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Don't Forget

I am nearing my trip to see the Pacers opening preseason game at the Pepsi Coliseum next month. I am really looking forward to it. So in the midst of scouring news on the Pacers I read another great post over at Wages of Wins Journal recalling Clark Kellogg's stint with the Pacers.

Don't Forget

1000 Points of Light? Republicans Really Have Changed; Now Deriding Community Service

Continuing on with politics, I would like you to read this inaugural address excerpt and guess which President made it. We will then contrast this with what the Democrats and Republicans say today:

The old solution, the old way, was to think that public money alone could end these problems. But we have learned that is not so. And in any case, our funds are low. We have a deficit to bring down. We have more will than wallet; but will is what we need. We will make the hard choices, looking at what we have and perhaps allocating it differently, making our decisions based on honest need and prudent safety. And then we will do the wisest thing of all: We will turn to the only resource we have that in times of need always grows--the goodness and the courage of the American people.

I am speaking of a new engagement in the lives of others, a new activism, hands-on and involved, that gets the job done. We must bring in the generations, harnessing the unused talent of the elderly and the unfocused energy of the young. For not only leadership is passed from generation to generation, but so is stewardship. And the generation born after the Second World War has come of age.

I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding. We will work on this in the White House, in the Cabinet agencies. I will go to the people and the programs that are the brighter points of light, and I will ask every member of my government to become involved. The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in.

....



...Yes, that was the first George Bush back in 1989. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/bush.htm

Fast forward to Sarah Palin mocking Barack Obama's Community Service while accepting the Republican Vice Presidential nomination:

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities.

Even Giuliani got in on the fun with his laughable, untrue speech during the convention. The truth about Obama's community service:

Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed--job training, help with housing and so forth--from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord's work--the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a "task from God.") This is what Palin and Giuliani were mocking. They were making fun of a young man's decision "to serve a cause greater than himself," in the words of John McCain.

http://time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/what_a_community_organizer_doe.html

Change will happen only from the bottom up. Government should enable that change. That is exactly what Obama is calling for:

And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/28/barack-obama-democratic-c_n_122224.html

Media Mind

It is election season alright. With the Democratic and Republican conventions behind us (I thought Obama was nominated last year sometime?) we can now move on only to hear those same stump speeches and identity politics debated and repeated over again on the lovely networks of NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, and I reluctantly include FOX News.

I have heard better minded folks advise watching conventions on C-Span which is gleefully devoid of bias and corporate advertising. With C-Span you see the speeches neither dressed up or slapped around. We are not under the influence of networks attempting to create a Narrative at the expense of the American people. C-Span has video archives of both the Democratic and Republican conventions. I urge you to take the time to watch the speeches from both conventions.

I asked my mom what she thought of Michelle Obama's speech during the Democratic National Convention and my mom said she liked it but that "[she] seemed like she was trying to rectify some of her previous comments."

This bugged me. Was she really referring to a fake narrative brought up by the McCain campaign and furthered by the Media? OK now, full disclosure: I support Barack Obama for President
(she has told me she does as well, outed ya mom!). Also, I am not paid to do so whatsoever. Money has this nasty little side effect of creating conflicts of interest. So what made her say this? Could my mom have possibly meant to say that a woman born in 1964 into a working class family who had the immense opportunity of being educated at our finest schools, hold prestigious executive positions, and raise two young girls with endless opportunities as their fingertips was not proud of her country or somehow anti-American? This sounds like a joke, I know.

I have unhealthily immersed myself in media coverage of the primaries and now the election. Some of it good, some often sad, and much of the time disgusting. What you do begin to notice, especially as November edges closer, is the lines are drawn a little sharper. The supposedly unbiased AP which has stories replicated in thousands of newspapers and television programs across the world is even getting in on the fun. David Brooks at the NY Times wrote some seemingly approving OP-Eds on Obama only now to go back where he belonged, Conservativeland. Now McCain is running a classic (old) campaign against the media. That sure has never happened before. The truth is that either side could run this campaign.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are voting in the next election do not let the TV talking heads make up your mind because they will. Turn off the TV. Read policy proposals. Look at the facts. Forget "liberal" or "right-wing". Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about what is important to you in this election. There should be no shame in who you support. When I was growing up my parents, I think, would tell me that who they were voting for was a private, personal matter. I never understood this. You ought to be proud of who you support. You should also feel comfortable talking about why you support that candidate with anyone no matter their political inclination. Trading the time to educate yourself on who will run this country and decide our direction for the next 10+ years with, say, American Idol or any other waste of time should be a crime. That is the opposite of patriotism. American Idol is treason.

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