History of the Democratic Party

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products4.html

Grover Cleavland on the Voters Duty

2010-03-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Your every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, exercises a public trust. - Inaugural Address [March 4, 1885] from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://politicalfirestorm.blogspot.com/

Game Change - The Audio Drama of a Presidential Campaign - Audiobook Review

2010-02-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin and narrated By Dennis Boutsikaris, had Washington shaking even before it went on sale. It reveals some shocking information about the 2008 presidential campaign. The authors went out of their way to find out the back story and gossip from numerous angles on the candidates and on others around them. Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Senate, was singled out for racially insensitive words about then Senator Barrack Obama.

The authors leave no one out. They have written about Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards's wife, going into tantrums and swearing like crazy about him and his antics. The authors expose more about the Sarah Palin selection and how rushed the process was. Not only was no one in the Republican leadership consulted, but little thought and consideration appears to be given to the choice. The choice was a tactic to knock the Obama campaign off guard and that part worked until Palin self destructed in numerous interviews.

Then Senator Barrack Obama is shown to be heavily staged throughout the campaign. They show the two sides of the man, calm cool and collected when on the stump, profane with flashes of anger off the stump. "This #@!% would be really interesting if we weren't in the middle of it."--Barack Obama, September 2008

Hillary and Bill Clinton take their lumps too. President Clinton's inappropriate comments and Obama's observation that Hillary could not control her husband. The book also covers Obama's hard sell to get Clinton on board for Secretary of State. The book opens doors into other mysteries from the campaign like Giuliani's Florida gamble and why he left the race.

When listen to the book it's like living through the campaign once again, but you get to be the fly on the wall with inside view of what really goes on. You will get insights that will inform you, but also make you angry. This should have come out during the campaign, but the press was not doing its job well. Maybe that's the most damning insight of all. If you're a political junkie like me, get the audio book and enjoy the drama.

Listen to the audio sample of the Game Change Audiobook.

Do you have a long commute? Need to make that wasted time more productive. Audio books are the answer. Find 60,000 great downloadable audiobooks, that you can listen to on your iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, PC or burn to a CD.

Alex Nesbitt provides audio book reviews from CastLibrary.com Audiobook Store.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Nesbitt

Historiography of the Peace Conference of 1919 and Surrounding Events

2010-02-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

The events of history have been documented as an objective form of non-fiction throughout time. The way in which historians compose these events is termed historiography. Historiography in its simplest terms is a historical form of literature. A more accurate description of historiography is that it is the principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation. It is also the writing of history based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and selection of authentic source materials, as well as composition of these materials into a narrative subject. It is the study of how historians interpret the past. Historiography is a debate and argument about previous and current representations of the past. Historiography is present in all historical works big and small. The notorious Peace Conference of 1919 has received its fair share of historiography. There are many viewpoints and interpretations of the ins and outs of the peace conference by vast numbers of historians; the historical works that will be focused on in this composition are The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe 1918-1933 by Sally Marks, The Peace Conference of 1919 by F.S. Marston, Great Britain, France, and the German Problem 1918-1939 by W.M. Jordan, and Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan.

The extent as to which the conference was discussed varies by historian. Sally Marks' The Illusion of Peace, is broken down into six chapters that focus primarily on peace. These chapters are titled The Pursuit of Peace, The Effort to Enforce the Peace, The Revision of the Peace, The Years of Illusion, The Crumbling of Illusion, and The End of All Illusion. For the sake of this composition we will focus on chapter 1, The Pursuit of Peace, which deals primarily with the Peace Conference. Marks begins The Illusion of Peace by stating that "major wars often provide the punctuation marks of history, primarily because they force drastic realignments in the relationships among states." F.S. Marston chose to take a slightly different route in recording the occurrences of the Peace Conference in his The Peace Conference of 1919. Marston's main focus was not on the concept of peace itself but the actual procedure of the Peace Conference. In the preface of The Peace Conference of 1919, he states that his purpose for writing the book was because "there was an obvious need for an objective analysis of the organization of the Conference." Marston breaks The Peace Conference of 1919 into eighteen chapters. These chaoters go into great detail about the characteristics of the conference. The book begins with "The Paris Peace Conference was a unique gathering of the nations. We are still perhaps too near it and too deeply involved in its consequences to make a final appraisal of its work."

Another perspective to be discussed is that of W. M. Jordan in Great Britain, France, and the German Problem 1918-1939, which is divided into seventeen chapters. These chapters discuss everything from the concepts of peace of 1914-1918 to the European framework of territorial settlement. Professor C. K. Webster states in the foreword of Great Britain, France, and the German Problem that "this study makes painful but salutary reading. It faces relentlessly certain facts which have produced the world in which we live now. It is objective, and the author has taken the greatest care to be as fair to France as to Britain." The last perspective to be discussed is that of Margaret MacMillan, who, by far, presents the most information on the Peace Conference out of the previous listed historians. Her Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, has eight parts and thirty chapters. In the foreword written by Richard Holbrooke, it is stated that MacMillan's account of the seminal event in Paris 1919 contains several success stories, but is measured against the judgment of history and consequences.

Marks begins, early on in the Illusion of Peace, discussing the sudden collapse of Germany and the surprise it caused to the victors. The defeat of Germany was so prevalent in the minds of the Allies that they failed to consider planning the peace that follows after war. Marks stressed that what little peace planning that was in progress was not even close to being considered effective. She states that out of all of the major Allies, the French were the closest to being the best prepared for matters of peace. She gave the reasoning behind this to be that the French had a predetermined notion of what mattered to them and were less than interested in what occurred on a global scale. Marks writes that the American standpoint on peace was obscured by President Woodrow Wilson's highly ambiguous Fourteen Points, which are ideally good points, but from a realistic standpoint face a difficult time being implemented because of their complexities.

As for the location of the Peace Conference, Marks writes that Paris was not the ideal place for such a conference. Paris was considered a poor location because "wartime passion [ran] higher there than any other location" and the capital was in no condition, after four years of war, to provide lodging and other important amenities to the leaders. In the first chapter, Marks, uses Erich Eyck's A History of the Weimar Republic to support information on the relationship between the Allies and Germany. She also discusses the fatal influenza that was sweeping across Europe and the rest of the world. During this discussion, Marks writes that Germany was fortunate in that its people were not starving like the rest of the war torn countries. As for the actual conference, Marks writes that "When the conference finally got down to business, it functioned very haphazardly. Much of the work was done by committees." She elaborates on this statement by stating that several things played a major part in the haphazardness of the decisions made. Some of these things included influence and idiosyncracy, and personality and prejudice. When dealing with the League of Nations, Marks writes that provided the circumstances of such damaging characteristics the League was set up to fail and the creation of such a thing presented a misleading illusion of peace that was impossible to achieve.

In Marks' recordings of the Treaty of Versailles, she explains that the treaty has been criticized a great deal throughout history and deserves to be because of its numerous inadequacies and lack of attention to "economic realities." Marks writes that despite the criticisms for the economic aspects of the treaty, great care had been taken in the preservation of economic units by the Allied leaders. She presents several different views of certain events in order to provide the reader with as much objectivity as is possible. She explains that despite what has been recorded or despite popular belief, there is always room for argument as to what was and was not effective during the Peace Conference of 1919. The last pages of The Illusion of Peace are dedicated to a chronological table of the events that took place before, during, and after the Peace Conference. There is an extensive bibliography that includes documents and official publications, such as the official journal of the League of Nations, and diaries, letters, and memoirs, such as David Lloyd George's Memoirs of the Peace Conference. An extensive number of secondary sources were used in addition to several periodicals as well. The last component of The Illusion of Peace is Marks' notes and references. All in all, this account of the Peace Conference of 1919 was presented in an unbiased and informative manner.

F. S. Marston took on the role of composing a historical rendition of the organization and procedure of the conference in The Peace Conference of 1919. Marston's position on the organization of the conference is as follows: "The following pages will show the extent to which the throwing away of the fruits of victory twenty-five years ago was due to premature relaxation of effort and failure to make immediate use of the organization that had been so laboriously developed." One of the first things included in The Peace Conference of 1919 was a chart depicting the general organization of the conference. The Council of Ten is the center of this chart, which branches out into the sub-councils, which in turn branch out into smaller more centralized committees. Marston describes the conference in relation to earlier conferences and events. According to Marston, the most critical development that occurred in the year 1917, just two years before the Peace Conference, the Supreme War Council was formally established. Marston includes references from General Bliss to reiterate a fact about the war council and its roles. The primary function of the council was to monitor the conduct of the war, but it also acted as a political body.

After discussing the Supreme War Council, Marston proceeds into discussing the Armistices in chapter two. Within the first paragraph, Marston writes that "The main background to the peace negotiations of 1919 was foreshadowed by the German Note of 4th October asking President Wilson to take the necessary steps to secure a suspension of hostilities." The bulk of Marston's information is based on times, dates, and locations. Chapter two does not focus so much on who did what, but rather when the event took place and for how long did the event last. Marston jumps from the Armistice to the Conference in chapter three and in chapter four. He begins chapter three by discussing the importance of the time interval between the Armistice and the Peace Conference. "It was a time of intense diplomatic activity, but of very little tangible progress, preparation for the Conference being combined with complete uncertainty as to the exact point at which it was to take charge of the negotiations" writes Marston.

In the remaining chapters Marston continues to explain and present the organizational characteristics of the Conference in great detail. The very last chapter is titled Retrospect and includes Marston's view on how the Peace Conference of 1919 has affected the world and how it will continue to leave its mark. He writes "The Peace Conference of 1919 must certainly occupy an important place in the long succession of similar gatherings, if only because of the scale on which it was organized." Immediately following the Retrospect, is the Chronology. Marston's bibliography includes documents, diaries and letters, and general works, followed by his many references. He presents the information about the Peace Conference critically at times, believing that the conference was inadequate in performing the duties it was set to perform.

The perspective of W. M. Jordan, in Great Britain, France, and the German Problem 1918-1939, is one that focuses on disarmament, reparation, and security during the events surrounding the Peace Conference and the events of the Peace Conference. Jordan admits to omitting information that strictly "belongs to the history of this central problem." As with the historical works discussed previously, Jordan begins chapter one, titled Concepts of Peace: 1914-1918, discussing the events that led up to the Peace Conference of 1919. He focuses on the breakdown of the Versailles settlement among other things. Jordan quotes several key people in the events of 1914-1918. One such person, was an American writer or European origin. This writer, according to Jordan, stressed the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, was held at esteem by the British because of his principles of idealism. Jordan discussed that "the idealism which inspired the Allied cause in the Great War of 1914-1918 was, in the first instance, the achievement of British Liberalism." This war was inadvertently a war for democracy. Jordan presented the idea that it is important to understand that the war was not directed at the German people, rather at the Prussian military caste that was controlling them. Jordan also presents two more reasons for the war: the war was meant to liberate nations and become a war to end war. Jordan includes excerpts from Lloyd George's speeches to convey this message. He focuses a great deal on President Woodrow Wilson's role in the quest for peace. When discussing the Fourteen Points, Jordan admits that they are too well known to need to be quoted.

In chapter two of Great Britain, France, and the German Problem, Jordan discusses the fact that "historians have paid little attention to the preparation of the document signed on 11th November 1918, which set out the military and naval terms with which Germany was required to comply as a condition of the suspension of warfare." The purpose of this chapter was to study the political implications of the Armistice. This document started the ball rolling on the Peace Conference. The major players in the composition of the Armistice were Haig, Foch, and Bliss. Jordan discusses that the study of the conflicting views of the three men reveals that the problems with the armistice's military terms were not of a military order, but of a political order. During this discussion, Jordan presents the reader with several questions of the actions of the three men. It is also, in chapter two in which Jordan opposes the notion that the armistice was drafted mostly from President Wilson's policy. He states, "The claim is hardly well founded."

The subsequent chapters of Jordan's Great Britain, France, and the German Problem, discuss the actual Peace Conference and the results of the conference. Chapter 3 is titled The Conference and the Treaty. In the opening paragraph, Jordan gives a description of what to expect from the chapter. According to Jordan, the Peace Conference's course of negotiations in relation to the main aspects of the settlement between Europe and Germany is "given separate consideration" in the concluding chapters. Jordan believes that the chronological order of the Conference's sequence of events is broken up by such an arrangement. He writes, "It may be desirable to preface this chapter by a short composite account of the negotiations in 1919." Jordan also records the illnesses of the conference's key players in chapter three. He describes how President Wilson falling ill played a part in changing the speed of the conference. Lloyd George began to lose hope for a quick resolution after Wilson became ill and was not able to participate in the Council of Four.

Jordan goes to great lengths to remain objective in his descriptions of the personal characters of the leaders. He uses a great amount of quoted material from Lloyd George, President Wilson, and Clemenceau. There is a rather lengthy excerpt from a speech given by Clemenceau on December 29, 1918. This speech was Clemenceau's response to a challenge by Albert Thomas on the eve of the Conference. Jordan is full of questions about the events of the Conference; on every page there is a question or some form of insight presented to be pondered upon by the reader. Jordan presents the perspective of several different countries during the Conference. He discusses the plight that France faced as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. Jordan writes, "France is now left to bear alone the brunt of German resentment. She must insist on the payment or reparation; she must protect the new settlement against disturbance by Germany." Jordan explains that Great Britain's opinion of the Treaty of Versailles was condemning and spawned many debates. In describing the views of the Treaty, Jordan presents the idea that worrying over the criticism the Treaty of Versailles was receiving, necessitated too much digression and is unessential. He focuses on the misjudgment of the purpose of the Treaty. He writes, "That the Treaty had been conceived in the wrong spirit-this was the more general and the more trenchant charge." In discussing the Treaty, Jordan includes his evaluations of many historical works, one of which was Economic Consequences of the Peace by J. M. Keynes. He focuses his attention on two passages of which he claims come to the conclusion that the Treaty was "incompatible with the economic prosperity of Europe." Jordan stresses the idea that Mr. Keynes' economic criticisms were embedded in political philosophy. Jordan provides a historical work of the Peace Conference of 1919 that transcends the times in which it was written. He is bold in his statements, forthcoming with his questions, and fair as one can be in discussing the leaders themselves.

