Reading data

There’s a lot of difference between expecting something to happen, hoping for something to happen, assuming that something will happen, and predicting something to happen; logically or otherwise. While predicting on the basis of logical assumptions is all right, I simply don’t understand how some folks risk their reputation by not only predicting something publicly, but saying it with so much confidence, you’d think they replying “yes” to being question “are you alive”. Here are some “outrageous predictions” which backfired on those who made them (you may or may not have read about them; nevertheless, worth reading):

Somewhere in mid 2007, Dennis Blair and Kenneth Lieberthal had predicted that “The risks to maritime flows of oil are far smaller than assumed”. They gave several reasons to back their words. These were: It would require a naval power having the strength that matched the US, to seriously disrupt oil shipments. Secondly, limited regional conflicts wouldn’t much affect traffic, simply ruling out any economic effects if terrorists attacked the shipping industry. They even said that tankers are not so vulnerable. What happened? November’08 saw a group of Somali pirates hijacking a Saudi oil tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil in the Indian Ocean. Surprisingly, they came only in “inflatable rafts”! As per the Piracy Reporting Center, ship hijacking by pirates has actually quadrupled this year! Ironically, the essay was called “Smooth Sailing: The world’s shipping lanes are safe”.

In the beginning of 2008, BusinessWeek had predicted that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will enter the presidential race on the basis of his financial power and organization; which was expected to impress voters and stun competitors. They also predicted that Michael would not win but lose by a marginal number to John McCain, Arizona’s maverick senator. None of this came true! John never contested the election and as far as presidency is concerned, we all know that the winner is Barrack Obama.

Jim Cramer, one of the popular CNBC host informed publicly in March’08 that Bear Sterns is not in trouble and no one in their right minds should disinvest from it. What happened? Within six days, the stocks price went down by ninety percent and was finally sold to JPMorgan Chase for pennies.

In mid 2008, Arjun Murti, the oil analyst at Goldman Sachs predicted oil to touch $200 a barrel within 6 to 24 months. As of writing this, it seems to touch a record low of $40.

The British newsweekly ran an editorial praising the quality of Kenya’s democracy and predicted that it might set an example for the rest of the continent. This came just a week before the presidential elections. Not by a long shot! What followed was a horrible month of riot and bloodshed. Voter fraud and ballot stuffing were some great “unpredictions”, if such a word exists in the dictionary. Over 800 people (official figures only) were killed and a phenomenal 200,000 were injured and /or harmed in the carnage. The country was deeply divided and the government was delegitimized, with power shared between the President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, his challenger.

Finally, if you remember the case of the Large Hydron Collider, the scientist Walter Wagner predicted that there was a great possibility of creating destructive theoretical anomalies like black holes, strangelets and deSitter space transitions. This would alter matter and destroy the planet. He had filed a lawsuit against the European Organization for Nuclear Research which built the collider. What happened? The machine was turned on in Sept’08 and we are all still alive and kicking!

Nirjara Rustom moderates the political news section of http://www.bharatbhasha.com at http://www.bharatbhasha.com/politics.php

The Media has a way of portraying a terrorist as an Islamic fundamentalist who envies the rights and freedoms given to those who live in America. I want you to diminish the subliminal and commercial images in you brain and open mindfully read this passage. The definition of a terrorist is someone who is someone who causes terror upon others. A suicide bomber driving a car into an embassy is not the only form of terrorism. There is a man whose face is hidden from the public. This man can be serving the Legislative branch of our government. It could be a guy in living in a big white house. There is even a chance that this man can be your neighbor, but you will never know.

Islam. What are the first images that enter your brain? You instantly picture a man with a beard and vile facial expressions, women are fully veiled, and children are held against their will, countries that are going through economic drought and a system with laws that defy humanity. A misinterpreted idea implanted in your brain.

Terrorism in the Middle East is NOT BASED ON RELIGION. It is based on an interpretation of a religion. Interpretation is dependant on mentality. Your mentality is influenced by your surroundings. In a way it is also manipulated by politics. A cycle of pessimism controls the lands to due to its recent history.

