The Reckoning, written by Beverly Lewis, is the third in a series of books that includes The Shunning and The Confession. Written for a typical Christian audience, the book tended to be more preachy than I felt it needed to be since a vast majority of those who read it are familiar with the saved by faith principle. However, I did enjoy learning more about the Ordnung (Amish behavioral rules) and the Meinding (Amish shunning practice) that is one of the most severe actions that the Bishop can mete out for disobedience. I also found it interesting that each Amish district made up their own governing rules with some allowed to do things that were absolutely forbidden in other districts.

Set between the picturesque setting of Hickory Hollow, Lancaster County and Canadaigua, New York, our protagonist, Katie Lapp/Katherine Mayfield, takes you on a journey of struggle and repentance after having been shunned by the Amish Community for refusing to destroy a guitar. The guitar, a gift from her beau, Dan Fisher, who had been presumed dead, started Katie on her quest to reunite with her birth mother, Laura Mayfield, who died soon after Katie arrived, leaving her the entire Mayfield Estate. However, despite her enjoyment of the Englischer comforts, Katie’s Amish roots are deeper than she may have wished and she still finds a portion of herself that will always be Katie Lapp.

Katie, still struggling to find her true self, had just begun dating new beau, Justin Wirth, when Dan shows up begging her forgiveness for not letting her know that he had not died in the boating accident five years previously. At first Katie is angry and refuses to be swayed by his pleas for a second chance, but by the story’s end, all is forgiven.

Overall, the story wasn’t that bad, just nothing spectacular as it was a typical romance fiction with young lovers who run into problems and reunite in the end. I guess my main complaint about the book is that several parts needed to be expanded on to fully explain why the characters acted in a certain way. Example: the author just drops Justin Wirth after he presents Katie with an engagement ring. Yes, she does let us know that Katie decides to marry Dan, but she fails to tell us Justin’s reaction to Katherine’s rejection.

Would I recommend the book? I think that depends on what you hope to get out of it. If can look past the constant preaching there is merit to the book but don’t expect to have all of your questions answered or want to stay up all night to find out what will happen next.

Tags: amish, book review, fiction, beverly lewis, the reckoning, mennonites, salvation, grace, faith, romance, ordnung, meinding, shunning, faith through works

According to Thomas Sowell of the Hoover Institute, the current immigration bill in the senate is a perfect example of a political solution that is bound to create bigger problems down the road. This is obvious when one realizes that amnesty was granted in 1986 because the powers that were, at that time, thought it was unrealistic to think that they could round up and deport 3 million illegal immigrants. However, all that did was create a bigger problem today for the powers that be since they can’t figure out how to deal with the over 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the US. The main difference between the 1986 Amnesty bill and the currently proposed legislation is that both are granting amnesty but the new legislation ttempts to hide that fact.

If the new legislation is realistic, as claimed by its proponents, why is it being rushed through the senate at the rate of a speeding locomotive? Is it in the hopes of duping the American citizenry into turning a blind eye to the fact that within a few years the next set of powers that be will be faced with the unrealistic and impossible task of rounding up and deporting upwards of 40 million illegal immigrants? Since we are talking about a permanent change to the American way of life, its culture, its population, and politics, is it not reasonable to take as much time as necessary to consider the consequences of such a move?

The current bill’s advocates appear frightened that the voting public might actually discover that this bill is a fraud, especially their denying that it is in fact meant to give amnesty to those who crossed our borders illegally. Advocates also argue that illegal immigrants will have to meet certain requirements to become citizens but amnesty is not about meeting citizenship requirements it is about having crimes against the country expunged. It is in fact a measure that the politicos are using to accommodate those who committed a crime in entering our country without going through the proper channels. While this might not be terrifying when one thinks of our neighbors to the south it can take on a totally different aspect when one realizes that just a few short years ago it was people who were here illegally that perpetrated the worst terror attack in our country’s history. Have we forgotten so soon what that attack cost us in terms of American lives both then and now considering we are still fighting the battle in Iraq?

