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An open letter to Oprah, Ted and Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, John Kerry and Moveon.org and Others Who Endorsed Sen Obama so early in the Campaign.

You owe the American public an apology.

The apology should be for the mistake you made in endorsing Sen Obama without providing information(facts-not opinions) to the public as to why he was your choice.

I don"t think that "following my heart" is a good enough reason to vote for the president of the US- but people bought into it because of the influence you have in our society.

You abused your influence. People abdicated their rule of reason to the trust they had in your judgement.

Our corporate owned mass media provided nothing but a three ring circus during the candidates debates. Voters had to furiously tap into previously underutilized resources to collect information on the candidate.

Everyone kept telling me to go look at his web site or read his book if I wanted to learn about him or his legislation.

Has our country gone mad???

We had to dig into congressional records, old news articles,books-anything we could access to collect information on him.
We received much help from independent journalists who heard our plea for an analysis of this guy"s voting record. We had "shout outs" over the internet where people were finding articles and passing on to each other from across the country-even across the globe-about our US candidate for president.

How dare you endorse an individual without providing analytical support of his/her voting record. We can read-many of us can not analyze or interpret congressional voting records. As I said, the independent journalists who were very experienced in doing this came to our rescue and wrote articles for public discourse. We read these articles, verified the facts, and now we are furious�If you want to see some of what I had to go through to collect information on Sen Obama- check out the Huffington Post "See Profile" tab next to my name-Athy. And I am just one of MANY people that had to go through this. Shame on you Oprah, and Moveon.Org. Many people I know have asked to have their names removed from the MoveOn.Org membership list because of this. Sen Obama says many things about himself but his actions do not confirm what he says. I was horrified to learn of his voting record and the type of legislation that he passed, rejected, or introduced. I am very disappointed with Sen Obama. He does not care for the people-he cares about his career. See this article which discusses some of Sen. Obama"s past voting record: Damning article on how much Sen Obama REALLY cares about the voters and their issues-and- just how good was his legislation for the people?

http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama...

Source:
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCS. ATHY

Obama on CLASS ACTION REFORM:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
In 2005, Obama joined Republicans in passing a law dubiously called the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) that would shut down state courts as a venue to hear many class action lawsuits. Long a desired objective of large corporations and President George Bush, Obama in effect voted to deny redress in many of the courts where these kinds of cases have the best chance of surviving corporate legal challenges. Instead, it forces them into the backlogged Republican-judge dominated federal courts.

By contrast, Senators Clinton, Edwards and Kerry joined 23 others to vote against CAFA, noting the “reform” was a thinly-veiled “special interest extravaganza” that favored banking, creditors and other corporate interests. David Sirota, the former spokesman for Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, commented on CAFA in the June 26, 2006 issue of The Nation,“Opposed by most major civil rights and consumer watchdog groups, this Big Business-backed legislation was sold to the public as a way to stop "frivolous" lawsuits. But everyone in Washington knew the bill's real objective was to protect corporate abusers.”

Nation contributor Dan Zegart noted further:“On its face, the class-action bill is mere procedural tinkering, transferring from state to federal court actions involving more than $5 million where any plaintiff is from a different state from the defendant company. But federal courts are much more hostile to class actions than their state counterparts; such cases tend to be rooted in the finer points of state law, in which federal judges are reluctant to dabble. And even if federal judges do take on these suits, with only 678 of them on the bench (compared with 9,200 state judges), already overburdened dockets will grow. Thus, the bill will make class actions – most of which involve discrimination, consumer fraud and wage-and-hour violations – all but impossible. One example: After forty lawsuits were filed against Wal-Mart for allegedly forcing employees to work "off the clock," four state courts certified these suits as class actions. Not a single federal court did so, although the practice probably involves hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide.”

Why would a civil rights lawyer knowingly make it harder for working-class people to have their day in court, in effect shutting off avenues of redress?