Before the crusades, the Islamic empire was the most advanced and intellectual region of their time. They brought the first hospitals, mathematical methods/formulas, architecture, first medicines, even the first documented philosophy for feminism. After the crusades, the European empires went through an era of Enlightenment and Renaissance. They discovered through the crusades that they were far behind due to the power of the Catholic Church. The people with in their hemisphere were still in denial over the solar system. History books claim that they inherit most of their ideas from Asia and Africa because the trade routes in the Middle East. They refuse to acknowledge what ideas were adopted from the Middle East.

Most of the theories on medicine were gained from the Middle East. John Locke was a well known philosopher whose idea strongly influenced the constitution of our country. His belief in liberty, pursuit of property, and right to replace government with a new one came from The Ottoman Empire. The empire’s economy was weakened from alternate sea routes through The New World and Asia. The Middle East was politically influenced by manipulation from intimidation tactics formed after the crusades. There were new forms of technology and a completely different age that neglected the Middle East. The Middle East’s influence on the world slowly vanished.

Through out the age of imperialism through the end of the cold war the Middle East grew a passionate form of hatred towards the super powers of the world. Greed from foreign occupation and political influence, the Middle East suddenly grew to understand the reality of their situation. Iran’s government was manipulated for oil, Saudi Arabia still holds a grudge on England from previous history, the issues in Palestine, Egypt was fooled into debt from France for the construction of the Suez Canal, Afghanistan was used by America, etc… Islam promotes a concept of brotherhood that brings them together, but the outcome can never become positive when you approach an issue negatively. They justify every action with religion, but their laws are in reality constructed by POLITICS.

Mullahs in Islamic governments have gained much power. Many people perceived the corruption of a capitalistic society around liberalism. Eventually people saw the liberal lifestyle as an opposition of Islam, but modernization would have never existed if it weren’t for the Islamic Empires. Remember, religion is based on interpretation but politics formed it into a tool used to control their people. There is a cycle of pessimistic philosophies that are easily influenced. The chaos with in the areas of the Middle East can be repaired if ignorance is demolished, but it is difficult when most of the people are very emotional. Aristotle was the one who stated the emotions overrides logic.

The ignorance of a manipulated soldier part of Al Queda no different then the intellectual limitation conveyed with in the minds of U.S troops. This does not include the lower class citizens who need financial security. Then again, most of the soldiers’ part of both sides has suffered from poverty. Both believe they should die for a cause that does not exist. The leaders from both militant forces are rich executives. For example Osama and Bush, Osama is a billionaire and Bush is strongly connected with oil industries. Their “rivalry” was sparked by business, but the media makes it appear like we are defending freedom. These are same tactics used to fabricate the cold war.

They are referred to as “terrorist”. Terrorism is the idea of causing terror. America is the number one supplier of manufactured weaponry in the entire world. Some times, you have to look at a complex issue in the simplest forms to establish an opinion. We prohibit the idea of countries creating weapons of mass destruction. Iran is a threat to us, but we will not tolerate those creating weapons. If you look at this conflict in Iran’s perspective, you will see the hypocrisy. America has numerous weapons of mass destruction. Iran wants only two, but their scrutinized from just the THOUGHT of using one WHEN WE HAVE ALREADY DESIGNATED SEVERAL DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, villages in Afghanistan, areas with in Iraq, etc…

Issues must be seen from every angle of the problem. Perception is a fundamental principle towards intelligence and the greatest enemy of ignorance.Look beyond what you hear from the media. Allow the voices of the deceased (whose lives and human rights have been neglected) to echo in your search for the truth. The truth is hidden, but it is not lost. There is only one purpose of the passage and that is to encourage you to READ!

