"WASHINGTON – Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black President Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.
"Change has come," he told a jubilant hometown Chicago crowd estimated at nearly a quarter-million people.
The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Iowa and more. He captured Virginia and Indiana, too, the first candidate of his party in 44 years to win either.
Obama's election capped a meteoric rise — from mere state senator to president-elect in four years.
Spontaneous celebrations erupted from Atlanta to New York and Philadelphia as word of Obama's victory spread. A big crowd filled Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.
In his first speech as victor, to an enormous throng at Grant Park in Chicago, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead. "The greatest of a lifetime," he said, "two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."
He added, "There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."
McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.
President Bush added his congratulations from the White House, where his tenure runs out on Jan. 20. "May God bless whoever wins tonight," he had told dinner guests earlier.
Obama, in his speech, invoked the words of Lincoln, recalled Martin Luther King Jr., and seemed to echo John F. Kennedy.
"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder," he said.
He and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009. McCain remains in the Senate.
Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, returns to Alaska as governor after a tumultuous debut on the national stage.
He will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.
The popular vote was close — 51.7 percent to 47 percent with 84 percent of all U.S. precincts tallied — but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.
There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.
Shortly after 2 a.m. the East, The Associated Press count showed Obama with 349 electoral votes, well over the 270 needed for victory. McCain had 144 after winning states that comprised the normal Republican base, including Texas and most of the South.
Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.
The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.
Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.
In Washington, the Democratic leaders of Congress celebrated.
"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change," said Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California: "Tonight the American people have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America."
Democrats also acclaimed Senate successes by former Gov. Mark Warner in Virginia, Rep. Tom Udall in New Mexico and Rep. Mark Udall in Colorado. All won seats left open by Republican retirements.
In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated Republican Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 race, and Sen. Elizabeth Dole fell to Democrat Kay Hagan in North Carolina.
Biden won a new term in Delaware, a seat he will resign before he is sworn in as vice president.
The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, survived a scare in Kentucky, and in Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss hoped to avoid a December runoff.
The Democrats piled up gains in the House, as well.
They defeated seven Republican incumbents, including 22-year veteran Chris Shays in Connecticut, and picked up nine more seats where GOP lawmakers had retired.
At least three Democrats lost their seats, including Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney, turned out of office after admitting to two extramarital affairs while serving his first term in Florida. In Louisiana, Democratic Rep. Don Cazayoux lost the seat he had won in a special election six months ago.
The resurgent Democrats also elected a governor in one of the nation's traditional bellwether states when Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon won his race.
An estimated 187 million voters were registered, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, 40 million or so had already voted as Election Day dawned.
Obama sought election as one of the youngest presidents, and one of the least experienced in national political affairs.
That wasn't what set the Illinois senator apart, though — neither from his rivals nor from the other men who had served as president since the nation's founding more than two centuries ago. A black man, he confronted a previously unbreakable barrier as he campaigned on twin themes of change and hope in uncertain times.
McCain, a prisoner of war during Vietnam, a generation older than his rival at 72, was making his second try for the White House, following his defeat in the battle for the GOP nomination in 2000.
A conservative, he stressed his maverick's streak. And although a Republican, he did what he could to separate himself from an unpopular president.
For the most part, the two presidential candidates and their running mates, Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, spent weeks campaigning in states that went for Bush four years ago.
McCain and Obama each won contested nominations — the Democrat outdistancing former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton — and promptly set out to claim the mantle of change."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I have a dream
Am I dreaming or what? Mr Barack Obama won the US Presidency in very convincing numbers.
November 4 is a race of sorts. In [Melbourne] Australia, as all first Tuesdays of every, November 4 is the Melbourne Cup. A horse race that defines the psyche of every Australian punter, a nation literally stops for this race.
Fortunately for the average punter, Viewed, a 40 to 1 odd winner has paid handsomely for its backers. The result was photo finish for the second horse, Bauer, as well; one of the closest results in memory.
While in the US Presidential elections, Mr Barack Obama was ahead in the polls to take the election. The historic result for Mr Obama is a test of perseverance against all odds. As former Premier Minister Bob Carr wrote not too long ago, this election is more racial and financial than anything else (see a differing opinion here.)
Now that Obama is elected as the first African-American President, the real hard work begins. All the rhetoric must be backed up by concrete actions to solve the financial problems as well as the political ones that the previous White House occupant has helped to create.
Hopefully the experience of Mr John McCain during the Vietnam War will never happen to the young men and women who is serving their country now in Iraq and in other parts of the world.
The day for dreaming is past and gone, change is now the watchword and Mr Obama and his team is now on notice.
November 4 is a race of sorts. In [Melbourne] Australia, as all first Tuesdays of every, November 4 is the Melbourne Cup. A horse race that defines the psyche of every Australian punter, a nation literally stops for this race.
Fortunately for the average punter, Viewed, a 40 to 1 odd winner has paid handsomely for its backers. The result was photo finish for the second horse, Bauer, as well; one of the closest results in memory.
