your skills and your talents. Think about this: People who usually take their time to tear your down directly or indirectly are doing so because they only dream of being able to do the things you can. It is perfectly OK to play to your strengths rather than always concentrating on developing your weaknesses. NAYSAYERS are not stumbling blocks but stepping stones. Use and build these stones they throw at you as a sturdy leveled strip of smooth ground runway as you propel yourself FORWARD. LIVE a little today. BE DARING. Whenever urge comes to perform and whatever your habit is, REBEL against it gloriously. DO NOT SUCCUMB to desires and urges of bad habits and mindset that do not contribute to anyone’s growth, especially to yourself. Enjoy your ability and use it to help others too. You will be surprise when you make that choice to BE THE CHANGE.
For a few weeks now, I have been going through personal meditation á la Marcus Aurelius and pondered about this Quarter Life Crisis (QLC). I consider myself a late-bloomer in some aspects of my life that I still feel some of this. It may be nothing, but it certainly always pushes me to assert the true me everytime my birthday comes around. This usually ranges from the early twenties to the early thirties. Again, I am a late bloomer in “some” aspects so don´t crucify me when you read this.
Some people don´t really understand the gist of this since coining of the term is pretty recent (and pointless). The first time I heard of the term was from a John Mayer song.
Man, I remember getting out of college, it is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.
One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.
Characteristics of quarter-life crisis may include:
feeling “not good enough”
feeling unsuited for current job
feeling that one’s life has no definitive purpose
frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
confusion of identity frustrated with peers and/or feeling more mature than peers
insecurity regarding the near future
insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals
insecurity regarding present accomplishments
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
disappointment with one’s job
nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
tendency to hold stronger opinions
boredom with social interactions
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
loneliness
desire to have children
a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you
uncontrollable urge to get a tattoo — Ok, I never got this urge at all!
These emotions and insecurities are not uncommon at this age, nor at any age in adult life. In the context of the quarter-life crisis, however, they occur shortly after a young person – usually an educated professional, in this context – enters the “real world”. After entering adult life and coming to terms with its responsibilities, some individuals find themselves experiencing career stagnation or extreme insecurity. The individual often realizes the real world is tougher, more competitive and less forgiving than they imagined. Furthermore, the qualifications they have spent so much time and money earning are not likely to prepare them for this disillusionment. A related problem is simply that many college graduates do not achieve a desirable standard of living after graduation. They often end up living in low-income apartments with roommates instead of having an income high enough to support themselves. Substandard living conditions, combined with menial or repetitive work at their jobs create a great amount of frustration, anxiety and anger. Nobody wants to admit to feeling like a ‘loser’; this secrecy may intensify the problem. As the emotional ups-and-downs of adolescence and college life subside, many affected by quarter-life crisis experience a “graying” of emotion. While emotional interactions may be intense in a high school or college environment – where everyone is roughly the same age and hormones are highly active – these interactions become subtler and more private in adult life[citation needed]. Furthermore, a factor contributing to quarter-life crisis may be the difficulty in adapting to a workplace environment. In college, professors’ expectations are clearly given and students receive frequent feedback on their performance in their courses. One progresses from year to year in the education system. In contrast, within a workplace environment, one may be, for some time, completely unaware of a boss’s displeasure with one’s performance, or of one’s colleagues’ dislike of one’s personality. One does not automatically make progress. Office politics require interpersonal skills that are largely unnecessary for success in an educational setting.
Looking at all the “symptoms”, I know MANY who are past 30+ who feel like this. Why box it in just one age group. Clearly, these issues are prominent in any stage in one´s life…more so than others of course.
Many relationships fail simply because people lack the skills of relating.
These days people seem to not know how to properly apologize. Does it take a degree to do so? I don´t think so, but I do think we have a generation who take people and their feelings for granted. This is very close to me as recently I have an Ex whom on numerous occasion seem to hurt me all the time and not understand why I don´t believe them. Since until now they are clueless, let me write Apology 101.
Is Apology really an Art?
Let’s face it. Most of us don´t know how to apologize. We compensate for our lack of knowledge and skill by making feeble attempts which rarely work. Some people rely on their good looks while others bat pathetic puppy dog eyes to get them out of scrapes.
If we want to improve and have depth in our relationships, it’s time to learn the art of apology. So here is my take since this is a very personal pet peeve.
There are two reasons people apologize. First, people usually apologize to make themselves feel better. This type of apology requires little skill outside of being willing to admit that you made a mistake. The second type of apology relays a genuine concern for the other persons feelings and well being. Guilt is relieved only when your apology is genuine and based on empathy for the injured person. This type of apology heals relationships and creates genuine bonds.
The “Feel Good” Apology
If you are apologizing to relieve your guilt, and hopefully get someone off your back,stop before you open your mouth. Relieve your guilt through talking to a good friend, therapist or priest. Tell someone who really cares about you. Don’t bother telling the person you have injured. You only make things worse!
Why? Because the person you injured doesn’t really care why you did something. They don’t want to hear that “kids are so mean” or “I was completely lost”. By laying out all of the reasons, and defenses, for why you injured them, you are subtly saying that it’s not your fault and that the other person should take care of you by telling you that “you’re OK”. You belittle them and humiliate yourself this way.
Here ´s some REAL Apologies to help illustrate what a “feel good” apology sounds like and what not to do:
“I am sorry I molested you. I was drinking a lot then.”
- Most alcholics do not molest their children.
“I realize that I was a really bad father/mother. It’s not like you came with a book.”
- There are thousands of parenting books.Amazon.com lists 3,484 + titles.
“I realize that I was really cruel to you when we were kids. You know how kids are!”
- Bullies act like bullies. Period
“I am sorry I lied to you. I lie to everyone.”
- If someone lies to everyone they can’t really say they are sorry.
“I am sorry you found out about my affair. I didn’t intend for you to find out.”
- So it’s Ok to have an affair as long as the other person doesn’t find out?
“I am sorry but since we have not been together for 2 years why can we not be friends while I keep the other people (I cheated or hurt you with while we were engaged as a couple) as friends as well? But I really value and respect you the most.”