Given that amnesty is a forgiveness for one’s crimes against the system how can one condone one type of crime and not another? Consider the millions of unsolved crimes on the books throughout this great land that no one can truly hope to solve. Should those domestic fugitives be granted amnesty simply because it is impractical to think that all of those crimes will ever be adjudicated? As far I know, no one has ever suggested that domestic criminals, even those charged with tax evasion, should be allowed to pay some fine, and then apply to have their crimes overlooked so that they can be restored to good standing in our society; so why should we overlook the crime of illegal immigration?

So, as we don’t have to catch every criminal to deter crime we don’t have to roust out and deport every illegal immigrant. What we need to do is follow through in cases where we happenchance on illegal immigrants through their violation of other laws. Once it is seen that we will deport person’s who are found to be here illegally it will help to stem the flow of illegal immigrants who believe that if they are here long enough the US will grant them amnesty and citizenship no matter what methods they used to enter the country. In essence a procedure of deporting all immigrants, discovered to be here without the proper paperwork, and denying them access to benefits that should be slated only for citizens who pay their taxes, could help many illegal immigrants decide to return to their countries of origin. As far as how to roust them out, one only has to be meticulous in checking citizenship records before allowing them access to free medical care, welfare benefits, schooling, and/or job opportunities. Without the many freebies and with the threat of being charged with a serious crime against the US government many illegal immigrants would think twice before risking their lives to cross our borders thus creating an effective way of controlling our surging population.

Lastly, one must realize that the Administration that has only completed 2 miles of the proposed 700 miles of border fencing approved by Congress last year is not serious about imposing any of the restrictions set forth in the new immigration bill. In my thinking, this latest bill is a fraud intended to supply the politicos with a larger voting public and to garner support their own agendas. It in no way is intended to protect the American citizenry from the possibility of terrorism or to slow the ever increasing illegal population.

Tags: amnesty, illegal immigration, immigration bill, amnesty for criminals, terrorist, criminal activity, fraud, tax evasion, rights of citizenship, welfare benefits, medical care, deportation

From Fort Worth, Texas, Cindy Sheehan who began the antiwar movement in August 2005, by camping outside Bush’s Crawford ranch for 26 days, has announced that she is “done being the public face of the movement.” In a letter posted on a liberal Web site Monday, Sheehan stated that her decision is the result of the hatred and smears that have been directed towards her and the Democratic Parties desertion of her after she made it clear that she expected them to live up to the same standards she was demanding from the Republicans. Sheehan then criticized “blind party loyalty” as a danger, no matter which side it involved, and said the current two-party system is “corrupt” and “rapidly descending into “… a fascist corporate wasteland.” In her letter, Sheehan stated: “Good-bye America… you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it. It’s up to you now.” I hope that does not mean that Cindy is leaving the U.S. to live elsewhere.

Sadly, the mother of twenty-four year old Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, who died in Baghdad, sacrificed a 29-year marriage and endured threats to put all her energy into stopping the war only to find the movement “often put personal egos above peace and human life.” However, she said the most devastating conclusion she had reached “was that Casey did indeed die for nothing… killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think… I guess no one paid attention to me,” she added, “when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of right or left, but right and wrong.”

While many will sorely miss her outspoken voice, Kristinn Taylor, spokesperson for FreeRepublic.com, states that she believes dwindling crowds at Sheehan’s Crawford protests may have led to her decision. She further stated that “Sheehan’s politics hurt a lot of people, including the troops and their families, but most of us who support the war on terror understand she is hurt very deeply.”

Sheehan’s last comments on the matter included the following sad statement, “Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.” How sad that mothers across the country are paying the price of an unjust war with the lives of their children, while the President continues to enjoy his own daughters and his life in the safety of the country he is placing in jeopardy both economically and physically as blowback is something that would affect all of us.

