Showing posts with label Blacks4Barack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blacks4Barack. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 1, 2022


GREG JONES: FOUNDER OF BLACKS 4 BARACK ORG. CONSIDERS LEAVING DEM PARTY

 By Greg Jones




In 2004, I saw a Black man give a speech at the Democratic National Convention who was willing to be the sole voice against our invasion of Iraq. That man was a young U.S. Senator from Illinois. At that time most people didn't even know how to pronounce his name, but I knew that if there was any miraculous way we could get him to be the President, he would bring our troops home and stop using them as what I and others considered to be expendable pawns in Iraq. I watched as he appeared on the Oprah Show in 2006 and when asked of the possible Presidential run, he just kind of chuckled off the thought. At that time, I started to post on various anti-Iraq Invasion sites about the new/young Senator....including how we all need to rally behind him to become President. The movement/voice grew into what became The Blacks4Barack Org.  Although an extremely far-fetched idea, particularly since he would find himself running against the wife of who many Blacks nicknamed The 1st Black President (Bill Clinton...because of his cool, sunglass wearing, sax playing appearance on Arsenio Hall's Show), I felt that if Blacks could learn more about the man, the combination of White votes along with Black votes could make this monumental vision a reality. But Blacks were not feeling Obama at first, combined with the pre-defeatist mindset that " America Ain't Gonna Elect No Black President". So I along with others who joined along the way (of all races) worked diligently through blogs, sites, comment boxes, postings, any way/where we could, to help people learn more....not just because he was Black (there have been numerous other Blacks to run for President in the past) but because we all felt he was the right one for the job.  And as we all know...through the grinding spirit of positive, collective, united, uplifting, inspired working/volunteering of so many....Yes We Did !

Fast forward to now, in 2022, where I am sadly finding myself beyond disappointed in what I have always considered to be my Party. Instead of the vibrant, invigorating, united, focused-to-achieve Party that led us to Yes We Did...my Party has become overtaken by the spirit of anger, hatred, desire to destroy, so-called cancel (bully) culture, burn-things-down, brick throwing, doxing (posting home addresses, credit card and social security numbers of Supreme Court Justices and others) and other negative actions which are all the complete opposite of what is needed to collectively achieve. It's as if my Party has been highjacked or taken over by some forces that are actually out to destroy, instead of achieve. To tear down, instead of build up...combined with an incredibly anti-American level of disrespect for all things, ranging from the position of President, Supreme Court Justices, schools, churches, 1st Amendment (censoring), 2nd Amendment (used to say Republicans wanted to take our guns....now it's the Dems) and the list goes on, including the fact that my Party has even become the Pro-War Party ! Talk about a flip-flop.

It's as if we, as Democrats, have been brain-washed to simply follow our party despite them not doing a good job of addressing the needs of We The People, whom they are supposedly in office to represent. But instead of actually doing the work needed, it's as if they have taken over the Dem leaning media and hired them to try to 'convince' us that a good job is being done....when it clearly isn't. Manipulation, strategic reporting, the withholding of certain truths, constant fake polls and other tactics used daily have become so see-through that it is insulting. Homelessness higher than ever. Gas, food, shelter, transportation prices higher then ever, struggling trucking industry, baby formula shortages, cost of living in general higher then ever...and the list goes on, all while D.C. simultaneously sends billions to other countries ! Crazy !

Part of the manipulation tactics that are totally see-through is to convince folks that if you speak about the things you are not happy with in your own Party, then it must mean that you're for the other Party. That is the exact absolute asinine, puppet-minded, well trained, stay in your place mentality that makes the politicians feel so comfortable and secure at doing absolutely nothing tangible for We The People. The old ' they'll vote for us anyway ' cocky attitude which has actually been the case for so/too long. (same cocky attitude that gave us Trump). I was never a lifelong Dem, or the Founder of Blacks 4 Barack because of anything appealing about the Repubs. But rather, the complete opposite. But just as I, through clear conscious and eyes could easily see the things that I did not like in the Repub Party...I have that same vision and inner capability to see what I don't like in my Dem Party. A recent report in U.S. News stated that more than 1 million Dem voters in 43 states have recently left the Dem Party. That's serious people ! And I doubt if it's because they all suddenly love the Repubs. In fact, I'd guess that many are, just as I, fed up with the do nothing, hate-filled, cockier-than-though, old wrinkled politician mindset combined with the Antifa-sized, burn-it-down, loser mentality, that close to guarantees continuous failure for days, months, years ahead. 