- So, you respect me so much that you want to continue reminding me why we failed in our relationship?
Each of these “feel good” apologies were said to relieve the guilt of the person apologizing. There is no consideration for the feelings of the injured person. If you find yourself in the middle of one of these apologies, shut up! Take a breath and start over.
Humans do MAKE mistakes
Human beings make mistakes. Sure! It’s impossible not to make a mistake. Most people struggle to be present in their lives, let alone stay aware of every one else’s feelings at any given moment. In order to make a real apology, we must come to grips with the fact that we make mistakes. If you would like to have long term relationships, you must learnto make real apologies. THAT is a requirement!
REAL APOLOGIES
The major difference between a “feel good” apology and a realapology is that a realapology begins and ends with the person you have injured where as the “feel good” apology is about the person who made the mistake.
My Ex seems to not understand this concept. I also do not like it when people apologize and expect forgiveness right away, without having to show for. If they want to be forgiven, then be truly sorry, leave the baggages at the garbage disposal. Don´t dangle everything that reminds me why you hurt me. Otherwise, you are not sorry!
So for the Clueless like my Ex and people who have this nasty habit, here are four steps to making a real apology:
1. Acknowledge the injury.
It’s important to start by acknowledging that you have injured someone. A simple, “I know that I hurt your feelings”, can make a world of difference. Don´t just drop, “I am sorry.” Do you understand what you are saying at all? Mean what you say and say what you mean.
2. Ask the injured what it was like for them.
It’s important to understand in what way your mistake injured the other person. People are very different. The same mistake can injure people in a wide variety of ways. Taking the time to understand the manner in which you injured someone else increases empathy in your relationship. Ask what hurt.
Nothing is more frustrating than being told how you were hurt by someone who gets it wrong! Repeat back what you heard to make sure you did not miss anything. Open your ears and heart to hear the actual injury.
3. Apologize for the injury.
Be specific. Make sure to include all the ways that you injured the other person. A realapology might sound like: “I am sorry that I hurt your feelings and you felt stupid by ignoring you at dinner”.
FYI: Every realapology includes “I am sorry” for “specific injury” at “specific time”.
4. Ask the injured how you can make it better.
When we feel guilty we often desperately want to repair the relationship.
In our anxiety and fear of losing the relationship, we make up ways to repair the relationship. Stop working so hard. Ask the injured what you can do to regain their trust. Most people have a clear idea of what you can do to repair the relationship. Ask them and then DO IT.
In this case, I have told my Ex what needs to be done, but instead they argued with me about it and refused. So, NOW I know, they are not truly Sorry. It was just a “feel good” but really cut short of the real apology. I am still hurting, but I don´t think I can have them around my life. So I opted to cut them completely out. Time will be my friend.
I know and believe that Apologies are the spine of all relationships. It is this fundamental truth that many people fail to do that has broken up many relationships. Few people know how to do it…and therefore few have succeeded in their relationships.
Imagine if we all practice this with sincerity and honesty. Imagine what type of world we would be living in now.
This version of the 12 steps is an adaptation from the original 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and is intended for general use with any addictive or dysfunctional liberal behavior. This is only to address a particular addictive or dysfunctional behavior within the way we want to run our daily lives and countries. These steps are meant to be worked sequentially as a process of getting rid of addictive behaviors and growing in freedom and happiness:
Step 1- We admited we were powerless over our addiction to meddle with other people´s lives and their monies – that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power greater than big government; that We are the ones who should decide how to govern our personal lives which restores us to sanity
Step 3- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God–who gave us sovereign right to rule our own lives not other people
Step 4- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves and found that being spineless and pandering does not lead to godliness
Step 5- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs: Socialism and Communism is against our sovereign right as human beings and potential.
Step 6- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of all the brainwashed character we have acquired from media, liberal professors and bitter idiots.
Step 7- Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings especially insulting true Conservatives
Step 8 – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, brainwashed, controlled and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 – Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 – Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11- Sought through study of true Conservatism, prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying and doing only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12- Having had a spiritual, mental, psychological and ideological awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
Came across these cartoons from Canadian political cartoonists which is quite sobering to most of us in the world. I hope Americans do too…SOON:
Honeymoon is over by Aislin, The Montreal Gazette
US Debt by Patrick Corrigan, The Toronto Star
Glad the Canadians are sobering up from the hypnotic effects the media served up. Many of us OUTSIDE the USA are not impressed with what is going on with the money splurge. When a “superpower” owes money to Third World country like India, and now their “rival” China, they should really start worrying. Where is Obama getting all the monies from that he is spending? What is being exchanged if the country is practically bankrupt? If he is so smart, why is he not learning from the mistakes of PM Gordon Brown when he bankrupted his own country? Maybe he is not…and people are realizing it…but there are those of us who knew from the start. The mirage was just quite convincing that even the intellectuals are fooled.
I was listening to a music by Unni Wilhelsem and the lyrics struck a deep cord with me:
Yes, all that you’ve give me, I know/ But all you’ve cost me, you know/ Sums up to nothing much you know, /nothing much at all/ To live from, anyway Hardly to survive/So I won’t come near you again/ You can bet your life I can’t come that close again/ I won’t go near you, I don’t think I even want to see you/Sorry for not being what you needed/ For not possessing what you think you want/ Don’t know about anyone who does By the way,/ is that why you’re still you? /Still within yourself/ While I am someone else/`Cause the past is stronger than my will to forgive /Why did you need my hand, my hand that night? /What did you mess up my systems for /If you really know me so well/ Tell me which part I loved/ And which one I hate the most?/ Did it get you ready for later/ Did the others fade out, like me?
