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<DIV>Or...we could consider another point of view:</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG>Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore</STRONG>
</P>
<P>Saturday, October 10th, 2009 </P>
<P>Friends, </P>
<P>...I went back and re-read what I had written. And <U>I listened for far too
long yesterday to the right wing hate machine who did what they could to crap
all over Barack's big day. Did I -- and others on the left -- do the same?
</U></P>
<P>We are weary, weary of war. The trillions that will have gone to these two
wars have helped to bankrupt us as a nation -- financially and morally. To think
of all the good we could have done with all that money! Two months of the War in
Iraq would pay for all the wells that need to be dug in the Third World for
drinking water! Obama is moving too slow for most of us -- but he needs to know
we are with him and we stand beside him as he attempts to turn eight years of
sheer madness around. Who could do that in nine months? Superman? Thor? Mitch
McConnell? </P>
<P>Instead of waiting to see what the president is going to do, we all need to
be pro-active and push the agenda that we want to see enacted. What keeps us
from forming the same local groups we put together to get out the vote last
November? C'mon! We're the majority now -- the majority by a significant margin!
We call the shots -- and we need to tell this wimpy Congress to get busy and do
what we say -- or else. </P>
<P>All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly.
Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon
the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't
head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see
Republicans behave that way? I mean, the Right had 20 years of Republican
presidents and they still couldn't get prayer in the public schools, or outlaw
abortion, or initiate a flat tax or put our Social Security into the stock
market. They did a lot of damage, no doubt about that, but on the key issues
that the Christian Right fought for, they came up nearly empty handed. No wonder
they've been driven crazy lately. They'll never have it as good again as they've
had it since Reagan took office. </P>
<P>But -- do you ever see them looking all gloomy and defeated? No! They keep on
fighting! Every day. Our side? At the first sign of wavering, we just pack up
our toys and go home. </P>
<P>So, at least for this weekend, let us celebrate what people elsewhere are
celebrating -- that America now has a sane and smart man in the White House, a
man who truly wants a world at peace for his two daughters. </P>
<P>Many, for the past couple days (yes, myself included), have grumbled, "What
has he done to earn this prize?" How 'bout this: </P>
<P>The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the
recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. </P>
<P>Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were
totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq
from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in
utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of
Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We
flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to
melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that
didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our
own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad. </P>
<P>And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst
global financial collapse since the Great Depression. </P>
<P>So, yeah, at precisely 11:00pm ET on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the
Nobel Peace Prize. And the 66 million people who voted for him won it, too. By
the time he took the stage at midnight ET in the Grant Park Historic Hippie
Battlefield in downtown Chicago, billions of people around the globe were
already breathing a huge sigh of relief. It was as if, in that instant, one man
did bring the promise of peace to the world -- and most were ready to go
wherever he wanted to go to achieve that end. Never before had the election of
one man made every other nation feel like they had won, too. When you've got
billions of people ready, willing and able to join a cause like this, well, a
prize in Oslo is the least that you deserve. </P>
<P>One other thought. The Peace Prize historically has been given to those who
have worked to throw off the yoke of racial discrimination and segregation
(Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu). I think the Nobel committee, in
awarding Obama the prize, was also rewarding the fact that something profound
had happened in a nation that was founded on racial genocide, built on racist
slavery, and held back for a hundred-plus years by vestiges of hateful bigotry
(which can still be found on display at teabagger rallies and daily talk radio).
The fact that this one man could cause this seismic historical event to occur --
and to do so with such grace and humility, never succumbing to the bait, but
still not backing down (yes, he asked to be sworn in as "Barack Hussein Obama"!)
-- is more than reason enough he should be in Oslo to meet the King on December
10. Maybe he could take us along with him. 'Cause I also suspect the Nobel
committee was tipping its hat to all of us -- we, the American people, had
conquered some of our racism and did the truly unexpected. After seeing searing
images of our black fellow citizens left to drown in New Orleans -- and poor
whites seeing their own treated no better than the black man they had been
raised to hate -- we had all seen enough. It was time for change. </P>
<P>Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving us the opportunity to redeem ourselves.
