DeMon's America (If I were president)

If I were president this is what my agenda would look like.

T. DeMon Spencer's Ideal America

1. Legalize gay marriage in all 50 states. 

2. Abolish the death penalty (state and federal).

3. Reverse “Citizens United” that gives corporations permission to anonymously funnel unlimited amounts of money into the election process.

4. Create a nonpartisan federal commission to construct and implement guidelines to standardize all elections. No matter what state you live in, your voting process will be identical.

5. Disallow private money in presidential elections. Each candidate will have a federally funded campaign budget. This can be funded by a small tax added to everyone’s driver’s license fees (2 or 3 percent should be enough).

6. Attach the federal minimum wage to the fluctuation of the living wage. (Minimum wage = living wage + 20%)

7. Free health care for all Americans.

8. Create new restrictive regulation on Wall Street to protect our financial system.

        a. 2% tax on every stock trade

        b. Reinstate the capital gains tax 
        c. Sever the ties between banks brokerages and hedge funds 
        d. Limit high speed stock transactions (add another 1% tax for these types of trades) 
        e. Reinstate the “Glass Stiegel” act and the good parts of “Dodd Frank” 

9. Legalize marijuana.

10. Limit prison sentences for non-violent offenders and offer rehabilitation programs for first-time offenders instead of prison.

11. End elections for district attorneys and county sheriffs. These positions will be appointed by county commission boards with input from the town’s mayor and the state Attorney General.

12. Close all privately owned prisons.

13. Divert a majority of resources away from the failed war on drugs and use it to improve low income neighborhoods.

14. Restore voting rights to nonviolent felons.

15. End district attorney job promotions that are based solely on conviction rates.

16. Create legislation that says the government cannot regulate the internet in any way under any circumstances. 100% off limits for the FCC

17. Create a program that offers zero percent interest for student loans.

18. Increase salaries for all teachers and give them performance based bonuses.

19. Legalize work unions in all states.

20. Corporate CEO’s cannot give themselves bonuses if the company did not meet projected earnings for that year. (every time the CEO gets a bonus all workers get one as well).

21. End all drone attacks and reduce the number of American military bases in other countries.

22. Fund a huge government program to encourage organic farming.

23. Heavily invest government funds into legitimate energy alternative research and implementation.

24. Create a program that gives unemployed workers an opportunity to get their unemployment benefits in a lump-sum to start a cooperative with 9 other unemployed workers to start their own company.

25. Ban former senators, legislators, and congressmen from becoming lobbyist after they leave public office.

26. Rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure which will create a lot of jobs in every state.

27. Make it easier for the poor to get low income housing in nice neighborhoods.

28. Undo tort reform laws and remove judgment compensation limits.

29. Allow illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship after completing and meeting certain criteria.

30. Ban all assault weapons and extended clip ammunition and require extensive background checks for every weapon sold, given, or traded.

31. Abolish ALL stand your ground laws in every state.

32. Give employers tax incentives for implementing a pension plan for their employees instead of a 401k plan.

33. End the anonymous silent filibuster in the senate.

34. Close tax avoidance loopholes for corporations.

35. End predatory lending in poor neighborhoods (pay-day loans, pawn shop check cashing, title loans), and make it easier to repair and/or maintain a positive credit score.

36. Fund a program that gives start-up capital to entrepreneur who wants to open a business in their neighborhood (to lessen the amount of outside people who have no ties to the community from owning every store and restaurant.)

37. Make all textbooks digital and give the students a free ipad or laptop in the 9th grade.

38. Offer free high-speed internet for low-income families.

39. Legalize gay adoption in ever state. Gay couples will have to meet the same requirements as straight couples.

40. Implement a 10 year term limit for Supreme Court appointees.

41. Make contraceptives available for all high school students who ask for it (from a guidance counselor who will also give them information about and talk one on one with them about pregnancy, sex and STD’s.)

42. Every public high school must have a gay straight student alliance club.

43. Give tax break incentives for those who register as an organ donor.

44. Break up huge media conglomerates into smaller companies to create a less bias corporate driven media industry.

45. Create a new government office under the FEC whose sole purpose is to monitor the fluctuation in income disparity, and report their findings once a year along with suggested courses of action to return it to a reasonable position.

46. Remove the legislation that protects gun manufactures from being sued for wrongdoing.

47. Ban lobbyist from writing bills and legislation.

48. Close ALL American prisons and detention centers in other countries.

49. Lessen time limits for drug patents and make life-saving drugs obtainable for 3rd world countries.

50. Take a much firmer stance with Israel and strongly push for a two state deal giving Palestinians the land they were forced away from.