The Lost Dream

The Media has a way of portraying a terrorist as an Islamic fundamentalist who envies the rights and freedoms given to those who live in America. I want you to diminish the subliminal and commercial images in you brain and open mindfully read this passage. The definition of a terrorist is someone who is someone who causes terror upon others. A suicide bomber driving a car into an embassy is not the only form of terrorism. There is a man whose face is hidden from the public. This man can be serving the Legislative branch of our government. It could be a guy in living in a big white house. There is even a chance that this man can be your neighbor, but you will never know.

Islam. What are the first images that enter your brain? You instantly picture a man with a beard and vile facial expressions, women are fully veiled, and children are held against their will, countries that are going through economic drought and a system with laws that defy humanity. A misinterpreted idea implanted in your brain.

Terrorism in the Middle East is NOT BASED ON RELIGION. It is based on an interpretation of a religion. Interpretation is dependant on mentality. Your mentality is influenced by your surroundings. In a way it is also manipulated by politics. A cycle of pessimism controls the lands to due to its recent history.

Before the crusades, the Islamic empire was the most advanced and intellectual region of their time. They brought the first hospitals, mathematical methods/formulas, architecture, first medicines, even the first documented philosophy for feminism. After the crusades, the European empires went through an era of Enlightenment and Renaissance. They discovered through the crusades that they were far behind due to the power of the Catholic Church. The people with in their hemisphere were still in denial over the solar system. History books claim that they inherit most of their ideas from Asia and Africa because the trade routes in the Middle East. They refuse to acknowledge what ideas were adopted from the Middle East.

Most of the theories on medicine were gained from the Middle East. John Locke was a well known philosopher whose idea strongly influenced the constitution of our country. His belief in liberty, pursuit of property, and right to replace government with a new one came from The Ottoman Empire. The empire’s economy was weakened from alternate sea routes through The New World and Asia. The Middle East was politically influenced by manipulation from intimidation tactics formed after the crusades. There were new forms of technology and a completely different age that neglected the Middle East. The Middle East’s influence on the world slowly vanished.

Through out the age of imperialism through the end of the cold war the Middle East grew a passionate form of hatred towards the super powers of the world. Greed from foreign occupation and political influence, the Middle East suddenly grew to understand the reality of their situation. Iran’s government was manipulated for oil, Saudi Arabia still holds a grudge on England from previous history, the issues in Palestine, Egypt was fooled into debt from France for the construction of the Suez Canal, Afghanistan was used by America, etc… Islam promotes a concept of brotherhood that brings them together, but the outcome can never become positive when you approach an issue negatively. They justify every action with religion, but their laws are in reality constructed by POLITICS.

Mullahs in Islamic governments have gained much power. Many people perceived the corruption of a capitalistic society around liberalism. Eventually people saw the liberal lifestyle as an opposition of Islam, but modernization would have never existed if it weren’t for the Islamic Empires. Remember, religion is based on interpretation but politics formed it into a tool used to control their people. There is a cycle of pessimistic philosophies that are easily influenced. The chaos with in the areas of the Middle East can be repaired if ignorance is demolished, but it is difficult when most of the people are very emotional. Aristotle was the one who stated the emotions overrides logic.

The ignorance of a manipulated soldier part of Al Queda no different then the intellectual limitation conveyed with in the minds of U.S troops. This does not include the lower class citizens who need financial security. Then again, most of the soldiers’ part of both sides has suffered from poverty. Both believe they should die for a cause that does not exist. The leaders from both militant forces are rich executives. For example Osama and Bush, Osama is a billionaire and Bush is strongly connected with oil industries. Their “rivalry” was sparked by business, but the media makes it appear like we are defending freedom. These are same tactics used to fabricate the cold war.

