Character and Judgment

Dear Editor,


Tired of racism and desiring to live ‘all together’ in peace, most of us would like to appoint a Black president, evidencing we matured as a society and left behind a terrible part of our history, but it has to be the right person.

We can’t chose a Candidate based on what he/she promises, because as political campaigns go, anyone will promise whatever they think will get them elected. Circumstances will ‘change’ later, so we can’t hold them to their promises. We need to chose a president based on character and judgment as evidenced by their record, not by what or how they say it.

Past performance is the best indicator of future conduct. With so many communication specialists, social scientists and others telling the candidates what to say, how to move, how to dress, etc. there is very little of the actual Candidate that we get to see or hear. What they can’t customize tough, is what they did: let the record speak for them!

Barack Obama ran for office and took the chair of someone who could have been actively involved in creating new legislation, but he voted ‘present’ more times than others, missing on opportunities to contribute his intellect. Barack showed no interest in visiting our soldiers and warzones, until invited by McCain. Still, he never visited south of our border any county in Latin-America. Barack took more money from Fanny and Freddy, and opposed regulating them; in fact he was part of the influence on those two companies to give mortgages to people who could not (and did not) repay them. Barack surrounded himself with Reverent Wright, Bill Ayers, Rezko and Acorn would indicate (at least) poor judgment if not something sinister. The bottom line is that Barack showed poor judgment on his choice of friends. Since his mistakes helped him (at least initially) propel his political career and buy a house that he could not otherwise afford, we find hard to trust his judgment and even shadows his character. Barack has a record of voting ‘present’ (a wasted seat in the Senate) or strictly along party lines. These are not real basis to select him as our next President.

John McCain chose to stay with his troops, for 5 years of tortures in a Vietnamese jail, out of sheer character. He was put to a test that most of us would not pass, and he aced it. He was given the choice to walk out of jail, free as a result of his privileged position being a son and grandson of admirals. He would not leave unless his troops were let go with, so they all stayed in jail. This is one of the highest moral standards I ever hear off: we was put to the test in a situation as real as it gets, and he passed. McCain is an independent, he votes his consciousness and he teams up with anyone from any party, to follow his ideals. He voted against his fellow Republicans and along with Democrats.

The differences in judgment, if not character, are all too obvious. If we find Barack compelling because of his impeccable speech, wide smile and command of the microphone, we need to remember that no successful sham was ever pulled by anybody who does not meet that exact description: anyone else could not con anybody. Barack also comes from a minority (he is half white, but he sees himself only as a black person), adding to our shared feeling of supporting the underprivileged and the underdog. As an immigrant myself, I know first-hand of the generosity and openness of this great Nation to welcome and help immigrants and minorities. We are a good nation because we sympathize and want to help those who need it the most, but again, this is not enough reason to appoint somebody as our President.

Obama supporters, wish against reason, voting with their hearts that he is the right person for the job, regardless of his record and known associates. The value of Obama is not on what he did or even what he says, but how he says it. He is a masterful speaker and extraordinary communicator. Are those qualities enough to be the President?

As for 'spread the wealth around' socialistic doctrine, Barack’s' 1,5M mansion could be a good start. He should lead by example. His follower Warren Buffet could shed his last billions to the benefit of the poor as well, as he still has more billions that he can spend.

If we love America, we need to accept and embrace the principles that made America what it is today. That includes the encouragement of individual initiative and the repulsion of socialistic principles. As a President put it ‘when you give something for free to someone, you are killing their spirit’. That is what America is all about, and if you love it, do not tamper with it. By his actions and associations, Barack is a socialist in (poor) disguise. His closest associates: his reverend, his wife and his friend Ayers, they all vocalized their disdain and contempt for America. Why are we to believe that he is any different?

If we chose our President, the Commander in Chief of the world’s last superpower and the leader of the free world, based on irrational ‘thinking’, there will be hell to pay. We will destroy the basis of what made America what it is, and will extinguish the beacon America is to the desperate, oppressed, tyrannized people in four corners of the world.