For this reason....I....a proud part of the 'Yes We Did's...and I'm sure many others....am officially declaring myself no longer an automatic Democrat Voter....but on this Day of Independence....I am Officially...an INDEPENDENT. To the Dem Party/Politicians....a simple desire, plea....slogan that you'll hopefully adhere to....WIN US BACK ! 


Greg Jones' Blacks4Barack.net is a national, multi-racial, net/grassroots organization established in 2007 to increase support for Barack Obama for President. Following Obama's victory Greg Jones' Blacks4Barack.net was selected to be part of The U.S. Library of Congress Historic Collection as well as a member of The White House Press Pool. Now, although semi-retired, Jones continues to be politically concerned, while enjoying his new hobby as a singer/songwriter known as Greg 'Papa' Jones. His original recordings are available on Spotify, Itunes, YouTube and all major music streaming sites worldwide as well as limited free-downloads through the official site www.GregPapaJones.com. Contact: KGJmedia@gmail.com.

x   x   x

Saturday, June 16, 2012


Been on a bit of an hiatus but just a reminder that we must:
Be Inspired...Be Informed...BE INVOLVED !!!
And make certain to help inform others. Get geared up....and READY ! It's going to be a true battle and ALL Warriors will be needed to Fight the Good Fight.....for the future Our Country.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Thousands of Americans with no health coverage attend
free health clinics for much needed medical care


Remember

The 47 Million Americans
With NO Health Care At All...
Like A Third World Country


By Greg Jones
National Director
Blacks4Barack

As the debate over heath care reform continues to rachet up, I can't help but sense an omission of what the primary goal of health care reform was meant to be. We're hearing the heated back and forth regarding whether there will be a single-payer plan or a competitive Public Option Plan or even some sort of a so-called Co-Op plan. We're hearing about pre-existing conditions being covered in the new bill as well as possible lower prices for prescriptions.

We're hearing about how insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. Also how a limit will be placed on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one in America should be broke when they get sick. We're hearing how insurance companies will be required to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, because that saves money and that saves lives.

That's all well and very good. But the one thing we are NOT hearing...is the primary reason for health care reform. That is, how the 47 million Americans who currently have NO health coverage at all will finally get the much needed coverage. THAT is the main question....but there has been an eerie silence on that vitally important subject.

There are many questions on this issue but very few answers. EXACTLY how will the 47 million be able to receive the basic necessity of life...the ability to go to the doctor when one is sick. For those millions of you who have coverage, you have absolutely NO CLUE what life is like without that simple ability. That simple right. How absolutely frightening a simple cough or headache can be, hoping that it doesn't turn into something that needs professional medical care. Or when you get a severe toothache, but you can't go to the dentist so you fight through the agonizing pain, resorting to asking friends if they have any penicillin pills that you can take....forced to serve as your own doctor.

Or yet, a worse but not uncommon scenario. The wife who is forced to watch her husband suffer daily while his body is eaten alive by cancer, but there is nowhere they can go for medical help because they have no health care coverage at all, so he just slowly dies away as his family helplessly watches . Some claim the uninsured can simply go to emergency for care but this family finds out the hard way that you can not go to emergency for health care needed to be cured of cancer.

Remote Area Medical, aka RAM, an aid outfit that got its start helping villagers in the Amazon Rainforest, ran a free, eight-day-long clinic in Los Angeles for people in need. Hundreds of people started lining up Monday for a chance to get their teeth fixed, eyes checked and various other maladies cared for at the clinic, which opened Tuesday.

