More Weathermen for Obama

I am posting this article by Aaron Klein, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for WorldNet Daily dated 10-2-08. It illustrates support for Obama on the part of four ex-associates of William Ayres and the Weatherunderground.


Four Weathermen Terrorists Declare Support for Obama
by Aaron Klein, WorldNet Daily (Oct 2, 2008),

The names of four former top leaders of the Weathermen terrorist organization are listed as signatories on an online petition calling for an "independent grassroots effort" to help strengthen Sen. Barack Obama's campaign.

The petition was initiated by Progressives for Obama, an independent organization acting to ensure the Illinois senator's election.

Progressives includes among its ranks many former members of the 1960s radical organization Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, from which the Weathermen splintered, as well as current and former members of other radical organizations, such as the Communist Party USA and the Black Radical Congress.

"We agree that Barack Obama is our best option for president in 2008, and that an independent grassroots effort can help strengthen his campaign," states the online petition. "It can also strengthen the mandate for his programs for stopping war, promoting global justice and securing our rights, liberties, and economic well-being."

Among the names signed onto the petition are former Weathermen leaders Howard Machtinger, Jeff Jones, Steve Tappis and Mark Rudd.

Machtinger was a Weathermen founder and was co-author of the terror group's original mission statement, which called for "revolutionaries within the United States to wage a 'people's war' and attack from within. The government would fall and 'world communism' eventually would be instituted."

Jones, according to his own website, was "elected, along with (Weathermen terrorist) Bill Ayers and Mark Rudd, to the SDS national office. Then, in the spring of 1970, he disappeared. As a leader of the Weather Underground, Jeff evaded an intense FBI manhunt for more than a decade. In 1981, they finally got him. Twenty special agents battered down the door of the Bronx apartment where he was living with his wife and four-year-old son."

Jones' site says he traveled to Cambodia in 1966 to meet with high-level leaders of the anti-American National Liberation Front. In 1967 and 1968 he served as an SDS regional organizer for New York City.

Contacted by WND, Jones said he is not involved in any Obama advocacy.

Tappis was one of 11 people who signed the original Weathermen statement, which was infamously titled, "You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows."

Rudd, a petition supporter as well as a main signatory to the Progressives for Obama group, was one of the main founders of the Weathermen terrorist organization. A biography published on his website explains Rudd worked to form the Weathermen as a radical alternative to the SDS and for white Americans to eject their "white skin privilege" and begin "armed struggle" against the U.S. government.

Rudd went underground in 1970, when a bomb exploded in a townhouse in Greenwich Village in New York City, killing three of his comrades. He lived for seven and a half years in hiding as a fugitive, finally surrendering in 1977, facing only low-level state charges after federal charges against Weathermen leaders had been dropped. He resurfaced as a teacher in New Mexico.

As late as 2005, Rudd wrote an editorial in the Los Angeles Times lamenting the state of the antiwar movement in the U.S.

"What's hard to understand – given the revelations about the rush to war, the use of torture and the loss of more than 2,000 soldiers – is why the antiwar movement isn't further along than it is," he wrote. "Given that President Bush is now talking about Iraq as only one skirmish in an unlimited struggle against a global Islamic enemy, a struggle comparable to the titanic, 40-year Cold War against communism, shouldn't a massive critique of the global war on terrorism already be underway?"


Former Weathermen member Mark Rudd

In the piece, Rudd condemned the Weathermen's decision to embark on an "armed-struggle," calling it "stupid" since the violent acts led to the group's demise. But he didn't condemn the terrorism itself, only its contribution to the downfall of the Weathermen.

Rudd declined to speak on the record to WND, explaining an interview may spark more Weathermen controversy for Obama.

All former Weathermen leaders who signed the pro-Obama petition worked closely for years with Weathermen terrorist William Ayers, whose association with Obama has generated controversy for the presidential candidate.

The Weathermen took responsibility for bombing U.S. governmental buildings in the 1970s.

Trevor Louden of the New Zeal blog commented, "Clearly Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, are not the only former Weathermen backing Obama. Add their old comrades Jeff Jones, Howie Machtinger, Mark Rudd and even Steve Tappis to the mix and you are starting to get beyond coincidence. That former terrorists are working with Marxist groups to elect Barack Obama is beyond doubt."