They are referred to as “terrorist”. Terrorism is the idea of causing terror. America is the number one supplier of manufactured weaponry in the entire world. Some times, you have to look at a complex issue in the simplest forms to establish an opinion. We prohibit the idea of countries creating weapons of mass destruction. Iran is a threat to us, but we will not tolerate those creating weapons. If you look at this conflict in Iran’s perspective, you will see the hypocrisy. America has numerous weapons of mass destruction. Iran wants only two, but their scrutinized from just the THOUGHT of using one WHEN WE HAVE ALREADY DESIGNATED SEVERAL DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, villages in Afghanistan, areas with in Iraq, etc…

Issues must be seen from every angle of the problem. Perception is a fundamental principle towards intelligence and the greatest enemy of ignorance.Look beyond what you hear from the media. Allow the voices of the deceased (whose lives and human rights have been neglected) to echo in your search for the truth. The truth is hidden, but it is not lost. There is only one purpose of the passage and that is to encourage you to READ!

The Lost Dream

When Africans first arrived in this country on slave ships, no one would have ever dreamed of this day. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s when African Americans struggled to simply obtain the right to vote in this country, no one would have ever dreamed that this day would come during their lifetime.

The triumphs and tribulations of African Americans have always been a result of the struggles of our ancestors and our faith in God. When our ancestors were struck viciously with whips on plantations, it was their faith and perseverance that got them through the dark days of slavery. When previous generations of African American protestors were hosed down and attacked by police dogs, it was faith in God’s promises and their own personal strength that got them through the horrific days of the Jim Crow South.

As gospel star Marvin Sapp sings in his 2008 smash hit, “Never Would Have Made It,” as result of that faith we are stronger, wiser and much better. And on November 4, 2008, we finally made it. The unthinkable has happened. Barack Obama is the 44th President of the greatest country on the planet. However, as many celebrate in the streets of America, we must remember that the accomplishments that America is celebrating is a direct result of the blood, sweat and tears of those who came before us.

For Obama, it was the dedication of his late grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, that ensured that he would have a better life than she experienced. It was the times when she would go without purchasing that new car or dress for herself, just so he could enjoy the things that she did not have during her childhood. That sacrifice allowed him to attend Columbia University, and later Harvard University School of Law. That sacrifice gave him the belief that he could break down all barriers, even the one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. As a result, that sacrifice has changed America for the better.

For my family it was my grandmothers, Mazie Necessary and the late Gragulee Smith who took on extra work so that their children would not have to work and could receive the education that they were denied. Obama’s presidential victory is a direct result of the sacrifices that previous generation made so that we could enjoy a day like November 4, 2008.

Nevertheless, it will take more than a presidential victory to correct the problems that exist in the Black community. The fact that a descendant of Africa can become the leader of the free world should prove to all children that they can achieve anything that they put their mind to, but it will take hard work, sacrifice, and determination and of course hope.

It was the hope of people like Andrew Young, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Congressman John Lewis that culminated in so many young African Americans becoming active in the political process and made such a day possible because we never would have made it without the sacrifices that all have made to make America the country it is today.

To discuss the presidential election visit www.regalmag.com/forum.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Opinion Section

In 2004, religious faith and values may have very well decided the election between President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival John Kerry. Controversial issues such as abortion, same sex marriage and stem cell research are the reasons, many political pundits believe, that states such as Ohio and Florida voted red.

However, in 2008 abortion is still a hot-button issue, as is the definition of marriage and stem cell research. How do the candidates stand on the issues of life and how will their religious faith affect their possible presidency?

Obama, who did not grow up in a religious household, has since embraced the teachings of Christianity, and in June 2006 delivered what some consider the most important speech by a politician on religious faith since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote on June 30, 2006 that, “(Obama’s speech on faith) may be the most important pronouncement by a Democrat on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy’s Houston speech in 1960 declaring his independence from the Vatican … Obama offers the first faith testimony I have heard from any politician that speaks honestly about the uncertainties of belief.”

In the speech, delivered at an evangelical church, Obama spoke about his own religious conversion and doubts, and the need for religious faith to unite Americans and not divide them.