NPR's Howard Berkes reported last month on the group's tenth annual clinic in Wise, Va., where 2,700 people were treated over three days. Keep in mind, this is an organization (RAM) which got it's start helping villagers in the Amazon...and now they're here, right here in America giving much needed health care to neglected Americans as if THIS were a third world country !

And no. These people are not whom society would label the derelicts of society. These are not the so-called 'bums' or drunks or druggies. These are everyday, average, decent Americans, mothers and fathers, most of whom do in fact have jobs and work hard for a living everyday. These are people that work at your neighborhood cleaners, your pizza shops, your handyman, your cleaning women, window washers, the car wash, grocery store, cashiers at America's largest box store and the list goes on. These are good, average, hard working tax-paying Americans. And it is absolutely pathetic that our great country would be so selfish-minded and lackadaisical that we would except as normalcy the fact that 1 out of every 6 Americans are being treated like this is a third world country. It is hard to fathom the reality that Mexico, Cuba and even North Korea treat their citizens far more caringly than America when it comes to health care coverage for all.

We hear lofty catch phrases like " health care will be affordable for all " ! In fact, President Obama wrote in a recent op-ed piece " if you don’t have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options once we pass reform ". What does that mean exactly ? The 47 million hard working people without coverage are struggling through life without the simple basic right to see a doctor when ill because of the fact that they simply can not afford it ! If they could...they'd have it already ! Although they work hard everyday, millions of the uncovered are barely able to make ends meet now while living paycheck to paycheck.

So to say with such simplicity that any plan will be affordable is simply not automatically true. Combine all of this with the fact that legislators are now leaning toward a mandate that could basically make it a law that everyone must purchase their own health coverage or be penalized, thus potentially resulting in not only 47 million people still uncovered due to unaffordability, but now this very group, already struggling in so many ways, would fall into the classification of 'lawbreakers' ! And if there is a mandate will there be some kind of government subsidies or financial aid to truly make the coverage 'affordable' ?

It is now time to re-focus. Remember, the initial mission of health care reform was always to supply the much needed health care to the 47 million uncovered while simultaneously resolving this American embarrassment. The 47 million, plus (the numbers are actually growing with continuous job losses) who are suffering with no health coverage at all, now represent our government's new Katrina. Will our government turn their backs...as they did with Katrina victims....or will they actually correct this third-world-like American disgrace ? That is THE question ! It is up to We The People to force the right answers. And remember...Yes WE Can !


Greg Jones
Blacks4Barack

Monday, June 1, 2009


VIDEO:
President Obama Discusses GM Bankruptcy


CLICK HERE if video does not appear through server
B4B

Wednesday, March 11, 2009


Editorial: Jack Cafferty

"GOP Becoming a CARTOON" !


NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Republican Party is becoming a cartoon.

Where to start?

Bobby Jindal: "I'm certainly not nearly as good of a speaker as Obama." Good OF a speaker? How about not as good at eighth-grade grammar either. It's embarrassing.

Sarah Palin? Billing the taxpayers for her kids to travel to official events the children weren't even invited to? She finally agreed to pay back the state for that money she took.

Her per diem charges to the state in the amount of $17,000 while she was living at home instead of in the governor's mansion? She has now agreed to pay the taxes owed on that money. Another tawdry grab at a few dollars that didn't belong to her.

Michael Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, down on his knees apologizing to the helium-filled poster boy of the conservative right? Pathetic.

If the Republicans are ever to emerge from the long dark night they have created for themselves it will have to be without pandering to the right wing nuts that comprise Rush Limbaugh's radio audience. Didn't they learn anything in the last election?

All of which is to say the GOP is blowing it big time. They were handed a golden opportunity to redeem themselves with the election of Barack Obama -- a chance to line up and in unison condemn the evil their party put in the White House the previous eight years.

The country had had a bellyful of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of the messengers of darkness in Washington who had sold out the principles of the Republican Party in favor of huge deficits, a doubling of the national debt, and a growing intrusion of the federal government into people's private lives.

But instead of getting on board the change train and recognizing the incredible amount of damage their people had done to the country, Republicans go blithely along as though nothing has happened. They're busy obstructing Obama's programs and criticizing the Democrats' spending plans that are aimed at trying to bring the country out of a horrible recession.