Progressives for Obama, which initiated the online petition, first published its creed in March in the Nation magazine, explaining the organization descended from the "proud tradition of independent social movements that have made America a more just and democratic country."

Progressives for Obama stated it can help the Illinois senator's ascent to highest office by contributing funds, using the Internet to reach "millions of swing voters;" defending Obama against negative attacks and making its agenda known at the Democratic National Convention.

"Progressives can make a difference in close primary races like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon and Puerto Rico, and in the November general election," the founders state.

The founders stress it is crucial to form a grassroots leftist movement to ensure Obama does not stray too far to the center, claiming other grassroots liberal movements have successfully pressured U.S. presidents into creating new policy:

It was the industrial strikes and radical organizers in the 1930s who pushed Roosevelt to support the New Deal. It was the civil rights and student movements that brought about voting rights legislation under Lyndon Johnson and propelled Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy's antiwar campaigns. It was the original Earth Day that led Richard Nixon to sign environmental laws.

And it will be the Obama movement that will make it necessary and possible to end the war in Iraq, renew our economy with a populist emphasis, and confront the challenge of global warming. We should not only keep the pressure on [Obama] but also connect the issues that Obama has made central to his campaign into an overarching progressive vision.

The group was founded by four individuals with ties to extremist groups:

Tom Hayden, a former state senator who was a founder and principal organizer of the SDS. Discover the Networks notes Hayden, previously married to actress Jane Fonda, traveled many times to North Vietnam, Czechoslovakia and Paris to strategize with communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong leaders on how to defeat America's anti-communist efforts.


Bill Fletcher, a former Maoist and current leader of Democratic Socialists of America or DSA. The New Zeal blog notes Fletcher was also a founder of the Black Radical Congress, closely linked to the Communist Party USA, which advocated for "progressive social justice, racial equality and economic justice goals within the U.S.


Barbara Ehenreich, an honorary chairman of DSA who was formerly active in antiwar movements in which some notorious radicals took part.


Actor Danny Glover, a member of the Black Students Union, who has visited Venezuela, making guest appearances on President Hugo Chavez's television and radio talk show. He reportedly has accepted loans of about $20 million from the Venezuelan government to make a movie about a Haitian revolutionary leader.
The Progressives for Obama webmaster is Carl Davidson, a former vice president of the Students for a Democratic Society, who has traveled to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro.

The signatories and endorsers of the Obama activist group, listed on the Progressives website, include scores of well known communist, socialist and anarchist activists and former SDS members.





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To interview Aaron Klein, contact M. Sliwa Public Relations by e-mail, or call 973-272-2861 or 212-202-4453.




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Previous stories:

Another Weatherman terrorist a player in Obama campaign

Guess who recommended Obama to enter Harvard

Obama worked closely with terrorist Bill Ayers

Obama cited Ayers job as qualification to run

Meet Obama's new Bill Ayers associate

Obama minimizes relationship with Ayers

Obama accuses McCain of linking him to 'radical'

Obama disguising ties to radical leftist group?



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Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily's Jerusalem bureau chief, is known for his regular interviews with Mideast terror leaders and his popular segments on America's top radio programs. His newly released book is "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!"



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Today's WND
News Highlights
N.Y. Times whitewashes Obama-Ayers connection
Militant Obama youth march to 'Alpha, Omega' chant
Christian campaign website endorses Obama as pro-life
Accusation: Isreal security forces behind attack on anti-settler prof
DNC steps in to silence lawsuit over Obama birth certificate



Today's WND
Commentary Highlights
I'm with Chuck Norris
- By Joseph Farah
Democrats missed the best candidate
- By Pat Boone
Fireproofing our marriages
- By Jonathan Falwell
Welfare state policies caused crisis
- By Star Parker
The Dems did it!
- By Henry Lamb
Be afraid. Be very afraid
- By Patrice Lewis
What's stealing your spiritual momentum?
- By Greg Laurie

Fousesquawk comment:

How many of these radical figures does it take before the public wakes up and realizes that Barack Obama represents a far-left, socialist future for America?

