Can Obama save us or are we doomed to disaster?

Neither of these questions will get us anywhere, yet most of the news commentaries attempt to answer one of these or a related question, such as “What is Obama going to do to save us?” and “Can he, will he, do enough?”

All these questions come from a fearful perspective: There is a huge problem out there that is too big to face ourselves, so we need to find the right person to do the job, or protect ourselves from the looming disaster.

We seem to forget that Obama was elected President because a majority of the voting population voted for him. He did not “save” the election, nor did he “crumble” under the pressure of the enormous work of the campaign. He could not have won without over 50% of the voting population voting for him.

The solution was part of the beginning

Barack and Michelle laid out the solution to this issue at the same time he declared his candidacy.

They were willing to enter the race for the Presidency on a set of ideas, and if we, the public, liked these ideas and supported them, the Obama’s would devote themselves to leading the way, being spokespersons for these ideas. And if enough of us shared and supported these ideas, then the election would be won and we would have an opportunity to bring these ideas to life. The clarity of this message was the core integrity of the campaign. Now it is time to live the ideas.

He also said that the election was not for or about him, but about us, the direction of our nation and our role in the global community. He is not doing this so that we can all retire on a government pension, but so that we can together turn the nation and our individual lives toward a governing system that will address the needs of the times we are in and a prosperous future for all.

Barack cannot save the country

Barack can’t save the country, but he can demonstrate qualities of leadership that inspire good solutions and allow those solutions to be implemented.

This is what he did throughout his campaign. And it was enough to win the election.

The fact that Barack was elected based on the demonstration of leadership qualities, not on how well he demeaned his opponent, further reveals that more than half of the voting population sees and appreciates these qualities.

If we can see these qualities, we can live them. And this is how the country will solve our problems and get on a track to sustainable prosperity. We voted because we liked the ideas that were being communicated, now we “vote” by letting the essence of those ideas guide our individual lives and choices.

The qualities of good leadership are not limited to Barack, they are available to all. He is modeling them for us. He will help institute a system that allows these qualities to be expressed. He is already doing that by choosing thoughtful, intelligent, non-ideological individuals onto his team.

What are these qualities?

Any of us can turn our attention to identifying the core issue of a situation rather than looking for whom to blame. Any of us can listen for a good idea from a variety of intelligent and loving sources, rather than reacting hastily to an apparent urgency. Any of us can recognize the right solution for each issue, one-by-one, instead of trying to get what we want, protect ourselves, or to promote an idea that is politically motivated.

But we, individual private citizens, do not face decisions that will affect the whole country
While that is true, it is also true that every decision, every choice has a ripple effect beyond what is seen. All Barack and Michelle need to do is to continue to make thoughtful choices based on the issues. And all we need to do is the same. As large and small issues, at all levels of life, get addressed with love, intelligence, clarity and a sincere motivation to discover good solutions, our nation will be prosperous again.

What are these ideas that we can all live by?

- Focus on issues, not personalities
- Listen open-mindedly to an array of sources for thoughtful, intelligent ideas that will work
- Discern the idea that is a good solution the issue – not what we want, not what’s politically or socially correct

What makes this Spiritual Politics?
Spiritual means “of spirit,” in other words, non-material and non-physical. It refers to the realm of existence that we can be aware of, yet is not discerned through the five senses. This realm is most easily recognized through our capacity to be aware of the qualities of consciousness that govern individual activities. It is sometimes referred to as an individuals “presence.” Presence is the quality of being that is expressed through words and actions. So, “spiritual politics” refers to the qualities of being that support an open, responsive governing body. This is not something that can be enforced, legislated, contracted or negotiated. It is something we can see and respond to. It is something we can pay attention to as part of a governed body. It is something we can individually seek to purify within our own consciousness.

Transformational activism is the idea that people need to transform on the inside as well as on the outside in order to create any meaningful change in the world.

One example of transformational activism is peacekeeping which, as defined by the United Nations, is “a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace.” Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Helmets because of their light blue helmets) can include soldiers, civilian police officers, and other civilian personnel.

Another example is encouraging choices to live in racially diverse communities.

Such communities may literally “transform” communities by opening the minds of residents to new ideas, new cultures, new historical perspectives, and a broader view of life that ultimately can benefit social relations.

Another example of transformational activism is transformational economics. This is the idea that you can change the way resources flow in a society by doing inner work. People examine their emotional reactions to what their needs are. This may allow them to see that things they felt they needed are not really needed.

This then alters the flow of goods in a society because of the underlying change in needs.