Tags: cindy sheehan, anti war movement, fascist, democrats, republicans, casey sheehan, fort worth texas, attention whore, good bye america, blowback

Who is running for the GOP ticket? Come Meet: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Tom Tancredo, and Ron Paul.

It is hard to say if anyone was left out since they all look like cardboard cutouts when they line up for one of those hilarious debates where they mainly disagree on who is the more conservative, who loves God more, and who is most like Ronald Reagan. Outside of that, for the most part they are mostly against illegal immigration, for lower taxes, against abortion, for continuing the War in Iraq, against gay marriage, dubious about stem cell research and, much in favor of God.

There are a couple of notable position differences with one being from far out candidate, Tom Tancredo, who unfortunately believes that anyone can run for president and actually thinks America should buy the great wall of China and resurrect it on the Tex-Mex border. Then there is the warmonger, John McCain, who seems to love the war as much as George Bush.

My favorite, however, is Texas Representative, Ron Paul who bravely proclaimed that the 9/11 attacks were possibly blowback for our previous bombing and occupation of the Middle East (which supports the viewpoint of Chalmers Johnson’s book, Blowback). Then when challenged Paul took it a step further by stating, “They don’t come here to attack us because we’re rich and we’re free. They come and they attack us because we’re over there.” After that statement one shouldn’t be surprised that the other candidates, particularly Rudy Giuliani attacked him because there are few things more unpatriotic in wartime than telling the truth.

However, not to be forgotten was Romney’s answer to what he dislikes about America which was to intone how much he loves America as the greatest place on earth and the American people are the greatest people in the world. That gave me considerable pause as if I am not mistaken we jail a higher percentage of our population than any other country and stand fourth in the number of executions (behind China, Iran and Saudi Arabia). Moreover, our citizenry has so little hope that their vote matters that we rank 139^th out of 172 countries in the number of registered voters who actually take the time to vote.

Additionally, medically speaking America is in terrible shape with many American’s being unable to afford health insurance and others, including those with insurance, being forced to wait for hours to receive treatment from understaffed emergency rooms. To top that off America has a higher infant mortality rate than thirty-three other countries, including Cuba.

Lastly, what can be said about a country that holds their children to be of such little intrinsic value that they mortgage their futures by running up the national debt to a level that makes it impossible to provide public schools the funds needed to provide adequate leaning opportunities making them inferior to those in Europe and Asia? If that makes us the greatest nation on earth I can’t help but question who is second, Bulgaria?

Those of you who have become familiar with my concerns and ideals no doubt know that I am neither a Republican nor a liberal but rather a moderate with an open mind and my own opinions. That said, if I had to choose one of these candidates, I would give my support to Ron Paul because he at least had the gumption to stand up and speak the truth and not just parrot the party platform.

Tags: bush policy, gop nominees, gop candidates, 2008 nominees, rudy giuliani, ron paul, mitt romney, john mccain, tom tancredo, stand on war in iraq, stand on immigration, stand on abortion, republican ticket, blowback, chalmers johnson

According to its Web site, the Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization (ERGO) “heartily welcomes the release… of seventy-nine-year-old Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a retired pathologist, who has served eight years of a 10-25 year sentence” and is to be released on parole Friday June 1, 2007.

Dr. Kevorkian is well known for his nearly ten-year-long campaign to help individuals escape from the pain of terminal illnesses, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease. His efforts and resulting incarceration, after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Thomas Youk, a Waterford, Michigan man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease prompted many states to seek laws legalizing euthanasia. However, abortion opponents, advocates for the disabled, and Catholic leaders have fought the efforts to follow the 1997 Oregon law that allows physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs only to terminally ill but mentally competent adults who can self-administer the medication. Similar proposals, however, failed to get approval in Vermont and California this year. Nonetheless, many are fearful that his release will spur additional challenges and voter initiatives, regarding the issue, to find their way onto the November 2008 ballot.