Something I’ve once said before, that seems fitting to all that surrounds me and made me do some self-inventory: The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are, who you really are. You trade your reality for a role, your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel and in exchange you put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until it’s a personal revolution, on a personal level. It’s got to happen inside first. You can take anyone’s political or personal freedom and you can’t hurt them… unless, you take away their freedom to feel. That can destroy a person. That kind of freedom can not be granted. No one can win it for you. That’s what real love amounts to: Letting a person be who he/she really is. Most people love you for who you pretend to be. To keep their love, you keep pretending or what you may call performing (trying to impress). That is why you go on these endless dates! You get the chance to love your pretense. Admit it, we are all locked in an image, an act and the sad thing is, others get so used to their image; they grow attached to their masks. We love our chains. We forget all about who we really are… and if you try to remind us, we hate you for it, we feel like your trying to steal our most precious possession.
People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. Why you think we pay exorbitant amounts of money on image or PR? Why do you think our societies have become “image conscious”?
Relationship-wise, people talk about how great love is, and most times it may be true, others are false. Love hurts, feelings are disturbing.
I am at that place that a ghost from my past came to haunt me again and I hate it. I hate it when people can be so clueless and never be able to put themselves in someone else´s shoes. How do you ever go back from all that pain someone caused, breaking your heart and trust after you gave them your soul? How can one “undo”? Never! How can you even really forgive when the person has not looked you in the eye and asked for forgiveness. Forgiveness for me is DOING. It is ACTION. Why do I have to send a memo WHEN they need to apologize? This ghost of mine, is in this vicious pattern of hurting me and doing the same things. That is not being “Sorry”. It is insincere and false! If you are sorry, then SHOW ME! If I am the one you want, then PROVE IT! Why sit there and “hope” forgiveness and regaining someone´s trust will just fall on your lap? You caused it, then fix it! I am tired of people “telling” me they “care” and yet they turn around and manage to “act” recklessly. How can someone say you are the one they want and yet manage to insult you with getting another whom you know is less “qualified” in that department. I am tired of circles. I am tired of ghosts. I am tired of bullshit. I am tired of lies. I am tired of people throwing “I like you” ,”I care about you”, “I love you”, “I need you”, “I want you” carelessly! Ok, that is enough ranting for the day.
The point is, society taught us that pain is evil and dangerous. How can one deal with love if they are afraid to feel? (That is this ghost´s problem)
Pain is meant to wake us up.
My ghost seems to still be sleeping.I don´t know why they wait so long and ACT on working towards healing and forgiveness. Don´t they realize that there comes a time when it is too late? My hunch is that they are just like anyone who don´t put value on their own words and therefore hurt the people around them because they are shallow.
Others try to hide their pain (like me), but it is wrong. Pain is something to carry, a part of life. We feel our strength in the experience of pain; it’s all in how we carry it. Believe me, I am learning everyday. That’s what matters (at least from all the people I have observed, who are my heroes tell me this). Pain is a feeling, feeling is a part of us… our own reality. If we feel ashamed of them and hide them, we’re letting society destroy our reality. Don’t do it, we need to stand strong. I am not ashamed of mine anymore. My pain has become my driving force to move forward. I would like to think that I have used it as fuel for productivity and positive motion.
My greatest fear is to be just another statistic (besides mediocrity). Sometimes I still put my mask when needed, but most times, I keep my role, exchange my acts and find my own revolution that creates only the best. It is what keeps me evolving everyday.
One of my favorite classes when I was in college was Chinese Culture and History. The greatness of their culture, philosophy and methodology are impressive to me. An example that comes to mind is this classic Sun Tzu´s Art of War and one of their prominent philosopher, Lao Tzu.
Here are examples of how classic movies were influenced and thereby affected generations as they are loved for their contents and lessons:
STAR WARS TRILOGY
Yoda, the wise old Jedi Master introduced in the first Star Wars trilogy, is partly modeled after a Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu from 2,500 years ago. Lao Tzu is a contemporary of Sun Tzu, and his philosophies, recorded in the Chinese Tao Te Ching (Way of Life), form a cornerstone of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. The influence of both Lao Tzu’s and Sun Tzu’s philosophies on George Lucas’ descriptions of the Jedi Warrior philosophies is deliberate. For example, George Lucas’ invention of “the Force” borrows directly from the Tao Te Ching’s concept of “the Way.” Both Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu discuss “The Way” in their text as a force that connects all life and represents the how things are.
To illustrate the commonality of ideas, switch the words “the Way” with the words “the Force” in the following sentence:
“Those who act in accord with the Way/the Force, will succeed; those that act against the Way/the Force will find only peril.”
This sentence could logically appear in any of the Star Wars movies, The Tao Te Ching, or The Art of War.
When Hollywood released the first Star Wars Trilogy, very few Americans had any familiarity with either the Tao Te Ching or Sun Tzu’s Art of War. At the time, Jedi ideals seemed all the more new and profound. However, like the underlying story about heroes and villains itself, the philosophy the Jedi bring to the screen is a philosophy from the ages.
WALL STREET
One of my favorite movies of all time was Wall Street with Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen and Darryl Hannah. I was only 15 yrs old then but it gave me the secret desire to be in business. I didn´t know I would do what I do now, but the hints of this Sun Tzu´s Art of War when Bud Fox says, “Sun-tzu: If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate” and when Gordon Gecko says, “I don’t throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, The Art of War. Every battle is won before it is ever fought.” made me eventually pick up the book and have been digesting it for a few years now.
The Art of War is a staple title for business readers, made relevant all the more by Japan’s preeminence as a business powerhouse in the 1980s, the year the movie was released. Sun Tzu’s philosophies have long been a part of the Japanese business world. His philosophies proved, and continue to prove, highly applicable to the dynamic style of American business as well.
THE SOPRANOS
In The Sopranos, Tony Soprano says “Been reading that– that book you told me about. You know, The Art of War by Sun Tzu. I mean here’s this guy, a Chinese general, wrote this thing 2400 years ago, and most of it still applies today! Balk the enemy’s power. Force him to reveal himself. You know most of the guys that I know, they read Prince Machiavelli, and I had Carmela go and get the Cliff Notes once and — he’s okay. But this book is much better about strategy.”
