November 3, 2008

Open letter to Senator Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama:

In your nearly two-year presidential campaign, the words "hope and change," "change and hope" have been your trademark declarations. Yet there is an asymmetry between those objectives and your political character that succumbs to contrary centers of power that want not "hope and change" but the continuation of the power-entrenched status quo.

Far more than Senator McCain, you have received enormous, unprecedented contributions from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart. Why, apart from your unconditional vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, are these large corporate interests investing so much in Senator Obama? Could it be that in your state Senate record, your U.S. Senate record and your presidential campaign record (favoring nuclear power, coal plants, offshore oil drilling, corporate subsidies including the 1872 Mining Act and avoiding any comprehensive program to crack down on the corporate crime wave and the bloated, wasteful military budget, for example) you have shown that you are their man?

To advance change and hope, the presidential persona requires character, courage, integrity-- not expediency, accommodation and short-range opportunism. Take, for example, your transformation from an articulate defender of Palestinian rights in Chicago before your run for the U.S. Senate to an acolyte, a dittoman for the hard-line AIPAC lobby, which bolsters the militaristic oppression, occupation, blockage, colonization and land-water seizures over the years of the Palestinian peoples and their shrunken territories in the West Bank and Gaza. Eric Alterman summarized numerous polls in a December 2007 issue of The Nation magazine showing that AIPAC policies are opposed by a majority of Jewish-Americans.

You know quite well that only when the U.S. Government supports the Israeli and Palestinian peace movements, that years ago worked out a detailed two-state solution (which is supported by a majority of Israelis and Palestinians), will there be a chance for a peaceful resolution of this 60-year plus conflict. Yet you align yourself with the hard-liners, so much so that in your infamous, demeaning speech to the AIPAC convention right after you gained the nomination of the Democratic Party, you supported an "undivided Jerusalem," and opposed negotiations with Hamas-- the elected government in Gaza. Once again, you ignored the will of the Israeli people who, in a March 1, 2008 poll by the respected newspaper Haaretz, showed that 64% of Israelis favored "direct negotiations with Hamas." Siding with the AIPAC hard-liners is what one of the many leading Palestinians advocating dialogue and peace with the Israeli people was describing when he wrote "Anti-semitism today is the persecution of Palestinian society by the Israeli state."

During your visit to Israel this summer, you scheduled a mere 45 minutes of your time for Palestinians with no news conference, and no visit to Palestinian refugee camps that would have focused the media on the brutalization of the Palestinians. Your trip supported the illegal, cruel blockade of Gaza in defiance of international law and the United Nations charter. You focused on southern Israeli casualties which during the past year have totaled one civilian casualty to every 400 Palestinian casualties on the Gaza side. Instead of a statesmanship that decried all violence and its replacement with acceptance of the Arab League's 2002 proposal to permit a viable Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in return for full economic and diplomatic relations between Arab countries and Israel, you played the role of a cheap politician, leaving the area and Palestinians with the feeling of much shock and little awe.

David Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, described your trip succinctly: "There was almost a willful display of indifference to the fact that there are two narratives here. This could serve him well as a candidate, but not as a President."

Palestinian American commentator, Ali Abunimah, noted that Obama did not utter a single criticism of Israel, "of its relentless settlement and wall construction, of the closures that make life unlivable for millions of Palestinians. ...Even the Bush administration recently criticized Israeli's use of cluster bombs against Lebanese civilians [see www.atfl.org for elaboration]. But Obama defended Israeli's assault on Lebanon as an exercise of its 'legitimate right to defend itself.'"

In numerous columns Gideon Levy, writing in Haaretz, strongly criticized the Israeli government's assault on civilians in Gaza, including attacks on "the heart of a crowded refugee camp... with horrible bloodshed" in early 2008.

Israeli writer and peace advocate-- Uri Avnery-- described Obama's appearance before AIPAC as one that "broke all records for obsequiousness and fawning, adding that Obama "is prepared to sacrifice the most basic American interests. After all, the US has a vital interest in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace that will allow it to find ways to the hearts of the Arab masses from Iraq to Morocco. Obama has harmed his image in the Muslim world and mortgaged his future-- if and when he is elected president.," he said, adding, "Of one thing I am certain: Obama's declarations at the AIPAC conference are very, very bad for peace. And what is bad for peace is bad for Israel, bad for the world and bad for the Palestinian people."

A further illustration of your deficiency of character is the way you turned your back on the Muslim-Americans in this country. You refused to send surrogates to speak to voters at their events. Having visited numerous churches and synagogues, you refused to visit a single Mosque in America. Even George W. Bush visited the Grand Mosque in Washington D.C. after 9/11 to express proper sentiments of tolerance before a frightened major religious group of innocents.

