Paradigm Shift...

"We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation..."

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In America, almost every child is told by some adult, most often a Parent, Grandparent or sometimes a Teacher, at some point during their childhood: " One day you could grow up to be President..."

I remember being told this myself when I was young. I remember how proud and empowered this assertion made me feel every time I heard it.

I can also remember when the statement lost its magic, its power, its promises of unlimited potential for me. Because when I looked into a mirror, a brown face looked back at me. A brown face like my Mother's, like my Father's, like my Grandparents. But, I was smart and observant enough to realize, it was a brown face unlike any of the Presidents in my schoolbooks. That was when the promise the possibility of becoming president became mythic and apocryphal.

Today, 5 November 2008, the Sun rose on a different America. An America where any child, of any colour, first the first time has unlimited future potential. Last night the Citizens of our country spoke to our future generations with their votes, the message is that we are all Human and we are all Americans, regardless of our colour, race or ethnicity.

"So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice..."

I am grateful that the Creator blessed me with the opportunity to both vote for President-Elect Obama and to see him victorious. One year ago, I would have never believed this to be possible within my lifetime; someday, but not today. I'm so glad I was wrong about that.

This day, 5 November 2008, finds me with renewed faith in both my country and my fellow citizens. I am, once again, proud to be an American...

--ryan

20. January 2009: The End of an Error

Reversal of Fortunes..?

Some good points to consider...

--ryan


WHAT IF THE FACTS WERE SWITCHED AROUND?

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the
stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant
teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating
class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe
disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his
standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair
while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to
pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable
organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating
Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989,
igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and
Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included
discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many
occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer
distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes
positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities
in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Background:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho = 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

20. January 2009: The End of an Error

Please visit JohnnaRyry's Broomwagon!

Sarah Palin's "Alaskonomics..."

Normally, I don't have much use for Time Magazine, but this time they're right on the money...

--ryan



Sarah Palin's Alaskonomics
By Michael Kinsley

Sarah Palin thinks she is a better American than you because she comes from a small town, and a superior human being because she isn't a journalist and never lived in Washington and likes to watch her kids play hockey. Although Palin praised John McCain in her acceptance speech as a man who puts the good of his country ahead of partisan politics, McCain pretty much proved the opposite with his selection of a running mate whose main asset is her ability to reignite the culture wars. So maybe Governor Palin does represent everything that is good and fine about America, as she herself maintains. But spare us, please, any talk about how she is a tough fiscal conservative.

Palin has continued to repeat the already exposed lie that she said, "No, thanks," to the famous "bridge to nowhere" (McCain's favorite example of wasteful federal spending). In fact, she said, "Yes, please," until this project became a symbol and political albatross.

Back to reality. Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 21/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook...

20. January 2009: The End of an Error