The Sopranos is one of the most popular shows on television in 1999, and his comment leads to a major upsurge in Sun Tzu book purchases to the point that the publishers of the Ralph Sawyer edition change their back cover copy to leverage the show. Over 200 Sun Tzu titles are on the market. The majority of these titles appear after 1996, though many older titles from Asia, more readily available in Singapore and other Asian markets, have also made their way to the U.S. (Prior to 1996, the older Griffith, Cleary, and Sawyer translations, plus James Clavell’s edited edition of Lionel Giles translation predominated the market for Sun Tzu books.)
Bottom line, the Chinese gave a lot to the world. They were a superpower before and they are rising again. My only negative thing about the Chinese is their racist and suspicious nature to outsiders. Worse one I know is when they live in a different country, they have this same attitude. Sometime, I may delve in this psychology of diaspora.
I have been quiet the entire vacation time to put in some time doing content for our companies under MJS Global Group: MJS Strategies, MJS Commodities, MJS Capital, etc. I have been putting it off for quiet sometime so I decided to buckle down with the help of some associates. After countless hours back and forth sharing and working through them despite of the time zones, I got the news today that we got hacked by this guy and all the files got infected and therefore we have to work from scratch again. We have notified Hostmonster and they have not responded due to the holidays.
My Love Letter from a Cyberterrorist
This is my first experience on cyberterrorism. On the positive note I am glad we are still in the beginning stages, however, I already did 70 pages worth of content. What a way to start the year.
Today is the 6th day of the airstrikes in Gaza so I know there are a lot of tensions. Many protests are going on and on the other end, I can understand why this cyberterrorist would do this. It forces people to look and listen, but to the extent of innocent casualties.
This should be a huge concern for all of us especially when we are about to usher in the third evolution of the Internet: Semantic web, which will enable people to share content beyond the boundaries of applications and websites. So think about all your important information from Government to banks, etc and cyberterrorists like this suspends all activity. I know I cannot live without internet. I cannot even picture in my head how chaotic it would become when that is done on a global scale the way they hit 9-11 in New York just to make a statement.
Al Qaeda are using this vehicle for fundraising and recruitment. Mumbai bombers were also quite high tech. These terrorists don´t need much to sacrifice to do destruction. They have calculated so well that all they need is a small rock to start the ripple effect. People have become so much smarter…and more evil towards each other.
The world has definitely changed. Happy New Year to us all!
Earlier today, I found out that Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the 51-year-old environmental lawyer, daughter of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Onassis (and sister of handsome John Kennedy, Jr.) who has shied away from the political arena for most of her life may be considered to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton for Senate seat.
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg with Obama during 2008 Campaign
The niece of Edward and Robert Kennedy. The powerful Kennedy clan is fully behind her rising to the office previously held by her uncle, Robert Kennedy who held the New York seat from 1965 until his assassination in 1968.
Once Clinton is confirmed to President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet, New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint someone to fill the seat for two years. Democratic officials say Caroline Kennedy has spoken to New York Gov. David Paterson about the Senate seat. Paterson’s office says that the governor had been approached by several candidates for the job but that he would not discuss private conversations.
Of course, since she took on a much more high-profile role during the presidential campaign and, if she does it, would be more than New York’s junior Senator; she’d have closer ties to the Obama White House than any of her colleagues, a direct line to the East Wing.
Ok, so she´s educated. But what are her qualifications, except being the daughter of a President as a child? She’ll probably last two years, to be replaced by future Senator Rudy Giuliani (he has started to schmooze to Obama with his praises). How hypocritical is the media praising Caroline´s interest, while trashing Gov. Sarah Palin´s credentials? Excuse me that many of us have not gone to the famous liberal Harvard University for the elites.
I am not complaining. In fact, this is AWESOME NEWS. Give the seat to Caroline. If the Dems appoint Caroline to the Senate, Sarah Palin’s credibility will earn massive points! Palin ACTUALLY has experience! If this happens, anytime a liberal or a media rep (and SNL) mock Sarah’s qualifications, intelligence, or any other quality, the other side can simply point to Caroline and say, “Yeah, well, let’s talk about Caroline.” I mean, let’s face it…if you’ve ever heard Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg speak (without a script–and most of these politicians who were hyped up…ehrm…), then you know she’s not a very bright woman. And if we’re being totally honest she’s really that attractive, either. So wouldn’t it be perfectly delicious if the Dems unconsciously replaced Sarah Palin as the next national laughingstock with the last surviving member of JFK’s family? *Let me start my childhood signing of the cross á la Catholic*
Sarah Palin is smarter than what the media gave her credit for. But then the media thought that Ronald Reagan was stupid, but Reagan outsmarted them every time. Let´s face it, the global financial crisis were handled by Harvard and other Ivy League alums. We all know that classrooms and real world are VERY different. So pedigrees and grad school doesn´t really mean a lot when it comes to crisis. It is all about character.
Let us see how “fair” the media will treat her, I hope that they give her as much attention as they did to Sarah.
America, welcome to the new poster child for unqualified and incompetence: Senator Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg!
I was watching Wolf Blitzer´s Situation Room on CNN briefly last night (sorry, no Fox news in Europe) and noticed for the first time that one of the “best political team on TV” made an honest unbiased comment. Campbell Brown (whom I enjoy watching during Elections coverage), made a remark about how Obama´s cautiousness during the Primaries is now reflected on the so-called 2.5 M jobs he promised to create. Now, Obama said 2.5M jobs to be “saved”. Like she said, it doesn´t really mean anything. In my world, it just meant, he pandered just like most politicians who say what the voter wants to hear.
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
GM, Chrysler and Ford are now doing another run to convince U.S. Congress to give them a $34bn Bailout. Their argument is that if they don´t get the help, America will just throw $300bn development and investments made in the past. It is a very tough decision to make. If you help them, they are still going to be doing the same structure and if not…well, no one wants to know. But the reality is, with the global financial crisis, people are not buying cars. As of today, HONDA even pulls out of Formula One racing since it is a luxury item for them to spend $300M with 700 employees (snaps for them!). I personally have not seen what these Big Three Automakers are proposing on paper (yet), but there needs to be serious cutbacks.