President Obama's First Debate 2012

The first debate of the 2012 Presidential election is over. Now the pundits and the American people are deciding who won.  Just to be fair I feel I need to let you know that I have been and always will be a very liberal democrat.  After watching the debate I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the way the President handled things.  I could concoct some kind of spin or rationalization that would diminish President Obama’s shortcomings during the debate and leave the impression that I believe Romney lost.  But that wouldn't be the truth and if I go down that road I’ll become everything I abhor about Mitt Romney.  His history of misrepresenting the truth, flip flopping, changing his message to suit each crowd he’s speaking in front of (pandering), and spouting outright blatant lies whenever it’s politically advantageous.  But like I said, I can’t do that.  My conscience and upbringing just won’t allow it.  So here’s the truth.  President Obama lost this first debate.  Simple as that.  I’ll get into what this may cost him politically and if it’s as important as some might think later in my post.  But first I want to go over what I think were the President’s biggest missteps.  The first thing I want to talk about is body language.  I picked up on this very early into the debate.  Most of the time when Romney was speaking President Obama had his head down writing notes.  Romney was facing the President trying to engage him and look him in the eye.  This was a pretty big mistake for the President because it made him look passive.  No one anywhere in any country, business, organization, etc wants a passive leader.  It’s an oxymoron to even put those two words together; “passive leader”.   But let me be clear about this because I do not want anyone misunderstanding what I’m saying here.  I said it made the President “LOOK” passive.  Anyone who can remember Obama vs Hillary four years ago saw from the very beginning that this man is definitely not passive.  But in these kind of televised debates perception is more important than truth or reality.  Mitt proved that point time and time again.

The second misstep was letting Romney say misleading things without correcting him in the moment.  This drove me completely crazy the whole night.  I was almost yelling at the television at some points.  Here are a couple examples:  Mitt said “I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut.”  Which was a seriously bold statement when anyone with a calculator and a little common sense can easily prove that this is a lie.  An independent economist at the Tax Policy Center (http://bit.ly/ODj7Mv) have shown that the price tag for Romney’s tax cuts equals about $360 billion in the first year which extrapolates to $5 trillion over a decade.  It’s simple arithmetic and for those that don’t believe me I included a link to the Tax Policy Center’s website where you can see it for yourself.

Here’s another example of Mitt misrepresenting the truth:  About half way through the debate Mitt says “We’ve got 23 million people out of work or who have stopped looking for work in this country.”  It’s true that we do have a lot of people still out of work in this country due to the Republican’s bad economic policies under George Bush, but the actual figure is 12.5 million.  Not 23 million.  Here’s how slick Mitt manipulated the numbers to lie for dramatic effect in the debate.  He counts more than 8 million wage earners who hold part-time jobs as also being “out of work”.  Clever but still misleading?

One of the biggest outright lies of the night was when Romney said “Pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.”  He suggested that his health care proposal would guarantee coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions.  This is just not true.  Under Romney, if you have a pre-existing condition (such as I do) and have been unable to obtain insurance coverage or if you have had to drop coverage for more than 90 days because you lost your job or couldn’t afford the premiums, you would be out of luck.  I was born with Sickle Cell and the cost of my medical care throughout my life so far has been upwards of one million dollars.  Someone like me needs this pre-existing condition protection to get proper medical care.  So for people like me this is a life or death issue.  Watching Romney be so careless with the truth and exhibit such a callous disconnect infuriates me to no end.   Under Romney’s plan Insurance companies could continue to discriminate and deny people like me coverage.  This whopper of a lie was even too big for his campaign staff to stomach.  Immediately following the debate Romney’s top adviser had to release a statement saying that Romney  “misspoke about his health care plan including pre-existing conditions”.

In my opinion someone who lies so easily has no right to become president.  Some people might bring up Clinton as a counterpoint to this statement, but I would ask them to think about what both individuals have lied about.  President Clinton lied about straying from his marriage.  Mitt Romney has lied about his economic plan, lied about President Obama’s record, lied about details in his health plan and misrepresents many other politically important issues that will affect the direction of this country.  Bill Clinton’s lie had absolutely ZERO effect on the welfare of the country and it’s people.  That’s why the comparison of the two isn’t even legitimate.

Back to the debate; now the final misstep President Obama made that cost him the debate.  Letting Mitt Romney play the bully all night and gain control of the debate format.  It was very clear early on that slick Mitt Romney wasn’t going to abide by the debate rules that both parties agreed to prior to taking the stage.  President Obama should have seen that coming.  I knew even before the debate began that Mitt wasn’t going to keep his word and abide by the rules.  That’s just who he is.  Mitt Romney believes that rules and laws aren’t meant for wealthy people like himself.  His whole attitude and outlook was shaped by the privileged world of wealth that he grew up in.  He’s shown us this time and time again.  Remember the hate and disdain he showed for the 47%  who he deemed as leaches and lost causes because they grew up with financial hardships and work low paying or minimum wage jobs.  This man speaks a completely different language when he’s among his wealthy peers.  There’s no way he can relate to real Americans and he acts as if it’s a bother to even try.  So based on the 47% video, his economic disconnect and his history, the Obama team should have seen the bully takeover coming and prepared ways to counter it. 

