“Sisterhood Is Powerful”
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on September 23, 2008 at 3:45 PM in Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Women, Women and Children
Since I have been discussing women in politics a good bit, I thought I would share this opinion piece from July 28, 2008. The author will be revealed at the bottom of the page:
Rwanda’s Women Are Leading the WayI have recently returned from Rwanda. I was last there in 1994, at the height of the genocide that claimed the lives of more than 800,000 Rwandans. The memories of what I saw haunt me still.
I wasn’t sure what to expect all these years later, but I found a country that has found in its deep scars the will to move on and rebuild a civil society. And the renaissance is being led by women.
Women are at the forefront of the physical, emotional and spiritual healing that is moving Rwandan society forward. One of them, from eastern Rwanda, told me her story — a violent, tragic and heartbreaking testimony of courage. She spoke of surviving multiple gang rapes, running at night in fear of losing her life, going days without food or water and witnessing the death of her entire family — one person at a time, before her eyes.
The injuries she sustained left her unable to bear children. Illness, isolation and an utter lack of hope left her in abject despair.
And yet the day I met her, she wasn’t consumed by hatred or resentment. She sat, talking with me and a few others, beside a man who had killed people guilty of nothing more than seeking shelter in a church. She forgave him. She forgave the perpetrators of her tragedy, and she explained her story with hope that such cruelty would never be repeated.
It is a humbling experience to be in the presence of those who have such a capacity for forgiveness and care. It is also instructive. If wealthy nations want their assistance programs to be effective, they should look to the women who form the backbone of every society. With some education, training, basic rights and empowerment, women will transform a society — and the world.Women today make up a disproportionate percentage of the Rwandan population. In the aftermath of the genocide, they had to head households bereft of fathers. They had to take over farms, and take jobs previously done by men. But there were opportunities, too: Today, 41% of Rwandan businesses are owned by women.
I saw their impact first hand at a coffee project in the city of Nyandungu. All the washing and coffee-bean selection is done by hand, by women there. Women for Women International1, a remarkably active and innovative nongovernmental organization, has already helped over 15,000 Rwandan women through a year-long program of direct aid, job-skills training and education.
The organization is launching a project to train 3,000 women in organic agriculture, and is reaching out to females across the country. The women who instruct their fellow war survivors in economic development are an inspiration to those who cherish the essential benevolence of humanity.
But that is just the beginning. A new constitution ratified in 2003 required that women occupy at least 30% of the seats in parliament. (In our House and Senate only about 17% of the seats are filled by women.) Some wondered at the time whether it was feasible to meet this target. Now, nearly half of parliament and a third of the president’s cabinet posts are held by women. Rwanda today has the world’s highest percentage of female legislators.
Rwanda has a dark past but a bright future. It has a long way to go — the country remains one of the world’s poorest, and the social reverberations of the genocide are evident everywhere. Yet in the midst of tragedy, the women are building something genuinely new. Perhaps it is fitting that a nation so wracked by death could give birth to a vibrant new age. I know that one thing is clear: Through their bold and courageous actions, these women should inspire not only their fellow Africans, but all individuals — men and women — across the globe.
Mrs. McCain, the wife of Sen. John McCain and mother of four, founded the American Voluntary Medical Team, which helps bring doctors to war-torn countries.
Now that’s some solidarity. Something in which we have been sorely lacking in this campaign season, if you ask me. Moreover, Mrs. McCain makes a GREAT point in her piece – the importance of supporting women because they are typically the backbone of the community.
I admit, I had no idea Mrs. McCain was involved in so many humanitarian efforts (and I found out yesterday on the Rachel Ray Show that Mrs. McCain was a Special Ed teacher before she got married to John McCain – who knew??).
Not only does she work with this group, but she works with the Smile Train (their adopted daughter had a cleft palate) and The Halo Trust, an anti-landmine organization. And I have to admit, learning this about her made me see Senator McCain in a new light. Not unlike Elizabeth Edwards did for John Edwards (let’s face it – she was the more compelling person, and is totally awesome in her politics. Without her John was just okay. Which makes his cheating on her all the more offensive, the putz).
figure if he is married to someone like Cindy, he’s a pretty decent fellow (I have said before that I have always thought of him as honorable, and this confirmed it). Cindy McCain seems to have internalized the biblical mandate which basically says, to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).
You know who else is like this? Hillary and Bill Clinton. Yep – they care a lot about others, and spend millions helping them out. Bill Clinton’s Foundation is an amazing organization, with extremely low Administrative costs – most of the money goes to doing the actual work. And we all remember Hillary’s brilliant speech on Women’s Rights as Human Rights, along with her efforts on behalf of women and other disenfranchised people before and after, that speech.
Frankly, this country is lucky as hell to have these two dedicated public servants, a fact at least John McCain acknowledges, certainly in terms of Hillary Clinton and her work in the US Senate. Know who else thinks so? Senator Joe Biden! Yes, I am sure we have all seen the YouTube video of him claiming Senator Clinton is certainly qualified enough to be President, and as qualified as he, if not more, to be vice president (if you did not see it, here is the LINK).
All that is to say, the hearts of the ones in the White House matter. How they see others, and treat them, matters.
I think there is a world of difference between how the McCains and the Obamas see other people. I cannot imagine for the life of me, Senator McCain flipping off Senator Clinton or Obama. I cannot imagine Cindy McCain saying she is just now proud of her country. What I have seen in both McCains is humility, and the desire to serve.
What I have seen in the Obamas is arrogance, and the desire for power (I might add, this perception is borne out in fact by the Citizens Against Government Waste who said McCain voted 100% FOR the taxpayers in 2007, and Obama voted only 10% of the time for the taxpayers. WOW.). I’ll take a servant’s heart any day (I don’t mean this with a specifically Christian connotation, but in terms of being a true public servant, one who cares about the people whom one serves, who takes THEIR concerns to heart and works to ease their trials and tribulations, who wants to make their lives better, to raise up the disenfranchised, who works for equality for all people, who fights the good fight because it is the right thing to do, not because of the accolades it will bestow. Like that.).
Hillary has it, Bill has it, and so it seems, do John, Cindy, and Sarah Palin, too. I don’t agree with a lot of their politics, but I cannot deny their dedication, commitment, and humility. I think I can live with that for four years. I cannot live with arrogance, condescension, and bullying for four years. Just sayin’.
(Release: November 13)
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The choice is clear to anyone who does not have an acute case of koolaid poisoning.
How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis: Kevin Hassett
Commentary by Kevin Hassett
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) — The financial crisis of the past year has provided a number of surprising twists and turns, and from Bear Stearns Cos. to American International Group Inc., ambiguity has been a big part of the story.
Why did Bear Stearns fail, and how does that relate to AIG? It all seems so complex.
But really, it isn’t. Enough cards on this table have been turned over that the story is now clear. The economic history books will describe this episode in simple and understandable terms: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exploded, and many bystanders were injured in the blast, some fatally.
Fannie and Freddie did this by becoming a key enabler of the mortgage crisis. They fueled Wall Street’s efforts to securitize subprime loans by becoming the primary customer of all AAA-rated subprime-mortgage pools. In addition, they held an enormous portfolio of mortgages themselves.
In the times that Fannie and Freddie couldn’t make the market, they became the market. Over the years, it added up to an enormous obligation. As of last June, Fannie alone owned or guaranteed more than $388 billion in high-risk mortgage investments. Their large presence created an environment within which even mortgage-backed securities assembled by others could find a ready home.
The problem was that the trillions of dollars in play were only low-risk investments if real estate prices continued to rise. Once they began to fall, the entire house of cards came down with them.