Although the New York Times published a major article on June 24, 2008 titled "Muslim Voters Detect a Snub from Obama" (by Andrea Elliott), citing examples of your aversion to these Americans who come from all walks of life, who serve in the armed forces and who work to live the American dream. Three days earlier the International Herald Tribune published an article by Roger Cohen titled "Why Obama Should Visit a Mosque." None of these comments and reports change your political bigotry against Muslim-Americans-- even though your father was a Muslim from Kenya.

Perhaps nothing illustrated your utter lack of political courage or even the mildest version of this trait than your surrendering to demands of the hard-liners to prohibit former president Jimmy Carter from speaking at the Democratic National Convention. This is a tradition for former presidents and one accorded in prime time to Bill Clinton this year.

Here was a President who negotiated peace between Israel and Egypt, but his recent book pressing the dominant Israeli superpower to avoid Apartheid of the Palestinians and make peace was all that it took to sideline him. Instead of an important address to the nation by Jimmy Carter on this critical international problem, he was relegated to a stroll across the stage to "tumultuous applause," following a showing of a film about the Carter Center's post-Katrina work. Shame on you, Barack Obama!

But then your shameful behavior has extended to many other areas of American life. (See the factual analysis by my running mate, Matt Gonzalez, on www.votenader.org). You have turned your back on the 100-million poor Americans composed of poor whites, African-Americans, and Latinos. You always mention helping the "middle class" but you omit, repeatedly, mention of the "poor" in America.

Should you be elected President, it must be more than an unprecedented upward career move following a brilliantly unprincipled campaign that spoke "change" yet demonstrated actual obeisance to the concentration power of the "corporate supremacists." It must be about shifting the power from the few to the many. It must be a White House presided over by a black man who does not turn his back on the downtrodden here and abroad but challenges the forces of greed, dictatorial control of labor, consumers and taxpayers, and the militarization of foreign policy. It must be a White House that is transforming of American politics-- opening it up to the public funding of elections (through voluntary approaches)-- and allowing smaller candidates to have a chance to be heard on debates and in the fullness of their now restricted civil liberties. Call it a competitive democracy.

Your presidential campaign again and again has demonstrated cowardly stands. "Hope" some say springs eternal." But not when "reality" consumes it daily.

Sincerely,
Ralph Nader

pdated after like a year and a hal! w00t!


Name:: Matthew Alexzander (or Anderew, not sure, long story) Warren

 

Nickname:: Mat-Man, White n Nerdy, matt with 2 t's, Tyson

Location:: The Mat-Cave

Gender::Male                             

Birthplace:: Maryland                     

Birthstone:: Perdot?

Birthday:: August 29 1986

Sign:: Vigo? tiger? Stop ahead, What kind?!?!?!                      

Righty or Lefty:: Righty

Screenname:: Matthey (so origanal, eh?) Shry/Myndshry

**YOUR LOOKS**             dead sexy?                     

Height:: 6,0 according to my DL

Weight:: 175?

Shoe size:: 11.5

Hair Color:: Brownish

Hair Length:: long

Eye Color:: green/brownish.                                              

Size:: the larger side of average

Glasses:: Ya

Braces:: Nope

Piercings:: i say no to neededls

Tattoos:: see above

**FASHION**

Where do you shop:: Wal-Mart or the baycity mall, but thats a long ways away

What do you usually wear:: Whatever I pull out of the basket

What kind of shoes do you wear:: my vans

Do you wear a watch:: nope, then people expect me to be on time

Color you never wear:: pink!

Color you wear at least once a week:: Black and blue

Something you wear everyday:: contacts/glasses and sometime boxers

Do you wear make up everyday:: oh hell no?

Make up essential:: for me? none?

Most cherished piece of clothing:: my green linen shirt!

You wouldn't be caught dead wearing:: a tutu

Do you wear belts:: yes

Do you wear hats:: dose a bear shit in the woods?

How many pairs of shoes do you have:: 2, my boots and my vans

**MUSIC**

Favorite kind of music:: metal/industrial

Least Favorite:: country (theres a tear in my beer and a wang in my rear...)

How many CD's do you have:: quite a few now, high speed internat saw to that =p

Last CD you bought:: evanescence: the open door, tho i cant wait for the new dope cd

What's in your CD player right now:: ICP Piggy Pie

Do you download music:: lots!

**FAVORITES**

Color:: black

Number:: uhhh? dunno?

Season:: summer

Ice cream:: Mint Chocolate Chip

Website::youtube.com

Quote:: if i had a dolla for every gnome i ganked id be a rich man

Store:: walmart i guss?

Band:: dope

Singer:: johnney cash

Rapper:: Vanilla Ice!