Transformational politics is the field of guiding people to look inwardly what they feel is true power. They may discover that real power is seeing the deep connection of everyone with each other and of being able to tap that place. In this case power is not power over someone, but rather power to unleash collective creativity in creating a new society.

Transformational activism is about looking for the common values underneath, and then working from there so that both parties are able to get what they want. In the process one or both parties may find their inner landscape and paradigms changing.

Transformational open-sourced activism is the idea that you can tap into the power of mass collaboration and collective creativity in a way that transforms the people involved into more loving, peaceful, compassionate states.

Those people who are demanding that Victory Day should be abolished in Rodhe Island miss the point of the holiday. Political correctness and a desire to not offend anyone take away from the sacrifices of a generation of Americans who fought and sacrificed their lives for the survival of this nation.

As Rhode Island communities prepared to celebrate Victory Day on August 14 in recognition of the allied triumph over the Japanese Empire during World War II, “concerned” citizens opposed to the holiday began lobbing criticisms at event organizers around the state. Rhode Island, which is the only state that still celebrates Victory Day, or V-J Day as it is sometimes called, suddenly found itself at the center of the politically incorrect universe.

Critics of the holiday charge that it is discriminatory and want to remove all references to Japan and the Japanese people.

The Associated Press quoted former Rhode Island State Representative George Lima as saying, “This is a stigma against the Japanese whom we do business with and are allies.” Mr. Lima, who was responsible for a failed attempt to get rid of the holiday while serving in the state legislature during the 1980s, is a perfect example of the many out-of-touch-with-reality individuals who are so concerned they might offend someone else that they often miss the real motivation behind whatever it is they are opposing.

Responding to critics clamoring for political correctness and sensitivity, Rhode Island lawmakers made several attempts to either get rid of the holiday or, in the absence of its elimination, at least change its name.

Each time the tremendous opposition of the state’s citizens caused them to abandon their efforts. Three separate legislative bills introduced during the 1990s by State Senator Rhoda Perry attempted to change the title of the holiday to Rhode Island Veterans Day. “It was absolutely a no-winner,” Perry was quoted as saying. “I did not have support, period.”

In the true spirit of political correctness, though, the Rhode Island General Assembly did pass a resolution designed to ease some of the concerns of those critical of the holiday. The resolution, which was approved in 1990, declared that Victory Day was not a celebration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of the death and destruction caused by President Truman’s decision to use nuclear weapons. Bowing to the demands of the touchy-feely, can’t-we-all-get-along crowd, the members of the General Assembly managed to change the focus of the debate on the holiday.

Proponents of the celebrations argue that Victory Day is necessary so that Rhode Islanders, and all Americans, can remember the sacrifices made during the Second World War. Not surprisingly, veterans groups are among the most ardent supporters of the holiday. They, unlike the main stream politically correct crowd, understand why Rhode Islanders are steadfast in their commitment to celebrate V-J Day.

Critics like George Lima and Rhoda Perry, who want to abolish the holiday or even change its name, have lost focus on why the holiday even exists. Here’s a reminder. In a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, over 300 airplanes from the Japanese Navy bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, resulting in over 3,500 dead and wounded sailors, soldiers, and marines and over 100 dead and wounded civilians.

That attack propelled the United States into a brutal war against Japan in the Pacific, a war in which our military was forced to conduct an island-hopping campaign against entrenched Japanese soldiers determined to fight to the death. Fighting in the Pacific theater resulted in some of the bloodiest battles of a war that cost us over 300,000 killed and almost 700,000 more wounded.

The celebration of Victory Day in Rhode Island is not about the Japanese people. It is about the generation of Americans who sacrificed so much in a terrible global war that threatened the very existence of our country. It is about honoring them for what they did, and not about offending our Japanese business partners and allies.

In a country where handicapped is often replaced with handi-capable, and where Happy Holidays gets substituted for Merry Christmas, it is imperative that we not let the idea of being politically correct cause us to lose focus on what is important to us as Americans. For now, at least, the people of Rhode Island are standing their ground and serving as a shining example of political incorrectness to the rest of the nation.

Greg Reeson is a frequent contributor to The Land of the Free and Associated Content. His columns have appeared in several online and print publications, including The New Media Journal, The Veteran’s Voice, The American Daily, GOPUSA and Opinion Editorials.com.

It has been an interesting campaign.

We had Hillary vs. Obama vs. Edwards and all the rest that dropped like flies early on. It seemed that this campaign to choose one versus another would last for ever.

We got sick and tired or the drama, we suffered from political exhaustion, but like a train wreck, we were not able to pull ourselves away from it.

We kept a watchful eye and intent ears. We discussed it long after the talking heads stopped giving their assessments, and in fact, we became our own talking heads.