Turning Point
Take away Fannie and Freddie, or regulate them more wisely, and it’s hard to imagine how these highly liquid markets would ever have emerged. This whole mess would never have happened.
It is easy to identify the historical turning point that marked the beginning of the end.
Back in 2005, Fannie and Freddie were, after years of dominating Washington, on the ropes. They were enmeshed in accounting scandals that led to turnover at the top. At one telling moment in late 2004, captured in an article by my American Enterprise Institute colleague Peter Wallison, the Securities and Exchange Comiission’s chief accountant told disgraced Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines that Fannie’s position on the relevant accounting issue was not even “on the page” of allowable interpretations.
Then legislative momentum emerged for an attempt to create a “world-class regulator” that would oversee the pair more like banks, imposing strict requirements on their ability to take excessive risks. Politicians who previously had associated themselves proudly with the two accounting miscreants were less eager to be associated with them. The time was ripe.
Greenspan’s Warning
The clear gravity of the situation pushed the legislation forward. Some might say the current mess couldn’t be foreseen, yet in 2005 Alan Greenspan told Congress how urgent it was for it to act in the clearest possible terms: If Fannie and Freddie “continue to grow, continue to have the low capital that they have, continue to engage in the dynamic hedging of their portfolios, which they need to do for interest rate risk aversion, they potentially create ever-growing potential systemic risk down the road,” he said. “We are placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk.”
What happened next was extraordinary. For the first time in history, a serious Fannie and Freddie reform bill was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The bill gave a regulator power to crack down, and would have required the companies to eliminate their investments in risky assets.
Different World
If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, a blizzard of terrible mortgage paper fluttered out of the Fannie and Freddie clouds, burying many of our oldest and most venerable institutions. Without their checkbooks keeping the market liquid and buying up excess supply, the market would likely have not existed.
But the bill didn’t become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn’t even get the Senate to vote on the matter.
That such a reckless political stand could have been taken by the Democrats was obscene even then. Wallison wrote at the time: “It is a classic case of socializing the risk while privatizing the profit. The Democrats and the few Republicans who oppose portfolio limitations could not possibly do so if their constituents understood what they were doing.”
Mounds of Materials
Now that the collapse has occurred, the roadblock built by Senate Democrats in 2005 is unforgivable. Many who opposed the bill doubtlessly did so for honorable reasons. Fannie and Freddie provided mounds of materials defending their practices. Perhaps some found their propaganda convincing.
But we now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.
Throughout his political career, Obama has gotten more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chairman, who received more than $165,000.
Clinton, the 12th-ranked recipient of Fannie and Freddie PAC and employee contributions, has received more than $75,000 from the two enterprises and their employees. The private profit found its way back to the senators who killed the fix.
There has been a lot of talk about who is to blame for this crisis. A look back at the story of 2005 makes the answer pretty clear.
Oh, and there is one little footnote to the story that’s worth keeping in mind while Democrats point fingers between now and Nov. 4: Senator John McCain was one of the three cosponsors of S.190, the bill that would have averted this mess.
(Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential election. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: Kevin Hassett at khassett@aei.org
FUNNY HOW THE CROOKS OBAMA AND DODD ARE GETTING AWAY WITH CRIMINAL ACTS AGAINST THE USA,,SWEETHEART DEALS,,INTERESTING HOW THE DEMS CAN TEAR APART THE COUNTRY AND POINT THEIR FINGERS AT BUSH..WHAT THE HELL DO WE PAY THEM FOR IF BUSH DOES IT ALL?
This is what you’d have to call UPRWB (Utterly Predictable Right-Wing Behavior).
You can set your watch by how long it takes the Republicans to start blaming the Democrats for their screw-ups.
I’m anxiously awaiting the Heritage Foundation Report on how the George W. Bush Administration was Bill Clinton’s fault.
The problem is, the Right always do this. They’ve played their hand so often, people of normal intelligence see through it.
“Obamagate,” starring me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qomPp_Y9Ps
Perry, do you have something different to add or are you just going to keep recycling the same horseshit in every thread??
The Bush Administration was not Bill Clinton’s fault, it was Al Gore’s fault, with a mighty potent assist from the pro-Bush/anti-Gore MSM.
Chicago?
Have they cleaned up that cesspool yet?
I believe that many people are responsible for the financial mess we are in. It is not totally the fault of the Dems or Repubs, so forget trying to lay this all at the door of the Dems. I can see throught right wing talking points. We may be supporting McCain this cycle, but it doesn’t mean we are willing to throw all Dems under the bus. You cannot tell me that the Iraq war hasn’t been costly to every man, woman, and child in America. That one, Bush and the Republicans are going to have to take most of the blame for.
I agree. Bush is going to have to take he blame for liberating 25 million Iraqis from mass murderer Saddam and his two rapist sons.
And helping the Iraqis achieve a modicum of self government.
I blame him every day for that.
I also blame him for Iraqi elections coming up in October.
Well, when the Iraqi elections have to be discarded because the majority of the people voting (aka Shi’ite Iraqis) elect a group of anti-Western, pro-Iranian mullahs and the Kurds decide to secede because they’d rather have a pro-Western (but still pro-Marxist) government, free of religious authoritarianism, and the Sunnis, in the name of self-defense, invite anti-Shi’ite terrorist groups and militias to “protect” them (primarily by assassinating top Shi’ite leaders) and the women on both sides live in constant fear of rape squads (when they’re not worrying about running afoul of the “morality police” which impose the full burqa on women so they don’t “tempt” men), and the majority who voted to install the religious leaders then run amok after the “democratic experiment” is proved to only work if the people vote for the government the Americans want, then we’ll see just how much Bush ass-kissing you still want to do.
(Incidentally, the OVERWHELMING majority of women in Iraq had FAR more freedom and greater civil liberties under Saddam than they have now. Iraq had the greatest number of women serving in the government of ANY Arab Muslim state during the Saddam years. It’s true that women did worry about Saddam’s sons, but there are far more NOW who actually long for the days when THAT was their greatest concern. When a woman can’t even be assured of walking down the street unmolested unless she’s accompanied by an adult male relative, and she has to worry about whether she’s dressed modestly enough to avoid the many patrols of self-appointed arbiters of morality, and she has to worry that her daughters can even make it to a school to get even the most basic of an education–presuming, of coures, her daughters can actually enter the school after arriving safely–then you might have to consider that YOU don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about when it comes to liberation. When half the population lives in greater fear NOW than they did just five years ago, it’s pretty safe to say that job of “liberating” didn’t go off so well after all.)
thank you.
What does this have to do with the article by Reverend Amy?
Reverend Amy–Thank you for an interesting and uplifting artle. Yes, indeed, women are often the glue that keeps society functioning.
TRUTH AND PEACE
MUST READ
MUST WATCH
MUST SHARE
http://hillaryloyalistnowformccain.com/AVIDEOOFTRUTH.aspx
I tried to click on this video, and they said it was no longer available. You Tube trying to decide this campaign for Obama again?
Thank you for the article Rev. Amy. It is so refreshing to read something uplifting and inspiring.
The difference between these two men can be summed up in one word: Mothers.
Roberta McCain is obviously a very important part of John’s life and basically handled the job of raising 3 children by herself while her husband was active duty.
As for Stanley Ann, you don’t know that much about her relationship with her son outside of what he’s said or written about her.
The influence of mothers in this world should not be forgotten or lost. Our impact as mothers and women can be seen through the very examples we have as Presidential nominees.
Hmmm Good point. Whats that old adage? “If you want to take stock of a man, look how he treats his mother.”
I don’t want to sound too dorky RRRA, but thanks for sharing! What a compassionate letter.
