This is absurd. Peter Wallsten, a reporter from the LA Times, apparently is in possession of a video from an event Barack Obama attended in 2003. At this event, Barack Obama delivered a toast. This video could be quite important and, in my opinion, voters deserve to see it. Why?
Because this 2003 event was hosted in honor of Rashid Khalidi, a critic of Israel, advocate for Palestinian rights, and quite frankly, a hate-speech-spewing Jew-basher. Coincidentally, he is also a best friend of Bill Ayers.
There’s been a lot of speculation and talk, claiming that Barack Obama is very familiar with Rashid Khalidi, that they went to events together all the time, that they were close friends, and that they often shared long family dinners where they discussed Palestinian rights. Of course, Barack Obama denies this, because Rashid Khalidi doesn’t exactly have the nicest track record.

Well, apparently this video would show just exactly how whitewashed this relationship is. According to Wallsten, this video features a toast delivered by Barack Obama, where he discusses his many talks with the Khalidis. Obama said, these talks had been “consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases… It’s for that reason that I’m hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid’s dinner table,” but around “this entire world.”
Additional portions of the dinner are also on the video tape, showing Obama participating in the many discussions at the event about Jews, Israel, and the problem they present to Islam. According to Wallsten, “During the dinner a young Palestinian American recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticizing U.S. support of Israel. If Palestinians cannot secure their own land, she said, ‘then you will never see a day of peace.’ One speaker likened ‘Zionist settlers on the West Bank’ to Osama bin Laden, saying both had been ‘blinded by ideology.’”

This has been a side of Barack Obama that many people have speculated about, and many former colleagues from Chicago have expounded upon. Hell, even Rashid Khalidi himself has talked very openly about the relationship he and Barack Obama shared.
Yet the media’s still choosing to ignore this issue, instead decided to believe Obama 100%, despite the vast array of evidence stacked up against him.

THIS is the media bias everyone’s been talking about, right there. Do you honestly think that if any reporter had such damning evidence about John McCain or Sarah Palin, do you honestly think they’d refuse to release it? If it was John McCain attending a dinner in honor of someone who supported and promoted hate crimes, where the entire event devolved into a relentless bashing of a minority, and then McCain proceeded to deliver a toast in honor of such a man, that it wouldn’t be all over the news every minute of every day until the election? Seriously, we heard all about the completely made up claims about Sarah Palin supposedly attempting to ban books, yet stuff like this is ignored? The claim against Sarah Palin was completely false, yet here we have absolute evidence that shows Barack Obama openly bashing Jews and supporting hate speech, and that’s what ends up getting buried?

Seriously, if we don’t wake up, we’re going to end up going to hell in a hand basket. If we don’t wake up and start demanding responsible journalism from our nation’s media, we will have invited our own destruction. When we have such little regard for the truth that we will allow such behavior to continue, we are indeed hopeless.

(The best summary of this issue is from Gateway Pundit. Just so you’re aware, they are a conservative blog. As you know, I try to find as moderate a source as possible, but in this case, the reason I’m linking to them is because the blogger actually had direct contact with Peter Wallsten and detailed the conversation they had about the tape. It’s honestly the best and most direct synopsis of the situation. So please, check it out.)

For the past several weeks, I have been delving through the archives of Time Magazine to create a gallery where we will examine, contrast, and compare the appearances of the presidential candidates on the cover of Time Magazine. In it, I will focus on Barack Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to illustrate the extreme bias that has permeated our nation’s media. After weeks – months – of hard work, I am so proud to present:

I hope you will examine the evidence with an open mind and an honest subjectivity. Yellow journalism has never before been tolerated in this nation, yet we are imersed in the most extensive media bias I believe our country has ever seen. The first step to solving this massive problem is to acknowledge the extent of its influence. We can only do that if we work together regardless of party affiliation to ensure that our news is no longer filtered through any party’s agenda. Bias in any and all directions is contrary to the journalistic integrity that has guided the news industry for so many generations. It must not be tolerated any longer.
We, the people of this great nation, have the power to correct this great wrong. We can force the news industry to change its bad behavior, if only we will stand up as one and no longer accept the news industry’s attempts to manipulate our opinions, our minds, our decisions, and our votes. We have the right to make up our own minds! Whenever anyone tries to rob you of that right, whenever a massive organization attempts to manipulate you, they are addressing you as if you were an imbecile who cannot be trusted to make sound decisions. Stand up to their condescension, stand up to their manipulation! Tell them you will no longer tolerate being treated like cattle to be herded! Say no to media bias, because we simply have no time for it.

