Sunday, October 12, 2008

Exposing and Replacing Propaganda With Facts, Truth, and Caring


Hopeful and Inspired Greetings
A Post from Molly & Ken

Ken and I, as so many of you, are aware that there are many things circulating which have the smell of Karl Rove. It is amazing to see the same people who falsely attacked John McCain's family - he had a black child out of wedlock, etc. - now giving us the same exceptionally dark propaganda about Barack Obama, false causes for the economic crisis, and more.

On the one hand are sources such as FOX. I wish the whole country could watch OUTFOXED : Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. Actually, and gratefully!, anyone can watch this documentary right here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6737097743434902428&q. This is the film's website: http://www.outfoxed.org/. And, of course, FOX using same attacks on Obama they used against Kerry.

I wish all those who practice Christianity (and all faiths and traditions which view truthfulness as of sacred value) and who therefore obviously value the Commandment which states Thou Shalt Not Lie, knew of the pathological and chronic lies, deceptions, and distractions of all the "news" infotainment stations which do not bring us the truth or certainly not the truth we most need to hear. FOX, of course, just takes first prize.

One of the top priorities of an Obama administration, in my opinion, needs to be MEDIA REFORM! Americans need to be informed! It is humbling and tragic to know that so much of the rest of the world knows more about what is going on in America than millions of Americans do. The crime of fueling hatred and ignorance among Americans by media "professionals" should, in my opinion, have dire consequences to them. Because the consequences to our nation, and to the world, of having so much of our citizenry uninformed is so profound. The propaganda is truly toxic. Occasionally an email, a disturbing circumstance (hearing Sarah Palin link Obama to terrorists), a conversation, watching the political polls, a radio or television program, etc. can bring home to me the seriousness of America's lack of knowledge about the issues that most seriously threaten, not just Americans, but often all life on our Earth Mother.

So I sit here researching, reading, discussing, viewing, blogging my heart out, sharing, connecting, and more in an effort to get to the bottom of things. That said, I fully acknowledge that there is always a picture behind and beyond the one I am currently aware of. There is always more to learn. And I am passionate about learning. And connecting with anything which supports me in further opening my heart...

This post is in response to those experiences which I have encountered which are in some way blatantly misleading, possessing of partial truths, distracting, dark, mostly false, outright lies, or actually - in my mind - evil. I would like to add a handful of web connections that can shed light on some of what is being circulated which is untrue and, as such, is hurtful to the needs that we all share to create a world that works for all. My hope is that these resources may be helpful to some of us as we talk and share with friends and family, neighbors and co-workers, and others who cross our paths.

Obama's Fannie Mae 'Connection':

Franklin Raines is not an advisor to the Obama campaign:

National Debt Graph: Bush Sets 50-Year Record:
Double Whammy: 50-Year Record on Sept. 22. $10 Trillion on Sept. 30, 2008.
The gross national debt compared to GDP (how rich we are) reached its lowest level since 1931 as Reagan took office. It skyrocketed for 12 years through Bush I. Clinton reversed it at a peak of 67%. Bush II crossed that line on Sept. 22 and hit 69% on Sept 30. That's the highest it's been since 1955 (53 years ago).
Bush did three things to skyrocket the debt from $5.7 trillion to $10 trillion:
1. He lowered taxes on the rich (by far the biggest item).2. He invaded Iraq instead of winning in Afghan-Pakistan (another $600 B).3. He loosened controls on Wall Street. As it happens, McCain backed all three policies: (1) He backed Bush's tax cuts for the rich and now wants to give them bigger tax cuts. (2) He was gung-ho for the Iraq war from the start. (3) When Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin to name one time McCain suggested regulating Wall Street, she couldn't—because he never did. He crowed in the Wall Street Journal how he was always against regulation. Obama opposed the first two and said Wall St. needed regulating.

The National Debt is a Political Problem
http://zfacts.com/p/59.html
Why Does it Go Up Under Recent Republicans? The first year, under Reagan, it was an accident, but it soon became a plan. That's why it has gone on for 16 years under Republicans. The national debt is aimed at Social Security, and if left unchecked it will help kill it. So far the federal deficit has borrowed
more than $1.6 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund, and Republicans are warning that it's going to be hard or impossible to pay it back. Why? Because, with the national debt high and rising, repaying the debt to Social Security (and the workers and businesses who put their money into it) would require unacceptable borrowing from private markets or impossibly large cuts in other government programs.If we were not running a deficit, as we were not when Bush came to office, there would be no problem with selling T-bonds to raise he money to repay social security, just as we sell them now to finance the deficit. Another reason for the rising debt: Its main cause is tax cuts for the rich. The super-rich families that fund the think tanks behind this effort get richer while killing Social Security.
National Debt under Clinton
Clinton stopped the bleeding in just three years and then dropped the debt from 67% to 57% in his last five years. Bush wasted no time in reversing this progress and is now forecasting that he will achieve the highest ratio of debt to GDP in 50 years. For more detail see: Trillion Dollar Politics [PDF].