While in the US Presidential elections, Mr Barack Obama was ahead in the polls to take the election. The historic result for Mr Obama is a test of perseverance against all odds. As former Premier Minister Bob Carr wrote not too long ago, this election is more racial and financial than anything else (see a differing opinion here.)
Now that Obama is elected as the first African-American President, the real hard work begins. All the rhetoric must be backed up by concrete actions to solve the financial problems as well as the political ones that the previous White House occupant has helped to create.
Hopefully the experience of Mr John McCain during the Vietnam War will never happen to the young men and women who is serving their country now in Iraq and in other parts of the world.
The day for dreaming is past and gone, change is now the watchword and Mr Obama and his team is now on notice.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Why Fil-Ams should vote for Obama by William M. Esposo
Why Filipino-Americans should vote for Obama
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Sunday, November 2, 2008 Philippine Star
Republican and former George W. Bush State Secretary Colin Powell provided the best reason for preferring and endorsing the Democratic Party presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, over the Republican Party candidate, Senator John McCain.
Powell said: “I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama.”
“He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president,” Powell added.
Powell started a long line of Republicans (and people one would expect to vote for a Republican presidential candidate) who have junked McCain in favor of Obama. Among them are Bush former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Alison Goldwater (granddaughter of former Republican 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater), Christopher Buckley (son of staunch Republican writer William Buckley) and Ron Reagan (son of President Ronald Reagan).
Republican stalwarts — Political Strategist Ed Rollins, Senator Richard Lugar (most senior in the Foreign Relations Committee) and writer George Will — fell short of openly endorsing Obama but made comments that reinforced Obama’s cause.
If McCain can’t even convince his own party’s staunch supporters, Filipinos in America should ask themselves why they should even consider voting for John McCain.
The renowned publication, The Economist, has conducted a world poll on the US presidential candidates using the very same US Electoral College system of voting. The Economist assigned each country a corresponding number of votes following the US yardstick.
China, as would be expected, was assigned the most number of Electoral College votes with 1,900. India had 1,588, the Philippines 132, Australia 31, Brazil 272, Russia with 205, South Africa with 70, Saudi Arabia with 37 and so forth.
As of last Sunday, McCain got a total of 228 electoral votes compared to Obama’s 9,009 electoral votes. The Economist Global Electoral College map was a sea of blue, the color assigned for Obama. From all continents, Obama was an outstanding choice — reinforcing Powell’s manifestation that a transformational US president is needed at this time.
McCain represents to most people in the Global Village the face of the Imperial America which many nations distrust. Ask people about McCain and the first thing that comes to mind is hawk, owing largely to his soldier background and his pronouncements of knowing how to win wars.
Here is a sampling of how the world voted (the first number is Obama, the second is McCain). China: Obama 83% — McCain 17%, India: 87% — 13%, Pakistan: 81% — 19%, Philippines: 88% — 12%, Indonesia: 96% — 4% , Thailand: 86% — 14%, Australia: 89% —11%, Brazil: 81% — 19%, Mexico: 86% — 14%, Canada: 89% — 11%, South Africa: 88% — 12%, Sudan: 47% — 53%, Egypt: 91% — 9%, Georgia: 48% — 53%, France: 91% — 9%, Germany: 90% - 10%, Syria: 100% — 0%, Iraq: 23% — 77%, Iran: 84% — 16%, and Afghanistan: 85% — 15%.
Regardless if the country is a traditional US ally or foe, Obama is the preferred next US president. Not only that, Obama is preferred in lopsided numbers that often exceed an 80 รข€‘ 20 ratio. If the US is to maintain their leader position in the world, the American voters will do well to listen to the sentiments of the peoples of the world.
Considering the key role that the US plays in promoting and keeping world peace, it is logical that Obama, and not McCain (and his braggadocio of being the more seasoned candidate for the world stage) who can be expected to promote cooperation among the peoples of the world towards a path of peace and an era of mutual development and cooperation.
The immense preference for Obama in known anti-US countries like Iran and Syria cannot be ignored by US voters if they truly want to keep their soldiers home and away from the deadly reach of Middle East suicide bombers. Obama has the political capital to be able to bring their foes to the conference table and work out a mutually-acceptable peace.
Iran and Syria will never trust a hawk like McCain whose Republican Party is supported by the very economic forces and vested interests in America that promote the US imperial character.
Most Americans want to promote democracy. They are great humanitarians and truly believe that democracy is the best political system in the world. Most Americans detest this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde image that their country has developed.
The vested interest groups who are known to support the Republican Party — Vice President Dick Cheney’s Haliburton among them — are the ones who provoke the Mr. Hyde character of the US that the world has come to distrust and hate.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is responsible for the creation of so many dictatorships in the world — including the Marcos dictatorship here. This Mr. Hyde character of the US allows them to disregard human rights abuses by tyrants who happen to serve US geopolitical objectives.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what transformed people like Osama Bin Laden — once a US ally in Afghanistan in fighting the Russians in the 1980s — into the dedicated anti-US terrorist that he is today. Osama Bin Laden’s rant is all about Imperial America.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what enables them to easily forget that Filipinos fought and died for the US war with Japan. That was not our war. That was a war of the US but more Filipinos died here than Americans.