I was so impressed when I saw the video-bio of Cindy McCain at the RNC convention. I had no idea she was so deep. THAT shows my prejudice–I thought she was some kind of self-involved stepford wife. Yes, she came from money but has donated millions of it AND her time to amazing causes.
The Obamas gave $20,000 to Rev Wright’s church.
I always felt that Hillary was completely compassionate about doing good for the American people; not just doing something for her own self-aggrandizement like Barky.
Has Michelle 0bama ever been to Africa?
Biden reported earnings of 395,000 ast year and donated $395.00 to charity. Guess there’s a difference in giving your own money and giving away gvernment money.
Dear RRRA,
Thank you for the post. It ties nicely with the article posted on By the Fault about the emergence of women as a political force in Rwanda. Given that women’s emancipation is tied to improved economic outlooks and population stabilization in the 2nd/3rd world, I appreciate seeing two good news pieces in the space of a week.
SM
p.s.
Unfortunately, soon below, the Obot JKFriz, who knows more than we do and is far superior morally, gives us our comeupance for thinking that Cindy McCain is anything other than a spoiled wealthy person. Gee, how could we be so wrong?
He also knows we should disregard McCain’s demonstrated innocence in the Keating Five matter because it goes against the Obamabots talking points doctrine. JKFRiz, we apologize for harming your arguments by disproving them using evidence.
http://www.slate.com/id/1004633/
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT OBAMA AND BIDEN ARE LYING ABOUT THE BILL THAT MCCAIN VOTED AGAINST, AS I LISTENED TO THIS BILL, IT DID NOTHING, HEAR THAT NOTHING TO GIVE WOMEN BETTER PAY! ALL IT DID WAS CREATE A LOOPHOLE FOR LAWSUITS THAT WOULD BE UNFAIR AND NOT PROVEN AS THERE ARE NO TIME LIMITS ON WHEN THE SUITS COULD BE FILED, THIS IS WHY IT WAS VOTED AGAINST, GET THE FACTS! IF YOU ARE A SMALL BIZ OWNER AND ONE DAY A WOMEN WHO WORKED FOR YOU DECIDED SHE NEEDED TO GET SOME MORE MONEY, SHE COULD TURN AROUND AND SUE YOU AT ANY TIME, AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO PROVE YOU DID NOTHING AGAINST HER,,,GOOD LUCK WITH THAT..THE BILL THEY ARE REFERRING TO WAS A SCAM, I WROTE THE DEMS IN SENATE ABOUT REAL WOMENS PAY ISSUES AND DIDNT GET A RESPONSE..JUST LIKE HILLARYS SITE , IF Y OU DONT LIVE IN NY SHE DONT ANSWER YOUR EMAIL..SOME WONDERFUL SENATORS THERE, IF THERE ISNT ANYTHING IN IT FOR THEM , THEY DONT GIVE A CRAP ABOUT YOU. IF THEY WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT WOMEN CLINTONS HAD EIGHT YEARS TO FIX IT, WELL JUST LIKE THEY HAD EIGHT YEARS TO FIX THE MTG CRISIS WE ARE NOW IN AND THE HEALTHCARE WE NEVER GOT, THEY DID HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO RUIN THE SOCIAL SECURITY BY DIPPING INTO IT TO BALANCE THEIR BUDGET THOUGH..WAKE UP
T,
I think you must be responding to someone else.
SM
Someone needs a nap…
Not dorky at all, Bay Area – thank you!
And you are absolutely right abt the $20,000 – and they gave that in ONE year. Their charitable contributions were nowhere CLOSE to the Clintons’, though…What a surprise!! Ahem.
Rep. Chick – great comment – Tuppence, too.
I think Cindy McCain really defies our stereotypes – she is absolutely beautiful, and blond, so maybe we don’t think she is going to be so smart, or deep, or compassionate, or so generous. She is also very, very humble. While John acknowledges the way he ended his first marriage was his biggest failure, he certainly did well marrying Cindy, and I don’t mean for her money.
But yeah – the Obamas are world apart form the Clintons, and the McCains. They seem to lack that compassion, or empathy, that the others seem to have. Or so it seems to me.
The Obamas will never get to the level of the Clintons or the McCains. They are too damned selfish and self-centered.
Bill Clinton did this, what did Obama do?
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/bill_clinton_on_rebuilding_rwanda.html
He’s an amazing person, this guy Bill Clinton. It’s disgusting what Obama did to him in the primaries, I will never forget or forgive it.
The Smile Train touches my heart, I had no idea Mrs. McCain was involved in projects like these. My brother and I both had cleft palates.
It takes real courage to come face to face with those who have suffered unmentionable pain. Cindy McCain has it, and so does her husband.
Two people of great character.
Agreed – they do.
James, John told a story yesterday abt Cindy going to visit Mother Teresa. Apparently, there were two little girls there who would never get adopted, and who would not flourish. One of them had a cleft palate. John met her at the airplane, and she said, “Meet your daughter.” (I hope you get to see this story – I was out this afternoon…)
Thanks Amy, I will look for the story. Initially, I didn’t have a favorable opinion of McCain, but the more I learn about him, the more I like. The opposite is true of Obama.
I look forward to voting for him in my battleground state of FL (I live in a target county for the Obama campaign).
She has done so much for others, pretty much all of her life….let the media bash her for buying homes for her family…I think it is wonderful that she has the money to do it with and DOES it.
You know, a lot of people with money just get wrapped up in themselves and don’t even ask family if they can help. The kind who need new tires on their car so they just buy a new one, no not tires a new car. Then there are people who have nothing and still try to help. I think Cindy, if she had nothing would still find a way to help people. John is a lucky man to have a woman in his life with such a big heart.
also the story how she hated to fly… so Cindy McCain stayed in AZ to look after the children… whilst John was in DC
After a while she realized she needed to fly so took lessons…..
and it goes on that one day she took John to the airfield and told him to get into the plane…. he looked at her and said glad you have been busy….
That was how he found out she was also now a pilot….
What a truly amazing lady one we will all be proud to be our First Lady!!
Except that she was only a teacher for a year:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/15/080915fa_fact_levy?currentPage=3
Just as important is the paragraph which precedes this:
Good for Cindy McCain. Honestly, you’re going to get into a snit because she taught a year?? How many years has Michelle Obama taught anything, let alone special education, that gives back to the community?
Good for her and her father. Are you going to begrudge people for having money or just Republicans?
…except for the fact that it’s endlessly repeated that Cindy was a teacher as if that were her primary occupation.
Which, to be fair, plays better in the heartland than “lady with 13 cars.”
Most people that know anything about Cindy McCain, and the press sure points it out on a daily basis, know she hails from a wealthy family.
I hail from the Midwest and most people see a geniune person, but if you’re looking to nitpick everything—naturally you’ll find something to complain about.
I also noticed that you’ve glossed over the generosity for which she has helped people around the globe that needed help.
I’m wondering if you were this upset about Teresa Heinz Kerry when her husband was running for President?
You presume – incorrectly – that I liked John or Teresa Kerry when he was running for president. I actually think it’s about time we did away with the pseudo-oligarchy we’re locked into in this country.
It is not “endlessly” repeated about Cindy. This is the first I have heard of it, I knew her dad made millions as a beer distributer, I knew she had started many charitable org., I even knew she owns seven homes, but this is the first I have heard of her being a teacher. I think you are overstating this point.
You’re right. She founded a volunteer organization, stole drugs from that organization, and fired the guy who found out about it. Stellar character, generally speaking.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/drugs/
She also funded that charity. Quit taking partial facts and twisting them. Your own candidate is a druggie. Cindy got addicted to pain killers after an accident, she relied on them to keep going. You know to help others, other than herself. Your guy did them for fun and it wasn’t pain killers, it was recreational drugs. Let’s look at Chicago before and after Obama. His associates, yes I’d say you’re one to be living in a glass house and throwing stones.