Clinton Appointed as Secretary of State
Then you have Obama switching from creation of jobs to saving jobs. The man has never made a decision in the Senate and just ticked a lot of PRESENT on bills. What do you expect?
THE APPOINTMENTS
He keeps saying he is bringing change to Washington, so far, he has put most Clintonistas and to top that cake, he selects Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State (with Bill tagging along). Smartly stupid, I´d say. The saying, “Keep your enemies closer” is definitely taken into new heights.
SPEECH IN CAIRO, EGYPT…MAYBE?
In an effort to mend rifts between the U.S. and the Muslim world, Obama is seriously considering making a major foreign policy speech in an Islamic capital, CAIRO, Egypt. My initial reaction is WHO is paying for this? His campaign? How is delivering a speech somewhere mend deep-seated issues between countries? I find it quite naïve if he does this without a plan. This is not anymore campaigning. But this here sounds like a photo-op for me.
But the question really is that why Obama feels it necessary to give a speech so early in his new administration. During the presidential campaign Obama indicated U.S. foreign policy was too skewed in favor of Israel and that he would seek to balance that approach in his administration. But then when McCain painted him as naïve about the Middle East, he then strongly backed Israel in his first foreign policy speech when he addressed American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Using process of elimination, I find it hilarious how they chose this place. Obama’s foreign policy advisers ruled out Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and other capitals around the Persian Gulf. If he does the speech in Baghdad, it would appear to validate the Iraq war (which he of course opposed).
Going to Damascus, the Syrian capital would be rewarding them (not a good idea to start with),
Tehran in Iran? Haha, too soon for tea and urugula.
Amman, Jordan? They are not interested as they did the show their before.
Ankara, Turkey? Too boring.
How about Islamabad, Pakistan? Well, after his speeches about Pakistan during elections, I don´t think he will come out alive.
Ramallah on the West Bank would be futile because Palestinians have been demanding Jerusalem as their capital.
Jakarta, Indonesia? Obama´s Childhood place? Good for him, not cool enough for the media.
A MUST REASON
Remember when he kept dodging he was a secret Muslim? (Take it easy, Ret. Gen. Colin Powell. I am not anti-Muslim. I got a cousin who is one and wonderful Muslim friends). The truth is, Obama had been raised a Muslim and converted to Christianity after meeting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in his 20s after he moved to Chicago.
Obama was born to a Kenyan father who was a Muslim. His mother divorced this man and later remarried an Indonesian muslim who became Obama’s stepfather. The couple moved to Indonesia with the young Obama. There he was registered at two schools as a Muslim student, Barry Saetoro.
Obama´s Indonesian School Record
In his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” Obama mentions studying the Koran and describes the public school as “a Muslim school.”
My own process of elimination? Obama wants to be pay homage to his roots. It´s perfectly fine for me, but it would be better to be upfront and honest to the American people what exactly he has in his head of his. As hired CEO of the Free World, he needs to be accountable.
The 2008 U.S. election proved that a new dawn for politics has arrived. We now have seen the power of web 2.0 and how it can shape a political landscape. We also saw how the Millenials are engaged. How did this all happen? The answer is two words: MARKETING and MONEY. The rule of the game (anywhere) is the one with the bigger war chest, wins. But there is something else about this election that was also not seen in a long time: STRONG MEDIA BIAS.
We can go on and on (which I will because there will be other things I will be ranting about this election), but for the sake of this page, I can safely say that Obama won because he vastly outspent McCain. Even Chris Cilizza of Washington Post (one of the newspapers who endorsed Obama) agrees with many of us who observed the political circus.
According to Nielsen Company, from June through November, Obama ran 419,667 ads in local markets while McCain ran 269,992 ads — a difference of nearly 150,000 ads. In the final month of the election, the ad difference was even greater with Obama’s campaign running 210,425 local ads as compared to just more than 97,000 for McCain. Obama also had one-and-a-half times as many spot TV ads than John McCain during the general election season (6/08 to 11/08), double when he started running ads in January during the Primaries.
SPOT TV ADS: June-Nov 2008
Barack Obama
419,667
John McCain
269,992
Local Ad Spending by Both McCain and Obama
Other notable campaign facts from Nielsen’s research
Obama’s ads were on the airwaves over twice as much as McCain’s in the final month before the election (210,245 vs. 97,023 ad buys).
McCain took early advantage of Obama’s long primary battle with Hillary Clinton, which ended on June 3rd. McCain bought over three and a half times more spot TV ads than Obama in June (26,594 to 7,251), the only month that McCain beat his opponent in that category.
McCain made a major push with national buys in September, out placing Obama 10 to 1 in cable and network ad buys.
The two candidates alone combined for almost 850,000 total ad buys dating back to January.
Daily Tracking versus Actual Popular Vote From ISU Statistical Graphics Working Group
This figure show results of the daily tracking polls, and the actual popular vote (blue). Main pollsters are colored, so that relative bias can be seen. The trend line is a less smooth through all points.
State tracking results from ISU Statistical Graphics Working Group
The result for each state (blue, red) and polls for each state over the week leading up to the election are shown as a dot plot. From top to bottom, the order of the states is from most Republican to most Democratic.
Median is represented as a black dot, all polls as large white dots, and median of last week’s as a grey dot. Vertical lines mark 5% points difference.
Obama tracking results from ISU Statistical Graphics Working Group
McCain tracker from ISU Statistical Graphics Working Group
These figures show the daily tracking results separately for Obama and McCain, and the actual result. Tracking polls low-balled the McCain %.
So, how fair was U.S. Elections this time compared to the 2000 or 2004?
Lesson learned here is that politics still truly local and money greases the machines. It is a dirty world we live and work in.