I hate to break it to them, but a lot has happened. And they're not going to like any of it.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the Republican Party's favorability rating at an all-time low. President Obama's is at an all-time high. The same poll shows that Republicans are getting most of the blame for the partisanship that hinders governmental progress. And perhaps most telling, when asked which party is best equipped to lead the country out of recession, the Republicans trail the Democrats by a stunning 30 points.

And while all this is going on, the GOP ran a straw poll on who the party's nominee should be for president in 2012. Ready?

Mitt Romney finished first followed by Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul and Sarah Palin.

The Republican Party is marching double-time down the road to irrelevance and they don't even know it.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jack Cafferty.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Blacks4Barack Selected To Be Part Of
U.S. Library of Congress
Historical Collection !

Cleveland,Ohioan Greg Jones' website, Blacks4Barack.blogspot.com has been selected to be part of the U.S. Library of Congress' historic collection Presidential Campaign 2008. The Blacks4Barack website will be made available worldwide through the LOC's Digital Collection.
Following is a portion of the request sent to Blacks4Barack.

The United States Library of Congress has selected your Web site for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to the Presidential Transition During a Time of Crisis. The Library's traditional functions, acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collection materials of historical importance to the Congress and to the American people to foster education and scholarship, extend to digital materials, including Web sites. We request your permission to collect your web site and add it to the Library's research collections. We also ask that we be allowed to display the archived version(s) of your web site.

The following URL has been selected:www.Blacks4Barack.blogspot.com


With your permission, the Library of Congress or its agent will engage in the collection of content from your Web site at regular intervals over time. The Library will make this collection available to researchers onsite at Library facilities. The Library also wishes to make the collection available to offsite researchers by hosting the collection on the Library's public access Web site. The Library hopes that you share its vision of preserving Internet materials and permitting researchers from across the world to access them.

"To have our website selected to help future generations learn more about the Historic Campaign of 2008 is a true honor," states Greg Jones, National Director of Blacks4Barack.org, a multi-racial, net/grassroots organization Jones started in February of 2007 with a mission to stimulate and invigorate support for Barack Obama."I must give thanks to all of the fellow Obama Supporters nationwide who have helped us in so many ways" adds Jones.

Greg Jones is also the producer/host of an internet radio program Obama Talk Radio 'Nothing But The Truth with Greg Jones' which is a 2 hour show discussing political news and views, issues of today and Obama Talk. The show airs Live each Sunday at 8pm (est) through BlogTalk Radio and can be accessed through the Blacks4Barack website.

About The U.S. Library of Congress:

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.

The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building (1897) is the original separate Library of Congress building. (The Library began in 1800 inside the U.S. Capitol.) The John Adams Building was built in 1938 and the James Madison Memorial Building was completed in 1981.

THANKS WARRIORS !
B4B

Thursday, January 29, 2009


Iraq Kicks Blackwater Out !!!

BAGHDAD — Iraq said Thursday it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians.

The move will deprive American diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq.

The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.

Iraqis are bitter over the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting. A sixth is cooperating with the government.

The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.

But even before the shooting, Blackwater had a reputation for aggressive operations and using excessive force in protecting American officials, an allegation the company has disputed.

Neither Khalaf nor a U.S. Embassy official gave a date for Blackwater personnel to leave the country and neither said whether they would be allowed to continue guarding U.S. diplomats during the interim.

Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina-based company, said the company had not yet been notified of the Iraqi decision but intended to continue providing security to U.S. officials until instructed otherwise.

"We have received no official communications from the government of Iraq or our customer on the status of those applications or the future of our work in Iraq," she said.

"Blackwater has always said that we will continue the important work of protecting U.S. government officials in Iraq for as long as our customer asks us to do so, and in accordance with Iraqi law. That has not changed."

The Iraq decision came just months after a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement approved in November gave the government the authority to determine which Western security companies operate in Iraq.

A joint U.S.-Iraqi committee is drawing up procedures for licensing and regulating security companies under the security agreement and it is unclear when it will finish the process.