“We think of faith as a source of comfort and understanding but find our expressions of faith sowing division; we believe ourselves to be a tolerant people even as racial, religious, and cultural tensions roil the landscape. And instead of resolving these tensions or mediating these conflicts, our politics fans them, exploits them, and drives us further apart,” Obama wrote in his book The Audacity of Hope.

Nevertheless, McCain’s religious beliefs also seems to play a huge role in his politics as he sees human dignity and the sanctity of life as important issues for the next president. McCain believes Roe v. Wade is flawed and should be overturned. He plans to appoint federal judges who will reverse the 1973 ruling on abortion, and give the question of abortion’s legality to the 50 states.

“At its core, abortion is a human tragedy,” said the Republican nominee. “To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level.”

The Arizona senator, who with his wife Cindy adopted a little girl from Mother Teresa’s Bangladesh orphanage in 1993, believe adoption should be encouraged for any woman contemplating abortion. He also wants to remove barriers that prevent interracial and inter-ethnic adoptions.

Religious faith is at the core of the same sex marriage debate. According to McCain’s official website, “The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.”

Joe Biden stated that he and Obama favor the traditional definition of marriage, but Obama has stated that he opposes constitutional amendments that define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Furthermore, McCain favors banning the intentional creation of human embryos for scientific research. He also favors banning all forms of human cloning. McCain believes that schools and libraries should block all children from accessing Internet pornography and favors requiring sexual predators to register all online accounts in a national database, which would result in a 10 year prison sentence if they fail to register.

As a result of both candidates’ religious faith, very few will doubt whether values will play a role in their administration, but only time will tell if religious faith will play a role in the election results like it did four years ago.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Community Section

Over recent years, the sad reality that the planet is getting warmer and several world treasures have become endangered has made the search for energy alternatives an international priority. Domestically, excessively expensive gas prices have further fueled the need for alternative energy solutions in order to lighten the load on Americans’ pocketbooks.

Barack Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain, both agree that the time is now to solve America’s energy dependency and need for energy alternatives, but sometimes disagree on the way to achieve that goal.

From the beginning of this historic campaign McCain has favored expanding domestic oil exploration, stating that the Outer Continental Shelf contains 77 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.

“In recent days I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington Project—named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025,” said McCain in a speech on June 25.

At the second debate, Obama appeared to soften his stance on more offshore drilling, but has stated that he believes that will not solve the entire problem and that we will need to develop more energy alternatives to lessen the effects of global warming.

The Obama-Biden energy plan would provide temporary relief for Americans struggling to fuel their automobiles; create five million new jobs dedicated to developing clean energy; put one million hybrid cars on the road by 2015; make sure that at least ten percent of our electricity comes from renewable energy sources; and like McCain would implement a cap-and-trade program that would reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas by 80 percent by the year 2050.

According to McCain’s official website, “A cap-and-trade system harnesses human ingenuity in the pursuit of alternatives to carbon-based fuels. Market participants are allotted total permits equal to the cap on greenhouse gas emissions. If they can invent, improve, or acquire a way to reduce their emissions, they can sell their extra permits for cash. The profit motive will coordinate the efforts of venture capitalists, corporate planners, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists on the common motive of reducing emissions.”

McCain’s cap-and-trade system would include electric power, transportation fuels, and the business sector, which is responsible for just fewer than 90 percent of all emissions.

However, the candidates’ policies on energy alternatives differ greatly on whether to enact a windfall profits tax on big oil companies. Senator Obama would enact a windfall profits tax in order to provide a “$1,000 emergency energy rebate to American families,” according to his website. Nevertheless, McCain believes a windfall tax on the oil industry would result in further dependence on foreign oil. “(Former President) Jimmy Carter put a windfall tax in place with little to no useful results,” according to the Arizona senator’s website.

The Arizona senator believes Americans need to make clean coal technology a priority by committing resources to advance this critical technology. He also believes that America should be the leader in green jobs, stating that “green jobs and green technology will be vital to our economic future.”