It was exciting and it made us tune in to the issues that truly affect our lives; remember “is the economy, stupid”? and paying attention to who was behind the housing market fall out, the rising cost of gasoline, and who was for something one moment and against it the next? Who was pandering to special interests and who was in tune with the average working stiffs?.

Oh yes! it was fun.

Now it is not so much fun.

It is dirtier than ever, deception abounds and we are supposed to take it and accept it because we don’t know any better.

The distractions are worthy of a cheesy sitcom or television melodrama that has no substance, but just like the aforementioned train wreck, we can’t pull away from it.

We must know if Palin’s youngest is hers or not. We must explore footage from YouTube because she won’t answer unprepared and unscripted questions.

We love the mystery.

We flock to every bit of non-important news and discuss them as if they were actually relevant to our lives. We have in fact, welcomed the distraction so we don’t really have to face the ugly reality that has become our economy.

The fact is that you and I know that these issues are not important.

Whether that is her kid or their daughters, whether the youngsters get married or not, whether she is a religiously obsessed individual who believes in the End of Days (and is coming soon, they say) or is using religious views as a way to promote her ambitions in life is irrelevant.

Once again, we are caught in the distraction game, the “don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain” and it works beautifully.

No one has any reason to discuss issues when distractions are so very effective.

What I wish we all did, and I hope I am not alone in this, is to take a breather and two steps back and get back to the real basics that affect our lives.

If you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Atheist, Religious, Agnostic, Female or Male, should be irrelevant to the purpose of this article. What is important is how are you doing?

Yes, in all of this, no one is asking you: “How are you doing?”, right now. At this moment.

Is your checkbook on life support? Are your kids schools so overcrowded and underfunded that instead of an institution of learning, the place and their rules resemble a prison yard? How is your mom and your dad? are they doing okay? Have their medical bills (or yours for that matter) turned their 401K into a 101?

How secure is your position with your company? Do you cringe when you have to put gas and buy groceries? Do you feel trapped in a situation where you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel?

And just as important: Do you really think that the current political distractions have anything to do with how your life is going? Are you living the dream or surviving a nightmare?

My Democrat neighbors are stressed out over making ends meet and want justice, they want Bush impeached, they want Chaney and Rove in prison, they want people to pay for their actions and to be held accountable for crimes against our Nation.

My Republican friends are depressed by the state of the economy and their shrinking retirement accounts; their American Dream (which is the same as the other party, by the way) is now a nightmare. They are ashamed of having voted for Bush, but most importantly, they feel betrayed by their own party and truly hurt that they had been used to serve someone else’s purposes.

My Republican family members are not voting in this election, they feel the betrayal to the core and are insulted by the assumption that their religious beliefs should be used as a commodity.

They will be the first ones to tell you that they are not stupid people and resent being lumped in with those they perceived as being so; the ones who latch on to the political slogans with no substance, the ones that are so single minded that can only repeat slogans; the ones with tunnel vision that are incapable of seeing the full picture and look towards the future.

I thought my Republican friends and family deserved a moment of acknowledgment and recognition and not to be blamed for taking the action they thought was right at the time because they were afraid of another 9/11 and could not handle a change in leadership. Most importantly, they were loyal and that is an American quality worth its weight in gold.

On behalf of them, I stand to their defense, It is not their fault, they did not betray us, they were betrayed and their loyalty used against their best interest. They are still family, they are still friends, they are still neighbors and they are human beings who are paddling in the same boat everyone else is.

Humans make mistakes, we all do.

What we should not tolerate is being lied to and distracted with nonsense to serve the higher interest of companies that are American in name only. Their logos are just that, logos. 70% of their work force is in other countries, the only thing they value in America is the legal tender. Your legal tender. The one that is a mandatory contribution and you have no say on how it is spent and what company gets bailed out with YOUR legal tender.

No one is bailing you out and it is your money. We need answers, but in order to have those answers, we need to ask the tough questions.

We need to ask questions even if they are unpleasant and, most importantly, we need to unite for the common good: Our future and that of our loved ones.

Because the old saying: “Divide and conquer” has proven to be true and to have worked well in military tactics and politics.

When we hear: “We are number One!” We should ask: “At what?” Let them explain the bumper sticker and see if it makes sense

When we hear: “Americans have not sacrificed”, we should reply: “Are you kidding?” and then list all the things you have done without just to make ends meet and if your spouse, your child, your sibling is serving on their 3rd tour in Iraq, you have every right to set them straight.

When the issue of race is brought up, you may want to ask “How does someone’s skin impacts my ability to keep a roof over our heads, pay our bills and educate our children?”