"We have followed the procedures to apply for and secure operating licenses in Iraq," said Tyrrell, the Blackwater spokeswoman. "Any further questions about that the licensing process should be directed to our customer."

Khalaf said Blackwater employees who have not been implicated in the 2007 shooting have the right to work in Iraq but must find a different employer.

"We sent our decision to the U.S. Embassy last Friday," Khalaf told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They have to find a new security company."

When President Barack Obama was campaigning in 2007, he announced a plan to force Iraq war contractors to follow federal law.

"We cannot win a fight for hearts and minds when we outsource critical missions to unaccountable contractors," he said at the time.

The State Department relies heavily in Blackwater because it is the largest and best-equipped security company in Iraq. The U.S. extended Blackwater's contract for a year last spring, despite widespread calls for the company to be expelled because of the Nisoor Square shooting.

But the company has become a lightning rod for Iraqi complaints about the behavior of Western security companies, whose employees were immune from prosecution under Iraqi law until the security agreement took effect this month.

The U.S. Embassy official confirmed it received the government's decision, saying that U.S. officials were working with the Iraqi government and its contractors to address the "implications of this decision."

The official made the statement on condition of anonymity under embassy regulations.

In the Sept. 16, 2007 shooting, Blackwater maintains its guards opened fire after coming under attack after a car in a State Department convoy broke down.

The shooting took place around noon in a crowded traffic circle in west Baghdad where U.S. prosecutors said civilians were running errands, getting lunch and otherwise going about their lives.

Prosecutors said the guards unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis, with the dead including young children, women, people fleeing in cars and a man whose arms were raised in surrender as he was shot in the chest.

Twenty others were wounded, including one injured by a grenade launched into a nearby girls' school. Another 18 Iraqis were assaulted but not wounded, prosecutors said.

Iraqi witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked and left the square littered with blown-out cars.

But the Blackwater guards insist they were ambushed by insurgents. One of the trucks in the convoy was disabled in the ensuing firefight, the guards say.

Blackwater radio logs made available to The Associated Press by a defense attorney in the case last month raised questions about prosecutors' claims that the guards' shooting was unprovoked. The log transcripts describe a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police.

The Blackwater guard cooperating with the government in the case, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting.

In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Ridgeway admitted there was no threat from a white Kia sedan whose driver, a medical student, was killed and his mother, in the front passenger seat, was injured.

___

Associated Press Writer Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

B4B

Wednesday, January 28, 2009


What's In The
STIMULUS PACKAGE ?

The news is filled with debate over the Stimulus Package and who's for or against it. But what exactly is in the package. Below are some of the highlights.

By David Goldman,
CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- You've probably noticed: The Obama administration and Congress are talking about spending an unprecedented sum of money to try to revive the economy.

President Obama and House Democrats laid down the marker with an $825 billion package of spending and tax cuts.

Dozens of proposals. Hundreds of pages of legislation. Billions of dollars.

What are some of the headline proposals, and what is the debate all about? The legislation is a work in progress, but here is an overview.

Infrastructure

The case for it: By investing in renewable energy, health care, education and modern construction projects, the Obama administration expects to create between 3 million and 4 million jobs and address key sustainability issues.

The case against it: Opponents argue the spending will lead to a rapidly increasing and unsustainable deficit. They also say that a majority of infrastructure projects will take too long to implement.

Construction projects: $90 billion. Fund the rebuilding of crumbling roads and bridges, build clean water and flood-control mechanisms and provide funding for mass-transit systems.

Education: $142 billion. Rebuild thousands of schools by modernizing classrooms, labs and libraries.

Renewable energy: $54 billion. Double production of alternative energy in the next three years. Weatherize low-income homes, modernize 75% of federal buildings and update the nation's electrical grid with a new, cost-efficient "smart" grid.

Health-care records: $20 billion. Modernize the health care system by computerizing all of the nations' medical records in the next five years.

Science, research and technology: $16 billion. Invest in science facilities, research and instrumentation to create new industries, new jobs and medical breakthroughs. Expand broadband Internet access in rural and underserved areas.