And as regards the unlawful termination of the guy who caught her stealing from her own nonprofit? Nothing there?
I think they did more than fire that guy. McCain harassed him for years trying to get him fired at other jobs.
proof? Links?
Just throwing out stuff without back up shows how low you will go.
JKFritz
Obama admits to drug use and it has been said he was a big cocaine user in his early years.But while he was doing these drugs, DON’T remember that HE, like Cindy McCain gave anything back to the community in which he was living, or the city, or the state or the WORLD…like Cindy McCain.
No – he just got high and thought only of himself…
Your point? Oh yeah – you didn’t really have one.
Ted Kennedy and John Kerry play really great in the heartland, especially for the redneck rubes who loves them some Heinz ketchup.
Michelle 0bama with a $300k political appointee gig goes over real big in flyover country.
She wanted everyone to buy $600 earrings with their stimulus check, doncha know?
The 0bama’s house purchase with mortgage funny money goes over really well too.
And don’t forget the Obama’s new BFF, the richest woman in America, Oprah Winfrey.
Cindy McCain has not abandoned a school named after her (after promising financial support) or left a brother to live in a dirt-floored shack on a dollar a month.
I think the Porsche-Mercedes point is a lot more honorable than BO & MO deciding they wanted a mansion so badly that they would do a dirty-looking deal with Rezko to get it.
Yez.
0bama’s $1.65 million dollar shack
Bots don’t understand that class warfare won’t work because the 0bamas themselves are elitists.
If you mean well to do, then yes that is true. However, they both made their own money. Cindy McCain inherited it and John McCain married into it. No one is talking about confiscating their property. The wealthiest Americans have seen the biggest growth in wealth and income over the past 30 years. They have also seen tax cuts under Republican presidents. Why shouldn’t we ask them to pay a little more?
What has Michelle 0bama done in the way of humanitarian work?
Anything comparable to Cindy McCain’s efforts?
Didn’t think so.
Your post as well as frisbee’s are designed to distract from that woman’s very real concern for those less fortunate.
“Humanitarian work” is for rich people – Michelle’s just worked for her money encouraging young people to get involved in community service. She ran this group:
http://www.publicallies.org/site/c.liKUL3PNLvF/b.2634379/
…from 93-96, and went on to run the Community Service center at the U. of Chicago.
Is this stuff not “humanitarian” in your book? Can’t you at least admit that these are worthwhile causes?
I’ll say it: I’m proud of Cindy McCain for involving herself in foreign development in a way that a lot of heiresses don’t.
Can’t we be proud of Michelle for working to support leadership in communities that really need it?
JKFriz: “Can’t we be proud of Michelle for working to support leadership in communities that really need it?”
Why should I be proud of something NON-PRODUCTIVE about the community achievement of Michelle Obama? Did she produce good civic leaders? Maybe leaders of gangs, as the Chicago crimes in her district increased according to the latest news.Michelle is not even worth receiving a faux “gold” medal for anything, except being the Rock to her egoistic, PHONY husband, Barack.
JKFriz, be real ! Do not be so jealous, if you do not have the means to be a humanitarian. HOWEVER, you can be a good civic servant & patriotic one, if you will vote for the country & vote the BEST for America !America needs McCain/Palin ‘08!
God Bless America !
I think if someone had left her 100 million she might have had the time. Instead, she grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School. While trying to build a career and pay back student loans, she found time to work in the community. How are their lives even remotely comparable?
and she got a substantial pay increase from the hospital board she sat on….
then turned away people who did not have insurance or they had to pay 3 times as much as someone with insurance…
No wonder she took a pay rise
Robbing the poor.
Get a grip!
Nice try, Whacko – Obama’s grandparents were/are wealthy, and his adopted father was a wealthy oil man.
And Friz – Absurd notion that humanitarian work is only for the wealthy. Ever hear of VOLUNTEER WORK??? Many people engage in it on a regular basis.
But hey – don’t let the facts get in the way. Carry on.
you continue to perpetrate this lie about obama and his welfare single mom upbringing. His mom married a millionaire oil exec and then he lived with grandmas who was Vice President for 16 years of a major bank in Hawaii where he attended one of the most exclusive schools in all america (tuition is $18,000 a year) and then became the benefactor of sleazy characters in Chicago that earned him millions and his wife a several hundred thousand dollar raise after he became senator. so much for working for their money.
Hey, this site’s carrying water for a guy who intervened with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, so I’m not surprised you’re trying to make the Rezko thing stick. Which it doesn’t, by the way.
There is only one instance, ever, of Obama supporting a Rezko-associated project, which is a low-income housing development for seniors which is still standing and operating and gets good marks to this day.
So essentially, the Rezko argument doesn’t hold up; there’s no influence peddling, no factual impropriety, no nothing.
I remember back in February, there were wild accusations that Obama would be in jail by now. Looks like there’s no proverbial “there” there. Sorry.
Don’t you wish you had a $1.65 million dollar shack just like your hero 0zero?
After all, you seem to be obsessed with the material possessions of other citizens.
So you are carrying water for a racist whoe’s real name you do not know, or what is his place of birth. Actually you are trying to defend something or someone that you don’t know the first thing about.
Fantastic counter-argument. Way to refute none of the things I wrote.
You wrote NOTHING to refute–just trash. And by the way most cons are territorial, meaning community organizers (that is –AGITATERS) are no more than cons trying to protect their turf.
JKF:
Obama used his legislative position in the Illinois Senate to get Blogojevich’s bill passed to stack the development committees that formed the basis of the “pay-to-play” scandals in Illinois and resulted in Rezko’s conviction. Testimony at Rezko’s trial showed that Rezko, Blagojevich & Obama would meet regularly at Rezko’s offices to discuss these commissions, and there was even testimony of fat white envelopes being passed to Blagojevich, so Obama was much more closely wrapped up in this scandal than his supporters will admit. Patrick Fitzgerald does not like to publicly heat up investigations or announce indictments near elections, as he wants to avoid any suggestion of partisanship. If Rezko doesn’t go the route of Donald Young, and wind up dead in his cell, he may decide that cooperating with the U.S. Attorney is in his best interest if a pardon is unlikely.
I’d happily wager a large sum against this pipe-dream scenario happening.
Got a link on the Blagojevich/Rezko/Obama frequent meetings?
Not off hand, but the testimony at the trial was extensively reported in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times.
Oh, I’ve looked. There’s precisely nothing you can spin into “regular meetings.”
Court testimony is court testimony. While people do certainly lie under oath (if they didn’t lie there would be no real need for judges or juries), at least it was sworn testimony. Obama has not testified under oath, and has shown marked ambivalence toward the truth.
“ In the media, Obama always made it sound like he rarely saw Rezko, saying they met for breakfast or lunch once or twice a year. However, the FBI mole John Thomas helped investigators “build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru’s Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005,” according to the February 10, 2008 Sun-Times.”
Hiya. You do realize that Thomas is not saying that B. and O. ever visited Rezko’s offices together, right?
This is a pretty classic Rove-style tactic, though. I’ll hand it to you, and the nakedly partisan RezkoWatch website you cribbed this from.
For a panhandler like you, that would be two bits and no more.
first of all that is a lie. he supported buy-outs for Rezko and his ilk on several occasions while in the Ill. state senate. Not quite what you mean by “supporting a Rezko project” but he voted numerous times for legislation that got him millions in state funds. As for your Keating comment about a situation 20+ years ago, McCain was found to have done nothing illegal, was found to have done nothing unethical by a Dem majority congress and was only admonished because it “looked bad”. Not illegal, not unethical, two phrases that do not describe the incestuous politics of Hussein and the Chicago political machine.