When they start talking about who’s baby is that, or who cheated on whom, we should just say: “it is none of my business and it has no relevance on what really matters in our lives”.

It is up to us to end the distractions and refocus the conversation on what is important to you, to me, to our friends, family and neighbors and not the gossip and misleading information.

You and I may come from different political and social views. We may have had different things to overcome in our lives which have shaped us into who we are, but the commonalities far outweigh that which makes us different: We all have to eat, raise and educate our children, maintain a roof over our heads, pay for unaffordable medical care and pray to God that things will get better before we can’t keep holding it all together any longer.

It is time to help the prayes with some action and start doing. We need to ask the questions and demand straight answers and most importantly, we need to stop the distractions pitting us against each other like stubborn toddlers fighting over a plastic toy.

My neighbors, friends and family are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, God fearing, God loving, Agnostic and Atheist. They live everywhere in our beautiful country and the extent of the miles does not make them any less my neighbors.

I care about my friends in Ohio that are barely making ends meet and count their blessings that they still have a job, while fearing they will be let go because the company is having a hard time meeting their payroll.

My friends in Hawaii who are paying over .00 for a gallon of milk. My friends across the street who are talking to a lawyer about bankruptcy because their two income household is now a one income household and their kids are doing without because they can’t provide for what they need.

My friend, a teacher, whose daughter is on her 2nd tour in Iraq and my friend, a businessman, whose son is going for his 3rd deployment after recovering from injuries on his 2nd tour.

It seems to me that the more I talk to these people, the more we talk about the things that truly matter and none of the distractions.

I hope we can all join in the same conversation.

Wishing you PEACE.

Politics in Chicago is a national trite which brought huge talks between people all the time that started before many years. The politics in Chicago is a one party system which dominates the nation when it comes for ruling. But that domination will be democratic political tool that brings all democracy during the election period. This happens all over the world. The politics in Chicago right from 19th century till now has faced many changes. The politics that took place in 1890′s was a practice of Republicans who appointed their own group or the followers. Here comes a brief description about the politics in Chicago in various periods.

1907 – 1931

Later in 1913 the women entered in the Chicago politics. This entry of women was brought as a law in Illinois in the year 1913. The Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson thought of appointing a woman for the public welfare work in 1915.

So he decided to appoint a woman who has more experience as the party worker than knowing better about the public welfare. So Louise Rowe was appointed but forcefully resigned in a year due to the kickback scheme that came into existence in the welfare department. None of the Mayor was charged for their illegal works except for Fred Busse who was charged for his illegal work of acquiring the money from the government, distributing jobs and for distributing coal from his own company for getting votes from the people to elect him.

1933 – 1955

In the beginning every Mayor were honest in their work but in later years many of them were charged due to the illegal work they did and due to the failure of taking actions in various department. Likewise Mayor Ed Kelly was charged for his bribery work that he did during the years 1933 to 1947.

Ed Kelly was indulged in kickback schemes and for the bribery actions and later the charge on him was dropped. Later again in the year 1947 Mayor Martin Kennelly was elected. He took actions on several problems like he cleaned the school system completely then brought a modernized practice in the city but failed to take action on the police who were supporting the political influence for many illegal jobs.

1955 – 1983

Later in 1955 the city had a good growth financially and brought many schemes in the welfare of the people and the city as well. Even though many schemes were brought the school system faced many problems forcing the teachers to go for a strike for various reasons. All these problems were due to the funding problems that the Chicago government failed to issue. In 1979 Chicago people elected a woman as the Mayor which bought a revolutionary change in Chicago politics. Jane Byrne was the only woman mayor who was elected by the people of Chicago.

The performance of the government is always shed light on in this modern time with freedom of speech as a great tool of exposure. It is no doubt that mistrust in the government is a direct result of political division which must be overcome to become a normal single nation again.

After all, everyone wants a Killer Sand Castle so the teacher can take a digital picture and these 4 year olds can put them on their MySpace sites to show the World. See my Sand Castle. Well then lets get busy and build the damn thing already and show the world and thus the world will desire it and sign up too. Sand Castles for everyone, build your own, I have a plan. We help you, you build, we all have beautiful sand castles with Cultural Motifs.

Why are we allowing our political divide here and why are we allowing other nations to widen the cultural divide.

We are all on this pale blue dot together and everyone is entitled to running their own sand box and building their version of the sand castle, but why all the fighting? There is enough sand for everyone on the surface of this planet. Well at least last time I checked anyway. Consider all this in 2006.

Young men and women registering and flocking to Obama.