However, criticism of Kevorkian’s methods was not limited to pro-life advocates but was also criticized by proponents of assisted suicide because as stated by Kate Davenport, communications specialist at the Death with Dignity National Center in Portland, Oregon, the “law has necessary safeguards to prevent abuse but Kevorkian’s methods were not well-regulated or sane and had many pitfalls.” Another surprise is that even the ERGO website states that Dr. Kevorkian, “under the existing letter of the law, was correctly convicted of murder while emphasizing that for those who see his actions as merciful in the light of the dying man’s great pain and distress the action was justified.”

This case made clear that the laws governing homicide need modifying to allow a plea of mercy killing, allowing juries to decide. Kathy Hoffman of the Associated Press states, “Experts agree that the attention on assisted suicide has helped raise awareness about end-of-life care and it is not to be taken lightly with both opponents and supporters agreeing that something needs to be done to offer treatment for those who are dying and suffering from debilitating pain.” This concept is elaborated on by Dr. Sidney Wanzer, a retired Massachusetts doctor who states, “there are a handful of patients who have the best of care, everything has been done right, but they still suffer. And it’s this person I think should have the right to say, “This is not working and I want to die sooner.”

The one undoubted benefit of his ten-year solo euthanasia campaign in the 1990s was to make the general public aware of the unrecognized suffering of many dying people, and that physician-assisted suicide was often times their choice of dealing with it. Now with Dr. Kevorkian promising not to assist in any more deaths, one must hope that he will use his hugely popular voice to influence law reform now through support for real legislative efforts.

Tags: dr death, dr. kevorkian, right to die, ergo, euthanasia research and guidance organization, euthanasia, physician assisted suicide, oregon law, mercy killing, terminal illness, debiliatating pain, lou gehrig’s disease, als

Author Dr. George Friedman, founder and Chairman of Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), uses his clear-thinking approach as a skilled intelligence analyst in his book, America’s Secret War. In this work Dr. Friedman treats all the powerful players on the world stage with respect, as he lays out his thinking regarding the Islamo-fascist terror war on the West, events that caused our proactive stance against Iraq that led to the Iraq conflict, and events that occurred there prior to 2004.It must be noted, however, that approaching this book requires an open mind, because George Friedman writes from a point of view completely independent of the Left or the Right. In fact, he holds what can only be explained as an agnostic view of the war, believing that neither America’s leaders nor those of our enemies are fools and that the world is a chessboard and each of us are its pawns.

Further, the book delves into why it’s crucial to understand al Qaeda’s history and current political agenda, as well as, the immense legal challenge of pursuing al Qaeda, as the 9/11 attack didn’t fit any clear definition of acts of war or criminal acts on the books at the time. He further goes on to discuss why Middle East geopolitics are anything but simple how complicated the situation was given that al Qaeda was not liked by many of our enemies, who in turn don’t like each other.

Most important, the author explains that the Iraq war was a strategic war that had nothing to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction or oil but was about gaining respect and support from Saudi Arabia. In other words, this is not just a military history or study of tactics but a look at the Psy ops and diplomacy behind the events as well.

The major flaw with America’s Secret War is that it’s hard to tell the difference between fact and Stratfor’s analysis since Friedman chooses not to reveal sources, or incorporate a few footnotes or bibliography to support his conclusions. One prime example of this unsupported data that bothered me personally was his argument that the Iraq War was primarily driven by the Administration’s determination that they had to prove to Saudi Arabia that they were a force to be dealt with. Another example is the author’s claim that al Qaeda’s goal of the attacks of 9/11 was to draw the U.S. into a war that would galvanize the entire Islamic world to extend Islamic fundamentalism, with God at the center of all life, and by so doing reestablish the Sunni caliphate, with Shar’ia law thus uniting the Muslim world.