Every cover I have presented here is readily available through Time’s online archive. I have gone through the past fifteen years of Time covers, and I can tell you that they have never before shown such incredible over the top bias on the cover of their magazine, as they have over the past three years with Senator Barack Obama. They have never been so in the bag for one candidate that they tossed aside the entirety of their journalistic integrity. They are showing their true colors, I only hope this gallery will hope to make it all the more apparent to everyone they intend to manipulate.

The gallery will begin with examples of the covers dedicated to Barack Obama, followed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain. After an analysis of these covers, we will then examine the more subtle aspects of Time’s covers: the top of each cover, where smaller headlines continue to display the immense bias benefitting Barack Obama. These “mini-mentions” – as I have dubbed them – give an even deeper glimpse into the lengths Time Magazine has gone to sway your opinion and relentlessly shill for Obama’s campaign.
As I have gone through the archives and prepared this gallery, one thought has run continuously through my mind; in the beginning, on his very first Time Magazine cover, Barack Obama appeared prominently on the cover of 2005’s 100 Most Influential People issue. I can’t help but wonder, that as I think about what little Obama had accomplished as of 2005, was he then – or is he now – really qualified to be on such an elite list? Was he – is he – really that influential, that powerful, that important?
Or are we just being told that he is?
Is he really all that powerful, all that qualified, or are we being sold a product via an immense multi-year advertising campaign?

Thank you very much for taking the time to look. If you have any questions about this gallery or my research, please feel free to contact me at NoWayNObama@gmail.com.
Enjoy, and please remember, it is your duty, your responsibility, and your privilege to cast an educated vote on November 4th.

Sincerely,
Meg

Click Here to Visit The Gallery

P.s. Please, I would love to hear your comments on the gallery! I’ve worked hard on this and I would really appreciate some feedback. So please, click here, scroll down, and comment away! Thanks very much!

Joe is my new hero!

Earlier this morning (or I guess yesterday morning, since it’s past midnight now), Joe the Plumber – aka Joe Wurzelbacher – appeared on Good Morning America, where he was interviewed by Diane Sawyer. And holy crap, can you believe it? Someone actually had the nerve to say something smart, intelligent, and reasonable on national television! On a channel that’s infamous part of the dreaded mainstream media, no less!
Oh Joe the Plumber, why can’t you run for president?
You have to see this video, it’s just too good! Not because Diane Sawyer did any kind of brilliant interview (in fact, I think she comes off as rather condescending, honestly), but simply because Joe the Plumber freaking rocks. Check it out!

Isn’t he just awesome? Don’t you wanna just rub that bright shiny head of his so that some of his calm, reasonable, logical mojo will rub off on you or something? I sure do!
Dear ole’ Joe said practically everything I’ve been thinking and trying to write about since starting this blog. He acknowledges that taxing those who are “wealthy” more exorbitantly than others is not only unfair, but completely contrary to the American Dream. People in this country should be encouraged to succeed! Taxing them unfairly once they reach that hard-earned success isn’t encouragement, it’s punishment. Who in their right mind would want to punish success?! Educate yourself, work hard, be frugal, be successful! I’ll be cheering for you all the way, because there’s room enough in this country for everybody to succeed if we’d all truly put our minds to it.
And Joe’s absolutely right, it is indeed a slippery slope each time some new politician takes it upon themselves to repeatedly lower that threshold of what qualifies as “rich enough” to pay unfair taxes. It’s class warfare at its absolute worst! Taxing people unfairly based on their level of success doesn’t make life any better for the middle class, because it will only keep people stuck in their own tax brackets, making it harder and harder for people to climb that ladder of success and secure their own futures based on their own ability and desire to succeed. We all know what it’s like to complain about how our taxes go up whenever we reach a new tax bracket, so why would we support somebody who would make that even worse? It just makes no sense to me.

But that isn’t even the best thing that Joe had to say. No, as great as that was, Joe went on to say something even better. For once, somebody finally had the nerve to stand up to the mainstream media – on their own turf, no less! – and remind America that we have the priceless right & privilege of voting. Those votes are important, so important that we should cast them based on our own research, our own decisions, and not on the opinions that others may attempt to force upon us (yes, I’m looking at you, msm!) Of course, listen to the opinions of others, engage in an open exchange of ideas. But don’t just adopt opinions willy-nilly because you think they sound okay, or because they sound warm and fuzzy! Dig for the truth, look at the facts, listen to both sides; be an adult, make your own educated decision, and vote accordingly.

