One Man...

It has been said that one man cannot make a difference, I disagree.
2,500yrs ago Buddha gave hope to 2/3 of the world by stating that it
is possible to attain higher levels of being. Martin Luther King gave
a message of equality that put an end to an era of discrimination.
This past week Barack Obama became the man embodying the hope and the
element of change that is needed and wanted, not only in the US, but
by the people of Earth. Extraordinary men, yet as ordinary as each one
of us.

The Real John McCain Resurfaces

In any race where there are winners there must also be loosers. After
yesterdays elections Sen. John McCain had to be the latter one. While
giving his speech conceding the race we got a glimpse of the real
McCain. The man was gracious, in control and he placed country first.
If this McCain had not been drowned by Bush campaign advisors and the
book of GOP tactics the race would have been much closer. Alas, now is
the time to look ahead and turn the tide, everyone as the United
States of America.

Penny For The Guy?

"Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder, treason and
plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be
forgot." Words from Hollywood's V for Vendetta out of a 400 year old
British tradition. Today I remember why I like the movie so much. It
presents a bleak future of absolute government control. But it says 2
important truths: 1) We are responsible for what governments do and
2) individuals can make a difference. Remembering the 5th of November
I voted. Did you?

History Does Repeat Itself

I'm addicted to theatre on the radio. This past weekend I enjoyed a
play produced by LA Theatre Works, The Rivalry. Here two polititians
debate for office, one flamboyant and the other a great orator. If
you're thinking 2008 elections think again. The play is taken out of
debate tranrcripts between Lincoln and Douglas more than a century
ago. I could go on about it but it would be better if you take the
time and enjoy the play yourself. Go to latw.org and listen and
compare the similarities.

A New Dawn Awaits

A page has been turned in the history of this nation. Million of
Americans exercised their right to vote and their voices have been
heard. Barack Obama has won the presidential election and January 2009
we face a new chapter. While the battle for the White House has ended
and a bigger and harder task begins. It is time to lay aside any
differences and become united with the purpose of geting out of the
mess we're in. Like the phoenix rising out of the ashes it's our time
to rise.

As History Unfolds

At this time next week I'll be following the presidential race as
results pour in from all states. This will be a historic moment when
either the first african-american or a woman will be in the Oval
Office. As the chapter of what has undoubtedly become one of the worst
presidential terms draws to a close a new chapter begins. Whoever that
person is they will face the task of uniting, mending and uplifting
this nation that seems to have lost its bearings. Whoever you are may
God be with you.

Price Of Freedom

Just read an email from a friend in Belarus. We are very fortunate
here. While far from ideal our basics freedoms are there. Yet this
message has made me more aware that there is a ways to go in order to
achieve that ideal state on a worldwide basis. Appropriate to this is
the following quote; it applies to me, to you, to all of us.
<br>"Price of freedom: constant alertness, constant willingness to
fight back. There is no other price." -LRH

Great Expectations?

As Thursday's VP debate nears we have to ask ourselves what should we
expect. On the one hand we have an inexperienced and hardly exposed
Sarah Palin. On the other hand is Joe Bidden. Who is quite experienced
but is also notorius for his faux pas. The stakes are clear. For
Bidden he needs to maintain his altitude and not mess up. For Palin is
the need to prove her readiness or keep giving Tina Fey (SNL) more
material where she can be quoted directly to make a joke. What do you
think Dan Potatoe?

The Politics Of Extortion

In the good old days this used to be a government of the people and
for the people. Alas those days are gone. In the past 7 years we've
turned to a government of extortion. "The threat of terrorism in oder
to ignore the Constitution and Human Rights. The (nonexistent) weapons
of mass dertruction to justify a war. Today the collapse of global
economy to rush and give away $700 billion. America wake up! Your
hopes, dreams and future are wilting like flowers in the desert. Wake
up America.

Mom! She Said I Was Wrong So I Decided To Break Her Dolls

If the above sounds familiar you may have kids. On the other hand you
may be following Congress and their failure to come up with some kind
of bailout for the economic crisis. It failed because Nancy Pelosi
made a partisian speech before the vote. Give me a break! The ship is
sinking and we're arguing about who said what. Hello!! It's SINKING!!!
If you want to punch Joe Blow, fine go ahead and punch him. But please
do it after you save the ship. There are others on board besides you
two.