One of the most recent historical renditions of the Peace Conference of 1919 is Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, which was published in 2001. MacMillan provides a well balanced look at the events in Paris in 1919. She is able to work past the easily taken road of blaming the many ills the world has experienced since this time on the Peace Conference. MacMillan also readily admits that many mistakes were made by the peacemakers. Some of these mistakes could have been easily avoided. Macmillan does an excellent job in taking into consideration the many factors that made many of the decisions made during the Conference seem more reasonable. She addresses countless issues involved in the meetings and committees of the Versailles conference, as well as the politics involved amongst the victorious allies. She addresses the fact that the Conference is most remembered for the production of the Treaty of Versailles; however, she writes, "but it was always about much more than that. The other enemies had to have their treaties." MacMillan seems biased and apologetic. She attempts to win over readers by using an unorthodox approach which is oblivious to the balance of historical facts. For example, MacMillan explains that Keynes was "A very clever, rather ugly young man." Keynes physical attraction seems irrelevant to the events surrounding the Treaty of Versailles, but MacMillan finds it important to make such a statement in describing his entire character. She also makes it a point to bring up the idea that the "Big Three" leaders were from democratic governments.

The format of Paris 1919 is interesting because each chapter focuses on a specific area of the conference. As a reference it is helpful, because each country is focused on in its own chapter. The negative side to this format is that it eliminates the chronological flow of the conference; therefore, making it difficult for the reader to follow the order of event occurrences. The cultural differences among the French, English, American and Italian as well as the German, Japanese, Chinese, Greek and others was outlined rather thoroughly by MacMillan. This book goes section by section through the world and talks about the effects of peace on the east, Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It redraws the borders, shows the alienation of Italy as well as the harshness of German reparations. The failure of the League of Nations is coached in this treaty and these six months were a catastrophe for the world. She also outlines the evolution of America into a world power. MacMillan addresses the contrast among President Woodrow and his European counterparts. Wilson was adamant about international morality; whereas, his counterparts focused on national gains as a result of the war. "Hitler did not wage war because of the Treaty of Versailles," MacMillan writes in her concluding chapter. Even if Germany had retained everything that was taken from it at Versailles, he would have wanted more: "the destruction of Poland, control of Czechoslovakia, above all the conquest of the Soviet Union" as well of course as the annihilation of the Jews."

In the introduction of Paris 1919, MacMillan writes "We know something of what it is to live at the end of a great war. When the Cold War ended in 1989 and Soviet Marxism vanished into the dustbin of history, older forces, religion, and nationalism, came out of their deep freeze." She believes that it is a valid argument that resurgent Islam is our current menace; whereas, in 1919, the menace was Russian Bolshevism. Chapter one is dedicated to discussing Woodrow Wilson and his trip to Europe; a trip that is in itself one for the history books. This is so because never before had a United States President ever traveled to Europe while in office. MacMillan focuses on Wilson's biographical information; discussing when and where he was born and the way of life during this time. She also discusses in great detail, Wilson's struggle with depression and illness. This discussion can lead one to doubt Wilson's credibility and ability to make proper judgments during the Peace Conference, because of his weakened mental state. MacMillan goes so far as to discuss President Wilson's relationships with women and the gossip surrounding such relationships. She writes, "During his first marriage he had close, possibly even romantic, friendships with several women."

Chapter four is dedicated to one of Wilson's counterparts, Lloyd George. This chapter begins almost like a fictional novel. MacMillan writes, "On January 11, David Lloyd George bounded with his usual energy onto a British destroyer for the Channel crossing." This is a rather playful description of the British leader. It seems a bit out of place in a historical rendition of a vastly serious world event. MacMillan goes into great detail about his character and physical appearance as well. MacMillan seems to place great emphasis on building up the British leader. Her objectivity can be questioned because of her familial connection to Lloyd George; she is his granddaughter, a fact that she fails to acknowledge in Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World. Armed with this information, it is hard for the reader not to see the pedestal Lloyd George is placed upon by MacMillan.

MacMillan's chapter five moves beyond the descriptions of the leaders and moves into their unity as the "League of the People." It is in this chapter in which MacMillan deals with the composition of the Supreme Council. In addition to discussing the Council, MacMillan deems it important to provide the reader with descriptions of meeting places and how they appear present day. She writes, "The great staterooms at the Quai d'Orsay have survived the passage of time and a later German occupation surprisingly well." She goes so far as to even describe the furnishings and color scheme of the room. MacMillan provides a great deal of information on the meeting held in places such as this. She writes that the Supreme Council met at least once a day, sometimes two or three times. These events led to the creation of The League of Nations, which MacMillan writes, "Only a handful of eccentric historians still bother to study the League of Nations."

MacMillan recorded a thorough rendition of the Peace Conference of 1919 in Paris 1919. She left no area of interest untouched. Her four hundred ninety-four page work is broken into eight lengthy units which include thirty chapters total. She includes maps of Europe in 1914, Germany and Europe in 1920, East Central Europe in 1919, The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, The Middle East from the Treaty of Sevres to the Treaty of Lausanne, China and the Pacific 1914-1919, and Africa in 1919. She also includes many different photographs taken during the Peace Conference and its surrounding events. She addresses issues in many different countries; such as, China, Poland, Palestine, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia to name a few. MacMillan's appendix is composed of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and nothing else. She has a very extensive bibliography and an extensive note section. MacMillan's evaluations of the many different works lead to a rather interesting historical rendition of a complicated and controversial period in history.

There is little doubt that the events, and the outcome, of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 played a major role in changing the world. Every historian discussed in this paper believed this to be so. Their views on certain aspects of the Conference, and how significant certain aspects were, may vary. All works are presented, in their forewords, as objective historical works that are composed of by extensive evaluations of other historical works and documents. The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe 1918-1933 by Sally Marks, The Peace Conference of 1919 by F.S. Marston, Great Britain, France, and the German Problem 1918-1939 by W.M. Jordan, and Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan have provided readers with different views of the Conference. The way in which these historians composed their views of the Conference is termed historiography, which can described as, simply, a historical form of literature. A more accurate description of historiography is that it is the principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation. Marks, Marston, Jordan, and MacMillan combined all of these aspects to carry on the legacy of Peace Conference of 1919 and the end of the First World War.

References

Jordan. W.M. Great Britain, France, and the German Problem 1918-1939. Surrey, England: Gresham Press, 1971.

MacMillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World. New York: Random House, 2001.

Marks, Sally. The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe 1918-1933. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976.

Marston, F.S. The Peace Conference of 1919. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1944.

The National Centre for History Education. "What is Historiography-and why is it Important?" Available from http://www.hyperhistory.org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=735&op=page. Internet; accessed 23 April 2008.

Courtney Kennon is a mother and wife. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphasis in Education, History, and English from Arkansas State University. She is in the process of pursuing her non-traditional teaching license in hopes of becoming an elementary educator.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Courtney_Smith_Kennon

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products2

Woodrow Wilson Scolding the Senate

2010-02-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but there own, have rendered the Government of the United States helpless and contemptible. -- statement made in reference to certain members of the Senate [March 4, 1917] - from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://politicalfirestorm.blogspot.com/

How Did the Global Financial Crisis and Bubble Happen?

2010-02-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Former FED Chairman Alan Greenspan made a very interesting comment when he testified before congress after the Global Financial bubble burst of late 2008. When asked how did this happen, he made a number of astute observations and comments, of course the most telling and one that has been repeated the most was; "I couldn't believe that bankers would act this way against their own interests" or something to that point.

Was it more irrational exuberance, only this time aimed at the banking sector? Well, if you'd like to read an extremely good book on the reality of "rational investment" on Wall Street than boy to I have a good book recommendation for you. The book is a really good read, but very detail oriented and philosophically based, which 100s of names, theories, examples, observations and a good bit of history on economic thought, and financial theory. The book is:

"The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street" by Justin Fox; Harper Business Book Publishers; New York, NY; 2009.

As the author takes you through some 350 pages, he never actually answers the question, which is the suggested in the title of the book; are markets rational? But, that is okay, as the reader, if intellectually endowed will have a very good understanding by the time they finish. All the pros and cons, and theories of this question are addressed.

I very much enjoyed the history, and his lectures on the evolution of economic and financial thinking. There were many folks listed in the book, as well as all their arguments. I enjoyed the comments about Warren Buffet, and the top academic scholars on investment theory, portfolio allocation schemes, capital asset pricing, and option pricing. Action packed with references galore, it's all here. Think on this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow is also Founder of the Car Wash Guys, a cool little Franchise Company; www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

http://www.pippoproducts.com/familyfinance/index.html

Why the Free Market System Works

2010-01-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

The free market system is becoming more and more popular across the world even as it is under attack here in the United States. You can even see China starting to realize the benefits of the free market system.

Supply and demand are the main driving forces behind this type of system. Supply and demand works like a set of checks and balances. When the demand for a product over shadows the supply, the price of that product will shoot up. When the supply outweighs the demand, the market will correct itself and prices will drop.

The best part about this type of market system is that consumers are free to buy anything they want and are not forced by the government to buy anything they don't want. The producers of goods can manufacture whatever they want and are free to wildly succeed or fail. That is what has made America the richest country in the world.

Critics will argue "what about the poor"? The truth is that our poor are better off than a large majority of the rest of the world's population and that have the opportunity to succeed as wildly as they have failed. The government isn't there to lift them up or hold them down. In fact, government programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps only act to make people comfortable in poverty. The only way to reverse this is to make them uncomfortable in poverty so they will do something about it.

Don't get me wrong, I feel strongly that we as citizens of the United States of America have a responsibility to help out the less fortunate. The more successful we are the more we should help out. However, it should be on a voluntary basis, not forced by the government. The government is wasteful and inefficient.

President Grover Cleveland understood this very well. During his presidency there was a huge drought and the farmers in Texas lost all their crops. A plan was presented to him about the government coming to the aid of these farmers. Not only did he veto it, he strongly scolded those in favor of it and reminded them that it was not the government's responsibility to bail these farmers out. He pointed out that it was the responsibility of their fellow man to help them.

President Cleveland was right as millions of dollars of support poured in to these people with very little waste. The most surprising thing may that President Cleveland was a democrat yet still understood the importance of limited government.

Dustin has been writing online articles on a variety of subjects for years. He also operates several websites includingWooden Folding Chairs and Cheap Folding Chairs

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dustin_S_Kerr

Woodrow Wilson Defending America

2010-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

"The world must be made safe for democracy."

"The day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured." From Bartlett's Familiar Quotations With these words Woodrow Wilson lead the United States into World War I.

http://www.pippoproducts.com/education/index.html

A Review of Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope

2010-01-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

In his book, The Audacity of Hope, President Barak Obama addresses issues that catapulted him to fame and brought the hope that he would be a prominent presidential election candidate. The book is originally his speech in Illinois state elections for senate chamber which has been delivered in 2004 in only 20 minutes. Later in 2006 he published that speech under the title "Audacity of Hope" that has the same themes he touched upon in the campaign speech in 2004.

Chapter one

The first chapter of the book is dedicated to two American parties, Democrats and Republicans. In this chapter, Obama contents that the congress is now more partisan than other times and that these two parties should overlook the differences and show collegiality and fellow feeling. He is not a supporter of mere partisan stance by the democrats against Republicans, nor does he agree with the old and worn out partisan poses or the Republicans. He hopes that Democrats show a sense of cooperation, while adhering to the central trends of the party.

Chapter two

He then in chapter two has recourse to politician behavior in the American political and social scene, asserting that in the age of information, not any of the politicians can remain exempt from the public scrutiny in the case of blunder. He calls for more adherences to political values in the face of conflict for sheer power. He also objects that the Democrat loss of offices comes from the internal factions and also from a more divisiveness with the Republicans. He admits that political scene dose not permit politician to remain true to their values. He finally hopes that the leaders of the two parties converge in the direction that its outcome be the nation's profit.

Chapter three

Then in chapter 3 Obama gives an account of legislation debate in which the law makers are actually reluctant to amendments necessary to make the law up-to-date according to the needs and requirements of the day. Personally, Obama is in the front who support the idea that, though the constitution is the historical phenomenon, we can have special cased that according to which this constitutions shows flexibility of interpretation. He generally supports this flexibility, when facing the needs of an ever-growing world.

Chapter four

Obama in chapter 4 goes back to previous discussion of politics and politicians, saying that special interest groups have an influence on them, who seek out their special interest during any political event. Obama declares that in order to tackle the problem of being at service of special interest groups and increase the efficacy of any political system, politicians should be true to the morality and values of the party. He, then, calls for democrats' appeasing the power-seeking parties and attitudes, so that they are able to serve their constituency better.

Chapter five

Obama, in chapter 5, this time targets economy and US economy in particular and considers its impact in social, cultural and political domains. According to him economic inefficiency is to the loss of the poor and marginalized people, but his own meetings with the prominent and wealthy people attests that his view is ironically also true.

Chapter six

He then, touches upon school reform, which has been implemented through empirical research. Religion and religious faith is Obama's next resort in his book, by which he contends republican show- off of the religious faith. He gives an account of his journey from atheism to faith and that religious faith has strengthened his personal and moral convictions. Obama objects that since Americans are deeply religious, the only by which democrats can win this people's consent is remaining in a sense of ease to religious faith. He concludes that religious tolerance is the best way to, for the two parties to have common grounds for ideas, not a hotspot in which they lead full-fledged war.

Chapter seven

Race is dominant theme in chapter 7. In this Obama admits that, although the institutionalized form of racial discrimination has been ended, but with a look at American social scene, one can notice subtle form of discrimination is still present, however this prejudice dose not stem from fundamentally race-based attitudes, but from sheer ignorance of its perpetrators. Obama wants all Americans to disagree with any cases of discrimination in order to uproot this filthy phenomenon from Black experience of life.