What did the US do after Japan, the enemy, was defeated? Our poor war veterans remain unrecognized and uncompensated. Instead of pouring US resources to help us rise to our feet after World War II, they poured all their efforts and energies into helping Japan, the once enemy, to emerge as an Asian economic titan.
While the US was putting all the resources needed to get Japan back to its feet, the Mr. Hyde character of the US imposed on their Filipino allies a Parity Rights Agreement that opened Philippine natural resources to exploitation by American businessmen.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what accounts for their current interest to promote a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) in Mindanao even if that will mean a dismemberment of Philippine territory.
Really, if you think logically, Filipinos ought to declare war against the US because following historical precedent we stand to gain more than if we remain their trusting friend and ally.
On the hope that a Barack Obama presidency could mark the shelving of this Mr. Hyde grotesque character of the US and the emergence of a fair and loyal character of America, Filipino-Americans should vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday.
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Sunday, November 2, 2008 Philippine Star
Republican and former George W. Bush State Secretary Colin Powell provided the best reason for preferring and endorsing the Democratic Party presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, over the Republican Party candidate, Senator John McCain.
Powell said: “I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama.”
“He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president,” Powell added.
Powell started a long line of Republicans (and people one would expect to vote for a Republican presidential candidate) who have junked McCain in favor of Obama. Among them are Bush former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Alison Goldwater (granddaughter of former Republican 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater), Christopher Buckley (son of staunch Republican writer William Buckley) and Ron Reagan (son of President Ronald Reagan).
Republican stalwarts — Political Strategist Ed Rollins, Senator Richard Lugar (most senior in the Foreign Relations Committee) and writer George Will — fell short of openly endorsing Obama but made comments that reinforced Obama’s cause.
If McCain can’t even convince his own party’s staunch supporters, Filipinos in America should ask themselves why they should even consider voting for John McCain.
The renowned publication, The Economist, has conducted a world poll on the US presidential candidates using the very same US Electoral College system of voting. The Economist assigned each country a corresponding number of votes following the US yardstick.
China, as would be expected, was assigned the most number of Electoral College votes with 1,900. India had 1,588, the Philippines 132, Australia 31, Brazil 272, Russia with 205, South Africa with 70, Saudi Arabia with 37 and so forth.
As of last Sunday, McCain got a total of 228 electoral votes compared to Obama’s 9,009 electoral votes. The Economist Global Electoral College map was a sea of blue, the color assigned for Obama. From all continents, Obama was an outstanding choice — reinforcing Powell’s manifestation that a transformational US president is needed at this time.
McCain represents to most people in the Global Village the face of the Imperial America which many nations distrust. Ask people about McCain and the first thing that comes to mind is hawk, owing largely to his soldier background and his pronouncements of knowing how to win wars.
Here is a sampling of how the world voted (the first number is Obama, the second is McCain). China: Obama 83% — McCain 17%, India: 87% — 13%, Pakistan: 81% — 19%, Philippines: 88% — 12%, Indonesia: 96% — 4% , Thailand: 86% — 14%, Australia: 89% —11%, Brazil: 81% — 19%, Mexico: 86% — 14%, Canada: 89% — 11%, South Africa: 88% — 12%, Sudan: 47% — 53%, Egypt: 91% — 9%, Georgia: 48% — 53%, France: 91% — 9%, Germany: 90% - 10%, Syria: 100% — 0%, Iraq: 23% — 77%, Iran: 84% — 16%, and Afghanistan: 85% — 15%.
Regardless if the country is a traditional US ally or foe, Obama is the preferred next US president. Not only that, Obama is preferred in lopsided numbers that often exceed an 80 รข€‘ 20 ratio. If the US is to maintain their leader position in the world, the American voters will do well to listen to the sentiments of the peoples of the world.
Considering the key role that the US plays in promoting and keeping world peace, it is logical that Obama, and not McCain (and his braggadocio of being the more seasoned candidate for the world stage) who can be expected to promote cooperation among the peoples of the world towards a path of peace and an era of mutual development and cooperation.
The immense preference for Obama in known anti-US countries like Iran and Syria cannot be ignored by US voters if they truly want to keep their soldiers home and away from the deadly reach of Middle East suicide bombers. Obama has the political capital to be able to bring their foes to the conference table and work out a mutually-acceptable peace.
Iran and Syria will never trust a hawk like McCain whose Republican Party is supported by the very economic forces and vested interests in America that promote the US imperial character.
Most Americans want to promote democracy. They are great humanitarians and truly believe that democracy is the best political system in the world. Most Americans detest this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde image that their country has developed.
