Ya know Hitler had is own private security force that answered only to him to take the pressure of the Military also, We see how well that worked out LOL.

I fail to see where he plans to get all this funding for this stuff. We are already deep in the hole as it is. He says its to take the pressure off the military, Why do we need a second civilian military force? Wouldn't be wiser to just build up our current military?

Of course it would. But our current military wouldn't participate in a coup. ;)

This is true hehe.

Obama and the U.S. image abroad

TRUDY RUBIN
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

November 12, 2008

Soon after the election, I moderated a panel of journalists from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America who discussed “How the World Sees the U.S. Presidential Elections” for the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.

What they said, along with the reaction from other foreign media and leaders, underlines the remarkable opportunities awaiting President-elect Barack Obama. He has a unique chance to stem the tide of anti-Americanism that threatens our security and our ability to lead.

“That one picture of Obama and his wife, African-Americans, holding hands with (Joseph R.) Biden (Jr.) and his wife was worth more than all of the hundreds of millions this administration has spent on public diplomacy,” said panelist Paulo Sotero, former Washington correspondent for the Brazilian daily O Estado de S. Paulo.

The victory of a black and the level of citizen involvement in the U.S. election have refurbished the nation's democratic image. It undercuts the efforts of jihadis to bill the United States as the Great Satan.

“Anti-Americanism will not suddenly, magically disappear,” French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy wrote in The Financial Times, a British paper. “But it will have a harder time surviving, and it will be forced to revisit its sales pitch.”

Yes, the challenges Obama faces are stupendous, and expectations placed upon him impossibly high. His honeymoon is likely to be brief. Much will depend on the quality of his top appointees.

But, as Financial Times columnist Philip Stevens wrote, authoritarians no longer will be able to hide their belligerence “behind America's unpopularity.” He referred to Russia's threat, soon after Obama's victory, to deploy missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kalinigrad unless Washington canceled plans to deploy missile defenses in central Europe. Whatever the wisdom of the U.S. project, Russia's churlish challenge to Obama is more likely to stir European hostility than support for Moscow.

Stevens also noted that Europeans no longer would be able to use their differences with President Bush as an excuse for failing to contribute to global security. If a President Obama asks for more European troops in Afghanistan, it will be harder to stiff him. As a former British ambassador to Washington, Christopher Myers, put it: “We will be so stunned by him that, for a while at least, it is going to be very hard to say 'no' to him.”

This raises the key question of what Obama can do to cement this new U.S. image before the global euphoria wanes.

I put this question to my three panelists; their answers revealed a continued desire around the world for a United States that exerts global leadership, but leadership with a different attitude and tone.

Sotero and Keiko Iizuka, deputy political editor of Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, stressed the need for Obama to put the United States back on a fiscally responsible path. Washington cannot exert leadership on trade or on security issues unless it renews its economic strength and institutions.

Al-Jazeera's Washington bureau chief, Abderrahim Foukara, urged Obama to stress soft power rather than military action. All three panelists stressed the need for gestures early in the new administration that could change attitudes toward the United States.

Foukara worries about growing anti-Americanism in the Middle East and anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. He said he believed an early Obama trip to the Middle East “would have a tremendous impact on the region. If Obama can build bridges with the Arab world,” that could temper hostility on both sides. Obama shouldn't wait too long to travel lest the emotional moment be lost.

Some news reports say Obama is considering making a major speech in an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office. If the new U.S. leader can strike the right tone, he could buy time and build support for renewed efforts to reach an Israeli-Arab peace.

Iizuka said she believed it was important for Obama to indicate quickly that the United States would retain a strong presence in Asia and a strong alliance with Japan. She said she thought an Obama initiative on climate change also would galvanize global attention.

For Sotero, the most crucial U.S. gestures will be those that rejuvenate the U.S. democratic image that inspired South Americans, including Brazilians, to oppose past dictators. “I remember when the U.S. Declaration of Independence was banned in Latin America,” he said. “Obama should say 'torture nevermore' in his inaugural address.”

Closing Guantánamo would be another important gesture. So would dropping sanctions on Cuba, the best way to undermine that country's government, and talking to Hugo Chávez, which would deflate the Venezuelan president's bluster.

Of course, the new president will need to unveil a new strategy on Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan, but that is food for a separate column. What these foreign journalists made clear were the stunning opportunities created by Obama's election – if he can seize the time.

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me@rescam.org

Interesting article.
It seems nothing will change under Obama however, We are still the world cops and we still carry the lions share of keeping peace around the world. Why are we the only ones getting our hands dirty? Where are the French? and the rest of the world?
We have enough problems right here at home without having the rest of the worlds problems dumped on us as well. America first I say.