Presidential Debate - Sept 26, 2008

We had the first Presidetial debate yesterday, which was very civil.
And considering the amount of mud slinging going between the two
campaings it's quite an accomplishment. My hat goes off to both
Senator Obama and McCain. There was not as much substance as many
would like, but when your every word is gone over for facts I'm not
going to blame them. They presented themselves to the American public
and now it is up to them to decide.

CNN - Commentary: What to expect from McCain, Obama in 56 days

Hey, here is a good reason also why I stopped. After reading the
papers I find my ideas (or is it theirs?) mirroring each other. So
instead of doing the work that someone else is doing I'd rather spend
some time knowing myself. Besides, while the elections will be done in
the next two months my life will continue beyond that... at least I
hope so.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "michaelrivera0619@gmail.com" <michaelrivera0619@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2008 13:16:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: CNN - Commentary: What to expect from McCain, Obama in 56 days
To: "michaelrivera0619@gmail.com" <michaelrivera0619@gmail.com>

Sent from michaelrivera0619@gmail.com's mobile device from http://www.cnn.com.

Commentary: What to expect from McCain, Obama in 56 days

Now that both conventions are over, Labor Day is behind us and the
kids are back in school, let's take a look at how the last 56 days of
the fall campaign may shape up:

What to look for from John McCain

I still think McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin was insane from a
governing point of view, but she has clearly energized the
conservative base of the GOP -- folks who have always been leery of
McCain. Her selection and the relentlessly negative convention have
fired up McCain's base.

The party of Reagan -- sunny optimism, criticism offered in folksy
witticisms and the shake of a head -- is gone. This is the party of
Giuliani and Palin: sarcastic, sneering, snotty and snide. I don't
know why, but meanness plays with the GOP base.

But the right-wing base alone will not win this race. McCain needs to
move to the middle, and the Palin pick makes that tougher. So expect
him to send Palin to small markets, use her to fire up the
right-wingers, and then get his butt to the swing states.

Let's face it, the Bush-Republican brand is dead. Selling the old Bush
line in this economy would be like trying to sell tickets for the
return trip on the Titanic after it sank.

So McCain is not going to make this a race about ideas. After all, he
actually has voted with Bush 91 percent of the time. Perhaps that's
why his campaign manager said this election was not about issues.
McCain plainly wants this race to be about biography. His is actually
the campaign built around a cult of personality.

McCain will continue to emphasize his remarkable suffering in service
to our country. After months of research I have uncovered a heretofore
unknown fact: John McCain was in the military. I'm pretty sure he was
a POW. And I'm pretty sure Barack Obama was not. So expect to see
McCain continue to run on his past rather than America's future.

The flip side of a character-based positive message is -- you guessed
it -- a character-based negative campaign. I hate to say this, but the
McCain campaign -- and its right-wing allies -- are going to play the
politics of fear and smear.

You saw it in St. Paul: doughy Republicans scoffing at Barack Obama's
time as a community organizer -- even though Obama's work was the
embodiment of the values the GOP claims to believe in: faith-based,
family-centered, self-help, hands-on, non-bureaucratic.

If you thought you'd seen it all with Willie Horton, the vicious
attacks on Bill Clinton and his family (including John McCain himself
cruelly mocking the appearance of then-12 year-old Chelsea), or the
"swift-boating" of John Kerry, you ain't seen nothing yet. Obama's
been maligned from the right as a Muslim, an elitist, a socialist --
and that's just the warm-up act.

What to look for from Barack Obama

For his part, Barack Obama needs to drill two numbers into the heads
of every American: 91 and 134. 91 is the percentage of the time McCain
has voted with Bush, and 134 is the number of corporate special
interest lobbyists involved in the McCain campaign.

Obama will likely argue that no one who votes with Bush 91 percent of
the time is a maverick, and that someone with 134 former or current
lobbyists advising, funding or managing his campaign cannot be
considered a reformer. If Obama can shatter the image of the maverick
reformer, even McCain's heroic POW story will not be enough to win the
White House.

On the positive side, Obama will likely stress the economy, including
his plan to cut taxes for middle-class families and small business, as
well as his plan for energy independence. The key to success will be
connecting with voters.

As someone who was raised by a single mom, who knew real poverty, who
went to the best schools with scholarships and student loans, Obama is
a living testament to the power of the American Dream. He needs to
connect emotionally, not intellectually.