The vested interest groups who are known to support the Republican Party — Vice President Dick Cheney’s Haliburton among them — are the ones who provoke the Mr. Hyde character of the US that the world has come to distrust and hate.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is responsible for the creation of so many dictatorships in the world — including the Marcos dictatorship here. This Mr. Hyde character of the US allows them to disregard human rights abuses by tyrants who happen to serve US geopolitical objectives.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what transformed people like Osama Bin Laden — once a US ally in Afghanistan in fighting the Russians in the 1980s — into the dedicated anti-US terrorist that he is today. Osama Bin Laden’s rant is all about Imperial America.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what enables them to easily forget that Filipinos fought and died for the US war with Japan. That was not our war. That was a war of the US but more Filipinos died here than Americans.
What did the US do after Japan, the enemy, was defeated? Our poor war veterans remain unrecognized and uncompensated. Instead of pouring US resources to help us rise to our feet after World War II, they poured all their efforts and energies into helping Japan, the once enemy, to emerge as an Asian economic titan.
While the US was putting all the resources needed to get Japan back to its feet, the Mr. Hyde character of the US imposed on their Filipino allies a Parity Rights Agreement that opened Philippine natural resources to exploitation by American businessmen.
This Mr. Hyde character of the US is what accounts for their current interest to promote a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) in Mindanao even if that will mean a dismemberment of Philippine territory.
Really, if you think logically, Filipinos ought to declare war against the US because following historical precedent we stand to gain more than if we remain their trusting friend and ally.
On the hope that a Barack Obama presidency could mark the shelving of this Mr. Hyde grotesque character of the US and the emergence of a fair and loyal character of America, Filipino-Americans should vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Seditious by Ellen Tordesillas
The Latest from Ellen Tordesillas - Seditious
Posted: 30 Oct 2008 09:39 AM PDT
The Webster dictionary defines “seditious” as “tending to cause discontent among the people; fostering the spirit of rebellion.”
I think Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was barking up the wrong tree when he said that the pronouncements of Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines; Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz; Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas; Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra at a press conference last Tuesday were “seditious”.
I checked again what the five bishops said. Their statements were mostly on graft and corruption which they said were the “biggest culprit and major cause of the our nation’s poverty and hunger.”
Asked if they think Gloria Arroyo is corrupt, Archbishop Cruz did not hesitate to say, “Yes, because the incumbent Malacanang occupant has received not long ago the very distinguished award, never have been given before in Philippine history, as the most corrupt President.”
Cruz further said, “To say that the Malacanang occupant is but the follower of corruption and not a leader of corruption is asking too much. It will take somebody from the moon to believe that the head of corruption is down below and not from above.”
Since “seditious” means “tending to cause discontent among the people or fostering the spirit of rebellion”; what causes people to be enraged, the corrupt practices or the criticism of the corruption?
The impeachment complaint filed by citizens concerned of the the country’s degradation enumerates the documented crimes of the Arroyo against the Filipino people. Here’s the short list:
1.The $329 million deal with the Chinese firm, ZTE Corp to establish a national broadband network;
2. The sale of the country’s gold reserve in Mt. Diwalwal to ZTE Corp. in an agreement described by the complainants as “grossly disadvantageous to the country’s interests”;
3. Entering into the Northrail Project without the approval of the Monetary Board and which failed to give preference to Filipino labor and investment;
4. Distribution of bribe money to congressmen last year, which she supposedly authorized, to speed up the referral of the impeachment complaint filed against her last year by lawyer Roel Pulido to prevent the filing of a genuine complaint;
5.The diversion of P3.3 billion intended for farmers, P728 million of which were supposed to be spent for fertilizer, to the campaign kitty of Arroyo in the 2004 elections;
6.Similar to the fertilizer scam is the illegal and improper use of the P5 billion loan obtained by the Quedan Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. to fund her 2004 election campaign.
7.Cheating in the 2004 elections.
It’s good that former Agriculture Secretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante is back. He has a lot of explaining to do on the P3.3 billion supposedly for agriculture that were released just a few weeks before the 2004 elections and the P5 billion unaccounted Quedancor funds.
Every impeachment complaint filed against Arroyo the past three years includes cheating in the 2004 elections that is referred by Bishop Cruz the “original sin” because all of the other crimes cited in the impeachment complaint were committed to either cover up or pay back her accomplices in the rigging of the 2004 election results. The NBN/ZTE deal, for example. Why was a retiring Comelec official into a telecommunication project? Simple. Abalos gave her the presidency that the Filipino people denied her in 2004. He had to be rewarded for that.
Arroyo has yet to explain why she said “I am sorry” when the “Hello Garci” tapes surfaced in June 2005. In that tape, she was heard talking to Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about tampering the election results in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.
In this year’s complaint, lawyer Harry Roque has included the testimonies of some members of the Special Action Forces of the Philippine National Police who participated in the switching of election returns at the Batasan Pambansa storage room.
Now, what could be more seditious than thwarting the will of the people?
Gonzalez was so riled up with the statement of the five bishops saying that “The time to start radical reforms is now. ..The time to prepare a new government is now. ”
Arroyo was never elected by the people. Every day of her illegitimate presidency is sedition at its highest form.
For more hard hitting articles from Ellen Tordesillas, visit her site here.
Posted: 30 Oct 2008 09:39 AM PDT
The Webster dictionary defines “seditious” as “tending to cause discontent among the people; fostering the spirit of rebellion.”