Random Shots in the Dark (6)

So OJ Simpson was convicted last night by a Las Vegas jury. His attorney, Yale Galanter, says the verdict was "payback" and plans to appeal. Simpson's sister was crying in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. She might want to ask the Goldman family how to deal with the grief. Of course, there is the complaint that there were no African-Americans on the jury. Advice to OJ: If you want black jurors, you'd better commit your next crime someplace with a sizable black population. Of course, there might not be a "next time", heh, heh.

I see Bill Clinton rode the "Love Jet" down to Orlando last week to entertain an Obama rally. I guess Hillary wasn't there. No seats on the plane available, if you know what I mean. Explaining why Obama should be elected, Bill gave a bunch of vague platitudes like,

"He has a better plan."
"He has a better understanding..."
"He has a better philosophy."
"He has better economic advisers."
(like Franklin Raines and Jim Johmson?)

Clinton also pointed out that many of Obama's advisers were his advisers as well. That's reassuring. It reminds me of the famous Don Imus speech (in front of Bill and Hillary)in which he described watching Clinton's cabinet enter the Senate chambers for a state-of-the union speech as similar to going to the circus and watching the clowns come piling out of the Volkswagen.

I also wonder how any audience can listen to Clinton without wondering: "Is he telling us the truth, for once?"

Is Chris Matthews overtaking Keith Olbermann as TV's most biased commentator? After the Palin-Biden debate, he did nothing but unload on Palin. I thought he had been demoted by MSNBC from such events. It sure looked like he was moderating the discussion group.

If there are 300 people missing in Galveston from Hurricane Ike, why is there so little publicity about this compared to Katrina?

As a long-suffering Cub fan of 46 years, I guess tonight will be the night we are put out of our misery till next year-or next century. Don't believe in curses? Maybe you have a better explanation for Cub futility. (Update: Well, you know.)

Wouldn't it be great if the Cincinnati Bengals traded big mouth receiver Chad (Ocho-Cinco) Johnson to some team who has retired number 85? What would he do then? Change his name to his new number? How about Ocho-Zero?

If this bailout bill was so necessary to save the American economy, why did they have to fill it up with millions in earmarks? Speaking of which, Lavatory Larry Craig-who is still in the Senate-managed to get some of his earmarks added.

If I hear the phrase "Main Street" one more time, I'm gonna flip out and take hostages.

North Korea has announced that "Dear Dictator" Kim Jong Il, rumored to be gravely ill, attended a soccer match yesterday. Where was the soccer match-in his hospital room? And who in North Korea has the energy to play soccer in the first place besides the army?

I see Ted Stevens is trying to mix attending his corruption trial in Washington with campaigning in Alaska. And you thought Palin couldn't handle campaigning with her family. Maybe if Stevens is convicted, he'll ask the judge to send him to a prison in Alaska-so he can continue to serve as Senator.

Speaking of which, is William "Cold Cash" Jefferson still in Congress?

Anything new on the UN's "drive" to stop the genocide in Darfur? Tom Tancredo thinks we should get the UN out of the US. I agree. Right now, that building is about as useless as Shea Stadium.

If I were John McCain, my next campaign ad would be Sandra Bernhard's ugly mug trashing Sarah Palin.

And Matt Damon thinks Palin's candidacy is like "a bad Disney movie." Well, Damon ought to know a bad movie when he sees one. My son was watching a movie on TV today with Damon portraying a Viet Nam soldier. What a joke and insult. Sort of like that Pearl Harbor movie where the obnoxious loudmouth Alec Baldwin was portraying General Jimmy Doolittle. They might as well have chosen Angelina Jolie to play the World War II hero. But that's Hollywood.

Speaking of Hollywood, San Francisco's outlaw mayor, Gavin Newsome, back from his honeymoon in Africa with some "starlet" he married, is now "starring" in a campaign ad for proponents of Proposition 8, the measure that would stop gay marriage in California. In the ad, Newsome is taunting those who are against gay marriage by yelling,

"It's gonna happen-whether ya like it or not."

Smart move.