Whomever the future president may be, will undoubtedly have to find suitable energy alternatives for a nation that is struggling with the pain at the pump and the sad affects of a much warmer planet.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Community Section

Throughout the historic 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama and John McCain have disagreed and debated over issues such as the war in Iraq, the economy, and faith and values, rarely agreeing on a problem or solution. However, when it comes to the need to reform United States immigration laws, both candidates seem to be on the same wavelength and both are determined to secure U.S. borders and provide a path to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented immigrants and their families.

According to barackobama.com, the problems with immigration laws include a forty percent explosion in undocumented immigrants since 2000, broken immigration bureaucracy and unsuccessful immigration raids, which produced only 3,600 arrests in 2006.

Obama said, “The time to fix our broken immigration system is now … We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace … But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America … Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should.”

The Democratic nominee wants to secure the borders by adding needed personnel, infrastructure and technology at U.S. borders and ports. Obama and running mate Joe Biden want to improve the immigration system by keeping immigrant families together and providing business owners with the workers they need to contribute to the economy. In addition, “Obama and Biden will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants,” according to his website.

The Democratic ticket would also change immigration laws by requiring that undocumented immigrants pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line if they want to become United States citizens. Furthermore, Obama and Biden want to work with Mexico to promote economic development so that immigrants will not feel the need to enter the U.S. illegally to earn suitable wages to support their families.

McCain and running mate Sarah Palin also favor reforming immigration laws to promote a secure border, a path to citizenship and punishment for companies that hire undocumented workers.

“As you know, I and many other colleagues twice attempted to pass comprehensive immigration legislation to fix our broken borders; ensure respect for the laws of this country; recognize the important economic contribution of immigration laborers; apprehend those who came here illegally to commit crimes; and deal practically and humanely with those who came here, as my distant ancestors did, to build a better, safer life for their families, without excusing the fact they came here illegally or granting them privileges before those who have been waiting their turn outside the country,” McCain said.

To secure U.S. borders McCain will set guidelines to secure the border through physical and virtual barriers, deploy unmanned aerial vehicles in border states, and continue the utilization of the US-VISIT visitor security program.

McCain and Palin would prosecute “bad-actor” employers who hire undocumented workers by creating a database that would quickly verify a job applicant’s work eligibility status. The Republican would also reform immigration laws by creating a temporary worker program that meets the labor needs in this country by ensuring that students who are educated in America have the opportunity to work in this country upon graduation and reforming caps for the H-1B visa program to rise and fall with the demand for workers and market conditions.

And like their Democratic counterparts, the Republican ticket would change immigration laws by requiring all undocumented workers to enroll in a program to resolve their citizenship status, which will require them to pay fines, learn English, pass a citizenship course and guarantee that no one who enters this country illegally will get a green card before those applying legally.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Community Section

It is the American dream. To buy a beautiful house with the white picket fence, and raise a family in a safe neighborhood, where crime is almost nonexistent was reality for many families of generations past but unfortunately has become wishful thinking in the 21st century.

With the recent murders of singer/actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother in their Chicago home, Americans have once again come to the sad realization that no one is above tragedy and anyone could become the next victim of a violent crime. In many presidential elections, the issues that candidates often stress are those on a national level such as the economy or national security. But what would the presidential candidates do to address crime prevention and assist state and local law enforcement officials in making American streets a safer place to live?

According to Barack Obama’s official website, he and running mate Joe Biden would fully fund the COPS program to put 50,000 police officers on American streets and also address the issue of police brutality that is so prevalent in communities of color. As a result of understaffing at many police departments, the Democratic ticket will also encourage more young people to enter the field of law enforcement.

Republican John McCain also supports federally funding state and local law enforcement agencies but believes rampant earmarking of federal funds to the local level has reduced funding to those jurisdictions that are in most need. According to his official website, “John McCain will restore credibility to these grant programs by ensuring funding is based on need and provided to the most worthy jurisdictions based on a peer-review of grant applications.”