Fourty-eight days to January 20, 2009, before the spectacular fanfare of the historic 44th United States Presidential Inauguration, when an African-American takes center-stage and recite the oath on first entering office specified in Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The theme for the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama is “A New Birth of Freedom,” which honors the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. People scrambling to get the hottest“non-existent” tickets in town. Yes, “non-existent” because they are not issued yet and there are scammers selling them for $1000+ already. So if you contemplate of buying them through the web, STOP IT NOW. These tickets are FREE and you get them from any U.S. Congress and Senate Officials and usually they are only allotted with a couple of hundred tickets depending on their constituents. Some public officials have even started doing lottery to be fair. You cannot get these if you are not American constituent in that district that the particular elected official (or ask your American friends).
Washington D.C. is expecting about 1M visitors and a massive planning is taking place to keep the city in order. All this hysteria because people want to hear the man who used a Kennedy-King-Lincoln-esque platform and echoed throughout his campaign:
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” Excerpt from A More Perfect Union
Electoral Vote tally
We sat with astonishment to the meteoric rise of this obscured Arab-cheeredMessiah 46-year-old political virgin to become the first African-American to capture DNC nomination. (Thanks to the Iowa Caucus and Obama´s brilliant grassroots strategy through David Axelrod´s brainchild, he surprisingly rose above Clinton) Weeks later, he wins an overwhelming mandate of 365 Electoral votes versus the 173 that McCain got. World Leaders like Merkel, Sarcozy, Brown (pro-Americans to Obama´s advantage) reacted warmly and with expectations, tests and warnings.
2008 U.S. Presidential Elections County by County Results
The 2008 U.S. Elections cracked a lot of ceilings. Both GOP and DNC parties made historical marks with their two women, Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) and Gov. Sarah Palin (AL). The former proving to be a formidable candidate with 18M behind her and the latter, a female maverick that became GOP´s first female for top ticket. Then you have the massive money that got poured in through Obama´s internet fundraising, garnering aroung $650M in total which afforded him to release a 30 minute infomercial in all major networks.
The RESULT: The longest, historic, exciting, most expensive U.S. Election ever!
I have always had interest in archaeology and history of Ancient world. I spend about 12 years of my life involved with studying the Bible and I am always fascinated how there are still so much I don´t know about it.
In the three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, whenever the faithful pray, regardless of language, they always end their prayer by saying Amen. There is no linguistic translation for Amen, because it is a name and not a word. The origin of Amen is Egyptian, for Amen was the name of God. The Jews have learned about Amen during their sojourn in Egypt, which lasted for four generations.The name of Amen, which means the Hidden One, in Ancient Egypt, lives on.
This video talks about where AMEN originated. Historical records do indicate that the ancient Egyptians had, among their many gods, a god called Amen (the presumed personification of air or breath, represented by a ram or goose) or this video talks about AMEN-RA (Sun God). However, some people claim that there are no evidence can be found, linking the word amen (Hebrew: “truth”, “so be it”) to this, or any other, pagan god.
Warning after an hour of posting around 20 messages to friends. A web 2.0 nightmare for a person with circa 2000 friends!
So it goes…after 58 hours and awesome sweet political Conservative and Liberal friends later, Facebook re-instated my original profile which I have had for years with the following email:
“Facebook has limits in place to prevent behavior that other users may find annoying or abusive…Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with the specific rates that have been deemed abusive. Your account was disabled because you exceeded Facebook’s limits on multiple occasions when sending links and making Wall posts, despite having been warned to slow down. Please be aware that if your account is disabled again, we will not be able to reactivate it. Once logged in, please slow down the rate at which you share links and post on group Walls. We appreciate your cooperation going forward.”
First off, HOW exactly was I annoying and abusive? By having too much traffic and activity on my site because my FB friends are very much engaged in the posts that I put on my walls? Isn´t the idea of web 2.0 is SOCIAL NETWORKING? Why is being SOCIAL penalized? Is SOCIAL and INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY in social sites unacceptable? The ANSWER is NO.
If I am annoying and abusive, what about those people that go to my site and attack me directly for my opinions out of nowhere? (They are not even in my list of friends!)
Some “hate mails” I have been receiving lately shows intolerance of other people´s views:
From Micah Weiss: ”Your Stand on politics is the worst ever !!! you dont even live here .. and you have those views about Obama … makes me sick to my stomach … im sorry .. not narrowminded !!”
From Todd Lytle- a Screenplay Writer in Hollywood: “shows your ignorance and honestly coming from a hard core conservative doesn’t surprise me you would have that kind of mentality. I shared your comment with a few of my friends who were and weren’t Jewish and they all said you were just being nasty trying to piss me off. I will not stoop to your pathetic level of insults based on a generalization. Instead I will just let people know who you really are…and give them the heads up on your ignorant nature. After all you cannot help it…DITTOHEAD!!”
From Alex Demyanenko, (who asked me to remove his Title and Employer, hmm) : “Your funnies (political cartoons you post) are offensive and further proof that GOOD finally won out over EVIL. Karma, baby! Rovian = Evil.”
From Trevor Capon: “I don’t know how I see your pictures but you are an idiot. You really think intelligence is the mark of a Republican? You who vote for Sarah Palin and you who’s hero is Joe the Plumber? John McCain finished at the bottom of his class and Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review. If you look at all of the polling college educated voters went 4 to 1 to Obama. Please try to back up your arguments with facts.”
I have allowed people to write me things like this (and decided to be above it because liberals have always resorted to personal attacks rather than substantiating their arguments). I also wanted to let everyone know that I am not the Conservative leaning chick who just deletes people because they think different than I do. I am NOT that judgmental. I got friends from all walks of life: Homeless, Filthy Rich, Educated with Ph D, Dropouts, Business owners, Social Welfare Milkers, Handicaps, Sports jock Olympians, Musicians, Tone-deafs, Conservatives, Liberals, Confused and Apathetic people. But I learn from all of them. I live in the same planet as they do and they ALL matter to me because each has their own way of viewing the world I do not see.
I understand that politics is personal but seriously, how come others are able to handle and accept other differing views while others resort to give insulting remarks. I have had worse emails than that too with people using profanities but I guess the slandering to other people´s pages calling me “idiot”, “offshore terrorist”, “moron”, or “stupid” are ok to write people instead of putting notes to facilitate debates. Do I get hurt? Not really. People are FREE to express their views, regardless of the degree to where it leans: Positive or negative. But I do take pride in the fact that I am touching them somehow and make them think or defend their ground, which is what I am after. Nothing is worse to me than people with no opinion, belief or purpose. You might as well be dead if you don´t want to grow.
