The Internet is now Revere's horse - use it wisely and the public wronged may go out onto the street and revolt. Stop buying, start saving! Stop watching broadcast news... stop watching television. Boycott big oil, pharmaceuticals and the stock market. March in the streets and discover who you are and what you are willing to fight(sacrifice) for. Somehow we must find it within our selves to take back our country. I wish I know how to do it - but I do know that its the only thing that will save us from destruction.
jm

I think Mr. Moyers ascribes too much credit to to the point of glorification on this experiment called democracy. What's happening now is not a new phenomena, but rather a pervasive pattern from the very inception of this nation. It was, has, and always will be a system suited to furthering the best interests (and treasuries) of the predominantly white (and white acting) upper class wealthy minority. Everything is subservient to that principle. Whatever form of government and society we now have, under the guises of laws and institutions, and in the forseeable future (Obama or not)will be designed to serve this very same purpose. People make the rules and abide by the rules. It's always a matter of how power is divided and how the rabble (majority lower class) can be best kept in line. If they consent to keep themselves in line and perpetuate their own pathetic sitauation, that's probably the best we can hope for (until Malthusian laws start catching up and we've just got too many of the lower class to keep around). If they start getting out of line, power and government knows how to deal with that too. If it wasn't for the rest of the planet that is the constant target of our ingrained violence and thirst for plunder, we wouldn't even have this semblence of a democracy - we would have long ago turned our self-destructive collective greed and godliness inward toward ourselves. Perhaps that's all we have to look forward to as the world finally stands up to us, as it's showing signs of doing. We're incapable of change from within of the magnitude that's required; perhaps change will come quicker when external events dictate their outcome to us in the form of a radically new global economy paradigm. If you threaten the pocketbook of the rich man, you'll get his attention!

I wonder where Mr Moyers' anger is? I wonder what Mr. Moyers thinks should be done to turn the tide of destruction of his great democracy? Mr. Moyers, what can be done when the very mechanisms ostensibly established to facillitate peaceful change are bankrupt? Does anyone really think that those in power will ever allow themselves to ever be voted out unless there's the real and present threat of serious consequences to their own comfort. Give me a break!

Following the slippery slope trajectory....what to do with 20M illegal aliens and the foreclosed, bankrupted, jobless Americans, and disabled Iraq/Afghanistan vets.

Are they destined for the 800 secret prison detention camps that are being built at an alarming rate?

Would we as a nation eventually acquiesce into watching them rounded up like chattel and shipped in boxcars like some Nazi Redux?

Kind of scares the hell out of me just to watch the progression of our American society today.

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

I would hope the others above have the courage to read more than a two liner comment. Important thoughts cannot be delivered in two lines. Democracy in this country is in fact a plutocracy or at best an oligarchy.

The USA has some very serious problem that involves helping the rest of the world understand that they are not alone with the problems we all face. They must know once again and understand the people of the USA care!. Obama has alluded to that issue recently. But the most important issue of all, who doubt Obama-for the first time I think in the annals of recent history or memory-the young people are involved with the democratic process. They believe in what this country could become and I with all my remaining breath will help them to do it. I too refuse to give up on hope what I once believed in and fought for, and what could become the global dream in stead of the failed selfish American Dream!

Americans can be and are a much better people than their leaders have shown the world. For the first time Obama is suggesting only some of the changes that must be made. The future belongs to the young and it will be they who must take up the mantle of true change which Obama offers and later in the primary all the others echoed! They young want to make this country to become what all of us here once hoped it would be, like Gore Vidal. So many of us who write here are disappointed, but for those who like what Rev. Wright said, and spoke to the issues of his life, he has to be bitter and critical about the past, I agree. He simply says many of things that Dr. Martin Luther King spoke to. Michelle Obama, now being attacked, is referring obliquely to American racism, which still exists. What Michelle Obama experienced is typical by white racist America that refuses to look in the mirror although it is now cracking.

I was raised in a ghetto with Afro-Americans and I lived first hand their lives and experiences. I could escape because I was white, while many of my friends ended in penitentiary or dead! . I think there is more than a point to what Wright said, the kindness he has exhibited, and the work of his ministry shows his humanity for those who want to see. I have witnessed and experienced the black churches.