There are a few more areas where the President could have improved his performance but those are the main ones that ended up costing him this first debate.  Now, it remains to be seen whether this changes the polls any and that will be apparent in the days to come, but if we look at past presidential debates where an incumbent lost his first debate, we’ll see that it really has no correlation to winning the White House.  Here are the stats:

DeMon's Debate History Chart:

YEAR	DEBATE OUTCOME	ELECTION WINNER
1976	Incumbent Gerald Ford lost 1st debate against Carter	CARTER WON ELECTION
1980	Incumbent Carter lost 1st debate against Reagan	REAGAN WON ELECTION
1984	Incumbent Reagan lost 1st debate against Mondale	REAGAN WON ELECTION
1992	Incumbent George Bush Sr lost 1st debate against Clinton	CLINTON WON ELECTION
1996	Incumbent Bill Clinton won 1st debate against Bob Dole	CLINTON WON ELECTION
2004	Incumbent George W Bush lost 1st debate against John Kerry	GEORGE W BUSH WON ELECTION
2012	Incumbent Barack Obama lost 1st debate against Romney	??????????????????????

So history tells us that out of the last 7 presidential debates, three incumbents lost the first debate but still won the election.  And an equal amount of incumbents who lost the first debate also lost the election.  I’m using this piece of presidential history to make a point.  Romney may have won this first debate, but it really isn't that big of a deal when you put it into the proper perspective.  So I want my fellow dems to stop with the doom and gloom.  President Obama is still leading in every single poll they've taken in the swing states.  Romney still has to deal with his likability issues and he has to somehow try and make Americans forget that he wrote off 47% of the country as moochers and lost causes who can’t take responsibility for their own lives and they consider themselves victims.  That’s a HUGE hurdle to cross and 5 weeks is a very short time to do it in.  It’s time we own up to the loss of this first debate, then move on and find ways to help the president win this election.  Let this ignite our resolve and do whatever we can to take an active role in this election. President Obama is only one man and he can’t win all by himself.  I can do more, you can do more, we ALL can do more. 

BUYING HERMAN CAIN

As soon as I heard that the billionaire republican Koch brothers were bankrolling Herman Cain's bid for the republican presidential nomination, I knew instantly what they planned to do with him and why they chose him. First of all, anyone with any political knowledge will tell you that Herman Cain has absolutely no chance in hell of getting the GOP nod for president. I'd like to think that Mr. Cain is smart enough to know that as well, but the more I see and learn about him, I'm not so sure he's in on the joke.

The Koch brothers created an organization in 2004 named "Americans for Prosperity" as a vehicle to influence the political process and funnel millions of their dollars to republican politicians who share their political views and whoever could pass laws that would benefit their business interests. After President Obama won the election in 2008, the Koch brothers along with their "Americans For Prosperity" organization had to come up with a way to insert race and racism into the election without making themselves and their fellow republicans look overtly racist. They tried to do this in the 2008 election but it backfired and lost them the presidency. So the Koch brothers, their organization, and a number of other GOP "think-tanks" devised what they thought would be the perfect solution. All they had to do is find a republican African-American who they could back as a seemingly legitimate presidential candidate, and use him to deflect any charges of racism, and also use him as a puppet to say the racist things that they could not get away with. They could also use him to paint democrats who are critical of him as racist... or as Rush Limbaugh put it "Cain can level the playing field". So this organization "Americans For Prosperity" (aka Koch brothers) started planning a presidential campaign before they even found who they were going to run. Normally prospective candidates start fund raising about 2 years before their party's primary. But the Koch brothers are BILLIONAIRES and didn't need to bother with all that. They wanted to buy and own a negro, and Herman Cain fit the bill. An African-American REPUBLICAN business man who they could Kapture, Koach, and Kontrol (KKK lol). Never-mind that he's never ran for any type of political office. Although I'm sure his naivete was a necessary attribute that fit into their plans perfectly. I don't know Mr Cain personally, but I'm told he's a successful businessman, and if that's true, then I'm sure he's probably good in that field. But after watching him in interviews, and seeing how he reacts and interacts with the press, and hearing his public speeches, it's painfully clear that he is unprepared, inexperienced, and miles away from being a serious presidential candidate. His encounters with the press has made for some of the most cringeworthy political moments ever. I have yet to find one single quality in him that looks presidential. He's not a good public speaker, he gets visually agitated with the press easily, he has trouble communicating his ideas (or should I say the ideas given to him), he lacks charisma, and at times he seems evasive and even dishonest. So it makes you think, why would the Koch brothers put millions of their money into a presidential candidate who they know won't make it past the primaries. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that they have a different agenda with very devious intentions.

Watch this clip from Lawrence O'Donnell's MSNBC show "The Last Word". He plays a clip from a recent Rush Limbaugh show, and in it, Rush inadvertently explains the republican's stagey and Herman Cain's purpose and role as their puppet. I hope Herman Cain wakes up and realizes that he's being used... and maybe he'll stop tap-dancing in the republican's minstrel show and recapture some of the dignity he lost before it's too late.

Shirley Sherrod Victimized By Dirty Politics

Shirley Sherrod is just the latest in a series of officials who have been fired, demoted, or forced to step down or who have had their nomination withdrawn because the Obama administration capitulates to right-wing propaganda put out by smear merchants like FOX News. It's bad enough that we have to fight the constant smear campaigns and appeals to racial paranoia from FOX and the right-wing media. But it's completely unacceptable for the Obama administration to give credence to fake controversies and manufactured lies.