State relief

The case for it: As states face budget shortfalls, Obama's plan seeks to help states pay for Medicaid and unemployment benefits. State fiscal relief will be allocated to prevent increases in state and local taxes, or cuts in government services.

The case against it: Opponents say the bill should focus on job creation that will make an immediate impact the economy.

Medicaid: $87 billion. Increase Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage so states do not have to cut eligibility for Medicaid due to budget shortfalls.

Law enforcement: $4 billion for states and municipalities for law enforcement.

Safety net

The case for it: Obama proposed temporary programs to protect those most vulnerable to the effects of the recession.

The case against it: As with state budget relief, opponents say the bill is too big and should simply aim to create new jobs. Some lawmakers have said some of the "safety net" spending provisions are wasteful, and many have called the bill unfocused.

Unemployment benefits: $43 billion. Extend through December 2009 emergency unemployment insurance assistance to states. Increase weekly unemployment benefits by $25, and provide incentives for states to expand unemployment coverage.

Cobra: $39 billion. Tax credit for recently laid-off employees to help pay for discounted health care. Obama estimates the plan will help 8.5 million people who recently lost their jobs.

Feeding the hungry: $20 billion. Increase food stamp benefits by 13%, and provide support for food banks, school lunch programs and WIC.

Tax cuts for individuals

The case for it: Throughout his campaign, the president pushed for tax cuts for low- and middle-income families. As a form of stimulus, it has the added advantage of being paid out faster than other provisions in the bill, and economists say those income groups are most likely to spend rather than save the money.

The case against it: Opponents say the size of tax cuts for both individuals and businesses do not go far enough and don't make up a big enough portion of the entire package. Furthermore, they oppose giving tax breaks to people who get back more money from the government than they pay in income and payroll taxes.

Middle-class tax cut: $145 billion. Tax cut amounting to $500 a year for individuals and $1,000 for couples. The full credit would be limited to those making $75,000 or less ($150,000 or less for workers filing joint returns).

Low-income tax cut: $5 billion. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is a refundable credit for low-income workers. Furthermore, the Make Work Pay Credit would be refundable, meaning that even tax filers without any tax liability - typically very low-income workers - would receive one.

Child tax credit: Up to $18 billion. Temporary increase in the amount of the child tax-credit that would be refundable.

Tax cuts for businesses

The case for it: Obama's plan seeks to help ease the tax burden for small businesses, as well as allow companies suffering losses because of the downturn to get some tax relief by applying losses to more years in which they booked a profit.

The case against it: Opponents say too small of a percentage of the total package - 2.7% - goes to small businesses, and to businesses in general.

Small business write-offs: Obama would increase the amount of expenses small businesses can write off to $250,000 in 2009 and 2010 from the current $125,000 level.

Tax cuts for companies suffering losses: Up to $17 billion over 10 years. Obama would temporarily broaden the "net-operating loss carryback" to five years, up from two years currently. The provision would let companies apply their 2008 and 2009 losses to past and future tax bills so they can get money back on taxes they've already paid or would otherwise have to pay.


Be Inspired...Be Informed...Be Involved

B4B

Friday, January 23, 2009

Must Watch Powerful Video:
From Slavery to The White House
Descendant of Both Frederick Douglass
and Booker T. Washington
Speaks Out !



The Time Is Now...
To REPRESENT !


Click B4B if video does not appear

CLICK to Learn More About Frederick Douglass
CLICK to Learn More About Booker T. Washington

Wednesday, January 21, 2009



President Barack Obama
DAY ONE !
Photo: Callie Shell



WASHINGTON – In a first-day flurry of activity, President Barack Obama set up shop in the Oval Office, summoned advisers to begin dealing with war and recession and ordered new ethics rules for "a clean break from business as usual." He also froze salaries for top White House staff members, placed phone calls to Mideast leaders and had aides circulate a draft executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

"The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable," Obama said as he unveiled ethics rules that he portrayed as the fulfillment of a major campaign promise. He said the action was necessary "to help restore that faith in government without which we cannot deliver the changes we were sent here to make."