Speaking of our problems how many of you are enjoying bailing out the UAW's over inflated paychecks with our tax dollars????? Is this what Obama and the democrats had in mind by CHANGE is coming? To what Marxist USSA? And spare me the this is to help GM and the other Big 3 to survive. Its to help the Union survive and nothing more.
The Big three pay their employees 50% more than any of the other Auto industry workers at Toyota or the other major builders is it any wonder they are bleeding 1 billion dollars a month and in danger of going under. They were going under even without the credit crisis.

FACT: The Big 3 pay employees get paid around $70 an hour if you include Healthcare and 401ks. The other non union auto workers get $40 and they are in no dander of going broke. Sales are down but they are surviving. Whats wrong with this picture?
The UAW had millions to pour into the democrat coffers for the election why didnn't they pour that money into their own company first????

I guess we need to change our national slogon to United States of Union Bailouts.

I'm an American and I approved this message.

Interesting article.
It seems nothing will change under Obama however, We are still the world cops and we still carry the lions share of keeping peace around the world. Why are we the only ones getting our hands dirty? Where are the French? and the rest of the world?

Doing the very sensible thing of not trying to build an empire. They tried that and got their tails burned. They learned their lesson and now they don't care if the natives kill each other off. Let darwin rule.

To quote Queen Amidala: "This is how our democracy ends...with cheers and applause."

Actually, she said "... with thunderous applause".

And I have It on DVD, In Widescreen THX, Looks pretty danged good on the 57" TV too.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Obama and the nation's cultural shift

EUGENE ROBINSON
THE WASHINGTON POST

November 14, 2008

Barack Obama's election victory may have been good for the country, but it's been awful for comedians. Just ask poor Don Rickles.

He was absolutely killing the audience on David Letterman's show the other night with his trademark scorched-earth put-downs. Rickles seemed at the top of his game – until he tried to tell a joke about the new president-elect. Not even a well-timed rimshot from the band could have saved him.

It was just a quick bit in which he imagined Obama, faced with his first international crisis, telling his advisers he couldn't be interrupted because he was busy playing basketball. The joke bombed.

Rickles' attempts to save the gag only made things worse, and he quickly moved on after pointing out that it was just a basketball joke “that I should have never done.”

As I said, poor Don Rickles. After all, he practically invented the in-your-face, politically incorrect style of humor that pays so many comedians' meal tickets these days. It must have been galling to have to sheepishly disavow a joke that was so inoffensive compared to the rest of his oeuvre.

And what was wrong with the joke, anyway? “Wrong” is too strong a word; “anachronistic” and “off-center” might be closer to the mark. It is a fact that Obama (like George W. Bush) is something of a gym rat, and it is a fact that Obama (unlike Bush) likes to spend his time in the gym playing basketball. His sinking a three-pointer during his trip to Kuwait was one of the indelible moments of the long campaign.

So why didn't the audience laugh? The main reason, I think, is that “black men playing basketball” is a stereotype and the audience probably felt this was an inappropriate way to talk about the first black president-elect. Even though, as I noted, he does in fact love to play basketball. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I'm not mad at 82-year-old Don Rickles, who owes his long career to the artful exploitation of stereotypes. But I do think I'm going to enjoy watching and commenting on the cultural attitude adjustments made necessary by this first-in-history presidency.

As the Obama family settles into the White House, popular culture will likely have a string of awkward encounters with stereotypes. I'm going to enjoy this because, in the end, what will be lost is the ability to paint “African-American culture” with a broad brush. To the extent that the Obama family's tastes or habits seem in any way distinctive, they will have to be seen as the Obama family's specific tastes and habits – attributable not to a group, but to a set of individuals. The idea that “all black people” are like this or like that has always been absurd, and this absurdity becomes inescapable when a black person occupies the singular position of head of state.

Conversely, every first family has the unique ability to share its interests and enthusiasms with the nation. If, for example, it turns out that the Obamas have a knowledgeable appreciation of African-American history and culture, many people might come to realize that “black history” is really just American history – and that it's profoundly relevant all year round, not just in February.

All of which is admirable and high-minded, but not very funny. I wouldn't worry, though. Soon enough, comedians will find a way to safely skewer the new president.

Right now, it's not at all safe – and that's understandable. Americans are rightly proud of the historic advance that Obama's election represents. Our nation's struggle with race and racism goes back nearly 400 years; we can afford to take a few weeks or months to savor this moment. Those people in David Letterman's audience were feeling a little protective of the president-elect. They weren't quite ready for him to be turned into a Borscht Belt punch line.

But the afterglow won't last forever. Making fun of our political leaders is encoded in our national DNA, and this trait will inevitably express itself. Eventually, some comic will come up with a spot-on Obama impression, the way Vaughn Meader did with JFK. Eventually, audiences will revert to irreverence. Eventually, perhaps, Dave Chappelle might even bring his comic genius out of mothballs.

President-elect Obama should enjoy this honeymoon from late-night ridicule. It won't last forever.