One thing that "isn't gonna happen" is a Cubs pennant.

Well, that's it for this time. Now I'll lay the shovel down, take the rest of the month off and wait for it to pile up again. Here in California, that's faster than snow in Siberia.

Earmarks in the Bailout Bill That Saved America

Exclusive Fousesquawk photo:
Behind the scenes photo of Congress drafting the bailout bill


We have been told that the bailout bill, disagreeable as it is, had to be passed in order to save the American economy. Well, our distinguished Congress has now passed the bill, and President Bush has signed it. So now, the republic has been saved.

AMAZING!

But wait! There is more. Also contained in the bill is page after page of..... EARMARKS! So many earmarks in fact that they were seen spilling out onto the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue as it was rushed down to the White House.

Behold.

The bill that saved America contains a bunch of tax incentives that benefit specific industries or states.

Wooden arrows: (Yes, wooden arrows) This boondoggle, pushed by Oregon's two senators, benefits an Oregon manufacturer of wooden arrows for children to the tune of $2 million over 10 years. How's that for saving the economy?

Racetracks: This earmark would let auto racetrack owners depreciate their tracks over seven years, saving them $100 million over two years.

Rum: This puppy gives rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate on excise taxes worth $192 million over two years. I'll drink to that!

Wool: Reduces tariffs for U.S. makers of wool fabric that use imported yarn, worth $148 million over five years. This "crucial" earmark was pushed by Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Melissa Bean, D-Ill.

Exxon Valdez: Plaintiffs in the suit over the 1989 oil spill can now spread their tax payments on punitive damages over three years, cutting their tax bill by $49 million. The measure was backed by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska (one of the biggest porkers in Congress).

American Samoa: This gives certain corporations the ability to reduce their tax liability on income earned in American Samoa, at a cost of $33 million over two years.

Hollywood: Extends a tax break for film and TV companies that keep their production in the United States, worth $478 million over 10 years. The provision was originally pushed by Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles. Who is Diane Watson, you ask?

You don't want to know.

Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, pushed an expansion of a program that helps pay for rural schools (and presumably upgrade their rest rooms in case the senator from Idaho decides to drop in).

There is also $5 million a year through 2013 for railroad safety infrastructure improvements across the country (like ordering their engineers not to text-message while operating the train).

I remember that not so long ago (like a week or so) Senator McCain promised us that, as president, he would veto any bill that came to his desk with earmarks.

So he voted no on this bill, right?

Wrong.

So, even with the greatest economic crisis facing the company since 1929 (according to Henry Paulson)and Wall Street apparently collapsing, our esteemed leaders, in crafting The Bill, didn't forget to cram it full of earmarks for their favorite projects. Did any politicians change their votes this week because of earmarks? If so, I would like to know who.

Disgusted?

Call Now.


Source: Taxpayers for Common Sense (posted in SF Gate)

This is Education?

Last month, a story broke out of Denver regarding an English professor at Metro State College, Andrew Hallam. The story is not unusual, rather, unfortunately, it is all too common. It seems a couple of his students have filed a complaint with the university regarding Mr Hallam's term writing assignments.

In the aftermath of the Republican Convention, Mr Hallam, who informs his students that he is a Democrat (very relevant to his course, you know), assigned his class to write a paper designed to refute the "fairy tale" about Sarah Palin portrayed at the convention. The paper was required to list three main points critical of Governor Palin.

Never mind that there may possibly be a student or two in the class who like Palin.

Well, apparently, a couple of students do-enough to appear on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox and tell their story. So now, in light of the furor, the college is "conducting an investigation", which in the parlance of higher education means grabbing a flashlight, bending over and looking for you-know-what.

I wish I could say that this incident is an exception to the rules of teaching in American universities. Unfortunately, it is typical in an environment where liberals rule and feel it their mission to drive their agenda down the throats of their students. When some students, parents, or outside voices complain, the university will "look into the matter" until the whole thing blows over. Then it is business as usual.

I also teach English in an American university (English as a second language at the University of California at Irvine-Ext). My students have no idea of my political persuasion or ideas. My job is to teach them English. I don't assign them to write papers on topics reflecting my point of view regardless of their own.

