Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Audacity of Hope, Not the Audacity of Hate

Barack Obama just held a press conference where he clarified the differences in his views from those of his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Read more here. While I am very glad that Senator Obama did so, I am saddened by the necessity of his actions. Unfortunately, Reverend Wright who was forced into the spotlight when a few of his inflammatory statements became widely played, had a unique opportunity and he squandered it. Rev Wright had the opportunity to bring a Christan message of helping those who are oppressed and talk about what needed to be done to help us move forward together. He hurt the causes he believes in whether he realizes it or not. That is most unfortunate, because, these are causes I believe are important - social justice, racial equality, and an end to aggressive and violent foreign policies.
I am saddened by Reverend Wright's choice to make himself the story and suggest that the media are not criticising his fringe views but the African American church. Senator Obama had to distance himself from his friend and former pastor. He really had no choice. This is Reverend Wright's fault for making such inflammatory statements. Remember, Reverend - it is the audacity of hope, not the audacity of hate that brings change and progress. Now let's hope the media can focus on the issues and not be distracted by the Reverend Wright.

Friday, April 18, 2008

ABC's Terrible Debate

On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, the two leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama held a debate moderated by ABC's Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. This was easily the worst debate I have seen in this election cycle. Huffingtonpost called it the "gotcha debate." Read the story here. The first half of the debate was full of petty criticisms of personal misstatements, questions of guilt by association, and other petty "distractions" to quote one of the moderators of the debate. In such an important time in such a crucial election, why were such distractions given so much focus? We are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, have top officials in the government admitting to have authorized torture, we have a housing, credit and energy crisis, millions without health care, U.S. paid mercenaries who are not subject to any law killing civilians in Iraq, billions of dollars wasted or lost in Iraq, and many many other pressing problems. Instead of concentrating on these vitally important questions, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos decided to concentrate of the HRC's multiple misstatements regarding snipers in Bosnia and Obama not always wearing a flag pin. Absolutely ridiculous. I hate to be so critical of George Stephanopoulos since I met him, during Bill Clinton's first run for the presidency in 1992 and know him to be very intelligent and personable. But this was a terrible excuse of moderating. As Keith Oblberman pointed out today, some of the questions posed by Stephanopoulos came from Sean Hannity of Fox News infamy. That showed. This terrible excuse for a debate probably will mark the end of the debates between Obama and Clinton. If this is to be the way future debates were to be held - that is certainly a good thing.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Quod Principi Placuit Legis Habet Vigorem

Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem or "That which pleases the prince has the strength of law" seems to be the maxim of the Bush administration. Recently, it was revealed that top officials at the White House including Vice President Dick Cheney, then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, and CIA Director George Tenet met and approved the use of torture. Read more here. Even more seriously, President Bush has admitted his knowledge of these meetings and their substance. Read more here. This was clearly against the law, and even then Attorney General John Ashcroft reportedly objected saying "History will not judge this kindly." What we are confronted with is an administration that uses signing statements or flat out ignores the law to get done what it wants. This is an administration that puts far more emphasis on loyalty than on adherence to the constitution or the law. So in effect we are left with an administration that might live up to the Latin maxim above. This is even worse than the Regan administration's "imperial presidency" or Nixon's where he claimed that the law is never broken when the president is doing a given thing. This is the worst administration in U.S. history - the corruption, blatant abuse and disregard for the law and governmental institutions shows that this administration must be stopped. Bush and the top aides should all be impeached - but I know it won't happen due to a lack of political will. I pray that the Democrats will win back the White House in November and then we will see some serious prosecutions. If McCain wins, these criminals who are running our government will not be prosecuted and may very well be pardoned. It is necessary for this Republic to show what happens to officials who live by the misguided maxim "Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem" - those who seek to govern in this manner have no place in a Democracy.

About Me

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Lima, Ohio, United States
I was born and raised in Ohio. I am a lifelong Catholic Christian who has always been interested in the big questions of life. I have a passion for learning especially Philosophy, Science, Religion, History and Culture. I graduated from the University of Toledo in 2001 with a B.A. in International Relations. I married my soul-mate, Jen in 2001 and we moved to rural Tanigumi-mura Japan where we taught English for 3 years. We moved to California and lived in San Francisco and the Bay Area for 4 years. Tired of sitting on the sidelines, I began volunteering for the Barack Obama campaign in March of 2007 and was eventually hired as a Field Organizer. Through the Obama campaign, I found my calling and moved back to Ohio to continue organizing. In 2009 I helped the field operations of the Keith Wilkowski for Mayor of Toledo race. After that, I was hired as a Regional Field Director for 15 northwestern and north central Ohio counties for the 2010 Democratic Coordinated Campaign. Jen and I are continuing to volunteer as we wait for the next organizing opportunity to present itself.