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me@rescam.org

Stocks Have Biggest Post-Election Slump....

Hey, thanks Obama.

I say thanks... at least for now. I haven't been in the market for more than 15 years. But, thanks to Bush and then the post-election slump the market is so low that I will risk it and buy things while they are dirt cheap. If AIG recovers in the next few years I am going to rake in the dough. That might be a big IF.

Speaking of our problems how many of you are enjoying bailing out the UAW's over inflated paychecks with our tax dollars????? Is this what Obama and the democrats had in mind by CHANGE is coming? To what Marxist USSA? And spare me the this is to help GM and the other Big 3 to survive. Its to help the Union survive and nothing more.
The Big three pay their employees 50% more than any of the other Auto industry workers at Toyota or the other major builders is it any wonder they are bleeding 1 billion dollars a month and in danger of going under. They were going under even without the credit crisis.

FACT: The Big 3 pay employees get paid around $70 an hour if you include Healthcare and 401ks. The other non union auto workers get $40 and they are in no dander of going broke. Sales are down but they are surviving. Whats wrong with this picture?

What a fresh outlook on a world wide economic crisis.
It's all the fault of regular working people.

Of course, it's all so clear now, working people should never have made the bad corporate decisions that lead to the crisis.
They should never have deregulated industry to the point where the industries police themselves on all matters from workplace safety to investment strategies.

Now I really feel sorry for those poor boardroom guys who were so mislead and bamboozled by this selfish group of working people.

Damn you all, you evil working people! Stop ruining the world economy with your multi million dollar salaries and even bigger golden parachutes when you fail at your jobs!
GRRRRR working people GRRRRRR

lets not forget that the foreign motor companies(honda) excluded build their vehicles in southern anti union states. They build in economically recessed areas. When Mississippi and Alabama become manufacturing powerhouses for Nissan and Mercedes we should take a hard look at what they are paying their employees. Much like GM paying Mexican workers the american equivalent to $3.50 an hour which is about 10X what the locals get paid. The folks building cars in the south are making more than the locals but the reality is the cars are no cheaper. check your prices. Domestic auto maker vs. foreign. the prics are virtually the same. so where does all that money go per car. PROFITS!!! profits that the average worker will never get a taste of ever.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Speaking of our problems how many of you are enjoying bailing out the UAW's over inflated paychecks with our tax dollars????? Is this what Obama and the democrats had in mind by CHANGE is coming? To what Marxist USSA? And spare me the this is to help GM and the other Big 3 to survive. Its to help the Union survive and nothing more.
The Big three pay their employees 50% more than any of the other Auto industry workers at Toyota or the other major builders is it any wonder they are bleeding 1 billion dollars a month and in danger of going under. They were going under even without the credit crisis.

FACT: The Big 3 pay employees get paid around $70 an hour if you include Healthcare and 401ks. The other non union auto workers get $40 and they are in no dander of going broke. Sales are down but they are surviving. Whats wrong with this picture?

What a fresh outlook on a world wide economic crisis.
It's all the fault of regular working people.

No, of course not. That's not what he said. It's not the "fault of regular working people," but having said that, his point remains valid, those regular working people have (through the UAW) priced themselves out of the labor market. They are as a rule, FAR too expensive in comparison to laborers in other countries and in this country, multimillion dollar machines are constantly replacing them.

Of course, it's all so clear now, working people should never have made the bad corporate decisions that lead to the crisis.
They should never have deregulated industry to the point where the industries police themselves on all matters from workplace safety to investment strategies.

"Deregulated?" The auto industry? What the hell are you talking about?

Bad corporate decisions are a standard part of running businesses, all businesses, because keeping a fickle public on your side over time is HARD. 90% plus of ALL businesses end in less than 5 years simply because keeping them alive is EXTREMELY difficult. That applies to the corner cleaner, that applies to massive corporations as well. There is no crystal ball, and even those that are paid dearly, in some cases millions, are not perfect. They are certainly better than nearly anyone else that works at that company. Certainly better than some rocket scientist that mindlessly bolts on brake rotors all day.

Now I really feel sorry for those poor boardroom guys who were so mislead and bamboozled by this selfish group of working people.

The only people who were bamboozled were the guys that thought that driving the costs of their labor through the roof with the UAW was a good idea long term.

Damn you all, you evil working people! Stop ruining the world economy with your multi million dollar salaries and even bigger golden parachutes when you fail at your jobs!
GRRRRR working people GRRRRRR

They don't do this. They just lose their jobs as other, more effective and economic ways of making the product push them out the door and into the dustbin.

As always, there have got to be 100's of thousands of former UAW workers sitting around begging for GM (or anyone) to hire them back. If they don't need those damn hell ass managers and corporations and all the rest of it, they should just be building cars on their own, and put GM, Ford, and Chrysler the hell out of business.