Ah, love the “Hussein” references. Nothing like a little xenophobia on a Tuesday afternoon.
I note that you don’t back this up with any proof of your research; did Obama sponsor any of this legislation? Was any of it controversial? Did he speak publically on it? Or were they just omnibus bills with spending on low-income housing included?
first, it’s his middle name, are you ashamed of his heritage? Hussein seems to be which should offend you if you are not a xenophobe. the only way to break through the bigotry is to make diversity commonplace, not hide it. A man of conviction would see that as his duty instead of making the Muslims move out of the camera shot.
second, sponsoring not sponsoring, speaking publicly or not, whether it was part of an omnibus bill or not is all irrelevant he voted for it, that is fair game when legislators run for office, especially when the vote benefits a close friend who has been responsible for getting you 100’s of thousands of dollars in contributions. That is the definition of pay to play.
third, you would have to define controversial, it didn’t pass unopposed so some people obviously considered it “controversial”.
[ADMINISTRATOR: IT MAY BE HIS MIDDLE NAME, BUT THE MOTIVES BEHIND THOSE WHO USE HIS MIDDLE NAME ARE OFTEN QUESTIONABLE. THEREFORE, WE DO NOT USE HIS MIDDLE NAME HERE IN OUR POSTS and WE DON'T WISH TO READ IT IN COMMENTS. WE HAVE ENDLESS TOPICS TO DISCUSS WITHOUT RESORTING TO USING HIS MIDDLE NAME IN AN EXPLOITATIVE WAY. ]
I’m absolutely proud that Obama’s middle name is Hussein.
It’s just that, well, some people who don’t like Obama seem curiously insistent on using it all the time. Whyever could that be?
Anyhow, I’m sorry if I missed that you were “celebrating diversity.” If that is indeed what you were doing.
i’m actually just trying to point out [DELETED BY ADMIN] hypocrisy. instead of standing on his conviction, which might cost him some votes, he considers the use of his given name and discussion of his diverse background such as his muslim upbringing, (I am not saying he is muslim now but he spent several years as a muslim and being taught the muslim religion) low blows. It’s why he lies about his vote on the abortion bill, it’s why he lies about his vote on sex ed for kindergartners, it’s why he lies about his relationship with Rev Wright, Ayers, et al. It’s why he switched on FISA. He is more concerned about gaining power deceptively than standing for… well, anything.
Oh, I see.
Do you care whether or not Obama was raised a Muslim? Or is it just “hypocrisy” that gets you?
Wipe away the other stuff, and would you vote for a president who was, or had been, a Muslim?
I ask this not because Obama is or was a Muslim, which is a pretty clear subject, but because I think you’re being pretty disingenuous about how people in this country think.
The Muslim stuff is being peddled by the right wing for one reason only – not to point out “hypocrisy”, but to make uninformed voters scared of Obama.
no I am not being disingenuous. I agree there are a lot of people who wouldnt vote for him because he was a muslim. (by the way, If his politics and character were different than what they are and he was a muslim I probably would vote for him. a lot of people “was” a lot of things.) there is no question some people wouldnt vote for him, but so be it. be honest, stand for principles, beliefs, stand for heritage and philosophy and let the people vote, if you lose maybe you opened the door for the next guy/gal. That’s character and it’s why I trust McCain, he holds beliefs that anger Repubs, he holds beliefs that anger Dems, he holds beliefs that anger Ind. but he sticks to them.
Oh, and did you just repeat the “sex ed for kindergarteners” lie? Sigh. I presume you don’t want kids to be alert about pedophiles?
Quality stuff, Tommy.
[ADMINISTRATOR: WHILE I DON'T OPPOSE YOUR PARTICIPATION HERE -- because we don't require everyone to agree with us -- I object to your "spamming" the threads with so many comments. And I don't like the tone you're using of looking down your nose at others here. You're on moderation now.]
have you read the bill? I have and it is a comprehensive updating of Ill. sex ed which lowered the regulations from 6th-12th grade to k-12th. it only addresses pedophilia in a couple paragraphs of over 14 pages. (quite Rovian of you). it does include changes such as this:
“Each class or course in comprehensive sex education offered in any of grades 6 through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention, transmission and spread of AIDS” to “Each class or course in comprehensive sex education offered in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV.”
“comprehensive sex education offered…” “…in grade k through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections…” not quite sure how this relates to pedophilia.
in addition one of the sponsors/authors of the bill (who also is a Dem and Obama supporter) has said no one viewed this bill as a bill on pedophilia protection but as a comprehensive sex ed bill that included that issue.
The other thing to remember is the bill never passed and never even made to a full vote in a Democrat dominated legislature. if it was simply a bill to “alert kids about pedophilia” then you are arguing that the Illinois Dems. are against protecting children from predators. It died because middle class, main stream pols and voters believed it to be to radically liberal piece of legislation. Instead of arguing his principled position, that state educators need latitude to teach children who come from difficult home situations (specifically urban poor, like his district)about things that should be taught at home but aren’t he denies his liberal philosophy to gain votes and in the process impugns McCain’s honor for bringing up his vote.
And that brings me to my overall point, he runs from his Muslim upbringing because it will cost him votes, he runs from his votes on sex ed because it will cost him votes, he runs from his vote on abortion because it will cost him votes, he runs from his association with Ayers because it will cost him votes, he runs from his 20 year church affiliation because it will cost him votes, he runs from his association with Rezko because it will cost him votes. He knows the american people won’t vote for him so he denies his history, his heritage, his friends, his philosophy so he can gain power. Not make a case for his beliefs.
oh, by the way here is some “proof”:
Last week, Sen. Barack Obama compared the Savings and Loan bailout of the late 1980s to the situation of the mortgage-securities markets today:
Too many S&Ls took advantage of the lax rules set by Washington to gamble that they could make big money in speculative real estate. . . . [T]hey made hundreds of billions in bad loans, knowing that if they lost money, the government would bail them out. And they were right. The gambles did not pay off, our economy went into recession, and the taxpayers ended up footing the bill. Sound familiar?
Indeed, it does sound familiar — it sounds a lot like what Barack Obama did to Illinois taxpayers as a state senator in Springfield. Using his elected office and his clout, Obama helped Tony Rezko and other unscrupulous low-income housing developers obtain millions of dollars in state grants, tax credits, low-interest loans, and regulatory advantages.
Taxpayers had no serious chance of recouping these “investments” in Rezko and other developers. And many beneficiaries went one step farther, depriving the public of even the benefits they could have gotten. These developers took government help to build low-income housing, and then let their buildings deteriorate into uninhabitable slums.
To date, the most complete account of this sad story is Binyamin Appelbaum’s piece in the Boston Globe. Not only does it demonstrate the monumental failure of the low-income-housing policy that Obama vocally championed as a state senator, it gives a detailed look at how some of Obama’s donors and friends — the beneficiaries of that policy — neglected their own housing developments at the expense of the inhabitants.
There is no indication that Obama approved (or even knew) of the massive and systemic neglect of these properties in his own state-senate district. But there is also no question that he was an enabler in these transactions. He cosponsored at least six bills to give special tax breaks, tax credits, building-and-maintenance subsidies, and zoning exemptions to the developers. In 1998, he wrote letters to state and city officials requesting $14 million for a project developed by Tony Rezko and another close Obama friend — the politician’s old law-firm boss, Allison Davis.
and here is a link to the Boston Globe story: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/?page=full
The article you link to does prove that Obama was sold on a housing policy that failed because of unscrupulous people.
What it does NOT prove is that his support of that policy was based in anything but a need to change things up from the failed Chicago public-housing model.