Devoting swift attention to the Mideast turmoil, Obama prepared to name George Mitchell, the former Senate Democratic leader, a special envoy to the region.

In his phone calls to Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, Obama emphasized that he would work to consolidate the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, said the new White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs.

Gibbs said Obama expressed "his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term."

The enormity of Obama's challenge on the economy was evident in the mixed messages coming from Capitol Hill.

Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, expressed doubt that the currently planned $825 billion economic stimulus package would be enough, calling the proposal "no silver bullet." At the same time, House Republicans requested a meeting with Obama to air their worries that the plan was too big.

A multi-denominational prayer service at Washington National Cathedral and an open house at the presidential mansion were also on the schedule of the 44th president, taking office on a promise to fix the battered economy and withdraw U.S. troops from the unpopular war in Iraq on a 16-month timetable.

At the open house, Obama and his wife, Michelle, shook hands with a line of guests streaming through the Blue Room, some of them moved to tears by the experience.

"Enjoy yourself, roam around," a smiling Obama told one guest as he passed through the room. "Don't break anything."

The shift in administrations — former President George W. Bush was back home in Texas — was underscored in far-off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where a judge granted Obama's request to suspend the war crimes trial of a young Canadian. The judge issued a one-sentence order for the 120-day continuance without so much as a hearing, possibly the beginning of the end for the former administration's system of trials for alleged terrorists.

A draft executive order made clear the new president intends to go further. It called for closing the facility within a year, releasing some of the 245 detainees still there and transferring others to different sites for trial.

Pushing back pre-emptively, House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said the draft order raises difficult questions.

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists?" he said. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield? ... Most local communities around America don't want dangerous terrorists imported into their neighborhoods, and I can't blame them."

Among Obama's executive orders:

_A freeze on salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more — about 100 people in all.

_New Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

_Tighter ethics rules governing when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sat in the first row for Wednesday's invitation-only prayer service. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, joined them, as did former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., awaiting confirmation as secretary of state later in the day.

"Grant to Barack Obama, president of the United States, and to all in authority your grace and good will. Bless them with your heavenly gifts, give them wisdom and strength to know and to do your will," prayed the Rev. Andy Stanley, one of numerous clerics from several religions to speak.

Obama's first White House meetings as president meshed with quickened efforts in Congress to add top Cabinet officials to the roster of those confirmed on Tuesday and to advance the economic stimulus measure that is a top priority of his administration.

Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, appearing before the Senate Finance Committee for a confirmation hearing, said enactment of the new president's economic stimulus was essential. He also said the Senate's decision last week to permit use of the second $350 billion installment of a financial industry bailout "will enable us to take the steps necessary to help get credit flowing."

He said Obama and he "share your belief that this program needs serious reform."

Geithner also apologized for his failure to pay personal taxes earlier in the decade, calling the omission a mistake. The taxes were repaid in stages, some after an IRS audit and the rest after a review of his returns late last year by Obama's transition team.

Obama and his wife arrived at the White House around 1 a.m. after attending 10 official inaugural balls.

Several hours later he walked into the most famous office in America for the first time as president.

The new White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement that Obama spent 10 minutes alone and read a note left for him by Bush that was in an envelope marked "To: 44, From: 43."

He was then joined by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and, several minutes later, the first lady.

Wednesday's meeting with economic advisers was coming at a time when 11 million Americans are out of work and millions more feel the loss of savings and face the prospect of foreclosures on their homes.

Last week, Congress cleared the way for use of the second installment of financial-industry bailout money, a pre-inaugural victory for Obama.

Democratic leaders hope to have the $825 billion economic stimulus measure to his desk by mid-February.

The war in Iraq that he has promised to end featured prominently in Obama's first day as well.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, were among those called in for the meeting as the new president assumed the role of commander in chief.

In his inaugural address on Tuesday, Obama said his goal was to "responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan."


