THIS JUST IN! BARACK CAN'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE   THIS SUMMER BARACK OBAMA BEGAN INSISTING THAT AMERICANS NEEDED TO LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND THEN HAD TO SHEEPISHLY CONFESS, "I DON'T SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE."    NO, HE DOESN'T.  AND APPARENTLY ENGLISH IS ALSO A PROBLEM. AT LEAST WHEN IT COMES TO TALKING TO WOMEN WHICH IS WHY 'SWEETIE' OBAMA TOLD US TONIGHT HE'D STUMBLED ON THE WAY TO REACH WOMEN: LET OTHER PEOPLE SPEAK TO THEM.   IN OTHER NEWS, FAILED ACTRESS SUSAN SARANDON HAS LAUNCHED A BLISTERING ATTACK ON HILLARY CLINTON.  THE FAILED ACTRESS WHOSE LAST 17 FILMS HAVE BOMBED AT THE BOX OFFICE (AND FAILED CRITICALLY AS WELL -- ENCHANTED WAS A BIT PART, LIKE WHAT SHE DID ON FRIENDS, MAD TV AND OTHER TV PROGRAMS THAT FAILED MOVIE STARS GUEST STAR ON) DECLARED THAT HILLARY SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE TO YOUNG GIRLS.  WHEN ASKED ABOUT HER OWN MESSAGE TO YOUNG GIRLS, SUE DECLARED SHE COULD CUT UP SOME LEMONS, SMEAR 'EM ON HER BREASTS AND HAVE A HIT "ALL OVER AGAIN."  WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO TELL SUE THAT ATLANTIC CITY WAS ALSO A FLOP. SUE FIXED THOSE BUG EYES ON US AND INSISTED SHE HAD STARRED IN ONE FILM THAT CROSSED THE $100 MILLION MARK.  YEAH, 1976'S ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.  THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING FOR AN OVER WORKED ACTRESS TO BRAG ABOUT, A FILM SHE MADE 32 YEARS AGO, DAMN IT, SUSAN.   FROM THE TCI WIRE:     Turning to US presidential politics, Ralph Nader makes an ill informed remark to John Nichols ("My Running-Mat is More Qualified," The Nation) that Matt Gonzalez is more qualified than Sarah Palin.  Matt Gonzalez was not the mayor of San Francisco -- he did run for it, he did lose to Gavin Newsom. Gonzalez has many strong qualities, being mayor is not one of them and to imply that mayor and Board of Supervisors President is the same thing is to ignore that we elect different people to those posts and we decided not to elect Matt.  That is the way it went. While president of the board is an important position, it is not mayor.  And it's a real shame Ralph allowed himself to be put in the position of doing Team Obama's work for them. It scores no points for Nader to get into that conversation.  It allows the attacks to be launched on him -- attacks people like Kim Gandy are more than willing to make.  He put himself in a very bad position and shouldn't have done so.  Repeating, since the issue was raised elsewhere, we could have voted Matt Gonzalez mayor of San Francisco, we chose to vote Gavin Newsom into that office. Those of us who voted in that election made the decision.  When Ralph makes the comment, "San Francisco is a lot bigger than Wasilla," he takes it into a penis measuring contest whether he intends to do so or not.  And he does it over someone (Gonzalez) who has never been mayor.  It's not the same thing and all the boys need to stick their privates back into their pants before they do more damage to their images.  If you get sick of the whose-is-bigger commentary that the mainstream and panhandle media traffic in, Catherine Morgan has and is compiling a resource list for women bloggers.   She explains, "Answering the question…Where are all the women political bloggers? I decided to take some time today and surf the Internet for as many women blogging on politics that I could find. The refreshing thing about women political bloggers is their diversity…and here are 100 300 500 of them."   Amanda Hess (Washington City Paper) notes, "Tonight, Nader will not only stage a rally, but a 'Super Rally,' pulling out even superer celebs: Sheehan. Ventura. Rovics*--in an attempt to get to the $100,000 mark--only 10,000 $10 bills."  Team Nader notes:     We knew you wouldn't let us down. We're rapidly approaching our goal of $100,000 by midnight tonight. Now, we're in striking range. Just a little over $10,000 away. That's just 1,000 of you -- our loyal supporters -- contributing $10 each now. Then, tune in tonight 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. EST. Live from Minneapolis. It's Ralph Nader. Then, tune in tonight 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. EST. Live from Minneapolis. It's Ralph Nader. And Matt Gonzalez. And Jesse Ventura. And a lot more. In the belly of the Republican beast. The Nader/Gonzalez Open the Debates Rally. If you are in the area, hope to see you there at Orchestra Hall. If not, you can watch it the live stream here at 8 p.m. EST. (Sorry it didn't work out with the Denver stream. We'll try and make sure this one works.) As you watch, keep an eye on the last day of our $100,000 fundraising campaign. We're so close, we can almost touch it. So, as you watch Ralph Nader rip into the corporate Republicans and Democrats. Ask yourself this: Who else is in this election year is standing for the American people? Who else is standing against the candidates of perpetual war? Who else is standing for shifting the power from the corporate goliaths back into the hands of the American people? And if you answer Ralph Nader, then drop $10 -- we need 1,000 of you -- our most loyal supporters -- to do that today. And we'll reach our goal. Watch the event. And drive us home. Remember, if you give $100 or more now, we'll send you three DVDs -- the Denver rally, the Minneapolis rally, and a special debate DVD. (Three DVD offer ends tonight at 11:59 p.m.) Onward to November The Nader Team   Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has multiple events tomorrow and Saturday in Wisconsin including a lunch (10:30 a.m.), a town hall (Walden III School, Racine) at one p.m., and a Park Six meet and greet starting at 4:30.  