I think Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was barking up the wrong tree when he said that the pronouncements of Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines; Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz; Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas; Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra at a press conference last Tuesday were “seditious”.
I checked again what the five bishops said. Their statements were mostly on graft and corruption which they said were the “biggest culprit and major cause of the our nation’s poverty and hunger.”
Asked if they think Gloria Arroyo is corrupt, Archbishop Cruz did not hesitate to say, “Yes, because the incumbent Malacanang occupant has received not long ago the very distinguished award, never have been given before in Philippine history, as the most corrupt President.”
Cruz further said, “To say that the Malacanang occupant is but the follower of corruption and not a leader of corruption is asking too much. It will take somebody from the moon to believe that the head of corruption is down below and not from above.”
Since “seditious” means “tending to cause discontent among the people or fostering the spirit of rebellion”; what causes people to be enraged, the corrupt practices or the criticism of the corruption?
The impeachment complaint filed by citizens concerned of the the country’s degradation enumerates the documented crimes of the Arroyo against the Filipino people. Here’s the short list:
1.The $329 million deal with the Chinese firm, ZTE Corp to establish a national broadband network;
2. The sale of the country’s gold reserve in Mt. Diwalwal to ZTE Corp. in an agreement described by the complainants as “grossly disadvantageous to the country’s interests”;
3. Entering into the Northrail Project without the approval of the Monetary Board and which failed to give preference to Filipino labor and investment;
4. Distribution of bribe money to congressmen last year, which she supposedly authorized, to speed up the referral of the impeachment complaint filed against her last year by lawyer Roel Pulido to prevent the filing of a genuine complaint;
5.The diversion of P3.3 billion intended for farmers, P728 million of which were supposed to be spent for fertilizer, to the campaign kitty of Arroyo in the 2004 elections;
6.Similar to the fertilizer scam is the illegal and improper use of the P5 billion loan obtained by the Quedan Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. to fund her 2004 election campaign.
7.Cheating in the 2004 elections.
It’s good that former Agriculture Secretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante is back. He has a lot of explaining to do on the P3.3 billion supposedly for agriculture that were released just a few weeks before the 2004 elections and the P5 billion unaccounted Quedancor funds.
Every impeachment complaint filed against Arroyo the past three years includes cheating in the 2004 elections that is referred by Bishop Cruz the “original sin” because all of the other crimes cited in the impeachment complaint were committed to either cover up or pay back her accomplices in the rigging of the 2004 election results. The NBN/ZTE deal, for example. Why was a retiring Comelec official into a telecommunication project? Simple. Abalos gave her the presidency that the Filipino people denied her in 2004. He had to be rewarded for that.
Arroyo has yet to explain why she said “I am sorry” when the “Hello Garci” tapes surfaced in June 2005. In that tape, she was heard talking to Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about tampering the election results in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.
In this year’s complaint, lawyer Harry Roque has included the testimonies of some members of the Special Action Forces of the Philippine National Police who participated in the switching of election returns at the Batasan Pambansa storage room.
Now, what could be more seditious than thwarting the will of the people?
Gonzalez was so riled up with the statement of the five bishops saying that “The time to start radical reforms is now. ..The time to prepare a new government is now. ”
Arroyo was never elected by the people. Every day of her illegitimate presidency is sedition at its highest form.
For more hard hitting articles from Ellen Tordesillas, visit her site here.
On Racism and Barack Obama by Ted Regencia
On Racism - Barack Obama and the re-education of Fil-Am voters 08/12/08
By Ted Regencia, Contributor
AT the height of the US presidential primaries that pitted Chicago’s very own Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, one Filipino American [fil-Am] social butterfly emphatically said, “Ay, ayaw ko kay Obama! Baka yung White House magiging Black House.” [I don'tlike Obama. The White House will turn into a Black House!]
It’s a sentiment not so few of Chicago’s Filipino-Americans feel towards their very own senator who is an African-American. Now that he is the Democratic nominee for president, a historic achievement for a black candidate, the antagonism has only intensified.
It all started when Obama won the Iowa caucus on January 3. Shortly after, an online group of Filipinos received a forwarded email attacking Obama’s “Muslim upbringing.” The email asked, “Are you aware that Obama’s middle name is Mohammed (It’s actually Hussein, which means “the handsome one” in Arabic). Strip away his nice looks, the big smile and smooth talk and what do you get?” It warned that Obama is “possibly a covert worshiper of the Muslim faith, even today.”
“This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa,” it added. The smear provoked a sharp response from Chicago-based Filipino publisher and editor, Mariano Santos, who described it as “worse than witch-hunt.”
“People who started this fear-mongering are more dangerous than their black propaganda. Filipinos had lived through this dark age, when they cannot even rent a house in a white neighborhood, or date a white American without being in danger of lynching. Now these pathetic Pinoys are circulating this email like they are scions of the Ku Klux Klan,” he said referring to the white supremacist group, KKK.
“These rumor mongers have only prejudice and lies to peddle. They are the danger to true American way of life,” Santos said while castigating the source, a Filipino American and devout Catholic. The online message turned out to be just an initial assault of the candidate.