Chapter eight

Chapter 8 of the book is a scene in which Obama arranges American role in international politics and relations. He asserts that US defense budget is not in accord with the new patterns and needs of international relations and that American must attempt to assume more responsibility in facing the new paradigms emerging after 9 September 2001. In Iraq war issue, he believes that unilateralism was misguided and it has been poorly handled by Republican administration. He admits more multilateral efforts in solving world problems and that the Americans needlessly have been complacent about their role and function regarding the world affairs.

Chapter nine

The last chapter is family in which Obama gives his own childhood accounts. Obama here contends that Republican's stance over the family in posing personal dogmas in the frame of the law is not true to the private aspects of personal life. He finally asserts that in order to provide a center for children to thrive in, the families should have an unshakeable foundation and for that, supportive policies and personal responsibility must be dominant among the collective attitudes toward family.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mohammad_Heidari

The Failed Presidency of James Buchanan

2010-01-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

James Buchanan was the fifteenth President of the United States. Few presidents before him had as much experience in public life as he, but his presidency was to be an utter failure. A study of his presidency may prove to have some lessons for the current administration.

Buchanan was born in Pennsylvania of prosperous Scotch-Irish parents. After graduating from Dickinson College he became a highly successful lawyer and was elected to Congress in 1820 after serving in the Pennsylvania legislature as a Whig. When the Whig party collapsed he followed Andrew Jackson and became an important democratic leader.

Buchanan served as minister to Russia and, in 1934, was elected to the Senate where he served for ten years. He became Secretary of State under James K. Polk in 1844. After a couple of failed attempts for the presidency, Buchanan finally secured the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1854 with support from the South and was elected president in November of that year. As President Buchanan was beholden to the South his pro south policies and his inability to compromise in the face of sectional pressures proved to be disastrous for the Democratic Party.

In order to uphold the southern view that a territorial legislature could not prohibit slavery, Buchanan secretly influenced a northern justice of the Supreme Court into voting with the southern Supreme Court majority against the legality of the Missouri Compromise giving us the infamous Dred Scott decision. His expansionist policies further exacerbated sectional tensions and his endorsement of the admission the State of Kansas to the Union as a slave state after he had earlier pledged for a fair vote proved to be politically disastrous.

A depression in 1857, Buchanan's opposition to northern sponsored economic recovery legislation and the fact that his was the most corrupt administration since the countries founding did further harm his administration. With all this, Buchanan found himself desperately trying to avoid a civil war as states threatened to secede from the union. Even though he was able to work out an informal agreement to temporarily preserve the union, it was small recompense for the damage done. He handed over the reins of power to President Lincoln in 1809 and withdrew from politics.

Happy New Year - 2010

2010-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Joe Conigliaro
http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

Book Review - Homeland Insecurity by Steven Fox

2009-12-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

It was a period of American history when the most cherished and basic human rights of our society were trampled, suspended, or ignored altogether --- a time of profiling, FBI bungling, military commissions, secret arrests, suspension of due process and habeas corpus, deportation, extraordinary rendition, second class citizenship and other forms of harassment --- all in the name of homeland security during a war being fought overseas. Sounds very familiar doesn't it? Surely "Homeland Insecurity
," by award winning author Stephen Fox, was written to further expose the sometimes draconic and often illegal activities of the Bush administration to protect our citizens after the bombing of the World Trade Center. But in fact, the setting of this well written and carefully documented book is World War II where families of German and Italian ancestry were systematically relocated, interned, or in some cases, repatriated to a homeland they did not remember or had never visited.

The cast of characters in"Homeland Insecurity
y" run the gamut from historically famous people to anonymous families who endured the ruin of their reputations, assaults on their well being and in some cases loss of lives. Notable among the former group are Franklin Roosevelt and J. Edgar Hoover. As it turns out, both of these men harbored insecurities and prejudices that when acted out, resulted in a tragic assault on the Bill of Rights.

Without question "Homeland Insecurity" is a scholarly work. In particular, Fox's thematic analysis of the impact of the government's actions on the lives of German immigrants appears to be based on an in depth review of FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service documents, the results of which are meticulously footnoted and documented. But the thing I like best about the book are the narratives provided by the immigrants themselves. They make for a compelling enjoyable read. Some of the immigrants were unabashed Nazi supporters and it is not hard to understand why they were dealt with swiftly and harshly. Most of them, however, were good and decent citizens who considered themselves Americans and who found themselves caught up in a system they could not comprehend or defend against.

"Homeland Insecurity" begins with a quote by Jon Carroll which is worth repeating here, "It is said that those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. I suspect that those who do remember history are doomed to repeat it too. Human nature is human nature, and is an even deeper driving force than memory." Was human nature the driving force behind the actions taken by our government to secure our borders during World War II or for that matter, was it the face behind the mask of overzealous prosecutions after the bombing of the World Trade Center? This book is a must read for all Americans concerned about their freedom.

Written for Reader Views (November 2009)

Ron Standerfer is a novelist, freelance writer, book reviewer, and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous news publications including online editions of the Chicago Tribune, USA Today,and the Honolulu Star Advertiser. To receive more information about this writer please visit his website at http://www.ronstanderfer.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ronald_Standerfer

http://www.helium.com/users/510112/show_articles

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

I wish you, my friends and family, all the same faith, hope, joy and love as was the Queen of Heaven's when she gave birth to Our Lord and Savior in that humble manger some 2000 years ago.

Thank-you for visitinghttp://www.pippoproducts.comand supporting me in all I do.

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

Merry Christmas

Joe Conigliaro

Barack Obama Nobel Peace Prize Speech Was a Sublime Moment of Wisdom

2009-12-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Every now and again a speech is made which somehow manages to elevate the issues to which it refers to a higher plane. Barack Obama's words of acceptance in Oslo following his award of the Nobel Peace Prize was just such a speech. Some people think that if Barack Obama recited the phone book it would move his audience to tears, but the fact is, beneath that ultra smooth delivery, he made some salient points too.

He speaks as if moved by a higher purpose, guided by a divine light. His vision far exceeds the vision of most other politicians on the world stage today. He spoke about a world tolerant of other races, other beliefs, about politicians who have the courage to break the mould by inviting their enemies to enter into dialogue. Above all he made it clear that, although wars are inevitable, the route to peace does not always have to be military. He did not start the two wars America is presently involved in, but he is committed to seeing them through. For the future, he envisions more stringent pressures being applied by a global marketplace, where each country depends economically on every other, with effective, honed, fiscal incentives and punishments in place to deter rogue states from misbehaving. Not a single life need be lost.

As always with Obama, there is the moral undercurrent, which tentatively suggests we ought to take responsibility for our own actions before throwing stones at someone else's glass house. The political cliche is "get your own house in order first" before you can be a model for the rest of the world. Some may interpret this softer, more inward looking approach as indicative of a crisis of confidence for the once supreme superpower, but although this is a break from the jingoism of America's imperial past, macho posturing these days is not cool, and nowhere near as important as it once was. In some ways the financial crisis has done us all a favour by opening up our minds to new possibilities. What people want now from government is concern not coercion; concern for the environment, concern for the impoverished, concern for each other. Americans have always been good Christians; perhaps it's time for a little Christian tolerance. Nation states, no less than individuals, have a duty to forgive and repent, in other words to let go of the past and dream of a better future.

Obama gives the impression that he fully understands that, which is what makes him the perfect recipient of this award in the first place. And who knows, once the "enemy" realises that the threat of nuclear obliteration at the hands of "greedy Americans" has at last gone away, the rallying cry from terrorists will go away too. This is foreign policy based on wisdom not aggression, and a beacon for the rest of the world to follow.

Milton Johanides is a retired businessman, church elder, writer and artist. He has been featured on BBC TVs Songs of Praise, owned numerous art galleries and once ran an award winning picture framing business in Scotland. The views expressed in these articles are his own. email: miltonjohanides@yahoo.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milton_Johanides

The Political Campaign of James K Polk For President

2009-12-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

During the Democratic political campaign convention of 1844, it took several ballots before a front runner for the presidential nominee emerged. That front runner was a man who had come to the convention hoping to be nominated as vice president instead.

James K. Polk had served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and governor of Tennessee, yet he was essentially a little-known candidate--so little known, in fact, that the Whig campaign repeatedly posed the question "Who is James K. Polk?"

Polk, though, sensing that most Americans wanted to see their country expand, spoke out during the political campaign in favor of annexing Texas and Oregon, and he had the support of the aging Andrew Jackson. Expansion became his campaign issue, and this emphasis was popular in the South and West.

Slavery existed in the background of this political campaign issue: Texas's entry into the United States would tip the balance in favor of slave-holding states. Polk's tough stance against Mexico (which claimed Texas) and Great Britain (which claimed portions of Oregon) was also popular. He won the election and, shortly after his victory, Congress voted to annex Texas.

Polk kept his political campaign promise of expanding the country. He signed a treaty with the British that brought Oregon in as American territory. Disputes over territory were followed by war with Mexico, but American forces were successful. In the end, Polk added not only Texas but also New Mexico and California to American territory. With this new territory, however, came the question that had haunted each American effort to expand: would slavery be allowed in these new territories?

Visit Killer Campaigning to learn more about political campaign training.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_R_Turner

President Obama and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society

2009-12-10T01:42:00.000-08:00

"This nation, this generation, in this hour has man's first chance to build a Great Society, a place where the meaning of a man's life matches the marvels of a man's labor." -- Address, accepting the presidential nomination [August 1964] from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. With this speech Lyndon B. Johnson began his quest to expand Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal. During his presidency, Johnson gave us:

1. Medicare - (Medical care for the elderly)

2. Medicaid - (Medical care for the impoverished)

3. Federal Aid to Elementary and Secondary Schools

4. The National Endowment of the Arts

5. Liberal Immigration Law

After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed these bills they proved to be much more expensive than originally estimated. Johnson then was also in the middle of the war in Vietnam which he was escalating.

Today President Obama is attempting another expansion of the New Deal with the passage of a new health care bill and as with President Johnson he is in the middle of a war, which he is about to expand. There is one big difference though, Johnson's work was done on the heals of a President Kennedy tax cut, which was expanding the economy. President Obama is attempting to expand government programs while in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the great depression. Whether President Obama will be able to bring us to the realization of Johnson's great society is still at question. What is not at question is that Johnson's vision is still a driving force in this country and the people of America have some hard choices to make.

Joseph Conigliaro

Democrat, What's That?

2009-12-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

At no time, at no place, in solemn conventions assembled, through no chosen agents, had the American people officially proclaimed the United States to be a democracy. The Constitution did not contain the word or any word lending countenance to it, except possibly the mention of "We, the people," in the preamble ... When the Constitution was framed no respectable person called himself or herself a democrat. - America in Midpassage [1939], ch. 17 - Mary Ritter Beard [1876-1958] also from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products3.html

Barack Obama's Early Years in Indonesia

2009-11-26T01:00:00.000-08:00

The current President and Nobel Prize Winner, spent his some of his childhood years in Indonesia, after his Mother married Lolo Soentoro, an Indonesian citizen and moved to Jakarta- the capital of Indonesia. Lolo met her at University in the United States. He ended up becoming an Executive of an Oil Company.

There would have been few expatriates in Indonesia. Jakarta, would of resembled a poorer Indian City,- rather than a more modern city, it is today. The Obama family lived in one of Jakarta's more exclusive areas- Menteng. Barack Obama's mother working as a secretary for the US Embassy, around 30 minutes drive from the Menteng area.

Education in Indonesia for a child of an expatriate would have been restrictive ; International Education was first introduced for expatriates only in the 1980's, and then opened up for Indonesians later in the mid to late 1990's.

Choosing a school for young Barack would have been obvious, and as wealthy Indonesians traditionally believed Catholic Schools provided the best education. He attended two exclusive private Catholic Schools in the Menteng area.

His classmates fondly called him 'Barry," many may have been Moslems, but in a Country where it was illegal at the time not to state you have a religion. Many classmates could have been Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Catholic- common in many schools in the USA, today.

Many of his classmates stated that "Barry" was known to tease girls, and was very studious. He even studied at night- a VOA correspondence course, in the pre-internet age. He also once broke a bamboo school fence. But he was evidently well liked at School.

Critics and supporters often confuse the Indonesia today, with the Indonesia, when Barack Obama lived there as a child. It was politically a dictatorship, but with the active support of the USA, and Western Europe. But back then Democracies as we know them today- were extremely rare in South-East Asia.

Barack Obama's Indonesian experience, has been portrayed in a negative light by some, but they choose to ignore or understand what Indonesia was like during the time of Obama's childhood. And more importantly what skill's he may of developed, because of this early exposure to a very different World, to the States.

Learning to get along with others, understanding different cultures, and creating a common goal that is easily understood- Important International Leadership skills in todays complicated World. And perhaps Barack Obama's early Indonesian years, helped put him on the long, and improbable road leading to his Presidency.

Discover the City of Dreams

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Medley

Under Three Empires: The Thorns and Roses of a Life
http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

Under Three Empires - The Thorns and Roses of a Life by Izyaslav Darakhovskiy

2009-11-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Darakhovskiy in the gift shop at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC where he was signing copies of his book. I spoke to him for a few minutes and felt that he was a warm and personable man. He had a friendly and affable demeanor.

I thought his book would be a biography of his life under Nazi German, then Communist USSR and finally the United States. But it was more of a social commentary on life under those three empires.

It would seem logical that someone exposed to oppression under the Nazis and Communism would be bitter and jaded. That is not the case with Dr. Darakhovskiy. He gives an even-handed and mostly impartial glimpse into the political and social environments under the evil empires. One can forgive Dr. Darakhovskiy when he tends to step up onto his soap box, since even then he shows great restraint and professionalism when discussing the events that took the lives of his mother, sister and many other family members during the Holocaust. These horrendous events would try anyone's ability to persevere and move forward.

He paints a candid and interesting view of Americans when he covers his immigration to this country. He received a great cultural shock when realizing an American's obsession with wealth and how it clearly defined one class of people from another. Coming from a country where salaries were determined by a government scale to a country of free enterprise, Dr. Darakhovskiy found the disparity of the distribution of wealth to be almost incomprehensible.