Please sign this petition telling the Obama administration to stop paying attention to the right-wing noise machine. Click the link below to take action.

The Mormon Proposition

"The Mormon Proposition" details in devastating fashion the efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to help pass the 2008 California ballot measure that defined marriage as solely consisting of a union between a man and a woman. Writer/Co-Director Reed Cowan's film reveals a disturbing truth of the increasing overlap between church and state. This documentary is extremely well done and at times it even brought me to tears (which is EXTREMELY rare). I wish I could get every person in this country to watch this amazing documentary. I thought I knew everything that went on with proposition 8, but this film exposed a lot of new & shocking information that left me speechless. If this film doesn't move you, then you have to be a soleless heartless pitiful sociopath incapable of any human emotion... or a practicing Mormon (I'm only being facetious here, so please no hate mail).

The legal battle to declare Proposition 8 unconstitutional is currently underway, which means the ending to this story has yet to be written. Will we write an ending of triumph and redemption, or will we continue this story of intolerance and hate? 

Watch the full length documentary for free below:

President Obama Speaks at GLBT Pride Reception

President Obama spoke at a White House reception marking GLBT Pride Month on June 22, 2010. I know some of his campaign promises concerning gay rights are taking a little longer than we would like, but I have absolute faith that he is going to fulfill every promise that he's made to the GLBT community. Watching this speech gave me chills at times because I realize just how close we are to equal rights and total equality, and I realize how monumental it is to have a sitting president publicly announce his support for ending ALL gay & lesbian discrimination. This president understands that religious ideology has no place in a democratic government. I hope and pray that, that type of government ended with George Bush, never to be seen or heard from again.

For more info about issues concerning GLBT rights, please visit the sites below:

• Freedom To Marry http://www.freedomtomarry.org/
• American Foundation for Equal Rights http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org
• North Carolina GLBT Equality http://www.equalitync.org/

My New Hero New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

This guy is my new hero. I wish more politicians would follow his example, and start "keepin' It REAL".

Almost There With Health Care

Yesterday, the White House released President Obama's health insurance reform proposal. It bridges the gap between the House and Senate bills, includes ideas from both parties to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse, and puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care. And it creates a major new authority to help states crack down on insurers who propose unreasonable and unfair rate hikes -- like the ones we saw just last week in California and Maine. It's a proposal that combines feedback from the health debate with the President's longstanding principles on reform -- and it's a bill that any member of Congress can support. But we know Big Insurance won't like it one bit. Before too long, their attack ads will be back up on TV and their misinformation campaign will be up and running. They'll have one goal: convince members of Congress that its bad politics to support reform. So it's more important than ever to show every member of Congress that if they fight for reform now, we'll back them up this election season.

The President's bill makes insurance more affordable, sets up a new competitive health insurance market, lays down commonsense rules to bring greater accountability to health care, ends discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions, and cuts the deficit. It also strengthens the Senate bill, adding new provisions to cut down on waste, make sure middle-class families are protected, and closing the Medicare Part D "donut hole" coverage gap.  But health insurance companies don't care what's in the bill. They're fighting to preserve the status quo that benefits them -- even though it's disastrous for our nation.

What does all this mean?... It means reform is moving again, but the clock is ticking. We can't wait to show that insurers are wrong when they claim members of Congress who vote for reform will suffer at the polls.  Call, write, email, shout, visit, text, or anything else you can think of to get in-touch with your Congressional representative, and let them know that they absolutely have to get behind this new health care bill. 

We're closer now than we've ever been before to passing a health care reform bill that will give EVERYONE equal access to health care, no matter what their financial situation may be.  It's imperative that we continue putting pressure on our elected officials to make this dream a reality.

I want history to look back at my generation as the one's who changed this great nation in a positive and profound way.  I don't want history to look back at us as the generation who blew an amazing opportunity to better the lives and health of every single American (present and future).

Putting Pelosi On Blast

I've had a lot going on this week personally and professionally.  Most notably was the passing of my uncle JT.  So due to those situations, I haven't had the time to blog about the loss of Ted Kennedy's seat in the Senate on Tuesday.  It was quite a shock, and a huge blow to the Democrats and President Obama's progressive agenda.  The reason this is so major is because the seat was loss in a special election to an anti-health care reform Republican.  With that loss, the Democrats' tenuous "filibuster-proof" Senate majority is gone.  The reason for the loss is easy to pinpoint: the lack of enthusiasm and turn-out among Democrats and Independents who want this Congress and President Obama to be bolder. 

I am so fed up with this whole situation.  I hate to say this about my own political party, but the level of incompetence on the hill has to be astronomical to allow a health care reform bill that we all want, to get hijacked by the Republican MINORITY.  I love Nancy Pelosi and I respect the job that she's doing, but I have to lay most of the blame at her feet.  If she was really "on top of things", none of this would of ever happened.  But what's done is done, and the blame game isn't going to get this health care bill passed.  What we can do is push House Speaker Pelosi to step up and LEAD the House, and bring an end to the divisive bickering among Democrats about what should be done on health care.  Call Speaker Pelosi right now and ask her to be bold. Ask her to publicly commit to passing health care with a public option using the filibuster-proof "budget reconciliation" process.