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCS. ATHY

Obama on CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATES:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
Obama has a way of ducking hard votes or explaining away his bad votes by trying to blame poorly-written statutes. Case in point: an amendment he voted on as part of a recent bankruptcy bill before the US Senate would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent. Inexplicably, Obama voted against it, although it would have been the beginning of setting these predatory lending rates under federal control. Even Senator Hillary Clinton supported it.

Now Obama explains his vote by saying the amendment was poorly written or set the ceiling too high. His explanation isn’t credible as Obama offered no lower number as an alternative, and didn’t put forward his own amendment clarifying whatever language he found objectionable.

Why wouldn’t Obama have voted to create the first federal ceiling on predatory credit card interest rates, particularly as he calls himself a champion of the poor and middle classes? Perhaps he was signaling to the corporate establishment that they need not fear him. For all of his dynamic rhetoric about lifting up the masses, it seems Obama has little intention of doing anything concrete to reverse the cycle of poverty many struggle to overcome.

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama on LIMITING NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
These seemingly unusual votes wherein Obama aligns himself with Republican Party interests aren’t new. While in the Illinois Senate, Obama voted to limit the recovery that victims of medical malpractice could obtain through the courts. Capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases means a victim cannot fully recover for pain and suffering or for punitive damages. Moreover, it ignored that courts were already empowered to adjust awards when appropriate, and that the Illinois Supreme Court had previously ruled such limits on tort reform violated the state constitution.

In the US Senate, Obama continued interfering with patients’ full recovery for tortious conduct. He was a sponsor of the National Medical Error Disclosure and Compensation Act of 2005. The bill requires hospitals to disclose errors to patients and has a mechanism whereby disclosure, coupled with apologies, is rewarded by limiting patients’ economic recovery. Rather than simply mandating disclosure, Obama’s solution is to trade what should be mandated for something that should never be given away: namely, full recovery for the injured patient.

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and MINING LAW OF 1872:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
In November 2007, Obama came out against a bill that would have reformed the notorious Mining Law of 1872. The current statute, signed into law by Ulysses Grant, allows mining companies to pay a nominal fee, as little as $2.50 an acre, to mine for hardrock minerals like gold, silver, and copper without paying royalties. Yearly profits for mining hardrock on public lands is estimated to be in excess of $1 billion a year according to Earthworks, a group that monitors the industry. Not surprisingly, the industry spends freely when it comes to lobbying: an estimated $60 million between 1998-2004 according to The Center on Public Integrity. And it appears to be paying off, yet again.

The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 would have finally overhauled the law and allowed American taxpayers to reap part of the royalties (4 percent of gross revenue on existing mining operations and 8 percent on new ones). The bill provided a revenue source to cleanup abandoned hardrock mines, which is likely to cost taxpayers over $50 million, and addressed health and safety concerns in the 11 affected western states.

Later it came to light that one of Obama’s key advisors in Nevada is a Nevada-based lobbyist in the employ of various mining companies (CBS News “Obama’s Position On Mining Law Questioned. Democrat Shares Position with Mining Executives Who Employ Lobbyist Advising Him,” November 14, 2007).

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and REGULATING NUCLEAR INDUSTRY:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
The New York Times reported that, while campaigning in Iowa in December 2007, Obama boasted that he had passed a bill requiring nuclear plants to promptly report radioactive leaks. This came after residents of his home state of Illinois complained they were not told of leaks that occurred at a nuclear plant operated by Exelon Corporation.

The truth, however, was that Obama allowed the bill to be amended in Committee by Senate Republicans, replacing language mandating reporting with verbiage that merely offered guidance to regulators on how to address unreported leaks. The story noted that even this version of Obama’s bill failed to pass the Senate, so it was unclear why Obama was claiming to have passed the legislation. The February 3, 2008 The New York Times article titled “Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate” by Mike McIntire also noted the opinion of one of Obama’s constituents, which was hardly enthusiastic about Obama’s legislative efforts:

"Senator Obama's staff was sending us copies of the bill to review, and we could see it weakening with each successive draft," said Joe Cosgrove, a park district director in Will County, Ill., where low-level radioactive runoff had turned up in groundwater. "The teeth were just taken out of it."