Even this did not cloud Dr. Darakhovskiy's views of the United States. He talks for many pages on the wonderful Americans he met after settling in Rochester, NY who helped him adjust to a culture and a country that were vastly different from anything he had seen before and beyond his wildest imagination.

He wrote about the frustration and barriers to getting employed and the typical responses from potential employers he dubbed as "masterpieces of bureaucratic writing." But many people can attest that these remarks are not reserved for immigrants. We've all heard these same statements.

The only fault I found with the book was the editing. Dr. Darakhovskiy should consider another publisher for his next work. I have never read a book with so many spelling and grammatical errors. I understand that the editor may have wanted to keep Dr. Darakhovskiy's own words pure, but as he doesn't have a firm grasp on the American language, grammar and proper word usage are more important to the reader than verbatim. Some sentences just did not make sense, and this is where an editor can give us at least an idea of Dr. Darakhovskiy's message.

I'm glad to have met Dr. Darakhovskiy and read his book. It is a pleasure to read and if you're not careful, you might learn something. It is a must-read for scholars or anyone interested in the Holocaust or Eastern Europe and Russia.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_G._Scott

Historic Democrat Foreign Policy Incompetency Part II - Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama

2009-11-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Russians smelled weakness when President Carter talked about pulling troops out of South Korea. Carter signed away the Panama Canal during his presidency. Today, a Chinese company controls both ends of that Canal; Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., is a company associated with the Chinese Army.

Both the U.S. Military and the CIA saw serious cuts under the Carter Administration.

Losing Iran was one of his biggest blunders. President Carter withdrew U.S. support for Iran, allowing its pro Western government to fall. Iran's army hemorrhaged quality members; and the Iranian government was in disarray. Saddam saw an opportunity to settle long term disputes--assuming that Iraq would have the upper hand.

This resulted in the Iran Iraq War.

The new Iranian government supported terrorists in Lebanon; this included the terrorists that bombed the Marine barracks there. Today, we're dealing with an Iran supporting terrorism in Lebanon, Israel and Iraq. Iran later forged full steam ahead with its nuclear ambition.

Enter President Clinton. Important missile related technology got transferred to the Chinese under his administration.

President Clinton lifted certain restrictions so that Hughes Space and Communications could export technology to China. In exchange for Clinton's lifting these restrictions, Hughes' CEO continued to provide donations to the Democratic Party.

Prior to these transfers, Chinese missiles were unreliable, and prone to detonate shortly after launch. After these transfers, Chinese missiles were capable of striking a U.S. city with accuracy.

Spinoffs from missile technology can be transferred to the space program.

We're talking precision and guidance systems that could guide a missile to its target, or guide a lunar lander to the moon's surface. With the U.S. space program having setbacks, there's a real possibility that the Chinese could land a manned expedition on the moon before the U.S. returns there.

Should this happen, they'll be ahead of the United States when it comes to lunar exploration; and with operating a lunar base.

During his campaign, Barrack Obama argued that he'd reduce nuclear weapons, won't weaponize space, and that he'd cut missile defense. Both the Chinese and Russians are developing military and commercial space technology. Both countries are working hard to be able to eliminate our space advantage. They know that if they do that, they'll have a strategic upper hand over us. Obama's plans calls for us to stand in place while our strategic opponents blast right past us with weaponizing space.

Travis is a freelance writer that specializes in information market, political writing, fundraising and communications.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Travis_Hill

The Ethnic Presidency - How Race Decides the Race to the White House

2009-11-05T01:00:00.001-08:00

It is evident from the February 6th primaries that either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, or both, will be on the 2008 ballot for the Presidency of the U.S. There will be a lot of discussion in this race regarding whether or not Americans are ready and willing to accept a minority or female President. Will these candidates play into the hands of candidates like Chuck McCain or do they truly offer a viable alternative to a political system that has been dominated by white Anglo-Saxon and mostly protestant men?

In his latest book, The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House by Earl Ofari Hutchinson we get an in-depth feel as to the role that ethnicity and race will play in the presidential election. The book is an explosive look at how racial and ethnic conflict has openly and covertly played a crucial role the past three decades in influencing, shaping and ultimately deciding who bags the world's biggest political prize, the White House. It tells how racial politics will play an even bigger role in the 2008 presidential election and future elections.

It examines Obamamania, the Hillary and Bill factor, the soaring Latino vote, the silent but potent Asian-American vote, the immigration wars, the GOP's love-hate relationship with black and Latino America, and Bush's effort to recast the GOP from a clubby, ole white guys party to a party of racial diversity. The first primary is January 29.

Here is a sampling of questions The Ethnic Presidency asks and answers:

•Will America accept a black president? Can Obama be that president?

•Will America accept a woman president? Can Hillary be that president?

•Will America accept a Latino president? Can Bill Richardson be that president?

•Will America accept a Mormon president? Can Mitt Romney be that president?

•How the GOP played the Southern Strategy through Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. to repeatedly win the White House. Can and will they abandon it in 2008?

•Did blacks and Latinos elect Bush?

•Have the Democrats taken the black and Latino vote for granted?

•Why have Presidential candidates other than John Edwards avoided making poverty an issue?

•Why immigration will be a stealth factor in the 2008 campaign. And did it help or hurt John McCain?

•Will Rudolph Giuliani's contentious relations with blacks as New York mayor hurt or help his White House bid?

The presidential election in 2008 will be the most diverse and unusual the United States has ever had - what will it mean for the country and the residents of the US? The best way to learn about the ins and outs of this election is to read Mr. Hutchinson's newest book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Obama and the X Factor of Race

2. The Hillary and Obama Road Show

3. Edwards Made Poverty No Longer a Dirty Word in the Democrat's Mouths

4. .Between Worlds: President Richardson or Latino President Richardson?

5. Democrats Take the Black Vote off the Plantation

6. Reagan, Race and His Imitators

7. Inclusion is Still the GOP's Dilemma

8. Republicans Rethink Race-Momentarily

9. The GOP's Immigration Wall

10. Presidential Candidates Discover the Model Minority

11. Blacks Helped Elect Bush

12. Latinos Helped Elect Bush Too

I had the opportunity to conduct a blog interview with Mr. Hutchinson and his responses to my questions were as follows:

1. Our nation is divided politically, socially and economically. Would a minority president heal those divisions or further polarize them?

Yes and No. Obama appears to represent ethnic bridge building and healing. This is welcome, but there are powerful political forces that have a vested interest, profit and belief in racial and ethnic, gender, sexual preference and religious discord. That has been the American ethic for two centuries. Change will come slowly, and will be fought tenaciously, one man alone can't do it.

2. All candidates promise change in the status quo and, if elected, an end to the influence of power brokers. It seems that if a minority president is elected, it will be because of power brokers and their influence would actually increase in D.C. They may be different people, but the end result is the same. How can any of these candidates possibly avoid the influence of these groups which may be responsible for their success in the election?

They can't. Money is the mother's milk of politics and elections. Lobbyists and fat cat corporate interests will continue to dominate and influence the political agenda. A president committed to reversing that will need to have the political intestinal fortitude to say no to special interests, to mean it and to stick to his word.

3. Can a minority president govern? Winning the White House is one thing but winning a House and Senate majority, as we have seen, is quite another. There is no doubt that certain political forces will gather in these chambers if a minority candidate is elected to thwart their every move. Will we be so embattled with domestic in-fighting that the world will soon pass us by?
Yes and he doesn't have to be a minority president for that to happen, It happened with Clinton and Bush. The same will happen to Obama especially when he pushes for universal health care, to end the war, and to get the money for massive spending on jobs, education and the infrastructure.

4. This is a question that few dare to ask. How long can a minority president survive before extreme elements in our own society decide that they cannot tolerate such a leader? Is the Secret Service that good?

They don't need to physically assassinate him. They can simply politically emasculate and befuddle him which is tantamount to physical elimination without needing to use a bullet.

5. Will the minorities actually go to the polls and vote?

Yes, but minorities alone don't elect presidents -- not yet anyway. White males still make up almost forty percent of the electorate. Obama can only win if he can assemble a modern day updated, non-confrontational Rainbow Coalition.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author, syndicated columnist, political analyst and commentator. He has been a frequent guest on Hannity and Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, The Big Story, EXTRA, and numerous CNN News and Talk Shows.

He was a regular commentator on CNBC's The Dennis Miller Show. He has been a guest on the Today Show, Dateline, The Lehrer Hour, and BET News, America's Black Forum. He is a frequent commentator for the American Urban Broadcast Network and Ed Gordon's News and Notes on NPR. He is a featured columnist for www.BlackNews. com, www.BlackAmericaWeb .com, and www.Alternet.org.

He is associate editor of New America Media. His op-ed columns appear in the Baltimore Sun, L.A. Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Christian Science Monitor, and other major newspapers.

Mr. Harris was born in Massachusetts. He attended The American University in Washington, D.C. and received his degree in Political Science. His graduate work was done at the University of Northern Colorado and Howard University. While in D.C., he spent several years working for local and regional government agencies. Upon moving to Maine he worked with three governors and served as the Assistant Director of the Maine State Planning Office. He worked on a White House Task Force for the development of a National Rural Policy and later served as Rural Policy Coordinator at the Federal Regional Council of New England. He has worked on gubernatorial and senatorial political campaigns and currently works in Special Education.

Mr. Harris is co-author of the novel WAKING GOD and is a nationally syndicated / featured writer for The American Chronicle. He is working on Book II of the Waking God trilogy. His second novel, A MAINE CHRISTMAS CAROL was released by Cambridge Books, his third book, JESUS TAUGHT IT, TOO: THE EARLY ROOTS OF THE LAW OF ATRRACTION was released by Avatar Publication.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Harris

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products
The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House

The Likeness of the Democratic Party

2009-10-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

"The democratic party is like a mule -- without pride of ancestry or hope of posterity - Ignatius Donnelly 1831-9011 from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products.html

Historic Democrat Foreign Policy Incompetency Part I - Presidents Kennedy and Johnson

2009-10-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

High school history books describe the Bay of Pigs invasion as a botched up attempt to liberate Cuba; but they leave key details out. Over 1,000 Cuban exiles trained, with the U.S. military, for months prior to the invasion.

Humberto Fontova, Cuban born political writer focusing on Latin American politics, found facts missing from these books. What he discovers shows how close we were to securing freedom and democracy for the Cubans. But one man stood in the way.

The Cuban exile's job was to make a landing, then take out the Cuban ground forces. The United States Navy was to provide a few combat fighter planes to wipe out the Cuban fighter planes, and to eliminate Cuban armor and reinforcements. This was a job the U.S. Navy was ready, and capable, of doing.

With Cuban air power and ground reinforcements gone, "Brigada 2506" would take over the airport. They'd secure it, then pave the way for their air wing to arrive to provide them with ammunition and resupply. Then they'd join up with the resistance movement already underway in Cuba, and lead them to liberating Cuba.

When the ground invasion got underway, the Cuban exiles proved their worth. Despite being subjected to heavier fire, despite being drastically outgunned and outnumbered (40 to 1); the Cuban exiles pushed the Cuban army back. They almost pushed Castro's army to the other side of Cuba. Keep in mind that these exiles were civilians.

Even though John F. Kennedy canceled the pre-invasion bombardment, the Navy could've wiped the Cuban advantage out with two fighter planes. When John F. Kennedy said we "can't get involved," Admiral Arleigh Burke lost his cool and made this statement: "We put those boys there, Mr. President, by God we are involved!"

Without the planned U.S. backing, the Cuban exiles had no choice but to fight till their ammo ran out. The Bay of Pigs invasion failed because the Kennedy Administration failed them.

The Soviets saw that as a sign of weakness, then made plans to position nuclear missiles into Cuba. People credit Kennedy with the way he handled the Cuban Missile Crises, but we lost face in that one to.

The Russians couldn't stomach a fight in Cuba, so had we invaded, we would've succeeded. In exchange for them pulling their missiles out of Cuba, we pulled our missiles out of Turkey, and promised not to liberate Cuba.

We ended up in a weaker position; starting a historic trend of democratic administrations weakening America in the face of its enemies.

Our involvement with Vietnam started with President Kennedy. Both President Kennedy and Johnson ignored advice from the Pentagon; advice that would've ended the Vietnam War.

It wasn't till President Nixon became president that we made headway with the Vietnam War. Nixon cut our troop numbers in Vietnam, then mixed massive bombardment of strategic points in addition to continuing the ground campaign. This forced the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table. They previously refused to do so in response to Democrats announcing that they'll cut funding for the Vietnam War.

We pulled our combat units out of Vietnam in 1973; the South Vietnamese Government needed funding to stand against the North Vietnamese. The Democratic Congress refused, cutting their funding and forcing an end to the Vietnam involvement. Had that funding continued at needed levels, we'd have a prosperous Democratic South Vietnam bordering a Communist North Vietnam today.

Travis is a freelance writer that specializes in information market, political writing, fundraising and communications.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Travis_Hill

A Soldier's True Story of Triumph and Tears

2009-10-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Finding Fighting for Delphine: A Soldier's True Story of Triumph and Tears, the memoir of Ken Krueger by Lee Burtman.

During World War II millions of young men were uprooted from their daily lives. Many small town boys were suddenly thrown into a massive group of men being trained to fight on foreign soil. Ken Krueger was no exception. Growing up in a small Minnesota town, Ken was just another young American guy. He was raised a Christian and throughout the rest of his life, held his religious convictions very close, which saw him through good times and bad.

This book is a memoir of Ken Krueger's life, focuses on what happened to him during World War II. He became a messenger in Patton's 3nd Army and was sent to Europe. During the Allied advance toward Germany, Ken was stationed in a small town in France and assigned to a room in a French family's house. It was in this house that Ken's life was changed, by a beautiful young French girl, the daughter of the family he was assigned to, Delphine.