A second version of the email immediately followed. This time, it accuses Obama of having “a black Muslim” father “a white atheist” mother, and “a radical Muslim” Indonesian step-father. “Let us all remain alert concerning Obama’s presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level,” it warned.
Curiously, the attacks were not based on Obama’s liberal policy positions, like his support of abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples. Or even his Iraq withdrawal plan. Rather, it was an in-your-face attack of his race, and his “Muslim links.” Reports of Obama’s Muslim upbringing, however, have been repeatedly debunked by international news organizations like CNN and New York Times. Americans of the Muslim faith also assailed the malicious implication that being a Muslim automatically equates to being unpatriotic, or worse, a supporter of terrorists. By March, as the odds of an Obama nomination increased, the voices of opposition within the Filipino community became even louder.
A former president of the Filipino-American Council of Greater Chicago taunted the Chicago-based publication, PINOY Newsmagazine, by e-mailing altered pictures with the heading, “If Obama wins.” One image shows the Kentucky Fried Chicken logo with Colonel Sanders wearing a turban. Another photo shows the iconic McDonald’s sign changed to McHammed’s.
The Chicago alumni president of a very reputable Catholic university in Manila chimed-in by forwarding a message with the subject entitled, “Interesting: Barack H. Obama, 50 Lies and Counting.” Asked by one of the recipients, who is he recommending for president, his loaded reply was, “The one who tells the TRUTH.” When confronted, he feigned innocence by saying that he was only trying to pass the information around.
Yet another personality, who was crowned Mrs. Philippines in Chicago , was more direct. Santos , the newspaper publisher, recalled that after writingabout Senator Obama, he was confronted in public by the said individual who claimed “in loud and emotional outburst” that Obama is an “evil man.” That same community leader also heads the Philippine Lions Club of Chicago.
The onslaught of racially-charged denunciations continued by the start of Spring. On the 40th Death Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. last April, for instance, this reporter invited a friend to watch a one-act play honoring the legacy of the foremost civil rights leader. Out of nowhere, a pointed rejection came: “Those blacks are parasites” followed by an Obama-bashing comment.
Another friend, a graduate of the Philippines ’ oldest university, could not hide his disdain of Obama either. As a healthcare practitioner, he said that he had encountered a number of African-American patients. He said that they are “lazy” and dependent on government dole-outs. He concluded that a win by Obama will only perpetuate the black’s sense of victimhood. Suspicions and mistrusts towards the African American community run deep, and the Filipino community is not immune to those false impressions.
For one, many Filipino immigrants have limited understanding of the very violent black experience in America . As Filipinos migrate to America , many bring with them, some deep-seated prejudice against people of darker color, in itself a product of colonial mentality that dictates that everything white is superior.
Even religious upbringing may have unwittingly played a role in forming these pre-conceived notions about color. In church, black always represents sin and bad omen. A wild child in the family is called a “black sheep.”
It’s not always the fault of Filipinos migrants to have brought with them these views from the motherland. Many are hard-working, decent and God-fearing individuals who only have the best interest of their families and community in their hearts. But, as they become part of a multi-cultural and pluralistic society like the United States , it is also necessary for them to understand the new dynamics of the whole community, including the important issue of race. Ignorance of that can create misinformed if not bigoted views.
A deep economic disparity, however, generally prevents Filipino Americans from interacting with their African-American brothers and sisters. An estimated 60 percent of Filipino-Americans have income over $50,000 a year, allowing them to live in middle-class and upper middle-class neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, majority of blacks who suffered many decades of racial discrimination remains disproportionately stuck in the lowest income level, pushing many of them to live in urban ghettos. Many become unemployed for long periods and get involved in various crimes. Absent those physical bonds, the opportunity to have a healthy social integration and interaction between the African American and Filipino-American communities is vastly limited.
The only exposure many Filipinos may have of blacks is when they appear in the news about gang shootings and drug arrests, and that only exacerbates the already dysfunctional view towards the black community. The recent spike in murder rate in Chicago — which is naturally getting intense media attention — only highlights those existing unease. It’s not unusual to hear comments by Filipinos like, “They’re lazy! “How come we’ve managed to improve our way of life here in America , when we are only here for five, 10 years?” “These blacks have been here in America their whole life, and they’re still poor.” While maybe true, comments such as those are myopic and ill-informed.
It does not take into account the long history of slavery and racial discrimination. It also misses the fact that a significant number of African-Americans have climbed up the economic scale by sheer hard work, just like many others.
Indeed, even here in the Windy City , home of well-loved African Americans like the entertainment titan Oprah Winfrey and sports legend Michael Jordan, racial understanding still has a long way to go. And that’s the fragile scenario, where all these political dramas about Senator Obama are being played.
As the new face of politics, the Hawaii-born and Harvard-educated politician has become “a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” As CNN political commentator Donna Brazile said, “Race is one of the most difficult issues to navigate in presidential politics especially when often the race card is played. So it all depends if the race card is play and whether or not Barrack Obama will be able to navigate that. Bottom of the deck.”