Obama's call for a united racially blind USA will build America and the world's respect once again, and a new recognition and respect for America will come about if Obama is not too controlled by the Democratic party. This is what possibly could be gained and he will grow to the greatness of what the office can achieve. It will give the people of the USA the stature that will again be gained from his achieving the presidency. Now is the time for the political process to build a true Democracy free from the special interests that have torn America down and built the military up at the expense of the entire world. There is a place for the US military but it is not killing people but saving and protecting them as the Chinese military ARE NOW DOING!

I'm an elections inspector, partly as a response to the cooked books of the 2006 elections [google: "Landslide denied" for an explanation].

I am sorry to report that since the 1930s our "patriotic" population has not turned out to vote in numbers exceeding- on average- 40%. Most European nations average out at an 80% voter turnout. Their electorate is active and alert, and their governments, as a result, are extremely responsive to the needs of their populations. They participate and they get results. Look at the quality of life there as compared to here for an indication as to whether voting matters.

All of the fascinating and well meaning philosophical political discussions here in this thread have little bearing on the simple fact that our poor nation is being controlled by +/- 1% of the population, that fabled "richest 1%", whose interests are nothing like our own and who could care less what the rest of us deal with, and they're doing it via this pathetic two legged hulking creaking despotic plutocracy that they're keeping alive long enough to write the will in their favor.

They're telling us that Pepsi and Coke are incredibly different products- but when it comes down to it, they all work for the same rich corporate elites, and/or are nepotistically involved with them in business [Dick Cheney makes 10 million dollars a year from the Carlyle Group WHILE IN OFFICE][Monsanto is a revolving door of former politicos who then go back into government].

When you factor in third party "spoilers" [Nader, Perot, et al], who sound enough like what we want to slough off a "reformer's" percentage point or two, it makes a huge difference to that elusive 26% of the popular vote. When you stack the electoral college and hack the Dieboldt machines [and Sequoia], and put voting machine manufacturer employees into oversight boards, you're talking about much larger numbers. And when you do vote caging [google "vote caging Greg Palast"] which disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of legitimate voters who happen to be black, well, you've got it in the bag. Almost.

We have two distinct things we MUST DO starting now [I actually started more than a decade ago].

1. We must each systematically do everything we can to get everyone we know to vote, and reverse our shameful trends as a nation.

2. We must each systematically do everything we can to remove ourselves from the corporate grid, which at this point controls our food, clothing, housing, energy, and healthcare.
The most creative way to start is to get to know your neighbors, and start bartering and trading outside of the mall and the supermarket. Buy local made products, rototill your front lawn [which you never use anyway] and plant beans and broccoli- and whatever else will feed your family, find ways to remove your money from the corporations' cashflow system.
And shoot your tv, preferably out on the front lawn before you rototill it up.

Remove your money- the measure of your life's work- from their pockets, and the vampires will have nothing to feed on.

Bill Moyer: Thank you, once again. As a poet, I've loved your reports on the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festivals. As a former journalist at weekly newspapers, I'll never forget the speech you made in which you related a true story of a Gannett manager who won Manager of the Year after he decimated the Asbury Park Press newsroom. I worked for connected newspapers under his regime, and I had to quit because I saw what the man and his cohorts (including a particularly nasty man who once said he could get reporters "off the streets" if he wanted) were doing to my profession. I thought no one cared about it, so when I read that speech here on CD, I cried, and finally felt vindicated.
ChrisHorton: I agree that more people need to read the truth. I'll write for any independent media that would have me, a former journalist and current adjunct professor of writing skills.
cutbankid: Yes, Our Mother is coming back, and, sister, she is pissed!! I'm helping her come back. We need her. We really need to establish a 21st century version of the matrifocal, peaceful societies of the Mediterranean (about 5,000 years ago). Oh, by the way, contrary to the beliefs of some, Jesus Christ totally respected women--and that even shows through in the wimpy, patriarchy-constrolled and -interpreted "gospels" currently in print. (That is, if anybody's really reading them and not listening to some patriarchal blowhard "interpret" them instead.) By building an ecologically sustainable, peaceful, eqalitarian society, we welcome back both Our Mother and Our True (though embattled) Father.