Throughout the book, Ken describes the war as he experienced it, the many times he called upon God to deliver him, and how his guardian angel saved him from deadly situations. Messengers were true lone soldiers being sent on almost suicide missions to hand deliver messages from HQ to field units. Messengers were often deliberately targeted by enemy forces to disrupt the lines of communications, so Ken was often the target of German snipers as he drove his Jeep through the European Countryside.

This independently published book does justice to Ken's past, bringing out his story in a way that lets the reader relate to his true experiences. Lee has brought out this biography in true form and has given value to this historical record. Her desire to publish Ken's story is commendable and donating the book's proceeds to ministry shows her selfless heart in this challenging task.

I recommend this work to history lovers, and anyone who likes an inspirational tale.

BOOK SPECIFICATIONS
Hardback
Author: Lee Burtman
Page count: 160
Language: English
Publisher: Moonglade Media

Steve Terjeson is a military historian dedicated to preserving World War II history. He has founded a website (World War II History http://wwarii.com) and has reviewed many books and film publications. This book can be found at the publishers website http://www.moonglademedia.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Terjeson

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products.html

The Tragic Death of Robert F. Kennedy

2009-10-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Many knew him simply as Bobby, but many who are interested in Robert F. Kennedy trivia can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had lived to see the presidential election, as many felt that the combination of his own personal intelligence and charm, along with the Kennedy legacy would assure him the election. However, a Robert F. Kennedy quiz will show that like his brother, he would be gunned down in his prime, but Bobby would not even get the chance that John did to make even a brief impact as president of the country.

Robert F. Kennedy trivia will show that he spent his early years first in the navy and then traveling for some time while writing for the Boston Post. He graduated with a B.A. in government from Harvard University, and would then later complete law school as well. Due to his time at boarding schools and traveling, he never knew his brother John much growing up, but in the early fifties they would travel together extensively, becoming fast friends, and Robert would end up serving closely in his brothers administration, as one of his closest advisors and attorney general.

He would continue to serve Johnson for only a short time after his brother's death, and take a seat in the New York state senate, but then, seeing the condition the country was in and the feelings which were brewing amongst the poor and many minorities about the presidency, he decided to announce his own candidacy. The democratic primaries became a battle between Bobby, Hubert Humphrey, and Eugene McCarthy after Johnson dropped out.

The primaries had been hotly contested as Kennedy sought to achieve the Democratic presidential nomination, but one of his largest victories came when he was able to win the California primary. However, a Robert F. Kennedy quiz will have to mention the tragic date of that California primary, June 5th, 1968, as it would be after this victory that he would be assassinated.

Many felt that Robert F. Kennedy's own platforms for social change, civil rights, and equality for all were even stronger than that of his brothers, and there had been a surge of hope upon his running for president that many felt could have carried him into an extremely strong and popular government with the power to affect real change. After his death, the offices of the secret service were extended to cover presidential candidates as well as the POTUS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shawna_S._Ruppert

http://www.visitscotlandtours.com

Joseph Kennedy's Philosophy

2009-10-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

"Don't get mad, get even" - Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888 - 1969) fromBartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://www.pippoproducts.com

The Ex-Presidents of the United States of America, Bill Clinton - Part Four

2009-09-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

His problems were further exacerbated when the Republicans gained control of both houses in the 1994 mid-term elections for the first time in forty years. It appeared for all intensive purposes that Clinton would be out on his ear but in the face of adversity he triumphed. A Bosnian peace deal was brokered in Dayton, Ohio between the warring factions, the President visited Northern Ireland and helped move the peace process forward by acting as an honest broker and the economy continued to improve.

He was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the 1996 presidential election and he defeated the Republican candidate, Bob Dole by a healthy margin. Clinton's second term was to be overshadowed by the revelations that Clinton had sexual relations with a White House intern, named Monica Lewinsky. He became further embroiled in the scandal when he lied about his relationship with Lewinsky in a sworn disposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit. His second term however was successful - he balanced the budget, implemented crime control measures, restructured the welfare system, downsized federal departments and improved the economy, introducing low rates of interest, lowering inflation and reducing unemployment. In foreign affairs, he tread cautiously - pulling troops out of Somalia, negotiating with North Korea to halt its development of nuclear weapons and working as a peace broker in Israel and Northern Ireland.

Clinton and other Western leaders made the decision to bomb Bosnia which led to the signing of the Bosnia Accords in 1999. He also deflated a very tense situation between NATO and Russia, after the former's military intervention in Serbia.

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland.

Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net

Defeating Islamic Terrorism / Amazon Book Link

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Shortt

Carter on Americas Diversity

2009-09-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

"We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don't make us weak. They're the source of our strength. ...The question is not when we came here ... but why our families came here. And what we did after we arrived." -- James Earl, Jr. Carter, Speech at Al Smith dinner, New York City. [October 21, 1976] from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

Defeating Terrorism - A Must-Read for Every American!

2009-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Glenda Bixler

You may have recently read my review of Priest to Mafia Don by Father Patrick Bascio. In the same year, Father Bascio has also published Defeating Islamic Terrorism: The Wahhabi Factor. I don't think I have read two such different books by the same author and yet, both are excellent in presentation and fascinating in covering their subject.

Father Bascio professionally has acted as Director of the PhD program for American and Allied personnel at the United States Naval War College. During his years as a priest, he became a member of the General Assembly of the United Nations. There, he had the distinction of having been the only priest ever to be a Permanent Delegate to that august body. Through his professional involvement, he gained the knowledge and experience used in writing this book. Normally I wouldn't include coverage of an author's credentials within a review, but I believe that those who will consider reading this book will want to know the author's background. Terrorism has become a household word for most people these days. We need and want to know more! I found that the information presented in this book was very comprehensive, for Father Bascio has much to share with Americans. Please consider reading this book in the near future!

No, I had never heard of the word Wahhabi-just as the author predicted! "Wahhabism is the angry form of Islamism...the soil in which anti-Western and anti-American terrorism grows," according to Ex-CIA Director, R. James Woolsey. "Never before in history have so many been so fearful of so few because Islamic terrorism plagues a very large section of the world's population." (p. 7) As I read, I had to agree with the author that, "there is something wrong with a foreign policy that is so lacking in knowledge of the Wahhabi that the average American citizen, upon hearing the term, has no idea what it means." (p. 11)

For me, I felt it was important that the author included references to the many atrocities of the past, done in the name of Christianity. Just as at that time, it is important that we realize that the Islamic terrorists are not representatives of all Islamic nations, but rather of those that are of the Wahhabi sect from Saudi Arabia. A key issue, though, is that these terrorists are being funded and children throughout the world are being taught at newly built schools and mosques the basic tenets and principles of Wahhabism through that funding! "Saudi money spending frenzy has resulted in the construction of 1500 mosques, 210 Islamic centers, 202 colleges and nearly 2000 schools spread across the globe." (p. 53) So, the breadth of exposure and expansion of this group is far above anything seen in the past. "Saudi connections to terrorism continue to appear." (p. 58)

Indeed, the author notes "Wahhabism's intimate relationship with the Saudi government presents American officials with a unique dilemma, in that it is the only foreign government that directly uses religion as a cover for its political activities in the United States" (p. 30). This is especially ironic when the United States monitors and mandates a strict separation of church and state for its own citizens. "Regrettably, religiously inspired or pseudo religiously inspired terrorist groups are the fastest growing form of terrorism." (p. 101)

Bascio hones in on another little-known issue. There is little known about the history of the Central Asian republics' successful struggle with our enemy or their willingness to help us defeat them. Why is that? Perhaps because "when Uzebekistan, in July, 2005, ordered the eviction of U. S. Military personnel from the Karshi-Khanabad airbase, the dimensions of our loss of face and influence in Central Asia became evident."

The author discusses each of the countries involved in Central Asia and demonstrates how each of three major countries-Russia, China and the United States-are working to gain a relationship. Russia and China are doing much to increase their interaction while the United States still has not gotten over what happened in the past. Are we able to become humble and recognize our mistakes and approach the Islamic issue with understanding and patience? Because no matter what, the "United States and Central Asian governments share a common enemy - Wahhabism." (p. 161)

In-depth reviews of specific events, the identification of "Peshawar as the Heartland of Islamic Terrorism," (P. 145) specific people of influence, such as "Euvgeny Primakov" (p.234), as well as specific recommendations make this book one of the most unbiased, informative books available, in my opinion. There is much to be considered here; there is much to be learned.

The United States has made mistakes in decisions made from time to time. Can we acknowledge and move on to discussing options that will allow us to work with the majority of Islamic people who lives in accordance with the Koran, which speaks out against violence? Perhaps as we learn more through books such as Defeating Islamic Terrorism, we can become better informed and help toward making sound decisions that will indeed defeat the acts of terror now feared by all. The reality of today in America makes this a Must-Read Book!

G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional BookReviewers. She is an avid reader and has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing.

Defeating IslamicTerrorism: The Wahhabi Factor
By Father Patrick Bascio C.S.Sp.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenda_Bixler

http://www.visitscotlandtours.com

Discover the Truth about the Republican Party

2009-09-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

Does the Republican Party really stand for Republican Principals? What are republican principals? Find out more: http://historyofrepublicanparty.blogspot.com/

The Ex-Presidents of the United States of America, Bill Clinton - Part Three

2009-09-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

Competition for the Democratic nomination was intense, Clinton was criticized for his lack of experience at federal level and his lack of knowledge on foreign affairs. Clinton, however insisted that he was a break from the elite of Washington and could bring a fresh perspective to the government. But his campaign was also plagued by allegations of extra-marital sexual liaisons and questions about his draft status during the Vietnam war.

However, Clinton pulled through, securing the Democratic party nomination, he chose Al Gore as his running mate. His general election campaign concentrated on the economic frailties of the Bush administration, he insisted that he had the wherewithal to pull America out of economic decline. Clinton solidified the old Democratic coalition of the blue collar workers and minorities and he polled well in traditional Republican strongholds in the West - he won the election, he was President of the United States at the tender age of forty-six.

The Clinton administration got off to a shaky start - it's first two nominations for Attorney-General were rejected after it was revealed that they had hired illegal aliens, he clashed with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell on the issue of homosexuals being admitted into the armed forces, Congress refused to pass health reforms and the White House staff was re-organised within a few months. In addition, Clinton looked uncertain on the international front, he appeared unsure in his dealings with Bosnia and Somalia. Further pressure grew over just how influential his wife was on him and by extension his policies. He was also dragged into the Whitewater scandal, involving the Whitewater Development Company, which the Clinton's had invested in and was being investigated for financial improprieties.

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland.

Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Shortt

Andrew Jackson On Equal Rights Under the Law

2009-09-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Every man is equally entiled to protection by law, but when the laws undertake to add ... artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society---the farmers, mechanics, and laborers ---who have neither the time nor the means of sucuring like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. -- Veto of the Bank Bill [July 10, 1832] from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

A Book Review - American Foreign Policy - Carter to Clinton

2009-09-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Marzieh Motahhari

The book is part of the American History in Depth series. The author is John Dumbrell and the general editor of the series is A. J. Badger. The book is published in Hong Kong, 1997, by McMillan Publications. It is in paperback (ISBN: 0-333-61094-6), and it is also available in hardcover (ISBN: 0-333-61093-8); with papers suitable for recycling. No picture, table or graph can be seen in this book; except the photograph on the front cover that shows presidents Carter and Clinton together. As we can see in the Bibliographical Note, the author used secondary sources as well as some primary articles in form of printed articles.

The book focuses on the America foreign policy in the mid-20th century (from Carter's to Clinton's presidency) that was marked with the "struggle between liberal democratic capitalism and Soviet state socialism". As it is stated in the introduction, the book discusses four major themes:

1) ending of the Cold War,

2) the legacy of Vietnam War

3) American decline, and

4) the possibilities of the democratic foreign policy after 1977.

It examines the "long tradition of American optimism" saying that despite apparent victories, American optimism was under pressure during 1980s; the great pressure and damage coming from America's defeat in Vietnam War which as carter put it made Americans understand that they are "no better than other people". Throughout the book, it is shown how attitudes and decisions in American foreign policy were under the influence of the Vietnam legacy, with special focus on the four presidents of the era, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. The author tries to put the information together in an impartial way, criticizing or approving of the events carefully.

About Carter it is said that he believed that the cold war period had ended and that it was time to pursue "domestic processes". His other goal was to put commitment to human rights at the center of his foreign policy. But he never reached it because in some cases human rights were ignored because security issues were more important. In his time in the office, 2 revolutions took place that were not favorable to US, one in Iran and the other in Nicaragua. These events made Carter's presidency as a period full of crisis. Reagan's policies are discussed after Carter's. First his decision to increase defense expenditure is stated and the fact that he believed that America must develop a "high-tech shield that would protect it from nuclear threats. Then his doctrine is presented:" American sponsorship to all enemies of communism in the developing countries". That's why he involved America in the Lebanese crisis so that it would not become a communist state. He also used human right as "an anti-soviet weapon". Another important thing about him that is analyzed in this book is his "shadow policy of "winning back Iran" that finally led to Iran-contra scandal. The Reagan- Gorbachev dialogue is one of the other things discussed in this book. Then the book focuses on Bush's presidency claiming that his policies mainly reflected that of Reagan's except his policies toward the soviet that were more cautious than Reagan's. It is explained that how he faced a dilemma in the second gulf war. He wanted to oppress Iraq that had invaded Kuwait and at the same time to keep Iraq as threat to Iran. Clinton is the last president that the book speaks of. It says that like Cater, Clinton emphasized domestic issues over foreign policy. He tried to "close the book on Vietnam, by promoting the cause of US trade and investment. His military program is also mentioned stating that he belied that its cost and size should be reduced.

The book is a good source of information for those who want to study the Cold war period and the effects of Vietnam war over American policies in the same era, especially undergraduate students who want a general information about the this period. For those who want a detailed description of the American foreign policy in the post-Cold war era, the book is not suitable because it does not go into details of the events and developments, giving only an overall picture. However in the End Notes for each chapter, one can find useful sources, books and articles that can guide him or her to further information about the topics discussed in chapters. In the Bibliographical Note also, the author suggests that: "much of the important secondary literature on recent US foreign policy may be found in specialist journals, notably Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Security and International Affairs."