Listen: public housing is a shitty, thorny issue in pretty much every big city – I am more than aware of this, personally. You can blame Obama for not recognizing the failure of this policy; but there isn’t “corruption” here, no more than there was “corruption” in the Clintons taking money from a fraudulent developer in the Whitewater case.
It does , for Obama secured tax money from those who profited from his policy. And the, in turn, donated to his campaign. quid pro quo, you stupid obamabot
He wrote a letter that secured $14,000,000 of taxpayer money for Rezko who then profited on the deal and stuck it to the taxpayers, the tenants and the city, all the while raising $100,000’s for Obama. Compare that to McCain’s Keating five involvement. If you want to stick your head in the sand, then fine, but don’t pretend your support of him, at least on this issue, is intellectually honest.
That is partly because some of his actions took place while he was a member of the House.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/848709
His wife also had financial ties to Keating. It is not like he has stopped this behavior. He intervened on behalf of Bud Paxon with the FCC. The FCC chair said his behavior was highly unusual. Your boy is not as clean as you like to make out.
And your guy (Precious) is a hell of a lot dirtier (politically) than you will ever admit.
You Obots are so clueless!! Don’t you know every time you pound your keyboard and put up another post, you entrench yet another Democrat into the McCain/Palin ranks??!!
You must have got the brilliant idea to invade anti-Obama boards from your Messiah. He is stupid enough to think this strategy will win votes.
Well, it will win votes…for McCain. Keep digging your hole in quicksand.
Poor dears. Just trying to help you out.
http://www.slate.com/id/1004633/
Let’s have this kind of investigation into Obama’s dirty dealings.
funny how none of you Obots (cockywacko, i’m looking at you) have a response to the post by Diana in regards to the truth about Keating 5 accusation. See this is where you say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
Senate ethics investigations are notorious for being whitewashes. According to the New York Times, William Black, one of the bank regulators McCain met with, thought he got off easy. He had a conflict of interest because his wife had a financial interest in Lincoln. Also, some of his behavior took place while he was in the House, and therefore not subject to Senate Rules. Besides having a conflict of interest, he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars in free travel from Keating to the Bahamas.
senate ethics investigations are also notorious for being partisan witch hunts:
several retrospective accounts of the controversy contended that McCain was included in the investigation primarily so that there would be at least one Republican target.[31][32][33][13] Glenn’s inclusion in the investigation has been attributed to Republicans who were angered by the inclusion of McCain, as well as committee members who thought that dropping Glenn (and McCain) would make it look bad for the remaining three Democratic Senators. Democrat Robert S. Bennett, who was the special investigator during the scandal, suggested to the Senate Ethics Committee that it pursue charges against neither McCain nor Glenn, saying of McCain, “that there was no evidence against him.” The Vice Chairman of the Ethics Committee, Senator Warren Rudman of New Hampshire, agreed with Bennett, but the Chairman, Democrat Senator Howell Heflin of Alabama, did not agree.
Because some guy says he got off easy because of Cindy’s involvement, let me just say whatever. the Dem. special investigator said “there was NO evidence against” McCain.
Again, you can do it, just say “I W-A-S W-R-O-N-G.”
McCain is is in a sleazy land deal with a guy who he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in personal gifts. He then intervenes to slow an investigation into the bank and costs the taxpayers billions of dollars. Maybe there is nothing illegal, but how does that compare to anything Obama as done.
I am assuming you aren’t still discussing the Keating affair since it already has been shown McCain never intervened on his behalf. So you still haven’t apologized for the false Keating 5 accusation, so before we move on to the next false accusation, just say it: “I am sorry, I was W-R-O-N-G.”
After that we can have a discussion about the next line of BS you want to throw.
“She was only a teacher for a year”, but, oh what the hell? Obama has been a thug all his adult life and Michelle has only been proud of America since her thug begin running for prez.
She’s only been a teacher for a year and then spent a good portion of her life on humanitarian efforts.
But you know what I agree, thuggery is kewl, so I’ll have to pass on Cindy Mac.
/s
And Obama was only in the Senate for a year before he announced his run for the presidency.
Pssst. Cindy’s not running to be President.
Our standard for “thuggishness” seems to have expanded somewhat to include community development work and public service. Oh, well.
That does seem to be what the Alinsky activism is all about; riling up the community, getting in everybody’s face, and then telling them that their evil government is to blame for their misery, and that they should rise up and get “their fair share.” So yes, one man’s community activist is another man’s thug, in some instances. If the shoe fits…
JKFriz, you talk a lot, and you arent very interesting.
Trollfund is at $1350, I am going to make it $1500 to cover all of your trolling.
$150 to McCain for JKFriz! We are almost at the goal of $2300 so thanks, and you are now on ignore.
Can you donate everytime KathyNeoCon cut-n-pastes the same statement, as exemplified below?
And jeez. You must be as rich as Cindy and John to be shelling out that much. Though I somewhat doubt you actually are, pardon me for saying so?
Poor baby. Just trying to help you Obots regroup (why I don’t know). You’re doing more harm than good for your Messiah posting here.
Actually, I plan on posting a (..n appropriately redacted..) check as soon as I reach the goal.
Once I max out Trollfund I guess I will need to start TrollPAC?
So thanks again to you and bye!
You Obots are so clueless!! Don’t you know every time you pound your keyboard and put up another post, you entrench yet another Democrat into the McCain/Palin ranks??!!
You must have got the brilliant idea to invade anti-Obama boards from your Messiah. He is stupid enough to think this strategy will win votes.
Well, it will win votes…for McCain. Keep digging your hole in quicksand.
jkfritz…..
oh no…not you again.
say…haven’t you got some traffic to go play in?
sheeesh.
It depends on who is working in the community organization, JKFriz.Some community organizers have personal agenda, example Barack Obama.He has his mind set to aim the WH no matter what.Isn’t that why he grabbed the chance to meet the Chicago power players?
Majority have big hearts for the community, no doubt about that. They serve because they feel great doing that. Michelle & Obama, backed by the Chicago dirty political machine, will keep on fooling the voters of their greedy personal agenda. Will they return the money they received from all the crooked CEOs of Wall Street? We are waiting. If they do, then I can say, they are good community organizers, real role models to the youth they are trying to mold.
God Save America!!!
Um, is cindy McCain running for prez and nobody told me? I think she’s pretty cool. I wish my dad would’ve bought me a car for graduation, or even come to my graduation for that matter. Oh and by the way, big deal, she taught for one year(most people don’t even make it that long from where I”m from) the school where my brother in law teaches has already lost 3 math teachers this year and it’s only the 3rd week of school. Since that time it appears she’s been doing quite a lot of community organizing………………Zing.
and your point is what, JKFriz?
And Michelle Obama’s pay raise to 300K was paid for by the good people of Illinois thanks to Baracks’s ability to give tax dollars to the hospital she worked for. Isn’t that special?
Tell it to these kids……http://www.smiletrain.org/site/PageServer
I really like Cindy McCain. The Bot smears on her are, well, smears.
If she were 0zer0’s wife, they’d be asking the Pope to beatify her.
Oh wait I forgot 0bots have only one religion, the
0 cult.
ROFLOL !
Good post, Amy. Anyone who thinks Cindy McCain is a stepford wife standing behind her man is a blind idiot! The more I learn about Cindy, the more I like her. Besides all her humanitarian work, she is also a pilot and builds and races cars with her son. She is not the stereotypical republican woman so many dems seem invested in believing. If there is anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that it is time for both sides to stop demonizing the other and actually look at the individuals. In the McCains and Palins, I see a lot to like. In no way are they Bush III.
