Naomi Wolf: "We need more drastic action than e-mails to Congress."

History shows that when an army of citizens, supported by even a vestige of civil society, believes in liberty -- in the psychological space that is "America" -- no power on earth can ultimately suppress them.

We are not to wait for others to lead. You and I are meant to take back the founders' mandate, and you and I are meant to lead. You and I must protest, you and I must confront our representatives, you and I must run for office, you and I must write the opeds, you and I must take over the battle.

The founders -- the unknown as well as the well-known Americans who "conceived" the nation in liberty -- did not intend for us to delegate worrying about the Constitution to a cadre of constitutional scholars, or to leave debate to a class of professional pundits, or to leave the job of fighting for liberty to a caste of politicians. They meant for us to defend the Constitution, for us to debate the issues of the day, and for us to rise up against tyranny: the American who delivers the mail; the American who teaches our children; ordinary people.... We have to rise up in self-defense and legitimate rebellion.

No more lies.
No Palin.
No McCain.
No way.

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"We Are Out Here" - Republicans Speak Truth to McCain's Lies

We are out here - the Republicans or ex-Republicans who will no longer tolerate the racist, despicable slime machine that the right wing and the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign has become.

One such Republican penned an article at Daily KOS - a place I seldom send people to read, because it has been so staunchly partisan. Yet this story merits the visit:

I know, for I am one of them. I am not your typical progressive, being an ex-Air Force officer (9 years), evangelical Christian, card carrying conservative...

Is this election going to be about lies, and distortions, or issues?

It's Obama's tax plan that favors over 90% of this country's families and voters, whereas McCain's tends to give money to the wealthiest.

It's Obama who wants to fix Health Care, whereas McCain says changes Obama proposes will reduce our choices and put bureaucrats in charge of our medical decisions. Has McCain never dealt with insurance company bureaucrats who control our health care already, making decisions based on profit not medical advice?

If McCain's all about choices in health care, why does he want to remove choice when it comes to women's reproductive health, and return us to the dangerous day of back-alley abortions?

Obama and Biden want to keep the government out of religious matters, whereas McCain's selected a rookie governor who wants to be able to ban books, and as a Mayor charged victims for rape kits if they reported the crime. That's not the kind of maverick outlook the Alaska State legislature condoned - in response they passed a law insuring victims weren't charged.

If John McCain really wants to campaign with dignity, what's up with all those ads? Is that conduct becoming of a senior Senator, let alone a candidate for the White House? Let's ask him:

Whatever became of "Do unto others," Senator McCain? Either you're outright lying about your intent, totally out of touch as James Carville suggested, or simply unable to control teh GOP and your lobbyists & campaign staff. Meanwhile Senator, your campaign seeks to divert us and the media from all these issues by manufacturing outrage over lines you've used yourself?

America, our moment is now. It's time to get past Red and Blue states, it's time to reclaim our former greatness, to reform DC, and start coping with the mess Bush has made of our economy, our housing markets, and our international reputation.

Obama for America.

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Obama & McCain on taxes and the economy.

Will Obama or McCain's proposal tax home sales more? What about capital gains? With “both John McCain and Barack Obama offering tax cuts,” according to the Christian Science Monitor, “the 2008 election promises a boost for the typical family budget” regardless. But the myths require debunking - smears circulate in email misrepresenting the differences - sometimes deliberately. Facts help...

"New Tax" Falsehoods: One e-mail in particular contains a string of made-up taxes that it falsely claims Obama has proposed. He has not proposed a tax on new homes with more than 2,400 square feet, or a new gasoline tax or a tax on retirement accounts. The most laughably false claim is that Obama would tax "water." But it's out there, and in covering it the media echoes it... Want more facts?