Marzieh Motahhari, MA student of University of Tehran, Institute of North American studies

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marzieh_Motahhari

Amazing, History Really Does Repeat Itself.

2009-08-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

It seems the country has lost it way, people just can’t decide who they hate more the democrats or the republicans. The country has lost the spirit of independence it held in the days of the expansion westward. And an era of unprecedented wealth has made the electorate lazy and ignorant. Is it your political future? http://www.pippoproducts.com

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

2009-08-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the thirty-second President of the United States and was well respected for the way he lead America through the great depression and World War II. He also spent the later part of his life, including his terms as President, in a wheelchair.

Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, a small town in what is now part of Duchess County, New York. Hew was born on the 30th of January in 1882 and his parents were of Dutch and French heritage. He grew up in a privileged environment, frequently traveling to Europe where he learned to speak in German and French.

His fifth cousin Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1902 and Franklin Roosevelt looked up to him. At one of his cousins White House receptions, he met Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who was his fifth cousin once removed. They married in 1905 and in 1910 he ran for and was elected to the New York State Senate. Over the course of the next 10 years he remained politically active and was appointed the Assistant Secretary of The Navy.

Roosevelt unsuccessfully ran as Vice President in 1920, but he and his running mate were defeated by the Republican Party. He chose to retire to practice law in New York after the defeat and in 1921, while on vacation, he contracted a disease that was believed at the time to be polio. The disease resulted in the loss of movement of the lower part of his body.

He did not let his disability stop him though, and was elected Governor of New York in 1928. When Roosevelt appeared in public he used a set of iron braces on his legs and was able to walk for short distances with the use of a cane. In private he used a wheelchair, but was rarely seen or photographed in the wheelchair. He tried many types of treatments to help restore his mobility, but was never able to walk without assistance again.

Despite loosing the ability to walk, Roosevelt went on to serve 4 terms as President, which is no longer possible due to changes to the law. His leadership of the country during the depression and the subsequent war was in great part responsible for making the US the superpower that it is today.

Roosevelt also helped to further research and treatment of diseases that cause paralysis. He helped to found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which is today referred to as the March of Dimes and his leadership is part of the reason that his face is found on the dime.

His legacy of being the first President to rely on a wheelchair, was never fully embraced or known during his time here on Earth, but he should be an inspiration to all those who live with a disability.

Steve Wynler is a writer who has experience with medical and mobility related issues. If you are interested in learning about Electric Power Wheelchairs or other types of mobility related products or supplies, visit US Medical Supplies today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Wynler

PippoProductsBookLink
http://www.pippoproducts.com/products.html

The Four Freedoms

2009-08-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

"We look forward to a world founded upon four essental human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want ... everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear ... anywhere in the world." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Message to Congress [January 6, 1941], From Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Rewriting History - A Review of the Book

2009-08-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Sigrid Hazel Salucop

The book Rewriting History by Dick Morris tells of the semi-shocking tale on who the real Hillary Rodham Clinton is. The former first lady is described by Morris as someone who shows only a certain part of her face or persona to attract voters, not only during the time prior to her candidacy for the senate seat but a long time before that.

The dismaying thing is the question raised if the former first lady is really a devoted public servant or is just somebody who rides the tides and goes where the demographics lead her like for example, she ran for Senator in a state where the minority population is strong and this population likely to vote for a democrat.

It must have been devastating for many women out there who idolized or respected Mrs. Clinton and read the said book, I myself was devastated a little because I have always believed in her compassion and her utter belief in an ideal model for her programs i.e. the health care fiasco. The health care policy she stubbornly believed in is one of her downfalls in politics but one should see that it is her belief in something ideal is genuine enough to drive her to do what she did. I respect that quality in her, a character not quite discussed in the book, something we always overlook. That however is also one of her biggest character flaw because if it is coupled with her naivete or her being easily swayed, this is rather dangerous. These are of course discussed in length in the book.

I have read the book from front to back even the indexes that is how engrossing it is. Apart from that history buffs would love the book as well, maybe more than I do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sigrid_Hazel_Salucop

If all men are created equal, why do I pay more taxes than you?

2009-08-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

It is a strange phenomenon that no good deed goes unpunished. Entrepreneurs work to make good only to find they must pay larger sums in taxes and reap less of there hard won income so that someone not as industrious can live better. Get the facts: http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

The Ex-Presidents of the United States of America - Bill Clinton, Part One

2009-08-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946; his father died before he was born and he later took his stepfather's name. His childhood home was a troubled one; his stepfather, a gambler and alcoholic, was abusive to his mother and stepbrother. When Bill was fifteen, he made it clear that he would mete out violence if the abuse continued.

The young Bill had a great love for music and tampered with the idea of being a saxophonist, but in 1963 he visited the White House as part of a delegation of the American Legion Boys' Nation, met JFK and decided on a life of public service. With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington DC. At university, he became involved with the civil rights movement and the movement against the Vietnam war. In 1966, he worked as an intern for a summer in the offices of the Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, who was at that time the leader of the anti-war movement in the Senate. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1968 with a B.S. in International Affairs, he was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University where he studied philosophy, economics and politics. He developed an interest in rugby union, playing for Oxford and later for Little Rock Rugby Club in Arkansas. In later life, he admitted to smoking cannabis but insisted that he did not inhale.

After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School obtaining a Juris Doctor degree in 1973. While at Yale he met law student Hillary Rodham, they married in 1975 and their only child, Chelsea, was born in 1980.

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net -http://www.visitscotlandtours.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Shortt

www.PippoProducts.com

Wood Wilson's Opinion - Quote

2009-08-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

"You deal in the raw material of opinion, and, if my convictions have any validity, opinion ultimately governs the world." - Woodrow Wilson

Address to the Associated Press [April 20, 1915] From Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

This Military Historian Records the Heroic Acts of Unheralded Heroes

2009-08-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Emory Daniels

Bud Feuer is a pretty prolific military historian, having written more than a dozen military history books. But what makes Feuer stand apart, in my opinion, is his histories of little known, unheralded, unusual military units. A case in point is the Australian coast watchers who performed heroic duty when the Japanese were advancing through the South Sea Islands during World War II.

In Feuer's book, Coast Watching in WWII: Operations Against the Japanese on the Solomon Islands 1941-43, the author details the activities of up to 400 coast watchers scattered along the coastal areas of the Solomon Islands. These units would hide away in the jungle/mountain areas, keep an eye on Japanese ship movements, and then radio reports to headquarters on what ships were moving into the area.

The Japanese most likely would never have been halted if they were able to maintain the element of surprise. But that was taken away, unknowingly to them, by the coast watchers. Feuer makes a good argument when he states that "coast watching alone was responsible for the success of the air war. During the early and uncertain days of the American struggle to wrest Guadalcanal from the Japanese, the reports and timely warnings from Stations JEF and STO on Bougainville were directly responsible for the enemy's defeat."

To perform their tasks, the coast watchers relied on "teleradios" which were relatively large, heavy and clunky radio communications equipment that had to be hauled from one hiding spot to another. The teleradio had a voice range of about 400 miles and had a range of an additional 200 miles if you used the telegraph key. Besides having to lug this heavy machine around, the men in the unit had to lug around the batteries, charging engine, and benzene fuel. It took several men to carry the teleradio from one site to another. Imagine what these guys could have accomplished today with micro-electronic technology?

Feuer points out why propaganda is so important in wartime, recording the successes of the coast watchers and failures of the Japanese who angered the natives by arresting men and women in the villages and using them as free laborers. The Japanese also knew little about mountains and were unskilled in tracking.

While I enjoy history, most of the time I am bored silly by voluminous military histories that fail to record the lives of the soldiers involved or capture the overall picture of what is taking place. Bud Feuer accomplishes what many military historians fail to do - Feuer writes a compelling, riveting history that grabs your attention early and keeps it. Bud Feuer is a great story teller and an accurate historian.

Emory Daniels, freelance writer, publicist, web content specialist, owner of The Daniels PR Group.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emory_Daniels

http://pippoproducts.com/products

Yes, its True About History

2009-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

History does repeat it self and its happening right now. Learn more: http://www.pippoproducts.com/products

Robert F Kennedy - The People's Politican

2009-07-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

Robert F Kennedy's speech, On the Mindless Menace of Violence, delivered on the night of 5 April, 1968 in the City Club in Cleveland, Ohio is truly a magnificent piece of rhetoric. Conveyed in the attractive, thick Boston accent with broad A's and non-existent R's; his voice remains steady, but with difficulty, suppressing the passion, fury and zeal that bubbles underneath. He was a man of his generation, emanating the spirit of the sixties, he embodied the Baby Boomer's hopes - cessation of the Vietnam War, avocation of civil rights, tackling the establishment and ridding society of the ills of violence and poverty. Handsome and compelling with little, cute Ethel by his side, he stood amongst the people speaking with them, not to them. They were like two tiny sentinels of peace - they were so gripping. They made you believe, made you want to believe that togetherness was possible and that together nothing was impossible.

Deceptively he appeared small and fragile but make no mistake, Bobby was tough, he stood up David style to the Goliaths of corrupt unions, mafia, massive corporations, racism, poverty and foreign threats. He became Attorney General in 1960, not before or since as that office held such power and clear influence on areas of policy. Hoffa huffed and puffed bravado about his televised hearings with Bobby in the chair, but it was Hoffa squirming as the fresh faced Bobby refused to be intimidated or indeed be thrown a loop. He kept a cool head in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963, JFK looking to him for the advice that would ultimately sway him. The two brothers glancing into one another's eyes and knowing what the other was thinking, this implicit trust was paramount in avoiding the unthinkable that the crisis threatened. He immersed himself in the promotion of the civil rights movement, influencing JFK in the process, persuading him of the urgency and importance of ensuring that civil rights was of primary significance. He was far removed from the little brother tag which some detractors had labelled him with.

However, it was JFK who brought him into the political arena, persuading him to leave an investigative position at the Department of Justice to organize his bid for the Senate. And indeed, following the tragic death of JFK, Bobby entered the Senate in 1964, to continue his brother's work and vision. It changed him as a man, unusually, for the better. He immersed himself in the rough and tumble of street politics, meeting people at grass roots level. Initially, perhaps he did so to garner support, to cement his place in the Senate or he may even have had secret desires on the White House. However, it soon became apparent that he agreed with the people, he adopted the view that America had been derailed and that the time was now to straighten course. He stressed that concentration on the issues of inequality, injustice and lack of freedom was necessary; he implored a turning away from consumerism, greed and materialism. It led him to running for the Democratic Party nomination to run for the Presidency in the 1968 election, seeking to challenge his brother's successor Lyndon B. Johnson. However, the chance to see this most interesting of politicians running America was cruelly extinguished. Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in the kitchens of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night that he won the Californian primary.

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source Russell Shortt,http://www.exploringireland.net
http://www.visitscotlandtours.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Shortt

de Tocqueville On Americas Love of Freedom

2009-07-27T03:17:00.000-07:00

"I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken stronger hold on the affections of men and where a profounder comtempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property." -- Alexis de Tocqueville, democracy in America, [1835] - From Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

A Review of "The Road to 9-11 - Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America"

2009-07-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Peter Dale Scott, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Berkeley, has written numerous books over the years examining what he terms the "deep state" of American politics. His newest book, The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America, looks at the current crisis in America manifested through the current War on Terror, but with a thorough discussion of the roots of Islamic fundamentalism, the role of the deep state in supporting the growth of extremism, and how these relationships have served to "blow back" at the United States. Even this, though, contributes to furthering the plans of the deep state, though, always at the expense of the public state.

The book provides an overview of how elements hidden in the American government, throughout the past thirty years at least, have continually supported short term oil or security interests at the expense of the public's (and their own) long term interests. Scott's 423-page book is nearly half-filled with endnotes, which gives the reader many further avenues of study, because the book itself is densely packed with information. An important aspect of the book is that, like other studies he has done, Scott does not name specific parties as guilty of one crime or another, accuse the U.S. government of facilitating the attacks of 9/11, or rely on untested and untestable hypotheses to come to his conclusions. As the book states, "this book makes a more general argument that the bureaucratic paranoia inside the American deep state, undisciplined by the available wisdom of the public state, helped years ago to create al Qaeda and then to create the circumstances in which, almost inevitable, elements in al Qaeda would turn against the United States." Throughout the work, he meticulously connects the dots between the same players, institutions, and concepts that have so influenced American foreign and domestic policy.

First, though, any reader of this book should quickly come to understand Scott's distinction between the public state of politics, and the deep state. The book examines "the top 1 percent's direct or indirect control of certain specific domains of government, beginning in the 1940's with the creation of the CIA... Those parts of the government responding to their influence I call the "deep state (if covert) or "security state" (if military)." Once the reader understands the fundamental difference between the public and deep state, superficial distinctions (such as Republican or Democrat) disappear, as the hidden elite work together behind the scenes for their shared interests more often than they work against each other for the good of the public.

The erasure of these superficialities is apparent when Scott examines the three presidencies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan. Gerald Ford's short period in Oval Office is seen as the pivotal administration in recent American history, as it brought to the forefront of American politics the team of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in the White House and George H.W. Bush as Director of Central Intelligence. But even further, Scott sees this presidency as the defining moment in the battle in the deep state between the old conservatives (influenced by the Rockefellers and the Council on Foreign Relations) and the neoconservatives (influenced by the American Enterprise Institute).

Although Ford was replaced by Jimmy Carter, the foreign policy ideas of the previous administration were continued by the new National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. It was under Carter that aid to the Islamic militants in Afghanistan was first provided, even before the Soviet Union invaded the country in 1979. It was Brzezinski's goal to drag the Russians into their own Vietnam War, turning public opinion against the USSR, bankrupting the nation, and destabilizing the Soviet Union in general. This policy of supporting the Afghan mujahideen continued under Reagan's administration, mainly under the guidance of CIA Director William Casey.