One of the best predictors of family health is the education of the mother. It looks like Rwanda could be an interesting social model to see what happens when women are also more powerful in government. I remember seeing Cindy and John up close about 20 years ago at an event of packing up medical supplies, and they were memorably enthusiastic, hyper even. Thanks for continuing to remind of her good side, as we are sure to be besieged with petty trolls like Fritzee trying to find something to sneer at.
Thank you so much Rev. Amy!
I know some of this has been covered to a small degree, but Cindy is far from being just another pretty face!
Actually, my husband started telling me some of her history…and that is special for he is a quiet, non-political guy. (until I tell him he must vote for Hillary)
And now he’s voting for McCain/Palin!
I didn’t kow Cindy McCain was so involved in charitable causes either. I find that very admirable in people.
Great post…that is awful about Rwanda. Hey what charitable organizations is Michelle Obama involved in?…………………….that’s what I thought. Much ado about nothing. Maybe if she endured some of the horrors in Rwanda she would find some pride in the USA. I find that remark extremely offensive.
Something is VERY SERIOUSLY WRONG when a country like Rwanda is ahead of the USA in women being involved-SERIOUSLY WRONG. If we had more men who would think with something besides their penis then we might be able to get somewhere.
yes, the mccains both have hearts of gold the size of a mountain.
That is what bothers me most about this election. Mccain is by far a better person. In every aspect. You know it was mccain who gave bill clinton the ability to normalize relations with vietnam. Even after they tortured him for 5 years. McCain was the leading voice against his party enabling bill to normalize relations.
He donates tons of money to charity. A much larger percentage than obama and biden.
It angers me to no end to hear them get trashed because of the wealth of cindy’s family. They give and care for all they can.
He is a true patriot and has has himself in this for the right reasons. We do need folks with big hearts and good values. It is essential to america to elect leaders that put US above anything else.
Thats John and Cindy McCain.
Ya know when Gustav hit, unlike obama they did not say they see could raise money.
They gave money immediatly and did the same for Ike. Obama is a millionare as well and is a greedy power grabber.
McCain/Palin
Well, gee, didn’t O-zero send an email telling his supporters to do something for hurricane victims? You expect laying on of hands, perhaps?
After all, JM and Palin were there on the scene.
I made it a point to sit and watch both conventions, to get a perspective on the candidates apart from their stump speeches and witness the interaction of the party’s elites with their own speeches. Obviously, conventions aren’t what they used to be, now they are highly scripted infomercials. Notwithstanding that when the bio film clip of Cindy McCain was played, showing her immersed in her dedication to helping the least fortunate of our planet. a side of Cindy McCain I never knew existed. Not only was it the only time I experienced any emotion from the conventions but I was moved to tears. Cindy McCain can enjoy all the trappings of a most privileged lifestyle separating herself from the world in which most of us live, yet through pure magnanimity of heart she goes where few dare even to tread.
This to me hits on one of the reasons I would always support McCain over Hussein. John McCain gave between 25-30% of his income to charity over the last few years, Bambi gave 4-6% with a significant percent going to Rev. Wright, (Biden .3%). Cindy McCain went to India and found two girls in dire need and brought them back adopted one and a friend adopted the other and they were raised as their own. Barry went to Kenya, met his own brother who lives in a shack and survives on $1 a month and did nothing but go back home to his $2,000,000 mansion in Chicago. People who truly care give out what they have. Otherwise it is just politics and power.
Your comparison may be the single greatest comparison of this election. This should be the one thing the public knows about these candidates.
Please share this.
wonderful article, and the smile train blew my mind, my daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate. going through that ordeal, i can see SMILE TRAIN as advantageous to any family who has to go through that ordeal
Being of the male persuasion I have a question for the sisters out there. My wife is hooked on Obama and I can’t hardly believe she is that dumb. How can I reprogram her? She will not talk about it at all. if I say anything at all she just says she doesn’t want to know what Rush’s lies of the day are. I am not a Rush listener. One would think that as much as she has had to fight sexism in her life she would see through this. In our 37 years of marriage, I never thought I would have to shrug her off as stupid because she can’t see MY feminist point of view.
Oh my, Shiloh I really don’t know what to say.
Maybe the cobwebs in her brain will clear out by election day.
Does she like Oprah? I know some ladies take Oprah’s word as gospel truth.
I noticed that too, and to describe the ones that I know who are like that are ones that do not think for themselves.
I don’t think it is any use – I have numerous friends that would rather listen to a smear email with 2 lines of false information that have an open minded intelligent conversation. Even those willing to have that conversation do not want to listen to anyone else’s ideas.
Months ago a female friend said that I had become a true feminist with my support for Hillary and anger at the media over the misogyny. Now I tell my friend do not insult me by calling me a feminist. To me, feminists have proven themselves to be self-defeatists angry, bitter women with irrational behaviors.
I am proud to be a feminist and for McCain/Palin.
BTW, one speaks of feminisms rather than Feminism.
Have you ever considered viagra?
All I can say is good luck. My boyfriend is a diluted kool aid drinker. This is pure hell. We have been closer to breaking up lately. He just cannot forgive me for going republican. I just tell him why I am not voting Obama and I listen to him try to change my mind. I just stay firm and do not try to change his vote. He is realizing Obama can’t win so that is why it has gotten nastier for us. Then he will get frustrated and say you just sound bitter over Clinton. Well, duh. That is part of it sweetie. I don’t vote for someone who has to cheat their way into a nomination.
Sorry to hear about your wife. It’s almost like hearing someone has had a serious accident (brain injury) to say that they support Obama.
I just can’t believe it because my boyfriend is so smart, but he can’t see reality, only the D.
We might need a new hallmark card section.
Election sympathy cards.
So sorry you spouse has left the party, here’s hoping for better days ahead.
Congratulations on choosing a winning candidate this year! You did a great job by going with McCain
Sorry to hear about your loss. It is sad to lose a friend, spouse, child or parent to the awful disease election 2008. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Hang in there. Times are tought right now, but remember…the election does end November 4th and it will be all right. Go McCain.
you just shouldn’t talk about it then or else find someone who respects your choices.
I am so sorry to hear that.
I am currently not speaking to my aging hippie parents because they are suffering extreme Palin Derangement Syndrome (re-re-re sending me Eve Ensler pieces titled DRILL).
Check out the blog over at pocpuma.
He had the same issue and his wife emerged from her Obamitis.
Best of luck to you.
Shiloh; you are not alone in a lack of domestic tranquility on this level.
My sane half told me I drank the kool-aid for McCain because I would rather be a warf rat than vote for BO. My Sane half won’t vote for Obama, so she says…but things have gotten very “stressed”.
The other point is for some reason I don’t understand, my sane half can not stand Gov. Palin.
Odd condidering we are both C-span junkies.
But there it is. Wierd eh?
I wouldn’t say she is stupid. Maybe she just is naive, lacking common sense or has been listening to Obama co-worker kool aid drinkers or too many female led talk shows (The View, Oprah). Some people are very impressionable and will go whichever way the wind blows. They aren’t as confident as someone people and lack the courage and strength to be their own person. So they just follow the crowd so they fit in.
Cindy McCain is a wonderful woman! I never knew much about her, but I am full of admiration for her and would be PROUD to have her as First Lady…
You always hear about “what Obama would present to the world”…but Cindy McCain would run rings around him!
Frictions between Obama and Biden – real or staged for VP switch?
Obama-Biden seem to talk at cross purposes lately. is this real, or staged to ease up a VP switch? It certainly got noticed
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/trouble-in-paradise-obamabiden-friction-real-or-staged/
No I think it’s Joe just being Joe.
Who didn’t see this coming? When 0bama picked Biden, he jumped on the Loose Cannon Express.