Given that premise the author then suggests that the US invasion of Iraq was both an American retreat and re-offensive move to get our military out of Saudi Arabia but surround the Saudis and establish a new base for operations around the region. Therefore, since the author’s hawkish, right-wing tendencies often surface throughout his writing I would suggest that anyone reading this book make time to carefully research and gather sufficient background information on the author and the matters he discusses.

Overall, the book is a good analysis of Middle Eastern politics and the conflict that escalated with 9/11 as geo-political powers fought for control of a whole region, from the Arab Peninsula to Central Asia and beyond. Further, it presents a good overview of the timeline of events and their significance, starting with roots in the 1980s Afghan conflicts, through the strange and mishandled relationship the US has with Saudi Arabia. Lastly one must acknowledge that behind everything, even terrorism, there are rational, political motives, and Dr. Friedman does a good job of presenting them and America’s Secret War is a very well-written account of the ongoing war on terror, al Qaeda, the Cold War, 9/11, and Iraq.

Tags: strategic war, secret war, diplomacy, america’s secret war, book review, nonfiction, george friedman, stratfor, iraq war, al qaeda, terrorism, war on terrorism

Dania Deschamps’ first novel, set in the sultry area of Key West, gives the reader an authentic look at the sights, sounds, and lifestyle of the area, its native people, and the Catholicism that rules their hearts. Additionally, the author, using her background as a litigation attorney, provides her readers with a solid who-dun-it suspense novel that is about much more than evil and mental illness. It is a story about a family’s love and loyalty, the devotion of mothers to their children, the rekindling of a childhood romance, and a young woman’s struggle for professional respect.

This spine-chilling story will keep you hanging on to the edge of your seat as the book’s protagonist, thirty-seven-year-old Dominique Olivet, a wife and mother, is appointed by Judge Juan Sanchez Sr. to represent Ben Hargrave, who is accused of the murder of a pregnant young mother. However, as she and Florida State prosecutor, Rolf del Castillo are to discover the obvious is not as lucid as some believe and soon more blood flows leaving Dominique to fear something evil has taken control of Key West.

This terrific legal serial killer thriller provides varying perspectives, the most enlightening being from the mind of the killer who goes about his grim tasks in a macabre fashion. Using her insight into the minds of the truly evil Deschamps causes the readers to ponder the ultimate question of whether an obviously insane person can be evil as free will and knowing right from wrong are missing from their mental and emotional makeup.

On a slightly negative note, however, the author graphically portrays several murders and grisly sexual perversions that make this a read that would not be appropriate for youngsters or the faint of heart. Additionally, I found it distracting that the book contained numerous typos, awkward sentences, dangling participles, author discrepancies, and other errors that take the reader’s attention away from the story.

Other than those cautions, however, I found Deschamps’ affinity for Key West, her obvious legal background, and her prose to demonstrate that she can develop into a writer to be reckoned with. Overall, Thirst is a gripping, graphic thriller of evil incarnate that the author moves along through a series plot twists, both expected and unexpected, that forces you to keep turning pages.

Tags: thirst, dania deschamps, sexual, book review, fiction, serial killer, graphic, thriller, criminal justice system, evil, supernatural, key west, florida

The Witness, a compelling romance mystery, by Sandra Brown is bound to get you hooked from the start with its villains that are such greasy, sick individuals that you actually rout for them to die and a down-to-earth protagonist that will do anything to protect those that she loves.

The protagonist is idealistic public defender Kendall Deaton who is running for her life from a group of sick individuals, headed by her father-in-law, Gibb Burnwood, with the able assistance of her husband Matt; known as the Brotherhood. At the time, Kendall has just discovered that she is pregnant but upon learning the truth about her husband and father-in-law’s involvement in a vigilante group supposedly ordained by God she never discloses her pregnancy to them. However, as it turns out the tentacles of the group extend outside the town’s borders and without knowing who she can trust Kendall escapes to Denver where her baby, Kevin is born. From that point on everything Kendall did was motivated by her desire to protect the infant from harm.