• Capital Gains Rate: It's untrue that Obama is proposing a 28 percent capital gains tax rate. He said in an interview on CNBC that he favors raising the top rate on capital gains from its present 15 percent to 20 percent or more, but no higher than 28 percent. And as for a 28 percent rate, he added, "my guess would be it would be significantly lower than that."
• Tax on Dividends: Another false claim is that Obama proposes to raise the tax rate on dividends to 39.6 percent. Dividends currently are taxed at a top rate of 15 percent, and Obama would raise that to the same rate as he would tax capital gains, somewhere between 20 percent and 28 percent but likely "significantly" lower than 28 percent. This higher tax also would fall only on couples making $250,000 or more or singles making more than $200,000.
• Taxing IRAs and 529s: Contrary to email rumors, raising tax rates on capital gains or dividends would not result in higher taxes on any investments held in Individual Retirement Accounts or in popular, tax-deferred "college funds" under section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. The whole point of such tax-deferred plans is that dividends and capital gains are allowed to accumulate and compound tax-free, and neither Obama nor McCain proposes to change that. And as previously mentioned, any capital gains or dividend income from stocks, bonds or mutual funds owned outside of tax-deferred accounts would continue to be taxed at current rates except for couples making over $250,000, or singles making more than $200,000
• Doubled Taxes? The claim that "Under Obama your taxes will more than double!" is also false. Do you really need to ask? The comparative rate tables one e-mail smear provides for McCain and Obama are entirely wrong, as explained in a March 13 article about another false e-mail (from which the tables are copied.) It is supposedly a comparison of tax rates before and after the Bush tax cuts, but it grossly overstates the effect of the Bush cuts. Obama actually proposes to retain the Bush cuts for every single income level shown in the bogus table.
• Estate Tax. The claim that Obama proposes to "restore the inheritance tax" is also false, as are the claims that McCain would impose zero tax and that Bush "repealed" it. McCain and Obama both would retain a reduced version of the estate tax, as it is correctly called, though McCain would reduce it by more.
  
  The tax now falls only on estates valued at more than $2 million (effectively $4 million for couples able to set up the required legal and financial arrangements). It reaches a maximum rate of 45 percent on amounts more than that. It was not repealed, but it is set to expire temporarily in 2010, then return in 2011, when it would apply to estates valued at more than $1 million ($2 million for couples), with the maximum rate rising to 55 percent.
  
  Obama has proposed to apply the tax only to estates valued at more than $3.5 million ($7 million for couples), holding the maximum rate at 45 percent. McCain would apply it to estates worth more than $5 million ($10 million for couples), with a maximum rate of 15 percent. I wonder how that difference relates to the assessed value, or anticipated selling price, of the best of the McCain homes...

Why all the misinformation?

Some of it's based on simple confusion. After all, Obama's not prone to cute sound-bites such as "Read my lips: No new taxes." Some of the emails circulating, however, are so consistently mis-representing the facts - facts that are easy to verify - that one can only conclude a deliberately malicious intent to strike fear in the wallets of middle class voters is behind the lies.

In an ideal setting voters would all have access to reliable, current, accurate information sources. They'd also take the time to examine that information, no matter if it was Obama's stand on taxes, McCain's statements about taxes or his speeches on why health care doesn't need the fixes Obama's proposed, or rookie Governor Palin's changing stand on the pork barrel "Bridge to Nowhere." In practice, time is short, and rumors often get as much (if not more) coverage as facts on the evening TV news or in newspapers. Futhermore it's often hard to tell which part of a story is the truth. The media producers have motives that must be examined, particularly those who profit from selling commercials since they obviously desire to make a profit. When in doubt, follow the money.

Who profits from the election of McCain or Obama -- or your mayor?

Who profits from voters feeling disenfranchised and tuning out?

The airwaves are as full of misinformation - willfully employed - as the email is. Are you ready to step up and be an Agent of change, to contribute to help spread the truth?

read more: Capital gains and taxing home sales | digg story

Maverick my ass

Once I learned just how much pork Sarah Palin got via earmarks I could barely believe the commerical media were glossing over it. But for McCain to try to reclaim the maverick personna after how he toadied up to Bush since 2000, and trying to paint his ticket as conservatives that can bring change? That's the epitome of unbelievable Rovian tactics.

We may not know much about Palin yet, but we do know votes for John McCain are votes for more of the same.