RE: fakedemocracy May 17th, 2008 4:22 pm

Thank you so much for calling attention to this prior CD article. The amount of articles (and posts) seems to be increasing so it slid by before I noticed. It's one of the scariest, most threatening matters I've seen. I sent it to about 40 people last night, and although a bit long of a read people are already responding. One thing that was pretty incredible in the article is the stat that 10% of the Chinese people are immigrant workers floating around the country seeking work, basically homeless I guess, and excluded from benefits regular workers that already have jobs get. That's 130 million homeless, and the number is expected to rise to 350 million by 2025...and we think we have problems. That's a permanent underclass, but it looks like the intent in this country is to have a slave labor class using the Hispanics, since the blacks seem to have moved up just a wee bit.

Everyone will soon have big brother over their shoulder even more than now so there won't even be an opportunity to steal food if you are desperately hungry. Those who try will find themselves white/black/brown/red/yellow at the absolute bottom of the social/financial food chain as veritable slaves in the prison industrial complex. See article here:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/15/8970/

As one who has spent a lifetime in the electronic media, who has profited by the media consolidation, abiet inadvertantly, Moyers last paragraph on the media has the most personal resonance. The airwaves are a public trust, and they have been perverted to a wing of the entertainment business. The most encouraging bit of news, and it ties Obama the idealist into a specific bit of legislation---voting against the most recent FCC recommendation of further media consolidation. He gets it, and acts on it.
Hopefully this out of control freighttrain that Moyers so eloquently characterizes will lose enough momentum for us to regain our senses.

From "Free Inquiry" Magazine:

We are two-and-a-half generations removed from the horrors of Nazi Germany, although constant reminders jog the consciousness. German and Italian fascism form the historical models that define this twisted political worldview. Although they no longer exist, this worldview and the characteristics of these models have been imitated by protofascist regimes at various times in the twentieth century. Both the original German and Italian models and the later protofascist regimes show remarkably similar characteristics. Although many scholars question any direct connection among these regimes, few can dispute their visual similarities.

Beyond the visual, even a cursory study of these fascist and protofascist regimes reveals the absolutely striking convergence of their modus operandi. This, of course, is not a revelation to the informed political observer, but it is sometimes useful in the interests of perspective to restate obvious facts and in so doing shed needed light on current circumstances.

For the purpose of this perspective, I will consider the following regimes: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.

Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. >From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses.

7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite's behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not.

Note

1. Defined as a "political movement or regime tending toward or imitating Fascism"—Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

References

Andrews, Kevin. Greece in the Dark. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1980. Chabod, Frederico. A History of Italian Fascism. London: Weidenfeld, 1963. Cooper, Marc. Pinochet and Me. New York: Verso, 2001. Cornwell, John. Hitler as Pope. New York: Viking, 1999. de Figuerio, Antonio. Portugal—Fifty Years of Dictatorship. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1976. Eatwell, Roger. Fascism, A History. New York: Penguin, 1995. Fest, Joachim C. The Face of the Third Reich. New York: Pantheon, 1970. Gallo, Max. Mussolini's Italy. New York: MacMillan, 1973. Kershaw, Ian. Hitler (two volumes). New York: Norton, 1999. Laqueur, Walter. Fascism, Past, Present, and Future. New York: Oxford, 1996. Papandreau, Andreas. Democracy at Gunpoint. New York: Penguin Books, 1971. Phillips, Peter. Censored 2001: 25 Years of Censored News. New York: Seven Stories. 2001. Sharp, M.E. Indonesia Beyond Suharto. Armonk, 1999. Verdugo, Patricia. Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death. Coral Gables, Florida: North-South Center Press, 2001. Yglesias, Jose. The Franco Years. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1977.

The media tells us what a few powerful persons want us to know. We know the news is filtered. The government has set up cities that are built to isolate people from others and then in the news we are always hearing about "terror" so thus the powerful set the tone for what Americans think and how they act. Television is a good form of indoctrination into a mythical society. Public schools do their part in indoctrinating kids into a fanciful idea of what a republic is all about. I'm am burned out on all this mess.