What Kendall didn’t know, at the time of her sojourn in Denver, was that the Brotherhood was already under investigation by Agent James Pepperdyne who wanted her as a material witness. Upon finding her Pepperdyne enlisted the help of his friend, former FBI agent, John McGrath to return her to South Carolina. However, plane travel was not an option so they were forced to rent a car only to find themselves victims of a car accident that left John with amnesia. At the hospital Kendall leads John and the staff to believe that the two of them are married and that Kevin is their son.

As John struggles to regain his memory and Kendall fearing discovery by the Burnwood clan the two develop feelings for each other. However, even Kendall is not who she says is and with a relationship built on a lie, it’s only a matter of time before John discovers her betrayal and Kendall is forced to come to grips with the past that has kept her running and lying to the man she has come to love. As for John, if he regains his memory he will be forced to decide between returning Kendall and Kevin to South Carolina for the trial or protecting them from possible execution by the Brotherhood.

A secondary plot includes the Crook twins who seek misguided revenge against Kendall because their brother was convicted and unjustly sentenced by the town’s judge (a member of the Brotherhood). Other subplots include the budding romance between John and Kendall and John’s overcoming guilt regarding a hostage situation in New Mexico that had resulted in the death of a young mother and her two small children.

As Brown weaves her web of intrigue, the reader is left with a compelling tale of suspense filled with colorful characters, violence, infidelity, revenge, and racism keeping readers on edge. A definite stay up late at night ending concludes this better than average story as the author delves into a small town’s secrets, bigotry, hatred and deceptions.

Tags: book review, sandra brown, the witness, fiction, murder, mystery, violence, sex, romance, revenge, vigilates, racism, fbi investigations, public defender

Blowback, according to author Chalmers Johnson, is a term invented by the CIA to “describe the likelihood that our covert operations in other people’s countries could result in retaliation against Americans, civilian and military, at home and abroad.” At another point, he notes that “blowback is another way of saying that a nation sows what it reaps.”

To back some of his theories Johnson uses examples. One such example is seen on page xiv that states that it was “only after the Russians had bombed Afghanistan back to the stone age … that the United States walked away from the death and destruction the CIA had helped cause by providing assistance to the Afghan resistance with one of the beneficiaries being Osama bin Laden.” This in turn resulted in what Johnson considers blowback from al Qaeda. In this hard-hitting analysis, Chalmers Johnson explains the goals and the hidden (from its inhabitants) functioning of the US hegemony: an empire based on military power and the use of US capital and markets to force global economic integration on US terms no matter what it might cost others. Even for the American citizenry it appears the US military establishment appears close to becoming an autonomous system, whose colossal budget is only controlled by vested ideological and financial interests.

This book clearly shows that US presidents, like Carter or Clinton, did not have the power to oppose the Pentagon’s designs which were to perpetuate and develop the Cold War structures in order to consolidate its power. It is also obvious to the reader that Johnson believes that the government’s philosophy is that the ends justify the means as seen through many military interventions in the world that have sponsored dictatorships, genocidal campaigns, war crimes, state terrorism and paramilitary death-squads and sadly 90 % of all US weapons were sold to human right abusers. Additionally Johnson shows how US globalization, promoting the purchasing of weapons which are a profligate economic waste, provoked economic disasters in South-Asia and South-America, throwing millions of people into poverty. He further claims that the US and its population need an industrial not a military policy, because a new rival hegemony China, is waiting to emerge as the superpower of the 21st century.

In the concluding section, he concludes that the end result of America’s abandonment of diplomacy and its new reliance on military force has resulted in making the world a more dangerous place to live. In his argument he also purports that the United States has become an empire and is in danger of “imperial overreach.”