Facebook ought to pay me for such intellectual activity that I have started. The only people who appreciate are those are truly “educated” from life because they understand that we are all individuals with different backgrounds that shape our ideologies and values we live by.
When I started with Facebook, I thought it was exciting to keep in touch with your college friends and stuff, but now that they allow all developers to create these annoying apps, I found it so cluttered. Excuse me that I do not want to clutter my page with those apps that I find useless. I want my FB platform to be purposeful and since I am a practicing political strategist ( I eat politics for breakfast and late night snacks), I want to do something on MY page, what I want to do: DEBATES. I want stimulating conversations with my friends and learn from all sides of the spectrum. I get that, but apparently Facebook is not the place for these types. All the more I am convinced that iCampaign.tv NEEDS be unleashed for people like me.
In a nutshell, iCampaign.tv will be a tool ( web , mobile and desktop ) to empower any campaign for all types of industries which will use Open Social platform. Stay tuned!
For those who do not agree with me, don´t worry. I will not delete you. Just show some respect in giving your opinions. But you are free to delete me. It is not my problem that you cannot handle people who think different than you. But you know, I don´t know if I want to be your friend anyway, because I find that being around all “Yes- People” are boring. Look at Obama with his choices now, at least I am grown up enough to find common ground with the guy. He is not after “Yes-People”.
Facebook says, “Continued misuse of Facebook’s features could result in your account being disabled.” How is posting content on your OWN group walls and notes be MISUSAGE? Who made these stupid rules? This is like curbing my voracious appetite for putting my own content in a box.
Puh-leeeze, don´t bother boxing me in because I am going to find a way to crawl out of it. I don´t like boxes, the air gets too stuffy inside.
And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.
The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.
When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”
In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.
And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth – for the first time – to bring the light unto all the world.
He travelled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the
Taliban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.
And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.
From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.
And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child’s very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.
And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.
From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.
In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.
As word spread throughout the land about the Child’s wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.
And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child’s journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.
The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.
And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.
Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.
And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.
Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.
But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.
And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.
Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.
On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.
And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”
The mainstream media’s support for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was so biased that even major insiders are now admitting they were shocked by its depth and depravity.
Last week, Time magazine’s Mark Halperin called the media’s performance during the campaign simply “disgusting.”
Halperin told a panel of media analysts at the Politico/USC conference on the 2008 election, “It’s the most disgusting failure of people in our business since the Iraq war.”
He added, “It was extreme bias, extreme pro-Obama coverage.”
According to the Web site Politico, Halperin, who edits Time’s political site “The Page,” zeroed in on two New York Times articles near the end of the campaign that profiled both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama.
“The story about Cindy McCain was vicious,” Halperin said. “It looked for every negative thing they could find about her and it cast her in an extraordinarily negative light. It didn’t talk about her work, for instance, as a mother for her children, and they cherry-picked every negative thing that’s ever been written about her.”
But the Times gave Michelle Obama red carpet treatment, “like a front-page endorsement of what a great person Michelle Obama is.”
Halperin, a former ABC News political director, allowed that some of the press coverage simply reflected the extreme efficiency of Obama’s presidential campaign.
“You do have to take into account the fact that this was a remarkable candidacy,” Halperin said. “There were a lot of good stories. He was new.”
Obama also had a lot of money and outspent Republican John McCain by more than 2 to 1.
The press never bothered to hold Obama accountable for reneging on his promise to use public financing. McCain kept his promise to do so.
During the campaign, conservatives criticized the pro-Obama coverage, but it had little effect.
Columnist David Limbaugh noted: “Never has that been clearer than in the 2008 presidential election, during which they are covering up rather than covering Barack Obama’s shady past and alliances, his knee-deep involvement in corrupt practices threatening the very core of our democratic system, and his many policy misrepresentations.”
Limbaugh noted that the press went into a tizzy over Sarah Palin’s wardrobe, but ignored extravagances like Obama’s “obscenely idolatrous million-dollar Greek coliseum mirage.”
Now that the election is over, Halperin is not alone in admitting the bias. The Washington Post’s ombudsman recently conceded that the paper’s coverage was skewed strongly in favor of Obama and against the McCain-Palin ticket.
What’s with Obama’s choice of old-time Clinton cronies and recycled Washington insiders to run the transition to his new politics of change?
Can’t the anti-Washington-insiders and the president-elect find anyone who isn’t a Beltway has-been?
Judging by the appointments to his transition committee and leaks about possible top staff and Cabinet choices, Obama appears to be practicing the politics of status quo, not the politics of change.
Obama based his innovative campaign on an emphatic and convincing commitment to change the culture of Washington and bring in new people, new ideas, and new ways of doing business.
But now, Obama has definitely changed his tune. As president-elect, he’s brought back the old Washington hacks, party regulars, and Clinton sycophants that he so frequently disparaged. Like Jimmy Carter, the last president who ran as an outsider, Obama has reached out to the same old folks who dominate the Democratic Party and represent the status quo.
His transition committee looks like a reunion of the Clinton administration. No new ideas of how to reform the system there. The chairman, John Podesta, was Clinton’s chief of staff. He presided over outrageous last-minute pardons and his style is strictly inside-the-Beltway and make-no-waves.
Then there’s Carol Browner, Clinton’s competent former EPA administrator who became the consummate Washington insider. She’s Madeline Albright’s partner and recently married mega-lobbyist and former Congressman Tom Downey. During the uproar over Dubai taking over U.S. ports, Browner brought Downey to meet with Sen. Chuck Schumer to plead Dubai’s case. Downey was paid half a million dollars to push Dubai’s position. He’s also a lobbyist for Fannie Mae, paid half a million to try to cover their rears on the subprime mortgage mess. Is this change?