Joe, for that, I love you. You’re my new hero. America needed to hear that so, so badly. And I love – LOVE – that it took an average American guy from a small town to finally work up the guts to say it. Small towns simply don’t get the credit they deserve anymore, Joe, in this world that favors elitism over substance, panache over the honest truth. God bless you, Joe! God bless you for standing up for everything that so many of us silenced Americans believe in – being reasonable, honest, direct, classy, and educated.
Joe, I know that it took guts to stand up to Diane Sawyer the way you did. It took such nerve to stand up to the entire overbearing, condescending nature of the mainsteam media. And on top of all that, on top of delivering that all-important message, you managed to do it with true class and dignity. Thank you. You have millions of fans right now and you deserve it.

As for everybody else, I really, really, really hope that Joe’s message will ring true with more people. I sincerely hope that more people will honestly look into the policies and backgrounds of both candidates in a fair, open, and reasonable manner. I hope they’ll choose to base their votes on research rather than an ad, substance over a hunch; truth over manipulation. No matter which way you decide to vote, that’s fine by me, so long as you do your absolute best to learn everything you can about the candidates, both who they are and where they want to take this country. Because that matters so much more than anything else right now. We’re facing tough times ahead, we need to elect a President because we believe in him, not because he had clever advertising, cute campaign slogans, or warm and fuzzy rhetoric. Don’t sell yourself, your country, or the power of your vote short. Live up to the great privilege and honor that it is to have a say in the leadership of your country.
A vote is a truly, truly previous thing. Please, don’t waste it, don’t ever take it for granted. Use your power wisely, judiciously, and responsibly: cast an educated vote!

While the news is focusing on recent outbursts at McCain rallies, I doubt anyone’s bothering to mention a few of the things going on at those rallies that might be aggravating participants. Things like this.

Imagine, if you will, if a Republican showed up at an Obama rally wearing t-shirts that said, “Obama is a N*gger!” What do you think the reaction would be? I bet they wouldn’t be allowed in and I bet it would be all over the news the following day as yet another example of “right-wing bigotry”.
But when it’s Obamaniacs who show up at a Republican rally, wearing t-shirts that say “Sarah Palin is a c*nt”? (Which, in my opinion, is one of the most disgusting words anyone could ever fling at another human being.) No one notices, no one cares, and no one bothers to explain the kind of treatment these rally goers are subjected to that might have contributed to their outbursts during the rally. No, of course they couldn’t talk about that on the news! Democrats aren’t the problem, it’s those right-wing bigots!

As an Independent, I’m always happy to point out when there are failings on both sides. But honestly, I’m so sick and tired of the radical left’s constant air of moral superiority, looking down on the right as if the left is perfect in its kindness, tolerance of others, and infinite wisdom. Somehow that just doesn’t jive when they’re the ones showing up at rallies with profane and insulting t-shirts.
If the left is our country’s shining example of tolerance, then we’re doomed. Silly me, here I thought tolerance was about acknowledging our differences, maturely agreeing to disagree, and respecting their rights as an individual to do as they please. But apparently, to the party of sitting on high horses (or high jackasses…), tolerance is about spitting in the faces of anyone who dares disagree with you. It’s about calling names, ridiculing others, and reducing debates to nothing more than shouting matches.

Naturally, this is only one instance. How can only one small group of people with nasty t-shirts lead to me saying such broad things about Obama supporters as a whole? Because these people are only following the instructions of their dear leader, Barack Obama. They’re only following his orders to “argue” and “get in the faces” of anyone who dares to disagree with them. I’d say those four individuals are working hard to make their beloved leader proud.
As for me, I find it disgusting. I was worried about behavior like this the minute I heard Obama give those orders. Now we’re seeing the consequences.
Mr. Obama, you reap what you sow; look at the disrespect you planted and the behavior you’re harvesting.

So I thought that the video of the militant teenagers praising Obama was the scariest thing I’d seen from this election. Nope, I just found one that’s even worse – an interview with Percy Sutton, lawyer to Malcom X, talking about how he first found out about Barack Obama. You have to see it for yourself.

I’m not one of those people who believes that Obama’s Muslim. But honestly, I have no clue what to believe anymore. Why? Because here we are, presented with a man – Percy Sutton – telling us that he was introduced to Barack Obama by Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour.
Who’s Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour? Just like the video said, not only is he an adviser to one of the wealthiest men on Earth, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia, but he’s also a racist, hateful, fear-mongering proponent of Muslims and blacks rising up to do violent physical harm to whites and infidels (i.e. us). Hmm.
Oh, and let’s not forget, he was also a mentor to Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, founders of the Black Panthers.