Faith and politics are always strange bedfellows. So what’s going on here? Is this a shepherd leading his flock of the faithful or misguided youth?

The current regime is old politics, old Washington. It is not totally out of step with many of the times, but represents a tired format. Young people are looking for something new, something fresh. And something they can believe in.

The world the younger generation has grown up in is largely relativity with no absolute truth. The world is spinning and there just isn’t must to hang onto. Along comes a charismatic individual with what seems like fresh ideas. No matter how thin the ideas are, they are something different. A spoon-fed generation relies on others to stimulate and educate them. So much news, so many sources. Who is telling the truth? Who can they believe? Skepticism rules.

The good old boys are just putting down our new hope because he does not fit the mold. They are afraid of him.
Dialog with the younger generation is fascinating. Each of them possesses a plethora of facts. For many, social issues like taking care of the poor, the needy and the homeless are of utmost importance. The perception is that the liberal contingent has the answers to social ills. But do they?

What has the liberal agenda done for the poor and needy? Some say it has entrenched them deeper into the ghetto and poverty. Reliance on a government handout has not solved any of these problems. Welfare, food stamps and subsidies have created an entitlement generation of poor and needy. Having spent a lot of time in Russia after the fall of Communism I have seen socialism up close and personal.

Men and women are created with a need for love, acceptance and self-worth. Socialism dashes this need and creates a dependent class of people not capable of extracting themselves from the clutches of the government. Nor do they desire to be rescued from that grip after a period of time.

So what is the flock flocking to anyway? To new ideals? Or to old ideas wrapped in a new glitzy, programmed veneer? My daddy used to say, “Beware of the hype, they are after your money.” In this case they may be after your soul and it’s not good to sell out to the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The Indian political system has come a long way since it got independence in 1947. Forming a constitution in itself was a great achievement and the first step to development. Though India is still developing, but it can be said that she has come a long way since independence.

She is standing tall on her feet after being a crippled colony for over a century by building the constitution, forming central and state governments and building the whole concept of administration and economy starting from zilch, which is a great achievement. Sadly though, the current state of politics has nullified the effect of these initial steps and the people of India itself abhor the administration phenomena altogether.

From Indians standing united against the British rule we have come to a point where we are now nothing more than some communist standing only for grouped sections of society.

It wouldn’t be wrong if I replace the ‘way’ in the above sentence with ‘wrong way’.

Indian politics is now not only synonymic with corruption, red tape-ism, and opportunist leaders, there is more to it. There are leaders still, who do their bit religiously and not for the benefit of some sect. The government today stands on support of many hands, that for some is a disadvantage, and in some cases it is so, but in others, doesn’t it simply means joining hands for the betterment of the country?

The Indian politics has attained such a pessimist’s attitude lately that it has become hard for the Indian public to believe in this republic and her leaders!

Indians just don’t see anything positive in the steps taken and reforms adopted. Maybe it’s just a bitter effect of the bad experiences in the past! But I think that Indians should not give up hope.

We are equally responsible for the current state of India as much as the leaders.

We don’t act in responsible ways.

We don’t vote.

We don’t protest against things they think are wrong.

We don’t behave responsibly and litter around anywhere that they possibly can.

We don’t treat public property properly!

If I go on in this fashion, the list would be endless but the punch that I want to make here is not the complaining that we all can do, but the effort.

Lets all stand tall to remove all the loopholes!!

Lobbyist should have the right to make signs, march and protest. Outlaw a lobbyists and corporate contributions to political candidates, it should be possible? Is it really the Corporation’s fault for a corrupt government? After all, if you do not play the game in Washington, DC and support through political contributions the political infrastructure then you will be slaughtered by your competition.

It is a sleazy world of politics out there but that is the reality of the current situation. If we disallow corporations to make political contributions and force all the corporations to deal in the free market on a level playing field that would make our corporations more efficient and due to free markets this would be better for customers and consumers as well. Of course we would have to deregulate as well.

If corporations do not give money to corrupt politicians then only wealthy politicians can run for office, as who else will fund them.

Only those who have a big war chest can win an election because they can overpower common sense with mass media advertising. And if corporations cannot donate money to political campaigns fanned the media will own the world because they will decide, who gets elected by giving them more airtime.

There is a huge problem in the world with corruption and unfortunately it permeates our own government. The United States of America is the greatest country ever created in the history of mankind and although it is the most fair it is still corrupt.

All governments are corrupt and the United States government is just the least corrupt.

But we still need to recognize the fact that it is not perfect. Unfortunately there’s also no perfect solution. However I ask you to think on this political and philosophical thought for a moment and consider this in 2006.