In this 2008 presidential derby, the challenge for the Filipino-American voters is to avoid being dealt with those race cards, as they decide on their choice for president. A vote for Republican candidate Senator John McCain should not be a vote against Senator Obama’s skin color. Rather it should be about what the Arizona senator stands for on critical issues at that matter.
Let it be about the debate on the economy and national security, and never about who does and doesn’t look “All-American.” It was not too long ago when Filipinos from all over the world were up in arms over the perceived racist treatment of Filipino doctors by the popular US television show, “Desperate Housewives.” And rightly so, for indeed Filipino doctors are of the highest caliber.
Locally in Chicago, Pinoys slammed the department store H&M for the racist slur directed at a Filipino-American customer Frannie Richards, who is a nurse and a U.S. Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. There was also the brouhaha over the identification by a local television station, of a crime suspect as “Filipino.” The protesters argued that by calling the suspect by his country of origin, it stigmatized the whole Filipino community. The station would later apologize, while the suspect was convicted.
Filipino-Americans cannot claim to be victims of racism, while turning a blind eye on its own prejudice towards the black community and the candidacy of Barack Obama. The larger point is, Filipino-Americans cannot allow the stain of racism smudge its image as a model community. It must confront it head on and condemn it with full force. So when history is written, we will not be sidelined with a footnote as a bunch of racist minority.
Ted Regencia is a Chicago-based Filipino journalist. He is a journalism graduate at Silliman University in Dumaguete City .
Dr. Jose V. Abueva President, Kalayaan College at Riverbanks, 1803 Marikina, Philippines Telefax (632)934 4865 Website: www.kalayaan. edu.ph Email: joseabueva@yahoo. com
By Ted Regencia, Contributor
AT the height of the US presidential primaries that pitted Chicago’s very own Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, one Filipino American [fil-Am] social butterfly emphatically said, “Ay, ayaw ko kay Obama! Baka yung White House magiging Black House.” [I don'tlike Obama. The White House will turn into a Black House!]
It’s a sentiment not so few of Chicago’s Filipino-Americans feel towards their very own senator who is an African-American. Now that he is the Democratic nominee for president, a historic achievement for a black candidate, the antagonism has only intensified.
It all started when Obama won the Iowa caucus on January 3. Shortly after, an online group of Filipinos received a forwarded email attacking Obama’s “Muslim upbringing.” The email asked, “Are you aware that Obama’s middle name is Mohammed (It’s actually Hussein, which means “the handsome one” in Arabic). Strip away his nice looks, the big smile and smooth talk and what do you get?” It warned that Obama is “possibly a covert worshiper of the Muslim faith, even today.”
“This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa,” it added. The smear provoked a sharp response from Chicago-based Filipino publisher and editor, Mariano Santos, who described it as “worse than witch-hunt.”
“People who started this fear-mongering are more dangerous than their black propaganda. Filipinos had lived through this dark age, when they cannot even rent a house in a white neighborhood, or date a white American without being in danger of lynching. Now these pathetic Pinoys are circulating this email like they are scions of the Ku Klux Klan,” he said referring to the white supremacist group, KKK.
“These rumor mongers have only prejudice and lies to peddle. They are the danger to true American way of life,” Santos said while castigating the source, a Filipino American and devout Catholic. The online message turned out to be just an initial assault of the candidate.
A second version of the email immediately followed. This time, it accuses Obama of having “a black Muslim” father “a white atheist” mother, and “a radical Muslim” Indonesian step-father. “Let us all remain alert concerning Obama’s presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level,” it warned.
Curiously, the attacks were not based on Obama’s liberal policy positions, like his support of abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples. Or even his Iraq withdrawal plan. Rather, it was an in-your-face attack of his race, and his “Muslim links.” Reports of Obama’s Muslim upbringing, however, have been repeatedly debunked by international news organizations like CNN and New York Times. Americans of the Muslim faith also assailed the malicious implication that being a Muslim automatically equates to being unpatriotic, or worse, a supporter of terrorists. By March, as the odds of an Obama nomination increased, the voices of opposition within the Filipino community became even louder.
A former president of the Filipino-American Council of Greater Chicago taunted the Chicago-based publication, PINOY Newsmagazine, by e-mailing altered pictures with the heading, “If Obama wins.” One image shows the Kentucky Fried Chicken logo with Colonel Sanders wearing a turban. Another photo shows the iconic McDonald’s sign changed to McHammed’s.
The Chicago alumni president of a very reputable Catholic university in Manila chimed-in by forwarding a message with the subject entitled, “Interesting: Barack H. Obama, 50 Lies and Counting.” Asked by one of the recipients, who is he recommending for president, his loaded reply was, “The one who tells the TRUTH.” When confronted, he feigned innocence by saying that he was only trying to pass the information around.
Yet another personality, who was crowned Mrs. Philippines in Chicago , was more direct. Santos , the newspaper publisher, recalled that after writingabout Senator Obama, he was confronted in public by the said individual who claimed “in loud and emotional outburst” that Obama is an “evil man.” That same community leader also heads the Philippine Lions Club of Chicago.