While I was spending my last five years as a trainer in DEA's Office of Training at Quantico, Va, my teaching experience centered around adult education. During those years, I was able to obtain my Masters degree through the University of Virginia while taking night classes at the FBI Academy. The students were FBI and DEA agents, plus Marines. On one occasion, a young graduate teaching assistant came up from the main campus at Charlottesville to teach a class. The first lesson in teaching adults is to know your audience. This young lady began spouting her liberal dogma then stated that she didn't think it was unpatriotic to burn the American flag. At that, the class erupted, the gal left in tears and vowed never to return to the FBI Academy.

I would suggest Mr Hallam try to take his views into a class full of mature adults with life experience and their own views of the world and try to shove his biased views down the throats of those students.

It would be an education for him.

What is Going on in Ohio?

This morning, I got an email from Sarah Palin! Well, not really. You may have gotten one also, as well as one from John McCain asking for your prayers (for dead presidents, if you know what I mean).

Seriously though, I never contribute money to candidates, only votes. They need the votes, and I need the money.

I am, however, pasting two paragraphs from Palin's e-mail that concern me. It regards voter registration in Ohio. In the light of my recent essay about ACORN, I think this bears dissemination. The reader can accept it or reject it. It is, however, a serious accusation. In my view, the Democrats and their allies are, indeed, engaged in efforts to get out the vote in ways that are questionable, if not downright fraudulent. And this year will hardly be the first time. Of course, they will always accuse Republicans of trying to suppress the vote every time they (Republicans) challenge fraudulent voters.

Anyway, here it is:

"The stakes are extremely high and voters are already casting their ballots for the general election. You may have heard the media reports out of Ohio about same-day registration and voting. The Obama-Biden Democrats and their allies are exploiting loopholes in Ohio election laws that we fear may result in unqualified voters casting ballots. They're also hoping our voters will be so confused, that they will throw up their hands in frustration and stay at home instead of voting. That's why it's important to re-double our efforts.

The Democratic Secretary of State in Ohio even tried to disqualify thousands of Republican absentee ballot applications. She enlisted the help of liberal partisan friends and special interest groups when we challenged this in court. Thankfully, we were successful in taking the case all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court and won the right to reinstate these absentee ballot applications. The Obama-Biden Democrats will likely try this shameful, partisan tactic in other targeted states. They'll do anything to win this election."

Of course, I have deleted the political statements and requests for contributions. However, I would ask each of you, including those who plan to vote Democratic, to consider if this is what we want our democracy to degenerate into.

Another Hater of Sarah Palin

Sandra Bernhard

Viewer Warning! Looking directly at this picture may cause permanent blindness.


Remember Sandra Bernhard, the foul-mouth "comedienne" (which one, you ask)? Believe or not, she is still around. Seems she is also a member of the "I hate Sarah Palin Club". Like most of her fellow members, her reasoning in articulating her dislike of the Alaska governor comes down to this:

In her latest rant, Bernard says the Alaska governor would get "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she ever came to New York.

Nice, huh?

On her web site, Bernhard tells us the gang-rape joke was part of a larger piece from her show about "racism, freedom, women's rights, and the extreme views of Gov. Sarah Palin - a woman who doesn't believe that other women should have the right to choose."

Ms Trash Mouth continues, "I certainly wish Gov. Palin no harm - I'd just like her to explain to me how she can hold such outrageous views ... and then go back to Alaska."

Sarah Palin may or may not go back to Alaska. If she does, she can go with head held high that she has accumulated enemies like the always disgusting Sandra Bernhard.

The Palin-Biden Debate -Who Won?

If you are dependent upon the network talking heads to tell you who won the debate tonight between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, then it all depends which network you watched the post-debate commentary on. If you watched it on Fox, then Palin knocked Biden out of the ring. If you watched MSNBC (Chris Matthews, Howard Fineman, Keith Olbermann), Biden cleaned up the floor with Palin. Virtually all of the talking heads came down on the side of the candidate they are pulling for. So much for media commentary. Chris Matthews was especially biting in his mockery of the Alaska governor, proving why he has no business being a moderator.