Rudy Gulliani said Biden should have gotten the VP think in writing.
I wonder if Obarfy dumped him if Biden could sue. That would be fascinating.
If I were Biden I’d get myself a food taster.
Well, for starters your “feminist” point of view would sound a lot more believable if you weren’t calling your wife dumb behind her back and suggesting that you have a right? duty? to “reprogram” her. Just a thought as to why she might not feel comfortable discussing things with you. A$$hat.
McKinney in 2008
Clinton in 2012
should attach to Shiloh post above
Well Obama supporters do destroy their own credibilty.
Stubborn ignorance with a sense of entitlement.
Sprinkle that with sexism and racism and
it could be almost unbearable to think your spouse was of that mind.
I’m not married, lol.
And my man is for 3rd party too.
Update for y’all on the bailout mess…
http://centristnetblog.com/daily-news/paulson-vs-congress/
Also, Kurtz finally published his article on Ayers, Obama and the CAC.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
You tell them Rev Amy! I admire the women in McCain’s life and it’s enough to convince me to support him.
You know, one thing we never get from Michelle is her charity work. Where is she visiting a battered women’s shelter, working in a soup line? How about an animal shelter, a boys and girls club? Where is her compassion and empathy? I can’t find it anywhere. Does she coach kids basketball? Anything?
She’s encouraging people to organize–see the troll post above.
she coaches women on how to buy $600 earrings…
Cindy McCain wouldn’t be caught dead in $600 earrings. According to Vanity Fair, the earrings she wore at the convention were worth $280,000.
Hey whako, Are you jealous? Wake up and smell the coffee… You’re being duped… Kool-aid drinker…
I wonder how much Oprah’s “Obama” glasses were worth.
Cindy wore pearls, which was in better taste, given the bad economic times we’re living in.
cocky whacko
Yes and I guess when Cindy becomes 1st lady she will raffle them off and use the money to make more women & childrens life easier…
or even sell them on ebay…
Have a problem with that?
it’s amazing how one teriffic lady as Cindy McCain can touch the lives of many….
all without shouting about it.
What an amazing Lady.
Strong & proud just what we need in a 1st Lady
John must be so proud of his wife….
Rev Amy a wonderful post…. TY
Wonder if there is any truth to the actual candidate that bumps off mutual opponent wins in November regardless of issues and poll numbers?
Apparently the mutual opponent is wealthy, exposed corruption within both parties and is presently targeted.
Will both parties use the popular practice of “sweetheart exchange deals” where convicts commit crimes/murders in exchange for less jail time, conveniently covered up and real culprits not publicly suspected?
Will the Dems use OJ Simpson who is currently on trial for robbery and kidnapping and may get away according to latest article because of this ’sweetheart exchange deal’?
Will GOP use Guiliani-like mob ties that his protege ex-NYPD commissioner used and was indicted and may serve up to 140 years in jail? Or Gotti, Jr. who is also on trial for conspiracy and murder charges?
Given this information, do we have to worry about our personal safety too? For example, do we have to worry about sleeping in the middle of the night in the privacy of our own home as our habits and privacies are known in advanced due to bugging devices?
i can remember several months back when i was in it for Hillary ,and my brother in law called Cindy McCain a barbie doll. i’m ashamed to say that i went there with him. honestly, neither one of us had clue one who Cindy McCain really was. well….now i awake and aware about Mrs. Mac.
i am finding out these days that Cindy McCain is full of great surprises. the more i find out about her the more i like and respect her. i trust Mac as the man with Cindy watching his back. i can understand how he would have no problem inviting Gov Palin onto the repub ticket.
it turns out that Cindy McCain is a global feminist, with the experiential wisdom of one who has seen more of the world firsthand than most of us. who knew?
she is also just happens to be a republican.
as First Lady, she is head and shoulders above Michelle Obama.
no contest.
someone I work with said she thinks Cindy looks like she is on drugs. She has 20 something grandkids. Where do you think she heard that?? Everything she says about McCain and Obama is scripted shit from Obama supporters. I know her one granddaughter is definitely in the tank for him. I just looked at her and said well I think Obama is a communist. That shut her up pretty quick.
You’re not alone in judging someone initially by their appearance. For some reason that seems to be the nature of most.
RRR Amy
Good article.
People need to learn more about Sen and Mrs. McCain’s altruism.
Although contributing money to worthwhile organizations is important, doing something like adopting children, traveling around the world and making a difference involves more personal energy (physical and emotional).
Even though it is Mrs McCain who is written about in this article- we must remember that
“Behind every great man stands a great woman and
and behind every great woman stands a great man”.
Their actions (not their words) speak volumes about their values, integrity, and strength of character
People who adopt children are very special people-
especially those people who adopt children who face physical, emotional, psychological challenges.
The McCain’s “Life” is their message.
Setting a good example for others to follow is the best form of service-to God, to country, to the world.
People need to learn more about the private side of the Sen and Mrs McCain .
What wonderful role models they make.
Gee, I wonder if we’ll have THREE women candidates for President in 2012?
Right on, sisters!
That would be freakin’ AWESOME!!!
Global feminist is a good word to describe Cindy McCain. She is another one who walks the walk, and puts herself into difficult situations because that is where the work is. Like others here, my respect of her has grown the more I have gotten to know abt her…
Mrs. McCain sounds like a remarkable woman. United, American women could be an irresistible force for positive change in this country. I hope it doesn’t require disaster or the destruction of our country to make us realize how much power we could have had if we had not allowed ourselves to be manipulated by political parties, and though we love them, men.
Thank you for your post Reverend Amy. Cindy McCain appears to be beautiful from the inside out.
A couple of weeks or so (on this site I believe) someone was saying in the comments section that Cindy McCain was cold and I and some others jumped on that & itemized just a portion of what Cindy McCain has done in her life.
Although I’m a liberal Independent, not a Republican, I have admired Cindy McCain’s work for years. I voted for McCain in the SC Primary 2000 (I’m from Charleston too Rev. Amy) but before doing so had researched the records of John and Cindy and was highly impressed with both.
The McCain’s give a huge percentage of their annual income to charitable causes. For me,the old adage “Put your money where your mouth is” means a lot – it truly speaks of one’s character. It is profoundly telling that the Obamas gave LESS THAN 1% of their money to charity prior to setting things up to run for President. As I’ve said before on this site – it isn’t about individual dollars – it’s about percentage…the bible teaches that quite clearly whether one is Christian or not.
When I watched the HORRENDOUS clips from “The View” and how those witches treated John and Cindy, I couldn’t help but write that show and give them a blistering.
[LONG-WINDED COMMENT DELETED]
“Women on the other hand are ruled by another hormone, namely progesterone,”
Actually, I meant estrogen. Progesterone is key to femininity, but estrogen is a little more important. It’s the primary female hormone.
Politics can be so emotionally divisive. I remember almost losing friends over the Iraq war; they called me an un-American traitor for not supporting it. Not just friends but bosses, co-workers, and total strangers. It was awful.
Now, the same weirdness in a different form: after years of searching out fellow Democrats for support, I find myself on the verge of fighting with them if they are Obots, and we just avoid political discussions (much as I had to do with my Republican friends). My mother is a devoted O-bot, and we can’t discuss politics anymore, which used to be one of our favorite things, one of the ways we bonded as we are both political junkies and she is usually the smartest person I know when it comes to politics…but she drank deep of the Kool-Aid and there is no going back.
On the plus side, my Republican friends are delighted (albeit stunned) that I don’t support the O, and my Republican bf and I can finally (after years!) discuss politics, but I have to stop them when they start bashing all Democrats and “libruls,” so who knows how this will all turn out??? It’s too weird.