Sunday, June 29, 2008

THE WORLD WANTS TO KNOW …GOT HOPE?

By Minerva L. Williams

The world wants to know. . . how many American women will show up to vote in the 2008 Presidential election? It amounts to, will women vote hope as strongly as they are responding in national polls, state rallies and town hall meetings?

Those that supported Hillary are vowing to not even go to the poll or expressing overwhelming support for McCain. Young women are most interested in Barack Obama. What the pundits say is how largely young women showed up for Obama in Iowa and the same group didn’t show up at all in New Hampshire. So what happened that made the same group of women vote largely in the first state and not at all in the second state? Where is the pattern?

The world trade balance is off, economies are low, job rates are inching higher, and the policies of the Bush Administration are still not reflective of the American people’s wants. Bush’s popularity poll numbers are the lowest of any president ever!

Mortgage rates are so over the top that millions are loosing their homes daily. Gas prices are out of site. The cost of food, transportation, and supplies are rising. Media exclaims that McCain is 4 more years of Bush policies. Does anyone want to see more attempts of bankrupting the country? Although the captains of industries appear to be doing a great job. Check out your stock portfolio if you dare.

Am I witnessing the insurgence of the Naomi Klein’s warning of the national “shock and awe syndrome” because the students of University of Chicago’s professor Milton Friedman’s philosophy are coming of professional age hence, it will require another University of Chicago’s professor Barack Obama who believes in community organizing to organize the United States to try to save us from Friedman pirates?

I agree that Obama more forceably needs to address Social security, poverty and minimum wage but he also needs to address the millions of jobs going overseas.

Do check out the interview with Chris Matthews: June 16, 2008 http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/6/16/amy_goodman_on_msnbcs_hardball_with_chris_matthews_at_5_30pm_est_repeated_at_7_30pm_est

Women are opposed to war and overwhelmingly so. McCain says he sees Iraqi withdrawal tables non negotiable and dangerous to publically discuss but he says we will be in Iraqi for 100 years, if necessary. Isn’t this a public answer?

How many more women are willing to send their children to a war that obviously was based on a huge lie ala Scott McClellan ,the present bearer of Bush first hand bad news, to satisfy our addiction to oil, at the expense of millions of Iraqi women and children who have had to flee their country due to our bombing and blasting them out of their homes or to increase the Bush family financial legacy?

Isn’t this the same family that benefitted from the economic increases during the German war? Why isn’t the media talking and reminding us of this?

Women under 50 may not know that at one time abortions were illegal and women rights advocacy in the 60’s and 70’s made Roe vs. Wade (1973) overturned. Women under 50 have seen women in powerful positions, heads of corporations, political leaders and may take it for granted that McCain wants to over turn Roe vs. Wade, where back alley abortions were unsafe and the norm. These same young women don’t know when women had to fight for equality in wages although in some industries women still aren’t in parity to their men counterparts.

Check out “Standing up to the Madness” by Amy Goodman, reknowned “DemocracyNow! Radio and television commentator, if you wish to know more details on why so many voters should pay close attention to what is politically going on.

Hillary is out on the trail to shore up her 18 million supporters to encourage them to support Barack Obama the first trip being Unity, New Hampshire this week but the follow through of the ladies and gentlemen of Obama supporters is supreme to the election numbers being not only a big deal but the next four years with a Democrat in office. Some republicans say “let them have it”, while they blame the aftermath of Bush’s policies on the Democrats. You hear this now, with Republican leaders blaming Pelosi and Harry Reid for “the nation falling apart”. And what planet are these Republican leaders on? Are they getting their footage from Mars?

Republicans did their dirty here in California under Pete Wilson’s utilities scandal, Davis never was able to figure it out. Even with the Governator play to the partisan legislators, Californians are still in a tales spin; drought imminent, billions in educational cuts, families loosing their homes to mortgage rate manipulation, jobs being packaged to India and China, and oil prices affecting everything from food supplies, cost of food and traveling expenses. But hopefully with a lot of educational forums, classroom sessions, and family dinner discussions the voting age American women will not only wake up but smell the coffee and take charge to the ballot boxes this November. What does it take to get these women’s attention that their voices must be heard at the ballot box or we are going to be seeing more of the past seven years? The world wants to know. . .Got Hope?

Minerva L. Williams is a freelance writer, residing in Santa Clarita Valley who is a strong advocate of Barack Obama and says change is something you can believe in, because it is inevitable.