Scott also examines numerous other connections and undercurrents to the Afghan War. The often-overlooked role of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International is examined, as is the increasing flow of heroin from Afghanistan to the United States during this period (and afterwards). One of the more enlightening parts of the book is a chapter called "The Al-Kifah Center, Al Qaeda, and the U.S. Government, 1988-1998," which examines various relations between the government, the support of institutions heavily influenced by Islamic extremism in America, and the growth of al Qaeda throughout the world. Scott also examines the role of FBI and CIA informant Ali Mohamed, "a close ally of Osama bin Laden," and connections between the Saudi establishment, US establishment, and al Qaeda.

However, some of the most revelatory information in the book concerns plans for the Continuity of Government (COG), that had been worked on by Cheney and Rumsfeld and originally disclosed during the Iran-Contra affair. According to Scott, the COG plan "called for 'suspension of the Constitution, turning control of the government over to FEMA, emergency appointment of military commanders to run state and local governments and declaration of martial law during a national crisis.' The plan also gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had been involved in drafting it, sweeping new powers, including internment." Disturbingly, the same team that worked on COG plans was put back together in May 2001 by President George W. Bush to constitute a task force on terrorism. Furthermore, the attacks of September 11, 2001, resulted in the first implementation of the COG plans.

Another connection that the book points to is that the same team, headed by Cheney and Rumsfeld, had been part of the Project for a New American Century, which argued for greater military involvement in the Middle East. In effect, the events of 9/11 allowed this team to implement the two plans they had been working on since the 1980's: wars in two Middle Easter countries and various parts of the COG planning, including warrantless detentions and warrantless eavesdropping. As Scott asks, "Were these practices decided on after 9/11, as the Bush administration maintains? Or were they already being prepared for as part of the COG planning revived by Cheney and FEMA in May 2001?"

In the final chapters, Scott examines how COG was implemented on 9/11 by Cheney, and the failures of the 9/11 Commission to look at this issue in any detail, covering up Cheney's actions on that day. The omissions of the 9/11 Commission Report point to what really may have happened on that day, and the chapter is quite revealing. It is also an in-depth discussion that needs to be read in its entirety for Scott's arguments to be followed completely.

In the end, though, The Road to 9/11 points out how influences in the deep state on American politics have served various interests of the establishment and elite of the country, while putting the public in greater danger of the attacks the government is supposed to protect against. Even further, the catastrophic attacks of 9/11 have led to the implementation of two relevant plans that higher-ups in the administration currently in power had been working on for years, in some cases decades. Whether these plans were in the public's interest or not after such an event, the fundamental problem for Scott lies in the fact that this deep state has taken such widespread control of the government, reducing the public state to little influence. Scott sums up his book by stating "over the past half century, the open politics and representative institutions of the American res publica (the public state) have been progressively subordinated to a res privata (a restrictively controlled locus of top-down decision making in the deep state)."

The final pages of the book discuss various ways that the public can begin to take back their power, and provide the entire work with hope in the public state in the face of urgency to combat the influences of the deep state. It will be an understanding of people by people that bridges the gap between the civilizations of America and the Islamic world, not continuing military involvements, and it is only through the free exchange of information and ideas, through the internet and other non-state or corporate controlled media that this exchange can take place, and the true role of the public in restricting the private state and creating a multinational civil society can be restored.

The ForeclosureFish.com website provides homeowners with information and resources designed to help them save their homes from foreclosure on their own. With hundreds of pages of articles, blog entries, and reference materials, foreclosure victims are encouraged to put together a complete plan to avoid foreclosure. Various methods to save a house are detailed on the site, including foreclosure loan qualifications, bankruptcy to stop foreclosure, and short sales, among many others. Visit the site today to learn more about how the foreclosure process works and download a fee e-book explaining the basics of foreclosure and how to avoid it: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Adama

Republican Party Facts You Should Know

2009-07-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

The GOP was the party born of a civil rights movement against slavery, so how come the first black president is a Democrat. Answers to this and more at http://historyofrepublicanparty.blogspot.com/

A Place in Florida - Nazi Saboteurs Landed Here

2009-07-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

There's a place in Florida where, on a dark deserted beach in June, 1942, four German saboteurs landed, hoping to disrupt America's efforts in World War II. That beach was Ponte Vedra Beach, a few miles south of Jacksonville, and there wasn't an American in sight to see them or the German U-boat that brought them.

It was only seven months after Pearl Harbor, and the major U.S. contribution to the war effort was industrial production of supplies that supported forces defending themselves against the German war machine.

That industrial effort was strong enough to frustrate the Nazi high command, and the order was given - allegedly by Adolf Hitler himself -- to mount a serious effort to reduce American production.

The four saboteurs, along with four counterparts who landed on Long Island but were quickly captured, were well trained. They had attended a sabotage school near Berlin that taught them about chemistry, incendiaries, explosives, timing devices, secret writing and concealing identity - and made them memorize details about their U.S. targets.

With no one within miles, this place in Florida was the perfect place for the saboteurs to bury explosives they intended to use to blow up U.S. economic targets such as hydroelectric plants, aluminum and magnesium plants, river locks, rail depots, etc. The beach also offered a good place for the four men to bury their uniforms. All four wore German uniforms, or parts of German uniforms, as they came ashore so, if caught, they could be treated as prisoners of war rather than as spies.

Donning civilian clothing, the four set out to fulfill their mission. They made their way to nearby Jacksonville, then went by train to Cincinnati. There, they split up, with two going on to Chicago and the other two to New York City.

But what none of them had counted on was a defector, John Dasch, 39, leader of the four men who had landed on Long Island. All eight men had been born in Germany, but Dasch had spent a year in the U.S. Army. For whatever reason, Dasch called the FBI and all eight men were caught before they could do any damage.

The Germans were tried before a military commission, found guilty and sentenced to death. Six were executed in the District of Columbia jail. Dasch, the songbird, got 30 years; a cohort to whom he confessed his misgivings about the mission, got life in prison. When the war was over, President Truman granted executive clemency to both, and they were deported to Germany.

Today, nearly seven decades later, this place in Florida is far different than it was in 1942. Today, Ponte Vedra Beach is an exclusive playground of the rich and famous. It has 5-star resorts and the world's best golf and tennis facilities. It is home to the top professional organizations of both sports.

On June 17, 1942, the names on the beach were Edward John Kerling, 33; Werner Thiel, 35; Herman Otto Neubauer, 32; and Herbert Hans Haupt, 22.

If you go to this beach today, you might see Tim Tebow, Fred Funk, Vijay Singh, Mark Brunnell, Connie Fletcher, Kim Alexis or Frank Kickliter - all Ponte Vedra Beach residents.

The eight saboteurs - those on Long Island and those in this place in Florida - were given $175,200 to finance their activities. When arrested, they had $174,588 left, having spent $612 for clothing, meals, lodging and travel - and $260 for a bribe.

Copyright (c) 2009 Gene Ingle, an award-winning editor-writer-cartographer, is an expert on places to see in Florida. He has driven nearly a million miles in Florida researching places on maps you probably never heard of. This place in Florida is one of 213 featured in 'The Famous Florida Trivia Game' available free at http://www.ebookserendipity.com - Test your knowledge of Florida - free.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gene_Ingle

A Warning from James Madison

2009-07-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachemnts of those in power than by violent and suden usurpations" -- James Madison, speech in the Virginia Convention [June 16, 1788] From: Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

Book Review - Pocahontas - Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat

2009-07-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

When I was a little boy, my grandmother told me that we were descendants of Pocahontas. The idea aroused my fantasies. Having Indian blood was a special blessing. It endowed me with certain spiritual qualities, psychic perceptiveness and magical abilities - in my imagination. Later I was disappointed to learn that it was fashionable among past generations to claim a blood tie to Pocahontas. I suspected my grandmother's story was of this origin.

Much later I realized that a fascination with things Native American was a symptom of a certain affinity. I valued the Indian fantasy as a call of the wild from within. It was to be answered, but in my own, indigenous terms, not in terms borrowed from other cultures. I recently read a book that has added great depth to this perspective.

Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat (HarperSanFrancisco), by Paula Gunn Allen, Ph.D., tells an entirely different history of this American icon from the one we cherish. This award-winning author, a retired professor from UCLA, credited with originating Native American literary studies, has taken the usual sources, plus those rarely referred to, and reinterpreted the data within the context of the Native American mythical worldview. The result is a fascinating account of the transformation of "Turtle Island" into "America the Beautiful."

Dr. Gunn Allen begins by explaining the spirit-centered worldview of the Native American at that time. The "manito aki," which pertains to the supernatural, paranormal, spiritinhabited world, was the Native Americans' waking reality, more real to them than the physical world.

We might say that they were good "Jungians" at that time, because they respected the experiences of the imagination as real and worthy of attention. The natives at that time also realized that their world was coming to an end. Their calendars and mythologies had prepared them. The coming of the white men was part of the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Evidence points to the fact that Pocahontas was a high priestess, initiated into the mysteries of the spirit world and charged with responsibility to these spirits. Based upon her evidence, the author came to the startling conclusion that Pocahontas, rather than falling in love with Captain John Smith, was actually on a preplanned mission taking advantage of him as an unwitting pawn. Her objective: to insure that the spirit of tobacco would find a home in the new world. Tobacco spirit, the essential shamanic power of the Native American world, needed to find a way to be a part of the coming materialistic world that was being born. This mission was crucial if the spirit of the native world was to survive destruction of its manifest existence.

Pocahontas was the channel by which the transfer of power was achieved. Pocahontas's connection with John Smith was the means by which native spirituality was preserved, even though it would have to hide for centuries within a plant that would be marketed, traded, consumed, and vilified within a purely materialistic consciousness, until such time as this ancient spirituality could one day be reborn in the awareness of the European mindset, as is beginning to happen today.

What is this newly emerging mindset? Gunn Allen writes, " ... the construction of Pocahontas in American thought, while often historically inaccurate, is an indication that the imagination of America is as connected to the manito aki as it is to the land. The problem that Americans face in harmonizing our modern American consciousness with the ancient psyche of the land we inhabit is the dominance of a paradigm that assumes material, measurable existence to be all there is."

The lesson for us is to respect the intuitive nature of the Timagination. We need to experience and to understand the imagination as a channel of intuitive realities. The mind and its ambassador, the imagination, is quite real although it inhabits a different plane of existence than the world the senses recognize. It is real because it makes a difference in our lives. It is in this realm of the imagination that we can find our highest ideals, that we intuit our interconnectedness as spiritual beings, that we encounter non-material beings, and discover the patterns in the creative forces that shape our lives. Our fascination with all things Native American is evidence of our connection to this non-material world. Yet this connection is something that sadly we do not recognize within ourselves, but project onto these indigenous peoples. Gunn Allen reconnects us with our heritage. She joins us in gratitude to the people who came before us, who built a spiritual time capsule that would survive the materialistic, destructive stage of our history, preserving for the future our endowment as spirit's children. Pocahontas is truly America's godmother.

Henry Reed, Ph.D., is on staff at Atlantic University. He has been the prime designer of A.R.E.'s psychic development program, in its various aspects, for the past twenty some years. He is one of the trainers of A.R.E.'s most successful, and long running, psychic training conference, "The Edgar Cayce Legacy: Be Your Own Psychic." He developed A.R.E.'s program of evaluating psychics. He has published scientific articles on his research into intuition and psychic functioning. He is the author of Edgar Cayce on Awakening Your Psychic Powers, Edgar Cayce on Channeling Your Higher Self, and Your Intuitive Heart.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Henry_Reed

http://pippoproducts.com

Announcing the Beginning of the End of the USA

2009-07-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Roman Empire grew from a republic and finally fell from its decadence. This a road well traveled. Are we on that road? Learn more: http://politicalfirestorm.blogspot.com/

I am the United States of America

2009-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am America, two hundred thirty three years old today.

I am America, conceived of for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am America, land of the free and home of the brave. My sons have walked on the moon.

I am America, the sacred blood of justice courses through me. My children fought for freedom for all.

I am America, fifty independent states united.

I am America, a soldier for freedom. WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan...

I am America, a beacon of hope; you sent me your poor and hungry. I fed them and they prospered.

I am America, inventor of the airplane, telephone and integrated circuit.

I am America, purple mountains, fruited plains and golden fields, from sea to shining sea.

I am the United States of America, proud to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We have our differences -- political, social, and scientific -- but we should never forget that we have each other. It is our solemn duty to preserve the freedom our fore bearers fought so gallantly to attain for us. We must do the same for our children. Pass on the memories of this country's glory. Make our children proud to be American's. Teach them that our freedom is paid for with the blood and sweat of many brave men and women who care so much about what America stands for they have pledged their very lives for it. Let freedom ring, And God Bless America.

Happy Birthday America

Joseph L. Conigliaro

Photo by: Travis Flynn Photography
www.travisflynnphotography.com
www.travisflynn.blogspot.com

Television Changed Political Debates

2009-07-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Rick Lawrence

The 1960 Presidential elections held the first televised debates between the candidates. This was an extremely close election; Kennedy's victory was of the narrowest of margins; and it is undeniable that the televised debates were instrumental in Kennedy's victory. In fact, Presidential elections have never been the same following the Kennedy-Nixon debates.

Debates do little to change the opinion of the hardcore party loyalists; however, since the largest block of voters are independents, the debates can have a significant impact on that are often undecided voters.

The two candidates approached the debates with different styles: Vice President Nixon studied books alone, dismissing suggestions that he rehearse with his aides. Senator Kennedy arrived for the debates two days ahead of schedule; he spent much of the weekend holed up in a hotel suite practicing his responses with his aides.

There was another difference that would have a profound effect on the television audience: John F. Kennedy arrived fit, rested, and ready. Weeks of open-air campaigning around the country gave Kennedy a tan. Nixon, on the other hand, was sick before the debate, had lost a lot of weight, and looked tired and haggard. It also didn't help Nixon that during cutaways, the cameras caught him wiping perspiration from his forehead.