McCain's Deregulation History http://www.republicansforobama.org/?q=node/2343
Wed, 09/17/2008
Last night Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes, former governor Mike Huckabee emphasized McCain’s past as a deregulator who would allow the market to “correct itself”:
Huckabee: Regulation isn’t the answer to this. In fact, if we go back and over regulate and tinker with it, we’re going to do more damage than we are in terms of a fix. … John McCain has a long history of being against an overreaching government, regulatory environment. It’s a dangerous place for us to go, and what we need to do is recognize the marketplace will correct itself. It’s painful, but it will correct itself. -
Watch it
Huckabee is right that McCain “
has a long history of being against…[a] regulatory environment.” He has consistently opposed the kind of robust regulation and oversight that could have helped prevent the current crisis. “I am a deregulator. I believe in deregulation.” [CNN, 7/13/03]

McCain: I’m glad I deregulated Wall Street. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/21/mccain-deregulation/

In the wake of last week’s financial meltdown, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been calling for more regulation and criticizing lax oversight of Wall Street, despite the fact that he and former senator Phil Gramm passed much of the deregulatory reforms that led to the current crisis. Interviewed on CBS today, however, McCain said he does not “regret” championing the deregulation of Wall Street:
Q: In 1999, you were one of the senators who helped pass deregulation of Wall Street. Do you regret that now?
McCAIN: No. I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.

McCain's Green Economy: Drill, Baby, Drill http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/53870-mccain-s-green-economy-drill-baby-drill

When it comes to the environment, John McCain only has the interests of Big Oil at heart. That's why he has over 22 Big Oil lobbyists advising him. That's why he favored lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling -- a move that prompted Big Oil to donate over $1 million to his campaign. And thanks to the League of Conservation Voters, we've got the proof!

John McCain: Economic Disaster http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/55310-john-mccain-economic-disaster

It was McCain and his economic adviser Phil Gramm who pushed for the deregulation that helped lead to the banking crisis, and it was McCain's crony Rick Davis who had deep lobbyist ties to Freddie Mac. Don't let others be fooled by McCain's economic grandstanding because the reality is his policies and principles will only exacerbate our financial hardships. That's why you must spread this video.

I could go on and on and on, and have already done several posts on the economy and much more. What I'd like to end this post with, however, is a message from my partner, who responded to my request to help in the research. Thanks, Ken. :-) Here's his message to me, which I share with all...

Molly, here you go, hope this helps....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9viaJatpo

The above link is the url for the You Tube video showing who is really responsible. Remember, before 2002, the economics of the Carter Administration, in 1979, and the Clinton Administration, in 1999, were sound and in the black and not in the red, so no matter how the far right tries to blame them, the fact is they had balanced budgets, and they had to deal with Republican controlled Congress who pushed all of the legislation through and forced both of those democratic presidents to sign into law bad regulations regarding housing. Bush and Cheney have never had a balanced budget, and this deregulation completed in their terms as crooks, have given the developers who are their “Base” a free ride and have robbed the American public of a stable economic future.
Below is the url link for the White House release of the speech from Oct 15th 2002, and is in written form if you care to read it. I pulled out a couple highlights from that speech.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021015-7.html

October 15, 2002 - 1:55 P.M. EDT
President Bush Hosts Conference on Minority Home Ownership George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
“Over the next five years the initiative will provide home builders and therefore home buyers with -- home builders with $2 billion in tax credits to bring affordable homes and therefore provide an additional supply for home buyers. It's really important for us to understand that we can provide incentive for people to build homes where there's a lack of affordable housing."
“Another obstacle to minority home ownership is the lack of information. You know, getting into your own home can be complicated. It can be a difficult process. I had that very same problem.”
“Freddie Mac recently began 25 initiatives around the country to dismantle barriers and create greater opportunities for home ownership. One of the programs is designed to help deserving families who have bad credit histories to qualify for home ownership loans. Freddie Mac is also working with the Department of Defense to promote construction and financing for housing for men and women in the military." - George Bush
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Think about who is suffering the most, minorities, military families, veterans, along with all low and middle income families and individuals. Bush and Cheney have systematically destroyed our economy, and have only benefited the top 5% of income earners since they took control and ruined many facets of this once great country. We need people of truth and vision in power to save this country and the ideals of our founding fathers who provided us with The Constitution Of the United States. Please vote for truth and not more of the same failed and down right illegal policies we have had forced on us by the Bush and Cheney years.

Peace and Love, Ken ... and Molly, too

"Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world." ~ Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life

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