Two political organizations known as "Democracy for America" and "Progressive Change Campaign Committee" got together and commissioned a poll of Massachusetts voters taken immediately after the loss of Ted Kennedy's seat and the results confirm what we already knew — that voters wanted a public option, expected substantive health care change, and are frustrated with slow pace of change.  The poll showed Democrats and Independents don't think the current Senate health care bill goes far enough, and more than 80% of them want a public option. If a public option were in the Senate bill, these voters would have delivered victory to save Ted Kennedy's seat for the Democrats. It's as simple as that.

Call Speaker Pelosi right now and ask her to be bold and to publicly commit to passing the public option through the "budget reconciliation" process.

Some in Congress are naively trying to spin that Congress needs to move more to the "center," scrap health care reform, and move slower. Nothing could be more wrong.  There is a huge opportunity to pass health care with a public option through a special process called "budget reconciliation" that only needs 51 votes in the Senate — that means Republicans and Sen. Joe Lieberman can't filibuster. But first the House must pass it. Speaker Pelosi needs to hear from you so she knows she has the support needed to fight other members of Congress who didn't learn the lesson from losing Ted Kennedy's seat.

We can't let this opportunity pass us by.  Health Care reform absolutely needs a public option.  Think of how much free health care could better your life, and possible extended the years we do have.  Think about your children, your mother, your father, your grandparents and anyone else that you've seen struggle while trying to pay for something as simple as a doctor's visit.  Or having to go without their medication because they just can't afford it.  I'm sure we all can relate to that scenario.  Do you want how much money you make, to dictate and decide you and your children's quality of life?  That's not the kind of America I want to live in, and I hope it's not the kind of America you want to live in either.

Click on the link below to read over a call script and instructions before calling:

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi   202-225-4965

http://act.credoaction.com/call/oneoffs/index_20.html?cp_id= 

Uganda's "Kill The Gays" Bill Sponsored By A U.S. Christian Group

Just when I start allowing myself to think that the fight for equality and gay rights are progressing; I get blindsided with the most disturbing shit I've ever heard. The law makers in Uganda have teamed up with a Christian religious organization here in the United States to introduce a bill that if made into law will make homosexuality a capital crime punishable by DEATH in their county. This law is the inevitable culmination of hate, intolerance, ignorance, bigotry, religious zealotry, political propaganda, and hubris dogma that ironically reveals how much evil can exist in the heart of man. I can not find words that would adequately express and convey my feelings about this. Just knowing that this kind of thing is going on in this day and age baffles me. I go through a roller-coaster of emotions every time I hear, read, or think about it. The most profound of those emotions are anger and helplessness. I'm most angry about the involvement of this well known American religious group (known as "The Family") that wrote and supported the bill that Uganda is now making into law. What's Christian about that? It's absolutely ridiculous to believe that killing gay people has anything to do with God or Christianity...

Here are some recourses to help you learn more about this issue. You'll also find startling information about some of "The Family's" well known supporters and members like Rick Warren, Pat Robinson (from the 500 club), and several Congressman and Senators who are connected to the group, including John Ensign, Bart Stupak, Joe Pitts, James Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Charles Grassley and Zach Wamp.

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/author-the-family-proposed-ugandan-law-execute-hiv-men

Video clip from the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC:

Ugandian Official David Bahati talks about homosexuality and why he thinks they deserve to die:

NPR Interview & discussion about Uganda's Anti-Gay History:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121605525

News article from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2009/12/091218_gay_uganda_law_wt_sl.shtml

When Is War "The Right Thing To Do"?

I think the western world has a skewed outlook when it comes to war and protecting our people and way of life. I'm aware that war is sometimes necessary and even sometimes unavoidable (ie WW2 & Nazi Germany), but we have to start being honest when it comes to voicing our intent and reasoning. Those that support sending more troops to Afganistan, are arguing that it's "the right thing to do", or saying that we're going over there to make our country safer and to help the Afghan people. Now, I don't like resorting to name calling, but anyone that actually believes either of those statements to be true are just outright naive. First of all, the Taliban has been weakened so much that they aren't that big of a threat to us anymore (compared to other more dangerous countries that pose an immanent threat). And most of the Taliban aren't even in Afghanistan anymore. They are scattered in low numbers throughout the Middle East. And that's an absolute fact that even General Petraeus admitted. So in my mind, that kills the whole "keeping America safe" argument. So who are we really fighting over there? We've bombed these people so much that there's really not much left to bomb. How many times can you blow up the same building? All the legitimate targets are now rubble. I don't see the point of spending our tax dollars on expensive missiles that are targeted to hit rubble and ruins. How does that make our country safer? How does that "help" the Afghanis? We need to understand that the old ways of war don't apply anymore. We can't effectively fight terrorism by going after one or two specific countries. Terrorist aren't all huddled up together in one place. They are smart enough to know that they can not win that way. But I guess our government hasn't figured that out yet. It's like we're trying to put a cassette tape in a cd player, and then wondering why it isn't playing. But instead of learning a new way, we keep doing the same thing, hoping for a different result. What kind of sense does that make? If we don't soon adapt, and start being smarter, then I fear 9 11 will happen all over again. And that's something none of us want.