Group:: Hilltop Hoods

Song:: Hello : Eveanesence

Movie:: super troopers or ave ventura when nature calls

Actor:: Zach Braff

Actress:: that hot chick from jumper, she was rather sexy

Kind of movies:: dumb comedies

Place to be:: the mat-cave

Time of day:: 2:45 pm?

Clothing Brand:: Jinx

Animal:: a MONKEY!!

Food:: chicken

Holiday:: Christmas

Shape:: Trapazoid lol

Restaurant:: Tacobell

Fast food place:: Taco Bell

Boy's name:: something plain and simple, im not into uber sophisticaded names

Girl's name:: something plain and simple, im not into uber sophisticaded names

Word:: Holla!

Month:: july, its warm

Candy:: not alot

**LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS**

Boyfriend or Girlfriend::never will have a bf, and never had gf
Crush:: not right now, the ladies dont love the matt it seems
Do you believe in love at first sight::nope
Have you ever pretended your crush was with you when they weren't:: how dose that work?
Did you draw pictures for your first crush back in elementary school:: not that i can recall
Have you ever liked a girl/boy but didn't ask her/him out because you were afraid:: yep, and i got fucked over when i did try
Have you ever spent over an hour thinking about nothing but your crush:: Indeed.
Have you ever liked someone solely for their appearance:: in a lustful sense, ya
What do you look for in a guy/girl:: see above

Best physical feature:: Hair, i relly like big hair and eyes

Best hair color:: blond/brown

Best eye color:: i love beautiful eyes, so i guss any eyes that arent glazed over

**RANDOMS**

Do you paint your nails:: thats a negative, i would look so not sexy like that

What color is your tooth brush:: Dont giggle, but its hot pink (i dont want my brother to confuse mine for his)

What's on your desktop:: like my computer desk top? the basics firefox/my computer/documents and the like pus my shortcuts to ventrillo, WoW medie player clasic, folder full of Deathnote another of Bleach another of Samuri champloo... ya i have a few anime's
Do you like roller coasters:: ya
Do you do drugs:: never
Do you have any pets:: 2 dogs
What time do you go to sleep:: latley, 4-5ish
Do you watch the Gilmore Girls:: huh?
Have you ever enjoyed listening to Jack Johnson:: who's a What?
Have you ever seen or enjoyed watching the O.C.:: What is that anyway?
Do you have one or more Britney Spears CD? No
Which radio stations are your favorites:: Z93.3
Are you a Lost fanatic::no...
Still have pictures of your Ex:: What ex?
Do you have a song by Ozzy Osbourne in your library:: heck ya, the ozzman cometh, lol
Queen:: cd's, no but i have a few songs on my ipod and computer
Do you watch Family Guy regularly? stewie is my homie!
King of the Hill:: propane FTW!
Do you read trashy romance novels often?hahaha read, rofl
Do you really work out every day:: nope, im a fat ass, and proud!
Have you ever eaten an entire pint of ice cream by yourself::not in one sitting
Have you ever eaten nothing but junk food for a week straight:: are hot pockets junk?
Do you shower every single day? for the most part ya
Do you ever forget to give a Christmas/birthday present:: do i ever rember?
Do you sing obnoxiously in the car:: and out!
Do you sing obnoxiously in the shower psh, you sound best in the shower
Have you ever watched a little kid's show when you were over 12:: we are looking for blues clues.....
Have you ever looked forward to going to school:: ya
Have you ever written a poem or story about your life:: ya, it depressed me
Do you eat all the servings in the food groups on a daily basis:: do hot pockets count?
Are you ever a freak about cleanliness or organization:: what is this "orginization?"
Have you ever been to South America or Africa:: Negative
Do you know how to knit::i tried learning once, but i didnt understand, i made a hella long chain thou, lol
Do you have a cell phone or iPod with a patterned cover:: i have both, but neither have covers
Have you ever written love song lyrics yourself and put them in your profile::  hehe im to easily embarassed
Do you keep a diary or journal online:: ha, as if anything happens that i would want to record
When you open your closet, what is the dominant color of your closet:: cheery, thats the color of the barren shelves =p
Baskin Robbins or Coldstone:: What's a coldstone?
America or Canada:: Canada's not that bad...
Physics or chemistry:: Chemisty, KABOOM!
Earphones or headphones:: Headphones
Pink or teal:: teal
Earrings or a ring:: blargh... needed.... screw that noise
Commitment or casual dating:: Commitment
Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings:: Lord of the rings
Fly or road trip:: road trips are fun, and i have never flown
Starbucks or Caribou:: is it so fucking hard to get a cup of coffee flavored black coffee?
What is your favorite Disney movie(s):: emporers new groove
How much jewelry do you own:: one gold bracelet and one diamond ring from my poppop before he died
Have you ever bought clothing at Sears::I still stand by my suprise that they sell more than dryers