Yes, we do want to put racism behind and show it to the world. We do want a Black president, but this one is not it, or not yet.

Wall Street Bailout

Agreeing to this bailout means that we played capitalism, and we accept that it failed. This is a repudiation of capitalism and embracing socialism. This is admitting to the failure of our way of life and concedes to China, the old Soviet Union and Cuba.
For too many years we saw the self-important, legends-in-their-own-eyes, arrogant wallstreeters driving their red Ferraris and burning fuel by the hundreds of gallons on their cigarette boats. We were wondering how people who did not create anything, did not produce a single sack of potatoes or planted a single tree, who did not add any value to the world, could live that way. Now we know, they party and they leave it to us to pay for the musicians.
This is the largest money heist in the history of the world, rushed down our throats because it is an ‘emergency’. We should not allow them to get away with it.
The value of true corporations did not disappear overnight. The money that is not being lent did not get sucked into a hole in the earth. The money is still there, and money that is not let, generates no interest. They can hold to the money for so long, then they will need to lend it again. This is playing chicken with the rest of us, waiting to see us blink first.
The money is somewhere, and can’t stay still for too long, or they really have to close their doors.
They are scaring us, this are the departing shots of President Bush and his friends, who want one last bounty before leaving office. Vote no, no way, no how.

NATO membership for new Eastern European Democracies

Ukraine’s place in NATO should not be put into question because of the noise, disagreements and disorder in Government: all those are healthy traits of any democracy, especially a young one. Do we prefer the silence and compliance under Stalin, Mussolini or Putin? Democracy is messy, and we are very happy for that. Let differences of opinion clash! Both, Tymoshenko and Yushchenko are positive forces supporting freedom and democracy, on their own rights and with their own flavors. They are not that different, in essence.

Angela Merkel should find no excuse on the internal debate of Ukraine, or in the invasion of Russia into Georgia, to negate NATO membership to the young democracies of Eastern Europe. Mrs. Merkel, coincidentally, made the announcement that a plan for membership will not be offered, when her gas supplier Putin was at her side… This is coward, underhanded and cruel. This is a sad reminding of how lightly Germany decided on the freedom and lives of countless other people in a non-too-distant past, that we would all like to think will never repeat.

Georgia, Ukraine and the other nascent democracies of the former Soviet Union are fragile and easy prey for a sick, power-hungry and expanding Russia who is seeking to reinstate their former empire. Negating them the protection of NATO membership is ‘giving’ them, ‘delivering’ them to Russia in a silver tray. Angela Merkel thinks and feels so little of the liberty and lives of so many millions of people who are craving for a better life and desperately need protection from their former abuser waiting to strike.

Russian claimed a ‘privileged zone of interest’, meaning: peoples and nations that ‘belong’ to them, which they can dominate while asking everyone else to stay clear. Germany is acquiescing with Russia’s plan by coldly and with absolute lack of compassion, denying such protection to those countries.

The newly liberated countries of Eastern Europe have two choices: accept (again) the ruthless and cruel Russian dominance, or join NATO. Germany is deciding for them. This is sickening to the human spirit, bringing Germany yet to a new low.

It is also stupid. Russia will only grow larger and stronger with the addition of Ukraine and others to their domain. This will mean a larger and more powerful enemy for the democratic world.

The internal dynamics in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and others will tilt towards their former oppressor, or to the West. Mrs. Merkel is telling the population of those countries to give up, give in and accept the tyranny of Russia yet again, as she is closing their hopes and path to the democratic world. These are millions of lives, now and in the future, that will live in fear, domination, abuse and may not live at all if sent to other ridiculous wars (like Afghanistan or Chechnya). Good job Angela! May the other countries of the NATO alliance persuade Merkel and the other shortsighted leaders in the West, of all the implications: humane, political, economic and historical of negating ascension to NATO and EC to those young countries that so are looking to them as their last hope to contain Russia, evolve into full fledged democracies, and build their societies and families in freedom.