#3 An explanation of the history of how our once proud democracy has intentionally been subverted & perverted, and who the culprits are can be found here:

http://iamthewitness.com/doc/RothschildsTimeline-filer/frame.htm

Only when people awaken to the information contained in these three links, understand Reagan was wrong about most things, but spot on when stating, "Nothing in government happens by accident", and the travesties of the Bush administration (I & II) are just a culmination of plans for world domination made long ago, will America & the world right the ship(s) of state.

Here is a further link that shows one of the primary means of domination, and an issue of prime importance that must be addressed. Andrew Jackson stood up to the special interests (of Biddle & his ilk) and by doing so was the only president to completely erase the national debt. Lincoln & Kennedy tried and both were dead from an assassins bullet in less than six months:

http://www.justiceplus.org/bankers.htm

I've tried posting these four related links together several times, but get censored by CD so I guess there must be some information CD (or someone else) doesn't want people to see. Consequentially I'll try posting them one at a time to find which link they find most frightening to them.

Number 6 of Buzzbo's 14 points of fascism is of particular importance to this article. Related links to all 14 points can be found here:

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

#2 Appropriate to this article & discussion is who owns & controls the media which is listed here:

http://www.natvan.com/who-rules-america/wra.pdf

Well glory be, they finally all posted. Why is it that when I try putting them all together I get a "Your comment is awaiting moderation", which I have found means it will display on my page, but not be displayed to anyone else?

Barnburner is right! The youth of today my friend supports Obama cross your fingers.

One thing is abundantly clear and for Obama as well as a America, the politics of fear must end! The American military adventure in the world must come to an end. The money that has been spent on this war alone, never mind the defense budget drains billions for military supremacy that is an idea unbridled in this congress. The USA is the reason for any arms race or self-protection that nations resort to from the USA preemptive war strategy.

Many people here in the USA think to give their vote in the upcoming election to someone who they think represents the absolute truth, maybe Nader? To do that would at the same time elect by default the very same regime that has brought America to this present. After all and under scrutiny this is not a democracy, and the "truth" as presented has more than a few deficiencies.

I have followed patiently the dreamers, the pseudo intellectuals, and the great scholars, on the pages of many blogs, periodicals, and media who think they have the sort of thinking able to help bring the USA back from the horrid mess it has become. There are those, like so many who write, who like me have seen through the sham and the shame of the present global dilemma. Many in these tomes offer their great thinking to help us to see more clearly, good Liberal egalitarian ideas, that might help our situation if adopted and I hope seen by others.

Few here have touched the central issues, this countries greed, the economy and your 401ks. You have been sold this scheme so you could be good Americans and invest in the scam of Wall Street. By so doing you all have become part of this bogus system of economics that continues a way of life that will undo the world civilization, built on the layers of blood of countless generations. This form of economics- which panders to the worst human values- It is equal to one investing in a gambling house, but you have been led to believe it is your way to survival rather than the world's doom. Greed is a very difficult motivation personified by the "killer capitalism" of the USA and fans the seeds of greed, an acquisitive human characteristic that holds nothing or no one sacred, as of course some of you know.

The essence of the fight for human retrieval of hope and security, and the reestablishment of ethics, morals and purpose - so many write about - and who are disgusted with the American system fast becoming the global system - who would like to see change regardless of how questionable or what the downside might be. It is the reason people spend their time on blogs reading petty responses to the huge problems we face. Responses grounded in the rubbish the leaders of this sorry mess of an empire have indoctrinated their people to believe. This empire fueled by an auto-centered culture supported by the advertising indoctrination machine that supports the bogus media.

Those who respond to the articles on blogs, written by people who are surely less than the quality of the true thinkers like, Nietzsche, Camus, Dostoevsky and so many others who have written about human fallibility, the human condition and the abuse of power in America and the West. One of the best amongst them in the modern era is Noam Chomsky, a great American scholar and a champion of truth, who articulated the USA and its power lust for empire in his book "Hegemony or Survival.