I can’t help but ask myself, why was Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour even aware of Barack Obama to begin with? Why would he be raising money for this young man, who hadn’t even accomplished anything yet? Why would he be asking his friends for favors to benefit this young man? Why? Does Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour do this for every young man or woman who applies to Harvard? I doubt it. So what was it about Barack Obama that drew Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour to him? Doesn’t that kind of make you wonder?
And what exactly did Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour say to Percy Sutton about Obama that convinced Mr. Sutton to write a letter of reference to Harvard on Obama’s behalf? Does Mr. Sutton write similar letters for every African American who applies to Harvard? Somehow I don’t think so. What was it about Obama that convinced Mr. Sutton to write that letter?
Don’t these questions deserve answers before we give Barack Obama the most powerful office on the planet?

And furthermore, why isn’t this all over the news right now? If this were about McCain, wouldn’t you be hearing about this from the mainstream media, and not from a random video on YouTube?

Another interesting tidbit that we can learn from this video is that this is in direct contradiction with several statements Obama has made during the campaign. He’s said extensively that he paid his Harvard tuition exclusively throught student loans. If that’s true, why was al-Mansour raising money for him? And just as importantly, where did that money come from?

There’s so much more to this story, and thankfully, at least one news outlet decided to write an article about this video. Click here to read it. They have lots of interesting information about Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour, as well as some enlightening statements from him about how he wouldn’t further clarify his associations with Obama because, quote, “I was determined I was never going to be in that situation. Bloggers are saying this is the new Rev. Wright ‘in drag!’ and he is a nationalist, racist, and worse than Rev. Wright. So any statement that I made would only further this activity which is not in the interest of Barack.”
Why would anything you have to say further that? Because we should be concerned about what you’d have to say? Because the truth behind your connections to Barack Obama would be concerning and detrimental to his campaign? If we weren’t right in being concerned about this, if you had something to say to assuage these concerns, wouldn’t you come out and say it? Hmm, thanks for that – keeping things purposefully vague just to keep Obama’s campaign going. That sounds real honorable and it makes me feel oh so much better!

For the record, I do think this is worse than Reverend Wright, because it only further compounds the concern that Obama has an ever-lengthening list of radical ties that stretch back much farther than any of us even realize. And yet we’re expected to give him the most powerful office in the world?

It’s time to get ready for the Vice Presidential debate! I’ve been looking forward to this for some time now, but I’ll admit, I am a little worried after hearing about who’s going to be the moderator tonight. Right on the heels of my yellow journalism post, I discover that our moderator will be Gwen Ifill, long-time political reporter for PBS.
Why is this concerning? I want to be abundantly clear that this has nothing whatsoever to do with the color of her skin. The reason this is concerning is because of two specific instances where she has put pen to paper about Barack Obama, in ways that are very congratulatory and less than impartial.
The first of which is the one that the main steam media is talking about – set for publication on inauguration day is her book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” Here’s the online description of the book from Doubleday, which says Ifill “surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.”
That’s honestly not too terribly concerning. So she’s an African American political correspondent writing a book about African American politicians. I can understand that, I suppose. But that’s not what’s really at issue here as far as I’m concerned.

What is concerning is what the main stream media is completely ignoring. Ms. Ifill recently wrote an incredibly adulatory cover story about Barack Obama and his family for Essence magazine. It’s the combination of the book and the ultra-syrupy article that turns a mild concern into an outright quandary. Of all the political journalists to choose as moderator, of all the respected journalists out there, why choose one who has written so extensively – and so exceedingly positively – about Barack Obama? Why? Why even bother inviting such questions and concerns in an already concerning environment of yellow journalism and media bias? It seems a bit questionable, don’t you think?

That said, I will say that I sincerely hope that Ms. Ifill will maintain her professional integrity and fulfill her duties as an impartial moderator. But because of this situation, I would urge you to please be sure to keep your eye out for any hint of media bias. Don’t allow yourself to forget that it’s the moderator’s job to be completely and utterly impartial. Don’t let clever manipulation get in the way of your ability to fairly evaluate what each candidate says. I’m not saying it will definitely happen, but at least be aware of the possibility.
I’m still looking forward to it and can’t wait to see how both the candidates perform. Best of luck to both of them and I’ll see you back here later on!