As it turns out, the New York Times story noted:“Since 2003, executives and employees of Exelon, which is based in Illinois, have contributed at least $227,000 to Mr. Obama’s campaigns for the United States Senate and for president. Two top Exelon officials, Frank M. Clark, executive vice president, and John W. Rogers Jr., a director, are among his largest fund-raisers.”

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and ENERGY POLICY:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
On energy policy, it turns out Obama is a big supporter of corn-based ethanol which is well known for being an energy-intensive crop to grow. It is estimated that seven barrels of oil are required to produce eight barrels of corn ethanol, according to research by the Cato Institute. Ethanol’s impact on climate change is nominal and isn’t “green” according to Alisa Gravitz, Co-op America executive director.“It simply isn’t a major improvement over gasoline when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.” A 2006 University of Minnesota study by Jason Hill and David Tilman, and an earlier study published in BioScience in 2005, concur.(There’s even concern that a reliance on corn-based ethanol would lead to higher food prices.)

So why would Obama be touting this as a solution to our oil dependency? Could it have something to do with the fact that the first presidential primary is located in Iowa, corn capitol of the country? In legislative terms this means Obama voted in favor of $8 billion worth of corn subsidies in 2006 alone, when most of that money should have been committed to alternative energy sources such as solar, tidal and wind.

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
Obama opposed single-payer bill HR676, sponsored by Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers in 2006, although at least 75 members of Congress supported it. Single-payer works by trying to diminish the administrative costs that comprise somewhere around one-third of every health care dollar spent, by eliminating the duplicative nature of these services. The expected $300 billion in annual savings such a system would produce would go directly to cover the uninsured and expand coverage to those who already have insurance, according to Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Obama’s own plan has been widely criticized for leaving health care industry administrative costs in place and for allowing millions of people to remain uninsured.“Sicko” filmmaker Michael Moore ridiculed it saying,“Obama wants the insurance companies to help us develop a new health care plan-the same companies who have created the mess in the first place.”

Source: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT:
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
Regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement, Obama recently boasted,“I don’t think NAFTA has been good for Americans, and I never have.” Yet, Calvin Woodward reviewed Obama’s record on NAFTA in a February 26, 2008 Associated Press article and found that comment to be misleading:“In his 2004 Senate campaign, Obama said the US should pursue more deals such as NAFTA, and argued more broadly that his opponent's call for tariffs would spark a trade war. AP reported then that the Illinois senator had spoken of enormous benefits having accrued to his state from NAFTA, while adding that he also called for more aggressive trade protections for US workers.”

Putting aside campaign rhetoric, when actually given an opportunity to protect workers from unfair trade agreements, Obama cast the deciding vote against an amendment to a September 2005 Commerce Appropriations Bill, proposed by North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, that would have prohibited US trade negotiators from weakening US laws that provide safeguards from unfair foreign trade practices. The bill would have been a vital tool to combat the outsourcing of jobs to foreign workers and would have ended a common corporate practice known as “pole-vaulting” over regulations, which allows companies doing foreign business to avoid “right to organize,”“minimum wage,” and other worker protections.

Source:http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

OBAMA and AIPAC
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
On March 2, 2007 Obama gave a speech at AIPAC, America’s pro-Israeli government lobby, wherein he disavowed his previous support for the plight of the Palestinians. In what appears to be a troubling pattern, Obama told his audience what they wanted to hear. He recounted a one-sided history of the region and called for continued military support for Israel, rather than taking the opportunity to promote the various peace movements in and outside of Israel.

Source:http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and Gay Marriage
Why should we believe Obama has courage to bring about change? He wouldn’t have his picture taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom when visiting San Francisco for a fundraiser in his honor because Obama was scared voters might think he supports gay marriage (Newsom acknowledged this to Reuters on January 26, 2007 and former Mayor Willie Brown admitted to the San Francisco Chronicle on February 5, 2008 that Obama told him he wanted to avoid Newsom for that reason.)