B4B NOTE: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was confirmed as our new Secretary of State

B4B


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

It's A New Day !
MUST SEE New Site...SPREAD THE WORD !
Transcript: President Barack Obama's
Historic Inauguration Speech

Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama's inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Keep/Reprint/Frame

B4B

PRESIDENT
OBAMA !






What A GLORIOUS DAY !
B4B

Monday, January 19, 2009

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day !
The Dreamer !


The DREAM !
B4B


OBAMA PROVES WHITES
NOT AS PREJUDICED AS WE THOUGHT !

By Greg Jones
(originally written/released March 24, 2008)

" There's no way America would vote for a black president !.....America's not ready for a black president." That has historically been the sentiment and attitude shared by the majority of blacks in America due in part to the fact that we have always been under the assumption that most whites are so prejudiced that a black president in America would just never happen. But one of the most incredible things that has arisen through Barack Obamas campaign has been the vision of mass numbers of white people at each of the Obama rallys showing great love and support for this credible, intelligent, gifted, strong leader....who happens to also be black. It has been incredibly eye-opening and uplifting, and it, for the first time, shows us blacks that we have actually been wrong in our assumption that most whites are prejudiced toward us. Guess what ? Although you do have the exceptions to the rule, the fact is....most whites ARE NOT racist toward blacks. This is a very important revelation. VERY !!!


We, as blacks have held on to our injured history, which we rightfully feel was caused by whites, to such a degree that we have never had the opportunity to see or learn that the prejudiced attitudes of whites does not exist today like it had in the past. We just didn't know. We knew that a lot of whites like black music. We knew that millions of white women love Oprah, but we thought that was just a 'woman thing'. But in all honesty, we had no idea, until now, that white people of all ages....even older ones...could be as supportive of a black candidate as they have shown in great mass. We, as blacks have been wrong !


And now, to my black brothers and sisters....It's time for us to acknowledge this extremely important revelation...In other words....all whites are not prejudiced !!! In fact, MOST whites aren't ! I know, it's hard to believe because of our lifetime of thinking differently....but these are the facts. Just look in the eyes of the whites at Obama's rallys. You see a true warmth, compassion and true support for this man....who is black. What this means is that most whites have risen above the racism of old. Now, it is time for us, as blacks, to rise up as well. Of course, we as blacks will have the specific cases of injustice and prejudice as displayed through examples like Jena 6, Genarlow Wilson, Katrina and the like....and specific cases like those should be dealt with accordingly. In regards to economic, educational and criminal injustices and institutional racism....we still have a long way to go. But we must not continue to allow certain negative occurances to misdirect our minds toward thinking that these negative examples speak for the entire white race. The majority of whites of today are actually on our side !

Obama's campaign has already won by proving that whites and blacks can not only get along....but can work TOGETHER....toward a better tomorrow...for us all. And guess what my black family....America IS ready !!!

Greg Jones
National Director
Blacks4Barack.org

Update: YES WE DID !

Saturday, January 17, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !
To Our New First Lady
MICHELLE OBAMA

Thursday, January 15, 2009


It's Official: Burris Sworn Into Senate,

Replaces Obama


WASHINGTON — Roland Burris took his place as Barack Obama's successor in the Senate on Thursday, ending a standoff that embarrassed the president-elect and fellow Democrats who initially resisted the appointment by scandal-scarred Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"I do," Burris said with a grin as Vice President Dick Cheney administered the oath of office to the former Illinois attorney general who takes Obama's place as the Senate's only black member.

More than a week after his colleagues were sworn in, Burris was seated without objection or a roll call vote, even though Majority Leader Harry Reid had said senators would have their voices heard on whether to accept his appointment.

Illinois delegation members and members of the Congressional Black Caucus joined Democratic and Republican senators in giving Burris a congratulatory standing ovation, handshakes and hugs on the Senate floor.

Senate Democrats wanted to move beyond the distracting controversy and its racial undertones.

Both Reid and Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, smiled broadly and praised Burris in speeches, insisting anew that their previous resistance wasn't about Burris personally but rather about how he was appointed.

"To Senator Burris, on behalf of all senators _ Democrats and Republicans _ we welcome you as a colleague and as a friend," Reid said.

B4B