Obama fans and delegates enjoyed the afternoon at Invesco Field in Denver

On the 28th of August, 2008, the Democratic party nominated U.S. Senator Barack Hussein Obama to be their endorsed candidate for President of the United States of America. The 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech on the mall in Washington D.C. now marks Denver, Colorado as another key site in the long march for racial equality in the U.S. - Senator Obama is bi-racial: his mother was a caucasian woman from Kansas, and his father an African from Kenya

It was a bright, warm, sunny afternoon in Denver. The line for admission streched for miles as excited attendees including the 6,000 conference delegates made their way into Invesco Field, the home of the Denver Broncos, to watch the last day of the Democratic Nominating Convention, culminating in Obama's acceptance speech.

First, some volunteers:

And no story about August 28th would be complete without comments from delegates. Two Minnesota Delegates took the time to comment on the goings-on, Mira Vats-Fournier of Faribault...

...and Minneapolis Mayor Raymond "R.T." Rybak, an early advocate of the draft-Obama movement, and the first big-city Mayor to announce his endorsement for Barack Obama's improbable candidacy.

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2 perspectives from Denver: Veterans, and youth

I've spoken with several veterans of U.S. military service in Denver, and unsurprisingly they mostly express strong support for the Democratic candidate. One outspoken Viet Nam vet was basing his support on his assessment of the lack of support for vets he percieved in Senator McCain's voting record.

Generally, however, I was hearing more "Pro-Obama" sentiment expressed than I was "anti-McCain" on Sunday, as the visitors to the city took on a distinctly Democratic leaning on the eve of the opening day's events. Oliver Lawrence, for instance, is an Air Force veteran of both Korea and Viet Nam, a fifth generation descendant of slaves who has lived in Georgia all his life. Taking in the pre-convention activities, he describes feeling a very different sort of energy among the delegates when compared to previous election cycles.

Oliver also spent the late 50s on duty in Wyoming, when duty sometimes meant babysitting ICBMs, as it did in his case. I chatted with him as we walked along Denver's 16th Street Mall Sunday evening. Most of the protesters had already left, (make no mistake, there were some present earlier in the day) on our way to listen to live music at "Jazz @ Jack's" where our waitress, Jenna, was looking forward to her first chance to vote in a Presidential election.

Asked about Biden as the choice for Vice President, Oliver replied immediately with entusiasm that, "He's a pit bull!" Suggesting that Senator Obama should "Feed him red peppers and turn him loose" to deal with those who are taking the low road in assailing Obama's suitability. He sees Biden as silencing most of the basis for doubting Obama had sufficient experience - a charge he obviously thinks lacks merit. Oliver's seen conventions and candidates come and go during his decades-long service in the Air Force. His assessment of Obama is that electing the Senator from Illinois will be a way to start correcting decisions that the current administration has made, though he notes that the extent of the correction needed means that progress will be slower than he'd like.

And Jenna? She's caught the bug for politics from her mother, who is informed and active in Denver politics. They moved to Denver from Idaho over a decade ago, and she wasn't quite old enough to participate at the voting booth in 2004. As we talked it became clear that while her boss has asked the staff not to display political affiliation while at work, she and her working peers are excited by the prospect of Colorado leaning more toward Obama than McCain, and hopes the state will express a majority support for his candidacy - they'd be proud of Colorado's electoral votes went into the Democratic column as we select our next President.

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debunking anti-Obama smears and propoganda

Here's a list of responses to e-smears (loosely indexed) mainly from snopes, the most
respected name in bunk control. Courtesy of Michael Martinson.

Partial Index:
Religion, Patriotism, Patriotic symbols (eg flag) - 1, 6, 7, 8 12, 14, 16, 19;
Citizenship - 2, 33;
Family background: 3,13, 16;
Plane 14;
Military 8;
Writings racist? 4
Foreign funding & campaign donations, 10, 20, 35;
Massive liar? 16;
Taxes 26, 34

Stand up for a new kind of Politics:

1. snopes.com: Who Is Barack Obama?
E-mail describes Illinois senator Barack Obama as a 'radical Muslim' who 'will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance.'
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

2. snopes.com: Is Barack Obama a natural-born citizen of the U.S.?
Is Barack Obama a natural-born citizen of the U.S.?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/citizen.asp