Saturday she will be speaking at the Fighting Bob Festival (Baraboo, Wisconsin at 10:20 in the morning and will be hosting another meet and greet this time at High Noon Salloon in Madison beginning at 5:30 p.m.).      RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot" "Sarah Palin (Ava and C.I.)" "Iraq" "this and that" "Ellen Susman hasn't been cute since 1972" "Ben Taylor, Ralph Nader" "Going to probe a life, get honest about your own" "Thoughts on sour grapes from some 'leaders'" "Topics" "Baracky's turn to cry" "THIS JUST IN! BARACK GETS PUNKED!"

THIS JUST IN! BARACK GETS PUNKED!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE   "OH NO, SHE DIDN'T!" HOLLERED BARACK "SWEETIE" OBAMA INTO THE PHONE TO THESE REPORTERS TONIGHT.   SHE IS SARAH PALIN, THE G.O.P.'S CHOICE FOR THEIR V.P. NOMINEE.   SPEAKING IN MINN. TONIGHT, PALIN, EXPLAINED, "I GUESS A SMALL-TOWN MAYOR IS SORT OF LIKE A 'COMMUNITY ORGANIZER,' EXCEPT THAT YOU HAVE ACTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES."   "WHY DON'T WOMEN LIKE ME," SOBBED BARACK OVER THE PHONE.     FROM THE TCI WIRE:     Turning to two journalists.  John Pilger will tale questions at an event this Friday in London (Institute of Education).  For ticket prices and other details click here for the notice by the UK Socialist Worker.  (Click here for Pilger's most recent article at The New Statesman.)  Second, independent journalist David Bacon details (at Truth Out) an immigration raid in Mississippi and quotes the National Immigration Law Center's Marielena Hincapie stating that "raids drive down wages because they intimidate workers, even citizens and legal residents.  The employer brings in another batch of employees and continues business as usual, while people who protest get targeted and workers get deported.  Raids really demonstrate the employer's power."   Bacon's latest book has just been released: Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press).   Ralph's Daily Audio is a segment of the Nader-Gonzalez presidential campaign that offers audio commentaries.  This is "Nixon and Ford Now Seem Progressive:"   This is Ralph Nader.  In recent weeks, I've been making the point that if voters don't condition their vote on some response by the candidates to the priority issues on the voter's minds, every four years both parties will become worse.  Because, twenty-four seven, the corporate lobbies are pulling on both parties and if voters who are liberal or progressive are not pulling  in the other way to make the least worse candidate accord with the important priorities favored by a majority of the American people, then the corporate interests have a pull without any pull in the other direction and you know where that leads.  I was reading the other day some of the policies by Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s.  Richard Nixon, for example, besides signing into law with enthusiastic statements, the EPA Bill, the OSHA Bill, the Product Safety Bill, among other legislation we pressed through Congress in those heady days.  He offered a policy on drugs in the streets and addiction that emphasized rehabilitation of drug addicts, not incarceration and imprisonment. He proposed a health insurance plan that observers say was better than the Clinton plan, He supported and articulated a minimum income plan to move the country toward abolishing poverty No other president has done that since. And he favored vocally the voting rights for the disenfranchised citizens of the District of Columbia.  Can you imagine a president today demanding an excess profit tax on the oil companies and demanding higher fuel efficiency for motor vehicles in no uncertain terms?   Well that's what President Gerald Ford did following Richard Nixon in the 1970s.     See what I mean about both parties getting worse when we as voters freak out, vote for the least worst and let the least worst be pulled by the corporate interest closer to the worst every four years? This is Ralph Nader.   And this is "Corporate Hands in Your Pockets:"    This is Ralph Nader.  I was watching the CBS national Evening News with Katie Couric on Friday.  And she came on with an interesting segment about how people are charged for services they never receive.  She highlighted one woman who had a back operation and She was billed about $60,000 and it turned out $40,000 of that $60,000 were for phantom charges -- things she never received, were never treated with.   Well that's just the tip of the iceberg.  