Both McCain and Obama also support reducing crime recidivism by enacting programs that help former inmates readapt to society. According to BarackObama.com, “Obama and Biden will create a prison-to-work incentive program, modeled on the successful Welfare-to-Work Partnership and work to reform correctional systems to break down barriers for ex-offenders to find employment.”

Consequently, McCain supported the Second Chance Act, which will provide up to $360 million for reentry services from 2009-2010. The Second Chance Act funds many faith-based programs that help former prisoners transition back into mainstream society by providing job training, counseling and mentors. Many of these programs have reported reducing recidivism rates by 50 percent. According to JohnMcCain.com, the annual cost of incarcerating a prisoner is more than $20,000.

Obama plans to address crime prevention in many cities by respecting the Second Amendment rights of gun owners but at the same time keeping guns away from helpless children. According to his website, “(Obama and Biden) support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent; as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not our streets.”

The Democrats also wants to see an end to racial profiling, as Obama passed a law in his home state that required the Illinois Department of Transportation to record the ethnicities, gender and age of all drivers stopped.

To post your opinion on the presidential election visit www.regalmag.com/forum.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Community Section

The Obama transition team, watching the financial crisis continue to deepen, realized they had to send quickly a message of assurance to try to bring stability to the markets. Consequently a popular pick was chosen for the Secretary of Treasury: Tim Geithner, who has Wall Street’s vote of confidence. Mr. Geithner has been a career Treasury official since 1998. In November 2003, he became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversees the NY markets. He is an intelligent man who understands the financial crisis and the problems creating the credit crunch we are facing. He worked under Robert Rubin and Larry Summers in the Clinton Administration.

Incredibly, even Karl Rove approves of Obama’s economic team!

Barack Obama made another wise choice in keeping Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, to provide a measure of continuity for fighting our two wars. He also persuaded Marine General James Jones to take the post of National Security Adviser.

Obama seems to have absorbed one of the arguments Hillary Clinton’s campaign made against him; that “it takes experience to make change happen”. He will begin his Presidency by surrounding himself with intelligent and politically adept people who have a demonstrated ability to get things done. In this present crisis, America needs its best and brightest. The fact that he is building a team of qualified, strongly opinionated pragmatists says “he can handle disagreement and in fact welcomes it”. Obama has been self-assured enough to appoint as Secretary of State, his previous rival, Hillary Clinton, who more than demonstrated her own toughness by giving the president-elect a running battle last spring.

Barack Obama has been reading Doris Kearns Godwin’s book “Team of rivals” which, by his own description is “a spectacular book on leadership, showing how Lincoln crafted a diverse group of people who wanted to mess with him, but still they were competent”. In the formation of his Cabinet, Obama is following the model provided by Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, demonstrating a profound change from George Bush, who generally preferred “Yes men,” to considerations of competence. In this, Barack Obama is demonstrating a greatness of spirit that America sorely needs. When he says “buck stops here,” I believe he means it.

A few have expressed concern that Obama is relying too much on veterans of President Clinton’s administration. Does that necessarily make it like traveling back to the (Clintonite) future? The fact is, where else could Barack Obama find “tested experts” that share his ideology? Certainly, not many in the Bush administration! Some hold the romantic notion that ordinary smarties, with mere academic qualifications untested in the rough world of politics, should come to Washington, roll up their sleeves and clean house! With so many problems to solve, “learning on the job” would cost this country too much.

The genius of America is that once every 30 years or so, it’s been able to come up with a great President just about the time we really need one. So far, we’ve been lucky. Barack Obama is showing some signs, now, that maybe we got lucky again. God knows we need it!