If you check out this site’s ‘About‘ section, you would see the big bold headline: “Not Pro-McCain – Anti-Obama!” I mean it. I’m not really all that fond of John McCain. I’m sure he’s a fine person and all that, but I just don’t tend to agree with him a whole lot. Of course, considering the choices we have in this election, I certainly agree with him a lot more than I do Obama. But that doesn’t mean I’m pro-McCain.
Even though I’m not pro-McCain, I do at least respect the man for some of the things he’s done. I think, like any other human being, he deserves fairness and respect. I’ve tried to be fair with Obama as well, to respect him as an individual. After all, that’s only human, right? I’ve done my research, that research has raised significant concerns, enough that I do not feel comfortable giving Obama my vote. But simply because I’ve made that decision would not then allow me to slander him as a person, maliciously misconstrue his past, or outright lie about him. Because I wouldn’t do that about Obama, I don’t think it’s fair for anyone else to do that about McCain, whether you agree with him politically or not.

The reason I’m even discussing this is because of a news report – if you can call it that – which was aired by NBC Nightly News on September 30. I really didn’t want to talk about McCain directly on this site. I really didn’t want this to be about him. As the title of the blog says, this is about Obama. But in this instance, it’s Obama who’s profiting from this disgusting behavior, therefore I’m going to mention it, because you need to know exactly what’s going on. You need to watch this video, called “Return to Hanoi: McCain’s captors remember.”

Click “more” to learn about what the video doesn’t tell you and why you should be mad about yellow journalism!

Like most interested voters, I watched the presidential debate Friday night with great interest. One moment surprised me, however, as the debate seemed to turn into a game of ‘me too, me too!’ over – of all things – bracelets.
When John McCain was asked about the war in Iraq, he mentioned a bracelet that was given to him by the mother of a soldier who was lost in Iraq. He spoke about how much this meant to him, how he wore this soldier’s bracelet every day, and it reminded him how important it was that he ensure this soldier’s death would not be in vain.
In response to McCain, Obama said, “I’ve got a bracelet too.” After a bit of fumbling and a moment to look down at the name inscribed on the bracelet, Obama said that it was given to him by the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, another soldier who tragically lost his life in Iraq. Obama claimed that Mrs. Jopek had given him the bracelet saying, “Can you please make sure that no other mother is goin’ through what I’m goin’ through?”
Here’s the exchange:

(Sorry it’s from Fox News, I know some of you won’t like that. I didn’t record the debate so I couldn’t upload my own copy, I was stuck with whatever was available on YouTube. Regardless, there aren’t any talking heads to skew it, so it shouldn’t matter.)

While both candidates of course have the right to wear whatever bracelets they wish, unfortunately Mr. Obama has completely mischaracterized Mrs. Jopek’s intentions. Not only that, but he has utterly disregarded repeated requests by the family that he not wear the bracelet or use it for political purposes.

According to Mr. Brian Jopek, ex-husband of Ryan Jopek’s mother, Tracy, “she just wanted Mr. Obama to know Ryan’s name.” He went on to say, “she wasn’t looking to turn it into a big media event” and “just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself.”
As far back as March of this year, Mr. Jopek was asked about Obama’s use of their son’s name, and how he and his wife felt about it. In talking with a local Wisconsin radio show, Mr. Jopek mentioned that he had been surprised to see Obama wearing the bracelet and mentioning Ryan’s name repeatedly while on the campaign trail, despite his wife personally requesting that Obama not use the bracelet politically, both when she first gave him the bracelet and again afterward when he continued to mention her son.
(You can listen to that radio show here, it’s at about ten minutes into the program.)
During that interview, Mr. Jopek stated that his ex-wife has shied away from responding to any questioning about Obama’s use of their sons name, “Because she is a Barack Obama supporter and she didn’t want to do anything to sabotage his campaign.”

Since Obama has again gone against the wishes of the Jopek family, this time mentioning their son on the largest national stage possible, Mrs. Jopek is again being hounded by reporters despite her wish to stay out of the limelight. She confirmed to the AP that she asked Obama not to mention their son, but again, her wish not to upset Obama’s campaign came forward. She said that she was “satisfied” with the way in which her son was mentioned, and refused to say anything negative about her chosen candidate.

Personally, I find this absolutely appalling. It’s disgusting to me that Obama has taken advantage of the good will of his own supporter – a grieving mother who has lost her son in a time of war – by mischaracterizing her intentions in giving the gift of a bracelet representing the memory of her lost son, and repeatedly denying her request that he not turn her son into campaign rhetoric for political gain. This is beyond low, and yet again, is being mostly ignored by the main stream media.

NewsBusters.org has a good article about this situation, available here. As far as I can tell, NewsBusters seems to be fairly even – they attack inaccuracies in both campaigns evenly, as well as bias in either direction amongst the main stream media.