-DeMon
demon@demonspencer.com

*BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY NEW SITE FOR THE LATEST IN URBAN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS & EVENTS:
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www.demonspencer.com

Is more troops the answer?

I listened to President Obama speak last night just like most Americans. I can't say I was surprised at his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, but I am a bit disappointed by this decision. For the last 24 hrs I've watched and heard a slue of nasty attacks against the President from both the left and the right. It sickens me, and it's made me rethink my position and want to support President Obama even more. I don't know why I feel the need to protect this President even when I completely disagree with a decision he's made. What is that? I have to ask myself the obvious question here... is it race? I'm not sure I can answer that either way. I will admit that I do feel a lot more connected and invested in the success of this current administration, but even if race does play a part in all this, it's accompanied with many other factors that all work in conjunction with each other. Like for example, I actually worked on Obama's election campaign here in North Carolina because I was so inspired by everything this man did and stood for. So even if his ethnicity does play into my need to protect him blindly, it's just one small part of a much larger picture. I can't, nor would I want to, separate who Obama is as a person, from who he is as a politician. And I'm surprisingly ok admitting that.

**DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY URBAN ENTERTAINMENT BLOG "SOCIALLY URBAN" FOR THE LATEST IN URBAN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS AND EVENTS. WWW.SOCIALLYURBAN.COM

The racism that's being disguised as political opposition really saddens me. But the denial that it exist angers me to no end.

That's the Obama I wanted 2 C tonight. I'm glad he called those asshole republicians out & exposed them 4 what they R, opportunist & LIARS.

I urge everyone to watch the President's address to congress on live tv right now.

Politics vs Celeb Culture & Health Care

Politics VS Celeb Culture

Everyone knows I'm a political junkie. I follow politics like most guys follow sports. Up until a few weeks ago, a majority of my blog entries were about politics. Unfortunately I've had to abandon that angle for a while in order to pursue other interests, projects, and business opportunities. In other words, writing about politics all the time does not make me money (lol). I'm being totally honest here. Call me a sellout or whatever. I can take it. I would never let ANYONE dictate or question my personal integrity. I'd be broke and completely destitute if I concerned myself with what people thought about me. The bottom line is, the more visitors I get on my site, the more money I make. If I write one blog about Chris Brown & Rihanna's domestic abuse issues, and another blog about the effects NAFTA has had on international trade... guess which one would generate the most traffic. Of course it's going to be the one about Chris Breezy & lil' ReRe (lol). I'm not talking about a small disparity, I'm talking about a HUGE difference in traffic numbers. I know, It's totally ubsurd, and I hate taking part in it all, but I have to make a living. In this country, only the wealthy can afford principals and, and I'm not quite there yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I have no interest in celeb culture, because I do. I visit Perez Hilton's site every now and then. I watch Entertainment Tonight on occasion. So I'm not downing or bashing that kind of stuff. I'm just saying that if given a choice, I'd choose politics. I could easily look at the negative side of this, but I'm choosing not to. I feel very lucky to get paid for doing something that I love. Writing has always been a passion of mine. So what if I have to make concessions every now and then. It's a very small toll to pay on my road toward enlightenment and total creative freedom. How many people can say that they get paid for doing something they love? ....... can you say that? ........ NOPE, Didn't think so (lol)