Federico Pena was Clinton’s secretary of transportation and of energy. The president felt he was unduly soft on Air Florida after a crash and lost confidence in him. Now he’s back as a transition committee member.
Bill Daley, Clinton’s former secretary of commerce and the brother of the mayor of Chicago, is the epitome of the old Democratic establishment. Clinton appointed him to the Fannie Mae board and his son worked as a lobbyist for the agency. Aren’t these the kind of folks that Obama ran against?
Larry Summers, president of Harvard and former Clinton secretary of the treasury is not exactly an outsider either. He’s also alienated more than a few with his bizarre suggestion that women may be genetically inferior to men in math and science.
Susan Rice, assistant secretary of state under Clinton advised John Kerry and Mike Dukakis. Does that tell you enough?
Obama has named one of his big bundlers — Michael Froman, an executive at Citigroup. Is this supposed to symbolize change?
Obama’s choice of a spokesperson for the transition is also surprising; she is definitely not the face of reason and new politics. Stephanie Cutter is the brash and combative former Clinton, Kerry, and Ted Kennedy mouthpiece. The liberal DailyKos.com once described Cutter as “a moron to the nth degree” when she tried unsuccessfully to force The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney to treat her unsolicited e-mail criticizing Howard Dean as “background” without mentioning her name.
Speaking of brash, Rahm Emanuel, the new White House chief of staff, makes Cutter look timid. Rahm is also a former Clinton White House staffer — and a very obnoxious one. He spent his White House years leaking to The Washington Post whenever he didn’t like what the president was doing. Even Bill Clinton stopped trusting him. Any hopes of Obama keeping his commitment to reach across the aisle would go right out the window with Rahm’s appointment. Instead of extending a hand to the opposition, it would be like raising just one finger. And Rahm’s strident demeanor laced with the ‘F’ word in every sentence will do little to elevate the bipartisan dialogue in Washington.
Christopher Edley, another member of the transition team, is dean of the Berkeley Law School. He was a member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission under Clinton, and his wife, Maria Echaveste was Clinton’s deputy chief of staff.
Transition committee staffer Christine Varney was a federal trade commissioner under Clinton and worked in the White House.
Throughout the early debates, Obama criticized Hillary Clinton as part of the inside-the Beltway establishment that needed to go. But now he’s reaching out to these exact same folks. Some change.
If ever there was an election that was not worth winning, it was the contest of 2008. While it was hard-fought on both sides, had McCain won, it might have spelled the end of the Republican Party. As it is, the party is well-situated to come back in 2010 and in 2012, if it learns the lessons of this year.
Simply put, all hell is about to break loose in the markets and the economy.
The mortgage crisis will likely be followed by defaults in credit card debt, student loans and car loans. We will probably be set for two years of zero growth, according to economists with whom I talk. And the federal efforts to protect the nation from the worst of the recession will probably lead to huge budget deficits and resulting inflation. We are in for stagflation that could last for years.
Had McCain won, he would be the latter-day Hoover, blamed for the disaster that unfolded on his watch. Now it is Obama’s problem. With the Republicans suffering a wipeout in congressional elections (although not as bad as they feared), the ball is now squarely in the Democratic court. Good luck!
If Obama raises taxes, the situation could get even worse. With a liberal Congress on his hands, he will be constrained to move to the left, if he needs any pushing.
When Clinton was elected in 1992, the Democrats in control of Congress gave him a clear message: Either you govern within the four walls of the Democratic Caucus or you won’t get our support. Crossing the aisle to get Republican votes, even including the GOP in negotiations, was a no-no for which the president would pay dearly if he transgressed.
The result was predictable. Moderate initiatives like welfare reform were scrapped, the Congress passed tax hikes and legislation became festooned with liberal amendments.
Faced with the need to round up every last vote in the Senate and House Democratic caucuses, Clinton had no choice but to load up conservative bills like an anti-crime measure with liberal pork (like a provision for midnight basketball courts in urban areas) to get unanimous caucus backing.
Obama will have to move left to appease his caucus. He will become their hostage, and they his jailers.
This dynamic will produce extreme-left-wing governance, which the Republicans can blame for the continuation of the recession and for any worsening. The party will recover, fed by anger at Obama’s policies, and will emerge from this defeat stronger than ever.
But the Republicans must learn the lesson of MoveOn.org. Founded in the bleak days of the Clinton impeachment, MoveOn developed a grass-roots Internet base. Building up its e-list of activists and contributors, MoveOn laid the basis for the incredible Internet appeal of the Obama campaign. At last count, Obama has 4.5 million donors, most online.
Conservatives cannot count on the Republican Party to fight their battles for them, and certainly cannot count on them to win. The right needs to develop cyber-roots conservative organizations to rival the power of groups like MoveOn.org.
The stellar efforts of Newsmax.com and its ally, GOPtrust.com, illustrate the power of such efforts. Together, these groups raised $10 million for an independent expenditure on media in swing states featuring the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s anti-American bombast.
And their efforts worked.
Virtually all the polls agreed that Obama would win 52 percent to 53 percent of the vote, but the surveys varied in the amount of undecideds they found.
On Election Day, virtually every undecided voter went to McCain, and Obama’s final vote share was no more and no less than the 52 percent to 53 percent the surveys had predicted. This unanimity among undecided voters is attributable to the endgame of groups like GOPtrust.com and Newsmax.com.
These groups have to lead the way in running media to battle against the leftist legislation that will undoubtedly emanate from the Obama administration and the liberal Congress America has just elected. Then they can become the basis for a Republican resurgence, just as MoveOn.org was this year for the Democrats.
Semantic Web
Artificial Intelligence
Virtual Worlds
Mobile
Attention Economy
Web Sites as Web Services
Online Video / Internet TV
Rich Internet Apps
International Web
Personalization
Integration into everyday devices
Hyperlocal
Data retrievel/manipulation agents
Read/Write/Request Web
User-controlled, open Internet Identity
New forms of Internet Interaction
Extended Reality
Expert Systems
Personalized Medicine
Blog reading automatically input into our brain