Coddie Adwar

Coddie Adwar writes exclusively for THE COYOTE REPORT, a POLITICAL NEWS BLOG, the home of “GOOD RIDDANCE BUSH, THE END OF AN ERROR” bumper stickers. and “W GOT HIS WAR” e-book written by Charles Edmund Coyote Get a FREE CHAPTER on how the Bush administration let OSAMA BIN LADEN escape from Tora Bora

In October of 2000, al-Qaeda managed to blow a 40 ft by 40 ft hole in the side of USS Cole while it was at port in Yemen. The terrorists were seeking a military confrontation with the United States, but the Cole bombing did not bring that result. Less than a year later, al-Qaeda operatives were positioning themselves inside the United States, preparing an attack of much larger scale. Al-Qaeda’s plans were partially intercepted by US intelligence through the chatter of electronic intercepts. An al-Qaeda operative, referring to the failure of the Yemeni attack to produce the desired reaction, was overheard saying: “Don’t worry; we’re planning something so big now that the U.S. will have to respond…”

At the time, Judith Miller, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter then employed by New York Times, was working on an in-depth article about the al-Qaeda network. She says that during the weekend immediately preceding July 4th 2001 (two months before the 9/11 attacks) officials within the White House’s Counter-terrorism Agency were trying to alert the president and other senior officials, but had decided to leak their concerns since they were being listened to.

CBS News reported, on July 26 2001, that the FBI had determined that the threat was serious enough to prompt enhanced security measures for certain officials. By August, the FBI knew that the pending attack would involve airplanes.

By early August 2001, the CIA had developed enough clarity about the threat to specifically warn the President. They titled their Presidential Daily Briefing for August 6, 2001 “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S” in the hope that the president would be concerned enough to energize the governmental agencies responsible for security and head off the attack. President Bush, who spent an estimated 42% of his first year vacationing in his ranch in Crawford, Texas, was not pleased by the in–person intrusion of the CIA agent who was sent to present the analysis. Bush glared at the CIA briefer and the snapped: “All right, you have covered your ass”. When the agent cleared out, the President went back to fishing and working on a speech about the stem-cell research, putting the CIA’s warning in the distant back of his mind. Source: Ron Suskind, “The One Percent Solution”.

As far back as 1995, Philippine police in Manila had uncovered an al Qaeda related plot to hijack commercial airliners and fly them into American buildings. The plan was named “Project Bojinka” and the World Trade Center was specifically mentioned as a target. This information was turned over to U.S. Intelligence, but no preventive measures were ever ordered, even though the CIA was informed the attack would involve airplanes…

The attacks of 9/11 have helped authoritarian countries increase their control over their people and countries they are fighting, under the pretext of defending themselves against terror. It also helped the Bush administration impose measures that greatly expanded the Federal government’s control over the American population. The attacks also provided an excuse to start the desired war on Iraq. But as the American people became aware that the Bush administration had misrepresented the facts used to take America into that Iraq war, they lost a significant degree of trust in their own government. That led to further questions about the 9/11 attacks and fueled the 9/11 conspiracy movement at the heart of which are the lies of the Bush Administration and the reasonably resulting distrust of the American people.

It was George W. Bush’s incompetence, not clever design, that allowed the 9/11 attacks to take place. The tragedy could likely have been prevented had his administration attended to the numerous danger signals preceding those attacks by mustering the surveillance already in place and increasing the airport security measures. There certainly remain a number of strange coincidences and unexplained phenomena relevant to the 9/11 attacks, but the assertion that they could have been an inside government job strains credibility. It would have been insane, even for an administration as misguided as that of George W. Bush’s, for the neocons to have orchestrated such an event, because the level of organization necessary for such acts would inevitably have leaked and led to the destruction of the Republican Party forever. Although George W. Bush did manage to implode Republican prospects in general, it is important for the country as a whole to focus its attention on the serious challenges left his wake. Toward that end, Congressional investigations of the Bush/Cheney years would be most appropriate.

Coddie Adwar writes exclusively for THE COYOTE REPORT, a POLITICAL NEWS BLOG, the home of “GOOD RIDDANCE BUSH, THE END OF AN ERROR” bumper stickers. and “W GOT HIS WAR” e-book written by Charles Edmund Coyote Get a FREE CHAPTER on how we let bin LADEN escape from Tora Bora