Now for the tasks ahead. We need you to do all that you promised to do. We need
it. The world needs it. </P>
<P>My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah! </P>
<P>Fred (that's Norwegian for "Peace"),<BR>Michael Moore<BR><A
href="">MMFlint@aol.com</A><BR><A href="">MichaelMoore.com</A> <BR><BR><BR><A
href="">Join Mike's Mailing List</A> | <A href="">Join Mike's Facebook Group</A>
| <A href="">Follow Mike on Twitter</A> | <A href="">Become Mike's MySpace
Friend</A> </P></DIV>
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style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mincam2@yahoo.com href="mailto:mincam2@yahoo.com">Chuck Minne</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=citizenstruth@six.pairlist.net
href="mailto:citizenstruth@six.pairlist.net">citizenstruth@six.pairlist.net</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 11, 2009 6:47
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CitizensTruth] "Were They
Drunk?"</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0>
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<TR>
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<DIV id=yiv662856797>
<H2 class=title>Foreign Newspapers on Obama’s Nobel Prize Victory</H2>
<DIV class=fixed></DIV>
<DIV class=meta>
<DIV class=info>
<DIV>October 10th, 2009 | By: <A title="Posts by Michael van der Galien"
href="http://www.poligazette.com/author/michael-van-der-galien/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Michael van der
Galien</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV>Tags: <A href="http://www.poligazette.com/tag/barack-obama/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Barack Obama</FONT></A>,
<A href="http://www.poligazette.com/tag/news/" rel=nofollow
target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>News</FONT></A>, <A
href="http://www.poligazette.com/tag/nobel-peace-prize/" rel=nofollow
target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Nobel Peace Prize</FONT></A>, <A
href="http://www.poligazette.com/tag/poligazette/" rel=nofollow
target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>PoliGazette</FONT></A>, <A
href="http://www.poligazette.com/tag/politics/" rel=nofollow
target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Politics</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.poligazette.com/2009/10/10/foreign-newspapers-on-obamas-nobel-prize-victory/#respond"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Leave a
comment</FONT></A> | <A
href="http://www.poligazette.com/2009/10/10/foreign-newspapers-on-obamas-nobel-prize-victory/trackback/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Trackback</FONT></A>
</DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=fixed></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=content>
<DIV><IMG class=alignleft alt="obama nobel peace prize"
src="http://image.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/obama_wins.jpg"
width=180 height=142></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The left-wing <A
href="http://weblogs.nrc.nl/commentaar/2009/10/09/bedwelmd-door-hoop/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>NRC
Handelsblad</FONT></A> (Netherlands): ”What got into the committee
to award this prize to a man who has yet to live up to the high
expectations? <STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000 size=5>Were they
drunk?”</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Center-left to center <A
href="http://extra.volkskrant.nl/opinie/commentaar" rel=nofollow
target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Volkskrant</FONT></A>
(Netherlands): ”It’s clear that Obama has increasingly more
difficulty meeting expectations. His inspiring words about peace
and deproliferation have yet to be supported by any concrete results.
What is meant to be a reward [for great achievements], could very well
end up being tremendous burden for Obama.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The right-of-center <A
href="http://telegraaf-i.telegraaf.nl/daily/2009/10/10/TE/TE_2S_20091010_3/articles/artikel_TE_2S_20091010_3_172.php"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Telegraaf</FONT></A>
(Netherlands): “This isn’t the first mistake of the Committee, but it is
the biggest. The value of the Nobel Peace Prize has been
diminished.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Benedict Brogan, writing for the British newspaper the <A
href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100013071/nobel-prize-for-president-obama-is-a-shocker-he-should-turn-it-down/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Telegraph</FONT></A>: “To
reward him for a blank results sheet, to inflate him when he has no
achievements to his name, makes a mockery of what, let’s face it, is an
already fairly discredited process (remember Rigoberta Menchu in 1992?