Of course, Biden showed that he is more experienced on the political stage than Palin. The senator did what he needed to do in two areas; first, he had to avoid making any monumental gaffes, which he is noted for. Second, he had to avoid being condescending to Palin. Biden avoided both those pitfalls. It should be added that Republicans have added up about ten statements Biden made that they are describing as "flat out misstatements".

More importantly, Palin avoided coming across as "the deer in the headlights". She improved noticeably over her interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric. She didn't embarrass herself, and she managed to carry the attack to Biden and Obama.

At the same time, it was clear that she is new to this national debating stage. There were times she appeared to be reading from notes. There were times when she appeared to be giving talking points about the new style she and the other maverick, John McCain, were going to bring to Washington. On other occasions, she steered the question into a different direction. Yet, it appears that she struck a chord with many viewers with her folksy style as opposed to Biden's Inside-the-Beltway-style of speaking.

I suppose a good analogy that comes to mind would be comparing a low-minor league baseball announcer to a major league announcer. Yet, given the fact that Palin is so new to the national stage compared with Biden's three decades of experience, she acquitted herself well. She pretty much stopped the bleeding surrounding her candidacy.

Finally, given my last couple of postings about the Gwen Ifill controversy, I think it is appropriate to give her a tip of the hat as well. Her performance, in my view, was fair, even-handed and professional.

So who won the debate? I have to give the nod to Biden-pending further analysis of the alleged misstatements he may have made. As for Palin. Tina Fey can start looking for a new act. Palin has showed something here. She has been knocked down and gotten back up.

Don't Do This, Gwen

In the wake of the controversy over Gwen Ifill acting as moderator for tonight's debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, Ms Ifill has now, while acknowleging that she had not informed the Commission on Presidential Debates about her forthcoming book, is now implying racism.

"Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?" said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, "I don't know what it is. I find it curious."

I find it curious that Ifill brought up the name of writer, Lou Cannon, who never moderated a debate involving Reagan/Bush 41. Had he been asked to do so, there would have been justifiable complaints from the Democrats.

I am sorry to see Ifill go down this path. In my limited glimpses of her on TV, she always seemed professional. Yet, she cannot see the conflict of interest involved with her moderating this debate. That others see it, according to Ms Ifill's implication, means that there is racism involved.

I beg to differ. Ifill's book, due to be released shortly, is entitled: Breakthrough-Politics and race in the age of Obama. First of all, the sub-title seems a little presumptuous to me. "...the age of Obama"? He has only been on the national scene for four years-or perhaps Ms Ifill is already convinced that President Obama is a done deal. What happens to "the age of Obama" if he loses? What happens to her book sales if Obama loses? In that case, does Gwen Ifill have an financial interest (if not personal desire) in seeing Obama and Biden win in November? If so, then that is a clear conflict of interest.

Ms Ifill may not think she has a conflict of interest, but perception is just as important as reality-at least in this case. Americans need to be assured that their elections are fair. This situation hardly gives me comfort.

And for Ms Ifill to go down that path of playing the race card makes this even worse in an election that has scratched our racial wounds open again-and that was just in the Democratic Primary. In bringing this up again, she is doing a disservice to her fellow citizens as they try to come to an informed voting decision.

She also does a disservice to Barack Obama. He doesn't need another race issue to enter into this election.

With only a couple of hours to go before the debate begins, Ms Ifill is not going to step down or be replaced. It would, however, have been the classy thing to do.

It's bad enough when the candidates/debaters put their foot in their mouths. Lately, we see a lot of moderators doing the same thing.

Is This What We Can Expect in Tomorrow's Debate?

L-R- Joe Biden, moderator Gwen Ifill, Sarah Palin

"Ok, I want a good clean fight, no holds, and when I say break, I want you to break. One last thing. Biden, knock her out."

Shana Tova

On the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, I would like to wish our Jewish Americans a happy new year. Rest assured that this writer will always speak out against anti-Semitism directed against our Jewish-American brothers and sisters.