In a world of hypocritical and gagged media, Chalmers Johnson’s much needed voice proposes human solutions for the world’s problems: `bring most overseas land-based forces home and reorient foreign policy to stress leadership through example, economic aid, international law, multilateral institutions and diplomacy, instead of military intervention, economic bullying or financial manipulation.’ With its surprising comparisons, Chalmers Johnson sets a solid warning to the actual US establishment that a nation reaps what its sows and that the blowback could be horrendous. In effect his book is a major foreign policy critique that is well documented, well reasoned, and well written. The next President of the United States, be he/she a Republican or Democrat, would be well advised to read this book.

The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists Senator Barack Hussein Obama, of Illinois, is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. History and, if elected to the presidency in November 2007, will be the first African American president as well as one of the youngest presidents to gain this office. Obama was born in August 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father returned to Kenya and died in a car accident when Obama was 21 years old. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, and the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools until he returned to live with his maternal grandparents from fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.

While some media sources strut Obama’s racial ethnicity as important, I believe that his success is not just a matter of racial pride for one group and should not be stressed as thus. Obama is a man with ideals and principles that have been sadly lacking in the previous administration and he would serve to help all American citizens not just a chosen few such as the big oil companies. His integrity is obvious when he does not try to hide the fact that, as a teenager, trying to reconcile his multiracial heritage, he experimented with alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. He was an early opponent of the Bush Administration’s policies on Iraq. Obama stated at a 2002 anti-war rally in Chicago that, “I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars. You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.”

In February 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election emphasizing his intention to end the Iraq War and to implement universal health care. When questioned about the Iraq War, Obama asked,”Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?” Then he continued: “When we send our young men and women into harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re going. We need to care for their families while they’re gone, tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.” On the Internet, I have also noted some individuals trying to instill fear in the masses by purporting that Obama is a Muslim and, as such, cannot be trusted. The fact is that his father, who Obama had little association with after his parents’ divorce at age two, was raised a Muslim and had shunned such beliefs before Obama was born. In fact, a theme of Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the title of his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In Chapter six of the book, titled “Faith,” Obama writes that he “was not raised in a religious household.” He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet “in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known.” He describes his father, “raised a Muslim,” as a “confirmed atheist,” and his Indonesian stepfather as “a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.” The chapter details how Obama came to understand “the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change.” Obama writes: “It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.”

Obama’s U.S. Senate Web site lists “creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit”; “an expansion of early childhood education”; and “legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases” as his most notable accomplishments. In Obama’s 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, he said: “No, people don’t expect government to solve all their problems, but they sense deep in their bones that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better and they want that choice.

Obama took an active role in the Senate’s drive for improved border security and immigration reform and in September 2006, Obama supported the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States - Mexico border. President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it “an important step toward immigration reform.” As for foreign affairs Obama has traveled to Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan with Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss strategies for controlling the world’s supply of conventional weapons, biological weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. In Ukraine, they toured a disease control and prevention facility and witnessed the signing of a bilateral pact to secure biological pathogens and combat risks of infectious disease outbreaks from natural causes or bioterrorism. After visiting Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, Obama traveled to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories where he met with both the Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Since 2004 Obama has fought to solve the problems facing our communities such as the need for expanded children’s health care, tax cuts for the working poor, and welfare reform. Another issue of great importance is embryonic stem cell research, which Obama supports as seen in the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act that he co-sponsored in 2005 (which was vetoed by President George W. Bush). Obama condemned Bush’s veto, saying “Democrats want this bill to pass. Conservative, pro-life Republicans want this bill to pass. By large margins, the American people want this bill to pass. It is only the White House standing in the way of progress - standing in the way of so many potential cures.” How does Obama fare? Overall, I think that he is a conscientious individual who will do everything within in power to make America a fairer and better place for all Americans and now with a Democratically controlled Congress he may have a chance to make a real difference.

Tags: barack obama, presidential candidate, ethnic candidate, pro-choice, antiwar, universal health care advocate, embryonic stem cell research, immigration, foreign policy