Ha!). That’s not the point. What this does is accelerate the elevation
of President Obama to a comedy confection, which he does not deserve,
and gives his critics yet another bat to whack him with. Shame on the
Swedes Norwegians*. He should turn it down, even if he does look great
in white tie and tails.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The <A
href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6867711.ece"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Times of
London</FONT></A>: “Rarely has an award had such an obvious political
and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel
committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the
Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black
president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage
with the world.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>“Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims,
patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a
man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any
tangible outcome for peace.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Left-wing rag the <A
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/09/barack-obama-nobel-prize-why"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Guardian</FONT></A>:
“Indeed, the reasoning behind the awarding of the prize to previous
American presidents has been easier to discern. Teddy Roosevelt opened
the court of arbitration in the Hague and helped mediate a peace treaty
between Russia and Japan; Woodrow Wilson was the founder of the League
of Nations. Jimmy Carter won his prize for his “untiring efforts to find
peaceful solutions to international conflicts”.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>“Which is what makes the awarding of this year’s prize to a
president who has been in office for a mere nine months an odd
departure. It is as if the prize committee had been persuaded to give
the award on the future delivery of promises.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The <A
href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/they-think-he-can-obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-20091009-gqwu.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Sydney Morning
Herald</FONT></A>: “YES, surprisingly, he could. Barack Obama, is the
shock choice for the Nobel Peace Prize, less than a year after his
election as U.S. President.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/09/international-media-reactions-obama-peace-prize/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>Il Giornale</FONT></A>
(Italy): “Let me be clear: the discourse on Islam in Cairo was
beautiful, tall, and it opens up new horizons, but did not lead to
anything. And on the other matter, as pointed out repeatedly in this
blog, Obama has been evasive or inconclusive, starting with Iran and
Afghanistan. Nor can he boast the merits of rapprochement with North
Korea, which was brought about by Bill Clinton. He kept only one real
promise: the gradual withdrawal from Iraq. Enough to deserve the Nobel
Prize?”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Center-left the<A
href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,654251,00.html"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588> Spiegel</FONT></A>
(Germany): “The Nobel Peace Prize has come too early for Barack Obama.
The US president cannot point to any real diplomatic successes to date
and there are few prospects of any to come.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/10/09/jonathan-kay-giving-barack-obama-the-nobel-peace-prize-is-ridiculous.aspx"
rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT color=#225588>National Post</FONT></A>
(Canada): “Obama is being given his award for mere words — for striking
fashionable poses in favour of multilateralism, for making a nice speech
in Cairo, for offering “hope.” Months after Americans learned to dismiss
Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign slogans as the meaningless bromides
they were, Scandinavians are still drinking his
Kool-aid.”<BR><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><SPAN style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"><FONT
color=#ff0000>"</FONT><STRONG><U><FONT color=#ff0000>most of those
bankrupted by medical problems had health
insurance"</FONT></U></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"
color=#ff0000>"Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to
college."</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"
color=#ff0000>"Often illness led to job loss, and with it the loss of
health insurance."</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000><STRONG>Medical problems contributed to nearly
two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies in 2007</STRONG>,</FONT>
according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of
Medicine that was published today online. The data were collected prior
to the current economic downturn and hence likely understate the current
burden of financial suffering. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of
all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6 percent.
The authors’ previous 2001 findings have been widely cited by policy
leaders, including President Obama.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Surprisingly, most of those bankrupted by medical problems
had health insurance. More than three-quarters (77.9 percent) were
insured at the start of the bankrupting illness,</FONT></U></STRONG>
including 60.3 percent who had private coverage. Most of the medically
bankrupt were solidly middle class before financial disaster hit.
<STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to
college.</FONT></U></STRONG> In many cases, high medical bills coincided
with a loss of income as illness forced breadwinners to lose time from
work. <STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Often illness led to job loss, and with it the loss of
health insurance.</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>From: <A
href="http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/more-medical-bankruptcy-have-insurance-go-bankrupt"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/more-medical-bankruptcy-have-insurance-go-bankrupt</A><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR><BR>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><SPAN style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"><FONT
color=#ff0000>"</FONT><STRONG><U><FONT color=#ff0000>most of those
bankrupted by medical problems had health
insurance"</FONT></U></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"
color=#ff0000>"Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to
college."</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0ff80"
color=#ff0000>"Often illness led to job loss, and with it the loss of
health insurance."</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000><STRONG>Medical problems contributed to nearly
two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies in 2007</STRONG>,</FONT>
according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of
Medicine that was published today online. The data were collected prior
to the current economic downturn and hence likely understate the current
burden of financial suffering. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of
all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6 percent.
The authors’ previous 2001 findings have been widely cited by policy
leaders, including President Obama.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Surprisingly, most of those bankrupted by medical problems
had health insurance. More than three-quarters (77.9 percent) were
insured at the start of the bankrupting illness,</FONT></U></STRONG>
including 60.3 percent who had private coverage. Most of the medically
bankrupt were solidly middle class before financial disaster hit.
<STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to
college.</FONT></U></STRONG> In many cases, high medical bills coincided
with a loss of income as illness forced breadwinners to lose time from
work. <STRONG><U><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ff00"
color=#ff0000>Often illness led to job loss, and with it the loss of
health insurance.</FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>From: <A
href="http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/more-medical-bankruptcy-have-insurance-go-bankrupt"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/more-medical-bankruptcy-have-insurance-go-bankrupt</A><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT></SPAN>
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<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>CitizensTruth
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