Kennedy advisers also managed the medium of television better than Nixon's advisers. Kennedy's advisers made sure Kennedy's dark suit contrasted well on the screen. Nixon paid less attention and selected a light gray suit that blended into the background, exaggerating his pale appearance.

Beyond 1960
Polls after the debate showed that those who listened over the radio felt that Nixon won the debate; those that watched on television had exactly the opposite opinion. The lesson was easy to see: presidential debates were now no different than television shows; neither rhetoric nor politics rule the day. Rather, the rules of television rule the day: celebrity, visuals, conflict, and hype.

The emphasis became appearance, not substance. The power of television was the new king. The debates now have the air of a boxing match. Fans are looking for a knock-out punch: a sharp retort that becomes a "sound bite" played continually by the television stations during the course of the election.

Additionally, a misquote or other mistake on an issue by the candidate can have devastating effect, as can appearing hesitant or uncertain on issues.

Remember the famous statement by Bush I: "Read my lips, no new taxes." It was a popular sound bite and helped Bush win election in 1988. However, after he yielded to pressure to raise taxes, it was effectively used against him when running for re-election in 1992.

The Kennedy-Nixon debates led us to the phrase: "Does the candidate look presidential?" Electing our President has become a beauty contest. Running for president now imitates the successful Andre Agassi TV ad campaign from years ago, "Image is everything."

Abraham Lincoln was perhaps America's greatest president. He was also homely, awkward at times, and had a high, squeaky voice; do you think he could get elected today?

After obtaining a degree in political science, I embarked on a career in insurance and government. For the last 21 years, I have worked for local government and government associations. I have written articles, as well as manuals, assisting local government in effectively managing their activities and exposures. I have also provided training in these areas, been a frequent speaker at educational seminars, and acted as President of an association of governmental employees.

During this time, I continued an interest in the politics that is embedded in government and where politics is leading this nation in the Twenty First Century.

Rick Lawrence, June 6, 2009
Ricklawrence13@live.com
http://www.DemosResPublica.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Lawrence

On the Priorities of the Citizenery

2009-06-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self- preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means." - Thomas Jefferson to John Colvin, 1810

http://www.pippoproducts.com

"Flags of Our Fathers" by James Bradley

2009-06-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was especially interesting to me due to the fact that my dad, Norman Sprague, had been at Iwo Jima when the battle began. He had also fought on Bougainville and the Solomon Islands as a marine during the World War II conflict in the Pacific Theater. The novel takes you back in time and unpacks the episodes of this past conflict in a vivid way. For me, it was one of those hard to put down books.

My dad was not one of the flag raisers but he was there observing from a nearby field and his position as a member of the 3rd marine division, that day. As you may recall, James Bradley's father was John Bradley who was a Navy Corpsman with the 5th marine division who was also on Iwo Jima. Another division of marines was also there that day. They were the 4th marine division.

All together, 7,000 marines went ashore that day at Iwo Jima. They went onshore not realizing that 22,000 Japanese soldiers awaited them. The defending soldiers had the island heavily fortified and were nearly invisible since they had built tunnels underground as well as protective bunkers. The marines were very vulnerable landing on that island beach. The marines were taking on nearly impossible odds that day. If they had known how well prepared the Japanese were, they may have been less likely to rush into their launch boats.

There were heavy casualties that first day. The marines were allowed to land on the beach before a shot was fired, in order to cause them the most damage by their adversaries. It had been an ambush in many ways but the marines knew there were at least some defenses there. When the battle began, the marines were like sitting ducks. The bullets and mortars were delivered from many different hidden places around the island and from the mountain in front of them. Many died and didn't have much of a chance to defend themselves.

Heroes must have been made that day as marines against all odds, stormed the mountain in front of them. After over a month of fierce fighting, they took over the island of Iwo Jima. My dad was one lucky guy to come home from there and so was John Bradley. Dad was more of a hero than I had realized growing up. He seemed to push it out of his memory for most of his life. It had been a nightmare of unimaginable horror and he didn't wish to remember.

So you see, I felt a personal attachment and reflective sense in reading this novel but I'm sure you would enjoy the historical aspect of it and how it was told by this fine author. I have since read his novel "Flyboys" which is also very well written.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Sprague

The Legacy of President Franklin D. Pierce

2009-06-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Franklin D. Pierce, a Democrat, lawyer, General, State Legislator, Congressman, United State Senator, fourteenth President of the United States and proud son of New Hampshire, served his country actively from 1829 to 1857. President Pierce was a traditional Democrat who believed in a small Federal Government when it came to domestic affairs. Like Jefferson before him, Pierce was an expansionist who promoted the purchase of the territory now known as southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Pierce had and egalitarian mindset which was a reflection of the popular sentiment of his time. He was elected during a period of relative calm in the nation and endeavored to maintain the status quo by allowing slavery to continue in the south. However, the underlying turbulence surrounding slavery between the northern and southern states, together with the renewal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which repealed the Missouri Compromise (which balanced the number of free and slave states as they entered the union) drew him into a political firestorm from which he was never able to recover.

Despite Pierce’s lack of historical recognition, it is in large measure due to his efforts that the States of Arizona and New Mexico became proud members of our union. Forty-two years later, these same two states provided most of the soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War. Whereas John McCain, Linda Ronstadt, Barry Goldwater, and Frank Luke Jr., can all boast of having come from Arizona, New Mexico brought us Senator Peter Domenici, animator William Hanna, hotel mogul Conrad Hilton, and Demi Moore, amongst others.

Slavery, however, as in Pierce's time, still exists in the world today. Although the issue of the legality of slavery has been well settled, the reality is that we have yet to conquer this abhorrent practice, both nationally and globally.

As far as President Pierce’s egalitarian tendencies, today’s Democrats tend more to strive for equality of income through redistribution, than for equality of opportunity.

http://www.pippoproducts/products.com

Do You Love The U.S.A?

2009-06-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Get to know it history, its people and the founding principals that have made it great. You will love it even more: http://www.pippoproducts.com

Liberty and the USA

2009-06-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the undoing of those human rights to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961

On Governments Evils

2009-06-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

"There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in the abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing." -- Andrew Jackson, from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

"Old Hickory" - A Model of Presidential Toughness

2009-06-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

By George Ahearn

I must say that Jon Meacham's book on our 7th President, Andrew Jackson, "American Lion" (Random House) was a mixed bag. While it failed to give an informative perspective on the history of this era, it was an excellent look at the intimates, associates, and enemies of Jackson throughout his Presidency. This was made possible by the acquisition of papers and letters in recent years from descendants of the people involved during this period.

Jackson was a powerful and transformational figure. He held a position with the public that was similar to our first military hero, George Washington; however, Jackson was a political populist. Many of our most notable Presidents used him as a model because he defined the role of his office, relative to Congress, in a way never before demonstrated by his predecessors. Previously, the focal point was the Capital and the White House was just an arm of the Congress. Jackson changed this and it never has been the same again.

The hero of the battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, "Old Hickory" had many political enemies, particularly from abolitionists in the North and many states rights "nullifiers" in the deep South, particularly in South Carolina. Although this was some 30 years prior to the Civil War, the seeds were sown during this period. Jackson's rather inconsistent view of equal rights is hard to rationalize based on his insensitive treatment of the American Indian and his cavalier attitude towards slavery. It is a vivid illustration of how the cultural mores of the day could dictate evil behavior in well meaning and principled individuals.

Jackson was orphaned at a very early age and lost his brother as a young adult. He never had children and his wife died during the period between his election to the Presidency and his inauguration. This is amazing when you think of the pressures on him at the time. His niece, her husband, and their children became his family and they supported his social responsibilities during his Administration. His rise above these setbacks is a testimony to his perseverance and toughness and his strong spiritual make-up.

His arch enemies in the Senate were strong and elegant speakers, like John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, giants in their own right. Some of the rhetoric in the speeches and documents revealed in this book would make the partisanship and personal attacks of today seem like child's play. In fact, the Senate's censure of Jackson for his unilateral decision to effectively destroy the Bank of the United States and move all deposits to State Banks, was unprecedented at the time and illustrated a new more powerful role for the executive branch. This was later expunged in a hotly contested Senate vote late in his second term in a magnanimous gesture of farewell.

Jackson left many problems behind and was followed by some mediocre Presidents, particularly his groomed successor, Martin Van Buren. However, his strong leadership abilities, communication skills, and military exploits made him very popular with the people which really riled his adversaries. He certainly deserves a place as one of our most colorful and near-great presidents.

George P. Ahearn blogs about Economic Conservatism and social and political issues at http://conservativesideas.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Ahearn

Amazon Link:Andrew Jackson

Dear Colonel Carrington

2009-06-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

"The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." - Thomas Jefferson, From Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Do you know what the Republican Party stands for?

2009-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

From Lincoln to Bush the party has always tried to free the oppressed. So what went wrong? Get answers at http://historyofrepublicanparty.blogspot.com/

A Review of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution"

2009-06-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

By Nick Adama

The book that is the subject of this review is The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, by Kevin Gutzman and published this year in 2007. As with all of the books in the "Politically Incorrect Guide to.." series, the subject matter is the lesser-known side of a popular topic: in this case, the United States Constitution. Gutzman provides an historical and topical examination of the original intent of the Constitution and how the views of the founders have been distorted over time by the three branches of government. However, the judicial branch is clearly held most responsible for the changes, additions, and convolutions to constitutional law.

In fact, if any book suffers from the lack of a subtitle, this is it. A few come to mind off-hand as potential nominees, such as "How the Supreme Court Ruined Everything," or "The Founders' Losing Battle with the Judgeocracy." After reading the book, it is clear that the decisions rendered by the Supreme Court over time have eroded the states' rights that Jefferson held so dear and accomplished the consolidation of power in the hands of the federal government.

Of course, Gutzman is not positing a vast conspiracy of any sort that designed to take away the liberty of state and local governments to decide their own social laws on contracts and place this power in the hands of the national government. The court, though, from its inception realized that it was designed to be the least powerful branch of the government and various chief justices decided to alter that power balance as much as possible.

After some preliminary battles between the Court and the original intent of the Constitution, Gutzman sees the "imperial judiciary" beginning in earnest with the fourth Chief Justice, John Marshall. Gutzman states that Marshall's chief legacy was the writing of "the defeated Federalist Party's constitutional views into American constitutional law." Despite the fact that the people of the United States at the time voted into office politicians who advocated states' rights and limited power of the federal government, Marshall was the main advocate of using the Court to strengthen the central government and apply the same laws throughout the Union, even overriding state laws.

Marshall's position was at odds with the beliefs of Thomas Jefferson, who saw the growing power of the Supreme Court as a threat to the constitution. Jefferson believed that laws were the social agreements that people agreed to be governed by and judges were to apply the meaning of these agreements as clearly as possible. In contrast, Marshall and various other judges believed in a "natural law" underlying all laws and that the role of a judge was to examine laws in relation to these universal statutes. This, of course, replaced the role of the people in deciding their laws with an aristocratic Philosopher Counsel that would determine the rules that all people should live by.

Most of the book focuses on various Supreme Court decisions on a range of social issues that were being debated at the time. From Lincoln's suspension of habeus corpus to slavery and the original intent of the Fourteenth Amendment, to the flip-flopping done on the issue of segregation, Gutzman illustrates that the Court has rarely acted in the interest of the people or the states, and instead consolidated power with the federal government. Although some states threatened secession at various points in time, Lincoln eventually stated that secession was an impossibility and the Civil War was fought to prevent the southern states from dissolving the Union.

The book moves through historical decisions one after another, hitting on the irrationality and vagueness of the antitrust laws, the Court's battle against Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation and FDR's decision to replace the judges with his own partisan appointees who would follow his policies. It is in the discussions of religion's role in the government that is the most interesting, however.

Originally, the Constitution was intended to prevent the federal government from institutionalizing a state religion for the entire Union. State religions, however, could have their own religion, and often did. It was not until the twentieth century that Justice Black put up the wall of "separation between church and state," and denied state or local government's the right to deal with religion as they wished. This took the power of deciding on the role of religion in a community out of the community itself and installed it firmly with the Supreme Court. The First Amendment, originally intended to limit the power of the federal government, was extended to state and local governments, as well, reversing the intent of the Founders. Gutzman remarks that Christianity was the main target of the Court's decisions, stating that "any religion is okay, so long as it is not Christianity."

As well as the victory against religion, the Supreme Court also took on issues of morality, criminal law, and discrimination, as well as the ever-popular-to-discuss Roe v. Wade abortion decision. The decisions rendered by the court served to further transfer the rights of states to govern as they will and place it in the hands of the federal government or the Supreme Court itself. Gutzman sees these decisions as a complete inversion of the original intent of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution itself: "The Court has overturned the right of the people of the states to govern themselves, overturned the Tenth Amendment, and thus overturned the Constitution -- and called it the "rule of law." In fact, this may be Gutzman's main argument and an adequate summary of the entire work (although too long to be a subtitle).

The book hits on another of additional topics, as well, including the teaching of constitutional law in school, which examines various cases but does not discuss the original intent of the writers of the laws the Supreme Court has decided upon. This leaves law students with a firm understanding of the decisions rendered upon various laws and their applications over time, but no idea if these applications were intended for the subject laws in the first place. Thus, one mistake is piled on top of another, until the original mistake is buried under years of precedent.

Gutzman's work is an interesting and useful guide to the US Constitution, its original intent, history and its application (and perversion) over time. While the book could easily be quite a bit longer and the issues discussed in more detail, it is quite ideal as an introduction to the history of arguably the most important document to the history of the United States and possibly the best agreement ever made between a government and its people.

The ForeclosureFish.com website is designed to help homeowners save their homes from foreclosure by utilizing the most relevant foreclosure information and advice available online. Homeowners whose dream home is quickly being turned into a nightmare foreclosure home can put together a comprehensive plan to prevent losing their homes. Visit the ForeclosureFish.com website today to browse through hundreds of pages of free advice, articles, and more book reviews, and download a free foreclosure e-book explaining the details of the foreclosure process: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Adama