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Of all the contendors for president in 2008, Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) is my favorite. He is my favorite because he is the only Democrat who stands up for what he believes, regardless of which way the political winds are blowing. He is against the Patriot Act and the Iraq war, and has been since the beginning. He also co-wrote campaign finance reform, and has recently introduced a resolution to censure Bush.

The are some who say he can’t win, because he’s too liberal. There are others, who I agree with, who think he can and will win, because isn’t wishy-washy and isn’t afraid to take a stand. What do you think?

I urge you to check out some of his commercials that have helped him win in the past:
2004 – http://www.russfeingold.org/play_video.php?video=level_playing_field&format=mov
1992 – http://www.russfeingold.org/play_ad.php?ad=home_movies&format=mov

former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge believed that President Bush and his top advisers manipulated the terror threat alert system for their political gain is really — and it ought to be — a major story. Ridge was in a position to know, for certain, whether this was the case. And though he’s hinted at it before, he now says, in his soon-to-be-released book, that he was pressured into raising the alert level before the 2004 election. Let’s see what Ridge actually writes before making too many conclusions. Let’s talk to other Bush officials and try to figure out whether we need to exercise caution about Ridge’s own perspective. For one thing, Ridge didn’t immediately resign. He resigned after the election. If he believed at the time that manipulating the terror alert system was damaging to the country, and he said nothing, and when he did resign, he said nothing, then he doesn’t come off as a particularly sympathetic figure. Ridge left the White House in 2005. He’s joined several corporate boards, has made a lot of money consulting on homeland security, and has been mostly silent. He’s probably been saving it for the book.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/08/dont_cry_for_tom_ridge.php

In the midst of the Democrat National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Democrat Congressman Luis Gutierrez urged immigrants to join him in supporting Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election.

While the representative from Illinois did not come out and tell illegal and legal immigrants to vote for Obama, it’s difficult to see how immigrants can help Obama except by voting for him. And most states do little, if anything, to prevent voter fraud.

“If you want change, it is time for Latinos and for immigrants to rally behind the next President of the United States, Barack Obama. Tonight, I ask my friends in the Latino community, in the immigrant community, please join me, because Barack Obama is the change we need,” said Rep. Gutierrez
Also, in an article appearing in the online publication The Politico on August 6, Gutierrez lowered himself to using inflammatory rhetoric simply unacceptable for a member of Congress. “You know who is in charge now? The Gestapo agents at Homeland Security. They are in charge,” Gutierrez told The Politico.

In recent months ICE has increased its efforts to enforce laws against the employment of illegal aliens. In addition to arresting people for violations of US immigration law, ICE has also taken action against people involved in identity theft and the employment of underage workers.

Working with local law enforcement agencies, ICE is showing some success in capturing large numbers of illegal aliens who are members of organized crime gangs such as MS-13, the Mexican Mafia and others. In one report, obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, ICE revealed that its agents arrested over 10,000 criminal aliens who are being charged with murders, rapes, robberies and other violent crimes.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4714

“While his campaign has cited its volume of small donations as a rationale for his decision to opt out of public financing for the general election, Obama has worked to build a network of big-dollar supporters from the time he began contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate.

He tapped into well-connected people in Chicago before the 2004 Senate race, and, once elected, set out across the country starting in 2005 to cultivate some of his party’s most influential money collectors. He courted them with the savvy of a veteran politician, through phone calls, meals and one-on-one meetings; he wrote thank-you cards and remembered birthdays; he sent them autographed copies of his book and doted on their children.

The fruit of his efforts has put Obama’s major donors on a pace that almost rivals the $147 million that President George W. Bush’s Pioneer and Ranger network raised in $1,000-and-larger contributions in 2004 during the primary season.

Given his decision not to accept public financing, Obama is counting on his bundlers to help him raise $300 million for his campaign for the general election and another $180 million for the Democratic National Committee.

An analysis of campaign finance records shows that about two-thirds of his bundlers are concentrated in four major industries: law, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment. Lawyers make up the largest group at about 130, with many working for firms that also have lobbying arms. At least 100 Obama bundlers are top executives or brokers from investment businesses – nearly two dozen work for financial titans like Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. About 40 others come from the real-estate industry.

The biggest fund-raisers include people like Julius Genachowski, a former senior official at the Federal Communications Commission and a technology executive who is new to big-time political fund-raising; Robert Wolf, president and chief operating officer of UBS Investment Bank; James Torrey, a New York hedge fund investor; and Charles Rivkin, an animation studio head in Los Angeles.

“Big donors are the key to Obama’s record haul”

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/05/america/bundlers.php

Tribeca – I thought Obama didn’t want to be beholden unto special interests? Just because he is purportedly not taking money from registered lobbyists doesn’t mean when you have half of your contributions coming from 4 industries that there won’t be expectations……

Prior to the election of President George W. Bush, the following were members of the “Scowcroft Team” (Selected Staff and Board Members of the Scowcroft Group):[2]

Brent Scowcroft
Kevin G. Nealer
Gary Edson
Colin L. Powell
Condoleezza Rice
Richard Haas
Ken Juster
Howard Baker
Carla Anderson Hills
Robert S. Strauss
Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger
Retrieved from “http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scowcroft_Group”

National Security Advisor Stephens Hadley’s relationship with The Scowcroft Group