Obama/Biden and the Democratic Party are clearly the best choices in this November election!
[However, I wish they'd be even more progressive and energetic in efforts to develop policy and action that will move us toward: really dealing with global climate change (recognized as the major local and global concern by scientists specializing in this area, and as a major concern by most leaders and a majority of people of the world), local and global conservation of energy and the natural resource base, targeting the truly poor in the world with education and empowerment, health care, and power over resources, and changing our pro-war mindset and severely reducing this "military-industrial" complex of ours.].
Nevertheless, the misinformation, disinformation and lies spewed and fomented by Republicans and (psuedo)conservatives*/right-wingers, including the attractive (to many???) Sarah Palin with her entrenched (but very destructive) simplistic and "Fundamentalist" beliefs, are obviously compelling to many!!??!! (I do recognize that this is a political campaign--and there is misinformation/propaganda/plenty of spin on both sides. Nevertheless, McCain** has really sold his soul in hopes of winning the Presidency--and his campaign has truly been unethical in this area of lies and deceit.)
A wonderful friend, Alicia Helton, up the street had a good letter in the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise this week (see below***). And then this morning on C-Span I heard author John K. Wilson interviewed extensively about his book, Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest www.ontheissues.org/Improbable_Quest.htm.
I think Alicia's letter and Wilson's book are worth reading.
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* Don't ever call yourself a true conservative unless you're truly for: short and long term conservation of the Land & Natural resource base, ethical use of energy, and ecological literacy.
** I used to point out in a lecture on energy and energetics, that re. ethanol, McCain was the only one of the candidates (including Gore and Bradley, and of course Bush) in the 2000 campaign who was principled in not supporting ethanol subsidization--because the science showed it didn't make sense. (Gore was wishy-washy, Bradley flip-flopped from his position as a Senator because he wanted the Iowa/Farm vote, and of course Bush "didn't have a clue."
***"First I got an email stating that Barack Obama is not really a citizen of the US and not eligible to be President – probably based on the fact that nobody can ever remember exactly when Hawaii became a state. (It was 1959, and Obama was born in 1961.)
Next somebody left a printed copy of an anonymous email clipped to my garbage can. (I’ve had an Obama sign in my yard since February.) The message accused Obama of replacing the American flag on the tail of his airplane with the Obama symbol.
Last week a man saw my Obama button and asked, “Are you going to vote for a Muslim for President?” I wish I had said, “Yes, why not? This is America where we don’t discriminate based on religion.” Instead I fell back on facts: “Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ,” and “He went to elementary school in Jakarta with Muslim kids, but it was not a Muslim school.” The man was polite but did not believe me.
Yesterday an email from the “Swiftboat” website contained a video that uses partial quotes to try to show Obama disrespecting the Bible and Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Only the fine print identifies the video’s producers as the same people who torpedoed John Kerry with lies and innuendo in 2004. They are open about using any means necessary to keep Obama from being elected.
Then last night we heard the Republican Vice Presidential candidate repeat what public records show to be outright lies about her own record and about Obama’s. Once again Republicans are campaigning with manipulation rather than persuasion and lies rather than actual differences on the issues of governing.
At www.barackobama.com/fightthesmears you can see photos of the campaign jet with both the Obama symbol and the American flag prominently displayed. You can hear and read about Obama’s positions on the issues, his faith, family, white grandparents, African cousins, and find explanations and refutations for all the ugly, personal, by-and-large bigoted stuff people are saying behind their hands.
Good people see and hear these awful rumors. So much has gone so wrong so quickly for so many that it’s hard to know what to believe. Let’s get the fear and the racist nonsense off our chests so we can turn to honest debate about how to save the planet, the country, and each other."
Sincerely,
A. R. Helton
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