Those who write, are people generally frustrated, those who feel helpless in terms of where we see this entire human global adventure going and see clearly that the present American election possibly holds the seeds to genuine change in the USA if not the world should it really should occur? In view of rapid change and absolute necessity in the USA for global survival we have to look at the so-called democratic process. The comparison between the facile political landscape as presented in media and look at this abomination called reality. Power is a strange issue, it can be best represented by its two possibilities, Power to and power "over" as represented by the present US administration. The power to "create" as represented by Obama's rhetoric is the hope of half of the USA. Yes, there are many political power brokers that hold the keys to Obama's success and we must accept the compromise of the imperfect but it is the best there is at this critical time. At the very least he has invigorated Democracy and interest in this failed Democratic, extreme capitalist experiment.

However, many are not fooled by the array of candidates and their claims to complete truth and fairness, this is, as it should be. A healthy pessimism is necessary so long as it is not cynicism. Some of us understand that survival is surely not based in the petty politics practiced on the media, or on-line which is a mirror of the American people and clone of the US Congress. However, many truly care and see clearly why the USA has morphed into a right wing crazed oligarchy. Many people writing her genuinely care about this superpower gone amuck, called the USA. Most of the world's people polled think the USA should be feared as a rogue state. Moreover, there are people in government who are genuinely worried about the extreme of American plutocracy on the world stage.

Sadly, many of us know the slate of candidates running leaves a great deal to be desired. Yes, they have all dissembled, as politicians are wont to do, in the endless necessity for compromise, even to achieve small things for the people. One cannot come from the masses in the USA, be a politician who aspires to become president of this woebegone culture and not have to assume the sickening compromises that would attract support to continue on the quest to accomplish change. It is impossible to be pure but it is possible to hold new truths close to ones fundamental belief system until possible to employ those ideas and idealistic visions of a better world. When people rally behind the leader who becomes transparent in office it is possible for the people begin to believe the leadership of a visionary. America believed in the JFK speech that accomplished the moon landing!

I believe Obama's hope and vision is to restore the USA to its former respected place in the world in a new way. One can see how it is veiled in his rhetoric but it is there. We can only hope that he is not murdered using some obscure assassin. When I think of the charge against Obama that he supported that toad, Joe Lieberman or the many obfuscations, of Clinton and McCain to paint him "black" I have to laugh at the simplistic charges and the lack of understanding of what is necessary to be a politician in the USA.

But there are some who hold out the small hope that if Obama, the least of all the evils presented to the electorate, somehow becomes president he may become another great man in the office and in effect serve the people, the country and the globe. He is the only one, in my view, who holds that possibility, without question, if we join and accept some of the thinking written on the pages of common dreams and other liberal blogs, many agree with this idea. It is so because of his background, his actions in Chicago, despite his missteps, and the fact that this is the final chance at survival for the human family!

We must take this chance and hope that the creeping filth of corporate power in collusion with government and media that has brought humanity to this pass will not assassinate him; if he truly tries to affect the changes that must take place in America and the world, for make no mistake about it: survival is at stake.

Yes, many nations look to different nations and models other than the USA in this for leadership and assistance turning their back on the US and the rejection of the Bush regime. The USA can take on a new challenge, with a new leader, a new vision with a country and a congress that supports him! I believe Obama can assume a place in the world as one of the leaders of the world- rather than, the lone, dogmatic, power driven capitalistic - globalized monster eating everything in its path for it own advantage. I believe that Obama, in recognizing the state of this world, seen with the idealistic vision he espouses, is able to help the USA join with other nations in the world, not as the sole leaders but one as one of its important contributors. The USA is a technological giant it is time to use its strength to assist the world, as it once did, not only for its GDP but also the truth of its responsibility and concern for the problems humanity confronts.

Now, as never before, to the present degree, a great leader and vision is required to help draw the world back from the nightmare now taking place. The climate, energy, food, water, the oceans, forests, human health, world poverty and so many other issues will require a man that has the youth and the guts to try to bring about the change in the USA needed for the future generations who see his vision. Change is fundamental to his campaign alone, since he has captured the belief of so many whom once believed it to be impossible. However, in the end it all may be too late!