Thursday's Debate "Moderator"

"The first question goes to Senator Biden"


If there are still some of you out there who think the news media is not biased toward Democrats and against Republicans, consider tomorrow's debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. The moderator will be PBS's Gwen Ifill, who is in the process of releasing a favorable book on Barack Obama entitled: "Breakthrough- Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."

This is not to suggest that Ifill will conduct herself like, say, a Keith Olbermann; she is certainly more professional than that. But how can you justify having as moderator someone who is clearly favorable to one side? Should not Ms. Ifill have notified the Commission on Presidential Debates of her book and the conflict of interest it represents? Or do they even care?

You might think that Ifill's association with PBS (Public Broadcasting Sysyem) would guarantee a fair debate. Not really. PBS definitely leans left- public finacing and all. Ever heard of Bill Moyers?

Not surprisingly, Republicans are not happy with the selection, but there's not much they can do about it. After all, there aren't too many experienced moderators out there that aren't liberal.

The best we can do is take notes, and if Ifill shows bias in her questioning, report on it as we always do. In the interest of full disclosure, it would be nice if viewers were advised of Ifill's book as the debate opens. (Don't hold your breath.)

At least it won't be Keith Olbermann asking Sarah Palin if she has stopped beating her husband.

Marco Antonio Solis

Marco Antonio Solis


Every now and then, I like to take a break from the political stuff, which is usually depressing, to write about this or that among my personal interests. One of my passions is Spanish-language music. I grew up with rock and roll in the late 50s, and, in my opinion, English-language music has deteriorated badly since then. Yes, there was some great music in the 60s, such as Motown, but to me, the British invasion destroyed rock and roll. (I know I am going to get some angry responses to that.) At any rate, when I look at English-language music today, all I see is rap, hip-hop and heavy metal. It is particularly sad to see the decline in black music, one of the great art forms of American culture. I hardly even classify rap as music. Nobody is singing, and the instrumental part is basically a drum in the background. I won't even go into the lyrics. The Platters and the Drifters must be turning over in their graves.

I know this is a long introduction, but it leads into my interest into Spanish music, which still produces quality product in the Spanish-speaking world as well as in the United States and, of course, Spain. Mexico especially has made its mark, not only in its distinctive styles, such as Mariachi, but as an important center of Spanish language music. Many famous stars from Spain, such as Julio Iglesis, actually started their careers in Mexico.

Over the years, I have become a fan of several singers such as Iglesias, the late Rocio Durcal (Spain), and Juan Gabriel (Mexico). My current favorite is Marco Antonio Solis of Mexico.

Solis was born in the Mexican state of Michoacan in 1959 and began singing as a child. At the age of 12, he was part of a duo with his brother, Joel, known as Los Hermanitos Solis (The Little Solis Brothers).

In the 1970s, Solis hit it big as part of the singing group, Los Bukis, which became extremely popular in Mexico, Latin America and the Spanish-speaking communities in the US. In the 1990s, Solis decided to go solo and has become one of the most popular solo artists in the Spanish-speaking world with dozens of hits.

A list of all his hits would be impractical here, but some of my favorites are:

O me voy o te vas
Tu carcel
El peor de mis fracasos
Morenita
Si no te hubieras ido
Sigue sin mi
Mi eterno amor segreto
Mi ultimo adios

Solis composes all of his music himself. His songs are generally romantic and often with the theme of lost love. The music could be considered international in nature with strings in the background. Many of his concerts are assisted by local symphony orchestras, such as the San Juan (PR) Symphony Orchestra, which performed with him at his appearance in San Juan, or the Madrid Symphony Orchestra when he performed in Madrid.

Not confined to love songs, Solis also mixes in faster Latin and Mexican rhythms with hot female dancers, who appear on stage for certain faster-paced numbers. In addition, there are always 3-4 female dancers who sway in the background to all of the songs. A Marco Antonio Solis concert, even with all the sad love songs, is a happy, rousing experience. (I have attended two.)

Solis records for the Fonovisa Company in Los Angeles, and lives in the LA area. His personal life is unsullied by scandals such as is the case with many other singers and entertainers. In addition to being a great composer, singer and performer, he is also a role model.

If you have any interest in Latin music, this is a singer you might want to check out.