3. snopes.com: Barack Obama and Kenya Connection
E-mail from missionary describes Barack Obama's connection to political events in Kenya.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/kenya.asp

4. snopes.com: Barack Obama's Mother
Biography of Barack Obama's mother?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/mother.asp

5. snopes.com: Barack Obama in His Own Words
E-mail lists racist passages taken from Barack Obama's books.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp

6. snopes.com: Barack Obama and the National Anthem
Barack Obama does not place his hand over his heart when the U.S. national anthem is played?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp

7. snopes.com: Barack Obama - Trinity United Church of Christ
E-mail describes Illinois senator Barack Obama's church as having a racist, ;non-negotiable commitment to Africa.'
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp

8. snopes.com: Barack Obama in Afghanistan
Barack Obama 'blew off' U.S. soldiers during a July 2008 trip to Afghanistan?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/afghanistan.asp

9. snopes.com: Barack Obama Endorsed by the KKK
Illinois senator Barack Obama has been endorsed for President of the U.S. by the Ku Klux Klan?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/kkk.asp

10. snopes.com: Barack Obama Funded by Hugo Chavez?
Is Barack Obama's presidential campaign being funded by Hugo Ch?vez?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/chavez.asp

11. snopes.com: Barack Obama with Upside-Down Telephone
Photograph shows Barack Obama holding a telephone upside down?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/phone.asp

12. snopes.com: Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?
Does the Book of Revelation describe the anti-Christ as someone with characteristics matching those of Barack Obama?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/antichrist.asp

13. snopes.com: Barack Obama Family Photo
Photograph shows Barack Obama with various family members?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/familyphoto.asp

14. snopes.com: Barack Obama's Campaign Plane
During an overhaul of the Obama campaign jet, was an American flag image was removed from the plane's tail?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/airplane.asp

15. snopes.com: Say What, Barack?
Editorial criticizes anachronisms in Barack Obama's 2007 Selma speech.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/saywhat.asp

16. snopes.com: Obama's 50 Lies
E-mail lists fifty lies told by Barack Obama.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/50lies.asp

17. snopes.com: Obama Explains National Anthem Stance
E-mail reproduces Barack Obama's comments on the U.S. national anthem?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/stance.asp

18. snopes.com: Obama Heals Hundreds
Hundreds of people with physical ailments have reported being healed by a touch from Barack Obama?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obamaheals.asp

19. snopes.com: Michelle Obama's Thesis
Has access to Michelle Obama's senior thesis been restricted until after the 2008 presidential election?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/thesis.asp

20. snopes.com: Obama's Troubling Internet Fund-Raising ???
Do the bulk of donations to the Obama campaign come from a handful of wealthy foreign
financiers?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp

21. snopes.com: Wake Up, America! - Ken Blackwell
Editorial criticizes Barack Obama's political stances.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/blackwell.asp

22. snopes.com: Equitable Distribution
Did Barack Obama say 'a strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably'?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/distribute.asp

23. snopes.com: Greatest Nation
Did Barack Obama urge his supporters to join him in changing 'the greatest nation in the
history of the world'?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/change.asp

24. snopes.com: Chicken Votes for Colonel Sanders
Insurance broker posts 'A taxpayer voting for Barack Obama is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders' sign?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/budgregg.asp

25. snopes.com: Pat Buchanan on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
E-mail reproduces Pat Buchanan's criticism of Barack Obama's remarks on racial discrimination in the U.S..
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/buchanan-wright.asp

26. snopes.com: Proposed Tax Changes
E-mail compares proposed changes in taxes after the 2008 presidential election.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp

Also here's a great response to McCain, who has become an Urban Legend creator on this issue himself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIqGaWZOo0

27. snopes.com: Thomas Sowell
Various Internet-circulated political items written by Thomas Sowell.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/sowell.asp

28. snopes.com: Robert F. Kennedy's 40-Year Prediction
Robert F. Kennedy said he believed a black man could become President of the United
States within forty years.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/kennedy.asp

29. snopes.com: A Canadian's View of U.S. Elections
E-mail reproduces an editorial from a Canadian newspaper about U.S. presidential candidates.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/canadianview.asp

30. snopes.com: Martha Raddatz/ABC News Interview ???
Did an ABC News report deliberately slant the presidential candidate preferences expressed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/raddatz.asp

31. snopes.com: Big Oil
E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/bigoil.asp

32. snopes.com: Beware Charismatic Men Who Preach 'Change' ??
Letter to the editor warns Americans to be wary of 'a young leader who promises change.'
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/castro.asp

From some other sites:

33. Email rumor claims that Barack Obama is ineligible to become president because according to the laws in effect at the time of his birth he is not a U.S. citizen...