You know. Because it's really just that easy.

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Cordially,
Rush

elrushbo2@theobviousgmail.com
Remove the obvious...

Obama Birth Certificate Rears Its Head - Again

Where is that birth certificate anyway?

"Mr. Obama is respectfully requested to direct the Hawaiian officials to provide access to his original birth certificate on December 5-7 by our team of forensic scientists, and to provide additional documentary evidence establishing his citizenship status prior to our Washington, D.C. press conference on December 8," the foundation says. PolitiFact has said it has no reason to doubt the authenticity of the document.Among other complaints, the foundation charges:

-that the Obama campaign posted on the Internet an "unsigned, forged and thoroughly discredited, computer-generated birth form created in 2007"
-the Hawaii Dept of Health won't confirm Obama's assertion that you were born in Hawaii (the director of Hawaii's Department of Health on Oct. 31 personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.)
-there are legal affidavits stating Obama was actually born in Kenya
-Obama's grandmother is recorded on tape saying she attended your birth in Kenya.
-In 1965, Obama's mother legally relinquished whatever Kenyan or U.S. citizenship she and her son had by marrying an Indonesian and becoming a naturalized Indonesian citizen.


http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/12/01/obama-birth-certificate-rears-its-ugly-head-again/

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Justices eye suit on Obama citizenship

December 4, 2008

CHICAGO – The U.S. Supreme Court will consider tomorrow whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by many opponents of Obama's election.

The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court.

Legal experts say the appeal holds little chance for success, despite appearing on the court's Dec. 5 schedule. The Obama campaign has maintained that he was born in Hawaii, has an authentic birth certificate, and is a “natural-born” U.S. citizen. Hawaiian officials agree, reporting that Obama's original birth certificate is locked in a state vault.

Chicago Tribune

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me@rescam.org

This story will never see the light of day, I sincerly hope the democratic party did their hmoework before nominating Obama. Than why doesn't Obama release his certificate and get rid of all these allogations?

"Anyone who relies solely on MSM outlets ... may not even know that Obama has, to this day, not authorized the state of Hawaii to release his Certificate of Live Birth -- the 'long form' -- to prove that he is a 'natural born citizen' (NBC), a Constitutional requirement of all presidents. Instead, We, the People, have online access to an Obama document known as a Certification of Live Birth, which, as Randall Hoven explains at American Thinker blog, is a computer-generated short form that is not even accepted by the Hawaii Department of Home Lands as adequate verification of Hawaiian identity. ... Further dimming the online document's Holy Grail aspects, it has been altered -- the certificate's number has been redacted -- which, according to a statement printed on the document, actually invalidates it. But that's not all. Back on Oct. 31, Hawaii's director of health, along with the registrar of Vital Statistics, released a statement verifying that the Hawaii's Department of Health has Obama's 'original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.' Well, that's just great. But no matter how many times this statement from 'Hawaiian authorities' is cited as the NBC clincher, it doesn't prove a thing. It turns out, as Hoven reports, that Hawaii issues birth certificates even for babies born elsewhere, so simply having an original Hawaiian birth certificate 'on record' doesn't answer the key questions. Namely: What exactly does this original birth certificate say? And why doesn't Obama simply authorize the document's release and be done with the question? ... I think it is nothing less than good citizenship to seek to verify that Obama is a 'natural born citizen' since our elites, which include the major political parties and the MSM, failed to bring the matter to its extremely simple resolution long ago. But while important, this isn't just a story about whether we as Americans are right or wrong to ask our president-elect the question about his original birth certificate. It is about whether our president-elect is right or wrong not to answer it." --columnist Diana West

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The state of Hawaii has already produced the Certificate. There is nothing to this please find another conspiracy we can debunk

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

The state of Hawaii has already produced the Certificate. There is nothing to this please find another conspiracy we can debunk

When and where? I do not believe he has.

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The state of Hawaii has already produced the Certificate. There is nothing to this please find another conspiracy we can debunk

When and where? I do not believe he has.

As you requested....Birth Certificate

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The state of Hawaii has already produced the Certificate. There is nothing to this please find another conspiracy we can debunk

When and where? I do not believe he has.

As you requested....Birth Certificate

The point is, the one he posted, probably the one you reference, is fake.

The birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal.
It isn't signed.
No creases from folding are evident in the scanned version.
In the zoomed-in view, there's a strange halo around the letters.
The certificate number is blacked out.
The date bleeding through from the back seems to say "2007," but the document wasn't released until 2008.
The document is a "certification of birth," not a "certificate of birth."

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The State Of Hawaii will not reproduce it because of a law.
I don't even think Obama can ask the state to release it.
Obama needs to release it him self.

Obama's administration will be more secret than the last, just wait and see.

And your point is?

Just look up his birth announcement in the local newspaper.

Anybody can put anything in a liberal paper.