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HEALTH CARE BATTLE

Because of the situation I described in my previous blog post, I've been sitting on the sidelines rooting for my "team" strictly as a spectator. My plate has been over-flowingly full to say the least. I have two sites that have to be "launch ready" before September, I have 3 different blogs (DeMon Govsenprez, Blue Options, and D-MESHthat I have to update daily and constantly find new content for, I'm still working on my album & recording new songs whenever possible, and on top of all that, I have an overload of graphic art jobs for different clients. So that's the main reason why you haven't heard me speak out and give my opinion on this health care issue. I finally got fed up with all of the nonsense, the misleading Republican talking points, the political posing and posturing, the partisan pundits posing as journalists (aka Lou Dobbs), and worst of all, the conservative Democrats that are basically sabotaging their own party, and the man they elected to run this country. After all that, it would be almost impossible for me to watch all of this unfold while I sit ideally by. I can not figure out why Democrats are playing right into the hands of the Republicans. Either they are dumb as nails, extremely naive, or they have a monetarily vested interest in stopping this bill from being passed. Lobbyist seek-out the kind of politicians that are greedy, of poor moral character, and can be bought for the right incentive. It's so sad to see the behavior of the opposition at the "town hall" meetings. People need to know that 90% of the "disruptors" that you see screaming on tv, were all staged and orchestrated by Michael Steele and the Republican party. It's crazy how easy it is to plant ideas and false information into the brains of conservatives in order to manufacture fear and outrage. And the really sad part of it all is that most of these people would benefit from the President's health care bill. 75% of Americans make less than $50,000 a year, and under the proposed plan, their taxes will not be raised at all. They fail to realize that the people that's organizing disruption and spreading false information to get the middle class angry, are just using them to make the rich even richer. This is the same kind of problem that's causing the gap between middle class and the wealthy to widen greatly. The American middle class is disappearing right in front of our eyes. That's one of the main reasons why we need this health care bill to pass. We elected President Obama because we thought his ideas and leadership would make this country prosperous again for ALL Americans. This President knows what it feels like to struggle. That's why he's been able to connect with so many voters. We had 8 years of Bush's White House catering to the rich, because that's all he knew. He grew up with millions at his disposal. His family is wealthy, his friends are wealthy, his wife's family is wealthy. So those were the pepole he catered to. But we finally get a President that wants to help lift Americans out of poverty and help the middle class rise again, and we want to backpedal and second guess ourselves. We knew the President's position on health care over 2 years ago when he was still campaigning, and we all seemed to want it then. That's why I don't understand what conservative democrats are thinking. What's their motive? As I said before, I'm sure it's all political. I'm hoping and praying that President Obama does not back away from his original bill. He needs to stand his ground on this one, or the Republicans are going to try the same bulling techniques all throughout his whole Presidency. I think Obama needs to throw his weight around, and put the fear of God into those dissenting "turncoat" democrats. If it was November right now, and some of those Democrats were up for re-election, I bet they'd be singing a different tune. They'd be kissing Obama's ass and begging him to campaign for them and help them get re-elected. President Obama needs to remind them that he will remember those who supported him and those who didn't. I bet if he lays it out to them in those terms, you'd see a huge shift of public support from that group of dissenting Democrats. Sometimes you got to play just as dirty as they do. In this situation, I would pull every trick I could think of, because the ends will justify the means. He can worry about "clean up" after the bill is passed. I think when it finally does get passed, most of the naysayers are going to be eating crow and loving their affordable prescriptions and their affordable health care; all thanks to the President for seeing past our current circumstances and for standing up to his opponents and standing up to the extremely powerful insurance lobby.

**side note** I want to encourage people to do a little research on this health care bill. Don't beleive something to be true just becasue you heard it on tv or you read it in a newspaper. Take a close look at the biggest opponets of this bill. Then you'll start to see the real truth. You'll find that most of the organizations that are spending millions to try and kill public health care, are all big money corporations that have lobbied and shaped government policy for their benefit, and they continue to exploit the current health care system to get as much as your money as possible. These people and organizations have no interest in helping anyone but themselves. Don't let this kind of behavior continue. Don't let them use you to make even more profit from a broken health care system, that can be so easily fixed.

The amazingly wise Mr. Fredrick Douglas once said "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” I believe we proved that to be true when we united as a country and decided to elect Brarack Obama as our leader. We have the power to shape our own destiny. Those who want to oppress us can only do so if we let them. We need to show the wealthy establishment that we will not endure oppression of any kind, under any circumstances. Not in this country. Not in this lifetime. Never again.

demon@demonspencer.com

Visit My New Blog at: www.d-mesh.blogspot.com

Sign This Petition To Investigate Bush & Cheney

Newsweek reported Saturday that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a prosecutor to investigate whether the Bush administration illegally tortured terrorism suspects. You can find a link to that article here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/206300

A decision is expected in the next few weeks. Holder should investigate torture, and he should start with former Vice President Dick Cheney and his legal adviser David Addington. I urge you to sign the petition to tell Attorney General Holder to assign a prosecutor to investigate torture, just as I did. Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/investigate_cheney/?r_by=4958-332510-ZNEIrhx&rc=paste


PS. Check out my new design showroom for my graphic art, promotion, and publishing company Privlidge Works PDP.

http://www.wix.com/Privlidge/Portfilio-June-2009

Ousting the Ayatollah (Iran's Uprising)

For the last 48 hours, I've been glued to CNN watching the political unrest unfold in Iran. If anyone has ever doubted the power and usefulness of the Internet and social networking sites, now is the time to say "I TOLD YOU SO". If it weren't for these new tools of communication, I really don't think we'd know what the hell was going on in Iran. The Ayatollah has tried to shut down all outside communication, but with today's technology, that's virtually impossible. Right now the United States has an amazing opportunity. We've tried to remove the Ayatollah in some form or another for decades now. Our biggest misstep, was publicly backing The Shaw way back in the 60's. The Ayatollah used the common Muslim fear of western influence and control to slowly discredit and remove the Shaw. This plot worked so well, that it has been adopted by many Muslim extremist groups (i.e. Al-qaeda, Hamas, etc) as a powerful recruiting tool ever since. Keeping that in mind, our country needs to take a laissez-faire approach, and let this political uprising take it's course. That's the absolute best help we can give Iran right now. President Obama has been very smart to do so. If we take any kind of official stance siding with the uprising, then that gives Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollah more ammunition to scare the protesters into submission. The threat of western influence is the most powerful tool they have right now, and we can not play into that.