The onslaught of racially-charged denunciations continued by the start of Spring. On the 40th Death Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. last April, for instance, this reporter invited a friend to watch a one-act play honoring the legacy of the foremost civil rights leader. Out of nowhere, a pointed rejection came: “Those blacks are parasites” followed by an Obama-bashing comment.
Another friend, a graduate of the Philippines ’ oldest university, could not hide his disdain of Obama either. As a healthcare practitioner, he said that he had encountered a number of African-American patients. He said that they are “lazy” and dependent on government dole-outs. He concluded that a win by Obama will only perpetuate the black’s sense of victimhood. Suspicions and mistrusts towards the African American community run deep, and the Filipino community is not immune to those false impressions.
For one, many Filipino immigrants have limited understanding of the very violent black experience in America . As Filipinos migrate to America , many bring with them, some deep-seated prejudice against people of darker color, in itself a product of colonial mentality that dictates that everything white is superior.
Even religious upbringing may have unwittingly played a role in forming these pre-conceived notions about color. In church, black always represents sin and bad omen. A wild child in the family is called a “black sheep.”
It’s not always the fault of Filipinos migrants to have brought with them these views from the motherland. Many are hard-working, decent and God-fearing individuals who only have the best interest of their families and community in their hearts. But, as they become part of a multi-cultural and pluralistic society like the United States , it is also necessary for them to understand the new dynamics of the whole community, including the important issue of race. Ignorance of that can create misinformed if not bigoted views.
A deep economic disparity, however, generally prevents Filipino Americans from interacting with their African-American brothers and sisters. An estimated 60 percent of Filipino-Americans have income over $50,000 a year, allowing them to live in middle-class and upper middle-class neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, majority of blacks who suffered many decades of racial discrimination remains disproportionately stuck in the lowest income level, pushing many of them to live in urban ghettos. Many become unemployed for long periods and get involved in various crimes. Absent those physical bonds, the opportunity to have a healthy social integration and interaction between the African American and Filipino-American communities is vastly limited.
The only exposure many Filipinos may have of blacks is when they appear in the news about gang shootings and drug arrests, and that only exacerbates the already dysfunctional view towards the black community. The recent spike in murder rate in Chicago — which is naturally getting intense media attention — only highlights those existing unease. It’s not unusual to hear comments by Filipinos like, “They’re lazy! “How come we’ve managed to improve our way of life here in America , when we are only here for five, 10 years?” “These blacks have been here in America their whole life, and they’re still poor.” While maybe true, comments such as those are myopic and ill-informed.
It does not take into account the long history of slavery and racial discrimination. It also misses the fact that a significant number of African-Americans have climbed up the economic scale by sheer hard work, just like many others.
Indeed, even here in the Windy City , home of well-loved African Americans like the entertainment titan Oprah Winfrey and sports legend Michael Jordan, racial understanding still has a long way to go. And that’s the fragile scenario, where all these political dramas about Senator Obama are being played.
As the new face of politics, the Hawaii-born and Harvard-educated politician has become “a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” As CNN political commentator Donna Brazile said, “Race is one of the most difficult issues to navigate in presidential politics especially when often the race card is played. So it all depends if the race card is play and whether or not Barrack Obama will be able to navigate that. Bottom of the deck.”
In this 2008 presidential derby, the challenge for the Filipino-American voters is to avoid being dealt with those race cards, as they decide on their choice for president. A vote for Republican candidate Senator John McCain should not be a vote against Senator Obama’s skin color. Rather it should be about what the Arizona senator stands for on critical issues at that matter.
Let it be about the debate on the economy and national security, and never about who does and doesn’t look “All-American.” It was not too long ago when Filipinos from all over the world were up in arms over the perceived racist treatment of Filipino doctors by the popular US television show, “Desperate Housewives.” And rightly so, for indeed Filipino doctors are of the highest caliber.
Locally in Chicago, Pinoys slammed the department store H&M for the racist slur directed at a Filipino-American customer Frannie Richards, who is a nurse and a U.S. Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. There was also the brouhaha over the identification by a local television station, of a crime suspect as “Filipino.” The protesters argued that by calling the suspect by his country of origin, it stigmatized the whole Filipino community. The station would later apologize, while the suspect was convicted.
Filipino-Americans cannot claim to be victims of racism, while turning a blind eye on its own prejudice towards the black community and the candidacy of Barack Obama. The larger point is, Filipino-Americans cannot allow the stain of racism smudge its image as a model community. It must confront it head on and condemn it with full force. So when history is written, we will not be sidelined with a footnote as a bunch of racist minority.
Ted Regencia is a Chicago-based Filipino journalist. He is a journalism graduate at Silliman University in Dumaguete City .
Dr. Jose V. Abueva President, Kalayaan College at Riverbanks, 1803 Marikina, Philippines Telefax (632)934 4865 Website: www.kalayaan. edu.ph Email: joseabueva@yahoo. com
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