The kid who came up the hard way cannot allow himself to be cast as an
elitist by a guy who owns nine homes in three time zones. Joe Biden
helps enormously on this front. He may have been selected for his
foreign policy expertise, but his ability to touch the hearts of
middle-class families makes him an indispensable asset to the
sometimes professorial Sen. Obama.

All of this, of course, should be taken with a block of salt, not just
a grain. A year and a half ago, I thought the general election would
be Hillary Clinton versus Mitt Romney. No one knows what's around the
next corner, much less the dozens of hair-pin turns between now and
election day.

The most important thing to keep in mind as this campaign unfolds is
to expect the unexpected. The campaign that is more nimble, more
aggressive, more free-thinking is the one that will be able to
capitalize on the shifting terrain. The ability to improvise, whether
in sports or warfare or politics, is often the most important talent
of all.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Done With Politics

Following the political race was fun for a while until things started
to take a nasty turn. Honestly I got tired of the divisive tactics at
the RNC and knowing by extrapolation that it'll only get worse in the
next two months. Hey the Democrats are no saints, and while Obama will
try to curb the punches it'll get ugly. So I'm back to my basic
purpose when the blog got started, politics may come in but won't have
such a central role as it had before.

Back...

Finally I'm back. Been gone for a couple of days with some minor body
problems. Seems like Palin and Gustav have been stirring up a storm.
If McCain wanted to capture the media spotlight, he certainly did.
While Iwas ready to vote for Palin for President, I'm not so sure now.
The turnoff being her teenage daughter's pregnancy. Hey, my hat goes
off to mom for the support but do I really want someone who can't put
order in her house to be at the head of Nation? I don't think so.

Battle For The Spotlight

Today the attention seems to be diluting itself in a variety of
subjects. Palin's selection seems to have fizzled out into recycled
articles on the online media and mention of an ongoing investigation
of her office. Of course one is innocent until proven guilty, but in
politics that fundamental law may not apply. We'll see how she
weathers that storm. Gustav is headlining the news and reviving
Katrina's woes and failures to fix the disaster area and prepare it
for another one. (cont below)

Battle For The Spotlight - Part II

(cont from above) If Gustav hits it may mar the RNC next week.
Although as mentioned by at least one of the papers McCain may be
able to use it to distance himself from Bush, as this is a point where
he has heavily critized the Administration. Runnerups for the
spotlight are the raid by police of some would-be RNC protesters and
Caylee's mom being arrested for using money and an account that was't
hers. Granted, it is a long weekend and the real test comes after it
ends. The race goes on!

McCain VP Decision

A couple of days ago I said 'let the Games begin!' And begun they have
indeed. After the conclusion of the DNC last night there was little to
be said that has not been said over and over for the past several
weeks. So how do you offer an effective counter move? Easy, you steal
the spotlight in a big way. The move had to be done in such a way that
whatever momentum Obama generated was cut short. That's McCain's move
in choosing a woman to run with him. This will definitely be a race to
watch.

Obama Acceptance Speech

Here's a copy of the ireport just sent. Being limited to 500
characters that's all I could say, but one thing I missed was how he
made each and every person part of his plan. He actually asked for
every person to take more responsibility in their own areas. Got to
say that Al Gore rocked on his speech and presentation of Obama.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Rivera <michaelrivera0619@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:25:17 -0400
Subject: Obama Acceptance Speach
To: ireport@cnn.com

Wow! The gauntlet has been thrown. What a speach! He did cover every
point that has been thrown at him in the past couple of weeks and
handled them with style without shying away from them or seeming
defensive. He placed his plan on the table table for anyone to digest.
But the most important thing he did was he made November 4 not a race
between McCain vs Obama, it's about each and every American who is
tired of current status quo and is ready for change. - Michael Rivera
from Hollywood

Super Wednesday

Wow! Another beatiful day, and what a day it promises to be. Today I
really see that any game is better than no game. First I tackled the
news for the day and there's the expected: Day Two of the Democratic
Convention, what did Hillary say? what was left out? was there a
better way to say it? what did she really mean?... Well the Olympics
are over now we have the Democrats and next week the Republicans. Let
the games begin!!

Ted Kennedy Quote

Came across this really cool quote by Sen Ted Kennedy: "The work begins anew. The hope rises again and dreams live on."