What concerns me the most is not weather Ahmadinejad or Moussavi won the election, because if you look at where the real political power resides in that country, you'll see that The Ayatollah holds all the real power. An Iranian president is nothing like an American president. Iran is more Imperialistic than they would like us to think. Ahmadinejad won the election because The Ayatollah wanted him to win the election. Simple as that. They tout the Ayatollah as some sort of religious adviser or councilor, but ask yourself, what kind of religious adviser has the gaul and the power to threaten military action against a group of protesters. It would be a huge step in the right direction for the people to prevail and place Moussavi in power as president, but Iran's oppressive political policies and any real change toward freedom will not happen with that alone. The only way we will see any change in Iran, is by removing The Ayatollah from power. Anything less would only serve as window dressing.

Chuck Nice Sarah Palin and Herpes

This is the latest bullshit from the "right-wing". It's kind of sad that they are grasping for straws at this point. I've noticed that they stopped talking about "REAL" issues after they lost the election. It's easier for them to go after small insignificant topics, because they know that a majority of Americans don't agree with their type of politics and policies. The election proved that very clearly. So now they feel that they have to resort to creating problems and conflict where none exist. Here's one of the latest:

THIS WAS TAKEN FROM A BLOG I CAME ACROSS:

I think it's fair to say that "comedian" Chuck Nice is not a household name. However, thanks to uttering an offensive comment about Sarah Palin, Nice is becoming almost famous.

From MRC:

VH1 comedian Chuck Nice appeared on Tuesday's Today show and compared Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to the sexually transmitted disease herpes. He mocked: "But, Sarah Palin to the GOP, this is what I've got to say, she is very much like herpes, she's not going away."

The "Best Week Ever" contributor amazingly preceded his comments by instructing the show's hosts and his fellow guests, who were there to discuss news events in the 10am (4th) hour of the show, "...Please don't take it the way it sounds." Amazingly, no one on the program really challenged Nice on his ugly remark. NBC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams mildly observed: "That's the advantage of being Chuck Nice. You can say that and there's no repercussions." Nia-Malika Henderson, the White House reporter for Politico, said nothing.

Defiant, Nice continued: "Everybody's laughing. I don't care. The band is cracking up." Anchors Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee Gifford quickly moved onto other topics. Would such a comment about Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton have gone unquestioned on Today?

That's the question. Would such a comment about a Democrat be allowed to stand?

Transcript

CHUCK NICE: [Sarah Palin] is beloved by a lot of people because she represents so many things. And I'm going to say this, and please don't take it the way it sounds. But, Sarah Palin to the GOP, this is what I've got to say, she is very much like herpes, she's not going away. Okay? That's it. I'm not equating her with that. Everybody's laughing. I don't care. The band is cracking up.

DAN ABRAMS: That's the advantage of being Chuck Nice. You can say that and there's no repercussions.

CHUCK NICE: I didn’t call her that, I'm just making an analogy.


I think Abrams' comment is just as bad, maybe worse, than what Nice said.

Abrams of NBC points out that Nice has the ADVANTAGE of being able to say that about Sarah Palin. He's envious.

Let's be clear: NBC has lost nearly all credibility as a news organization. It's a propaganda arm of the Obama White House and the Democrat Party. NBC News functions to be unfair and unbalanced.

After reading that particular blog post, I couldn't even get upset because it was funny to me. It's hilarious to watch the GOP die a slow painful death by their own hand. Kind of like a political suicide (lol). After I stopped laughing, and composed myself, I sat down and wrote this response:

Chuck Nice is a COMEDIAN! A comedian's job is to make people laugh, not to be politically correct. And if you heard the whole interview, then you'd know that the comment really had nothing to do with an STD. He only used herpes as an analogy to illustrate her staying power and her determination to stay relevant and vocal in the GOP, weather they want her to or not. It's really sad to know that in this day & age, there are still adults that can not recognize a simple analogy when one is presented... so very very sad.

Here's the url to the blog if you want a good laugh:
http://freedomeden.blogspot.com/2009/06/chuck-nice.html

Here's a clip of Chuck's interview on the Today Show.



I have to admit that I have a little secret crush on Chuck Nice. I guess it's not so secret now though... lol. Oh well.

Olberman gives Gay Marriage some Perspective

Out of all the arguments, articles, books, pundit sparring, cable news segments, and verbal jousting for and against Gay marriage; no one has captured and conveyed the thoughts and feelings of frustration from the Gay community better than MSNBC's Keith Olberman. I'm a loyal viewer of his show, but somehow this clip got by me. It was taken from a show he did a couple months back right after California passed Prop 8. His heartfelt plea was just as eloquent as it was profound. Watch and see for your self:



If you can't play the video clip, here's the direct url:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChanTFSmqao&feature=related


Here's a clip that exposes the hypocrisy of denying basic human rights from Gay & Lesbian couples. It takes the logic and arguments from the anti Gay marriage movement, and uses it against them. Before I watched this video, I had never thought about it that way. But, it makes perfect sense. See for yourself and let me know if you agree.

Protect Marriage, Protect Children, Prohibit Divorce - watch more funny videos

Here's the direct link just in case the clip doesn't load.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cca5e8a78a/protect-marriage-protect-children-prohibit-divorce-from-jonathan-smith


I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes, that I think is very relevant to this story and the time we live in.

Seek not abroad, turn back into thy self, for in the inner man dwells the truth.
-St. Augustine