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blxatoz.htm

34. Email flier compares tax changes purportedly advocated by 2008 presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/tax_changes.htm

35. Phony op-ed column attributed to New York Times writer Maureen Dowd claims Barack Obama has accepted campaign donations from foreign countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/barackobama/a/obama_funds.htm

Know the facts!

Dave Stewart's American Prayer: You know they're yearning to breathe free

Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses…

"If you get to the top of the mountain, will you tell me what you see?
If you get to the top of the mountain, remember me."

From Minneapolis in the upper midwest to New Orleans where the mighty Mississippi empties into the gulf, from Portland in the north west to Greenville, South Carolina, Hope is alive and well in America, and Obama's candidacy has tapped into it. Now Dave Stewart's chronicled our hope.

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Media pundits echo McCain misinformation. Is it deliberate?

John McCain and Karl Rove’s experience suggests lies are effective campaign tools. It’s no wonder they and the pundits say Obama lacks experience. They think telling the truth is the modern political equivalent of Don Quixote tilting at windmills...

This week John McCain's campaign hit new lows with their attacks and distortions. McCain and his party attacked Senator Obama by, among other things, ridiculing the idea that keeping your car tires inflated is an effective way to insure fuel efficiency... Over the road truck drivers know this basic truth. In fact, everyone from AAA to NASCAR agreed with Obama. McCain has, of course, reversed his position. But not until the broadcast pundits had a good laugh repeating McCain's misinformation and influencing voters, while taking the GOP money for ads, of course.

Too often the theoretically objective "referees" in the commercial media are spending a lot of time repeating his false attacks and very little time holding him accountable. Of course, they're glad McCain's found a way to raise money so they can sell ads to his campaign, and so it's something of a conflict of interest for them -- do they tell the truth, or do they help keep it looking like a close contest to boost their ratings and ad revenues?

Here's more from McCain disinformation machine, echoed uncritically in the commercial media:

• Earlier this week, the McCain campaign put out an ad saying that Washington is broken. It's gotten a lot of press so far, but it didn't mention that John McCain spent the last 26 years in Washington --
  failing to fix this broken system. He portrays himself as a so-called "maverick" but doesn't want people to know that he has vo ted 95% of the time in support of George Bush's policies.


• Another ad uses scare tactics to claim Barack's tax policy will hurt middle class Americans. Press coverage of the ad repeated McCain's smears, but omitted the fact that Barack's economic plan will cut taxes for 95% of American families. Not to mention that McCain's upper class tax cut plan leaves out more than 100 million middle class families.

The commercial media may not be informing the public very well, but you don't have to sit back and wait for them to start telling the truth about John McCain. This is the era when Snopes and PolitiFact are checking the stories, and Google can steer you to sources other than the broadcast pundits with their vested interest in keeping you watching because they sell ads to the GOP.

John McCain and Karl Rove's experience suggests lies are effective campaign tools. It's no wonder they and the pundits say Obama lacks experience. They think his truth- and reality-based campaign is the modern political equivalent of Don Quixote tilting his lance at windmills.

Watch the video of Barack responding and join thousands of fellow supporters via BarackObama.com to counter the influence of John McCain's deceptive, old-school mud-slinging campaign.

The Obama campaign's new "Action Wire" and the long-standing "Obama Rapid Response" teams are among the grassroots tools for hope-mongers dedicated to pushing back against yellow journalism and other disinformation. They serve as clearinghouses for volunteers who fight smears, spread the truth, push back on misleading media, and take positive action.

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