Source:http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama... NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

Obama and the Death Penalty LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
Obama acknowledges the disproportionate impact the death penalty has on blacks, but still supports it, while other politicians are fighting to stop it.(On December 17, 2007 New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill banning the death penalty after it was passed by the New Jersey Assembly.)

Obama and Private Military Contractors
Source: The Nation Magazine 3/08 Jeremy Scahill NOTE: I HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED THESE FACTS FROM SEVERAL DIFF. SOURCES. ATHY

LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES
Sen Obama sponsored a bill in February 2007 which defined a legal structure to prosecute State Dept. contractor crimes in US courts. There is a good possibility it will not pass until the next pres. takes power. Even if it passes, there are serious unresolved questions about how contractor crimes can be monitored effectively. The US Embassy in Iraq is slated to become the largest embassy in the world. If Sen. Obama as president maintains that embassy (and its army of diplomats and US personnel going in and out of the Green Zone) a significant armed force will be required for protection. That job is presently being contracted out to private contractors including Blackwater, DynCorp, and Triple Canopy. Based upon the wording of the sponsored bill (which is considered weak in the area of providing accountability measures ) some legal experts and Justice Department officials claim that the new president may be forced to continue using these "unaccountable" forces in Iraq. President will be tied to a weakly/poorly written law designed to benefit contractors in that it will be next to impossible to monitor contractor's illegal activities and/or acts of violence. How can you prosecute when you have no way of monitoring them?

The author’s conclusion ( Which I agree with)
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES- Especially on the really important legislation!!!!

Source:http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama...

Once I started looking at the votes Obama actually cast, I began to hear his rhetoric differently. The principal conclusion I draw about “change” and Barack Obama is that Obama needs to change his voting habits and stop pandering to win votes. If he does this he might someday make a decent candidate who could earn my support. For now Obama has fallen into a dangerous pattern of capitulation that he cannot reconcile with his growing popularity as an agent of change.

I remain impressed by the enthusiasm generated by Obama’s style and skill as an orator. But I remain more loyal to my values, and I’m glad to say that I want no part in the Obama craze sweeping our country.

Athy wrote:

Dear Athy, Why don't you get your own website instead of taking over this one, what an ass.
The author’s conclusion ( Which I agree with)
LEARN ABOUT HOW HE VOTES- Especially on the really important legislation!!!!
Source:http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama...
Once I started looking at the votes Obama actually cast, I began to hear his rhetoric differently. The principal conclusion I draw about “change” and Barack Obama is that Obama needs to change his voting habits and stop pandering to win votes. If he does this he might someday make a decent candidate who could earn my support. For now Obama has fallen into a dangerous pattern of capitulation that he cannot reconcile with his growing popularity as an agent of change.
I remain impressed by the enthusiasm generated by Obama’s style and skill as an orator. But I remain more loyal to my values, and I’m glad to say that I want no part in the Obama craze sweeping our country.

We get it , now go get your own website instead of taking over this one. Did you happen to notice that no one has responded to you for three days. We get it, you don't like Obama, but rants like yours don't change minds and you come across as part of the lunatic fringe.

we need to dump obama he will not be good for the country we dont need a muslin to lead this country

Check out this site:
http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/

You Tube is the best, especially where the entire debate is posted.

Then, I don't have to depend on a reporter, talking head, journalist, or blogger telling me what they want me to hear.

I hear it directly from the horses...mouth.

Just as an experiment, go to you tube
www.youtube.com
and enter the names of candidates running for office.
In the Governor's Race and US Congress Race, they are all there.

More people should go to these debates with cameras and put them on the internet.

Watch CSPAN. You get the raw data, unedited, uncut, without network spin. I can listen, interpret, and decide for myself.

I don't need a talking head(less) babe to tell me what she wants me to hear.

Rhett wrote:

Watch CSPAN. You get the raw data, unedited, uncut, without network spin. I can listen, interpret, and decide for myself.
I don't need a talking head(less) babe to tell me what she wants me to hear.

CSPAN is a fine resource indeed. Unfortunately you are writing to the great unwashed masses -- sheep who want to be told what to do and how to think.