The General Accounting Office years ago estimated that billing fraud in the health care industry is 10% the entire health care bill of the whole nation.  This year that would mean $230 billion.    Imagine $230 billion dollars.   Malcom Sparrow the applied mathametician at Harvard who specialises in health care billing fraud thinks that that is the most conservative estimate.  Have you ever heard any of the presidential candidates talk about billing fraud phenomena  year after year that costs more than the war in Iraq? Have you ever heard any of the presidential candidates -- John McCain, Barack Obama, or the primary candidates for that matter in the Republican-Democratic Party ever mention or pay attention to a rip-off phenomon that is costing more than the Iraq War at least in dollas  -- Well that's why the Nader - Gonzales is so necessary to provide the contrast, the alternative to focus on the need to crack down on corporate crime, fraud and abuse that is looting  or draining trillions of dollars from consumers, worker-pensions, savers, mutual funds     It's all reported in the mainstream press except this billing fraud that I just mentioned from Enron to Wall St. and yet John McCain and Barack Obama have no program to engage in the necessary resources and willpower to crack down and prevent corporate crime fraud and abuse including corporate crime ripping off Medicare in the billions of  dollars.  Just another difference between Nader-Gonzalez and McCain-Obama the corporate candidate.  Thank you.    Ralph Nader in the independent presidential candidate.  Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party's presidential candidate.  Cynthia willl be on C-Span1's Road to the White House this Sunday (September 7th) which will air at 6:30 p.m. EST (repeating at 9:30 p.m. EST the same night).  Among those supporting Cynthia's run are the one and only Roseanne, Black Agenda Report and Carolyn of MakeThemAccountable.  In the August 26th snapshot, we noted her interview with Gabriel San Roman (Uprising Radio).  Gabriel San Roman provides a text version of that audio interview at Black Agenda Report this week:   GSR: How do you seek to redefine sources of electoral power come November? CM: My political career started in the state of Georgia as a member of the Georgia Legislature. When I ran for that particular position, the corporate press all touted the fact that I was not going to win and yet we were able to win. We won because of people power. We went outside the existing electorate. We brought new people in. That is, of course, one of the hopes that we have with this campaign. We hope we are going to bring new people into the political process and let them see the efficacy of their vote. Now how is it that we can do that? We have to talk about the fact that we are operating in a political environment that lacks election integrity. One of the things I have been able to say quite convincingly because of the precedent set four years ago by the Green Party and David Cobb is that the day after the election when there are reports of disfranchisement and fraud, the Green Party is going to be there when the Democratic Party capitulates. It was in 2000 that we know that the voters of this country gave the Democrats the White House and instead they didn't even fight for the victory that the voters gave them. They capitulated to the Republicans and allowed George W. Bush to assume the presidency. Again in 2004, John Kerry promised that we would not see this kind of action on behalf of the Democratic Party that took place in 2000. In 2004, on the very next day, even as the reports were coming in from Ohio, John Kerry conceded. He gave up once again. He gave up the White House, so that George W. Bush could continue this reign of terror on people inside of this country and outside this country. So now comes 2008. We understand that there are already efforts afoot to disenfranchise certain populations through the Voter ID laws that have been passed in various legislatures as well as with voter caging. Voter caging is just a fancy way of saying you show up at the polls on election day and you find out that your name is not on the voter list. What is your recourse? You have none. You don't get to vote. If you have the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot, there's no guarantee that the provisional ballot will be counted. We still have to deal with the electronic voting machines. The ills of the 2000 election remain with us. The ills of the 2004 election remain with us. New ills have been placed on top of those ills for the 2008 election. It will be the Green Party and activists across this country who will demand election integrity and who will move from protest to resistance. That is what we have to do now.   GSR: You mentioned protest. Define a vote for Cynthia McKinney in this election. Is it a protest vote or something more substantive? CM: It's a values vote. What we are asking people to do is vote their values. I am so proud to say that at a recent meeting with Rosanne Barr she said, "I'm sick and tired of being put in a box. I'm going to vote my values. I'm going to vote Green." We invite people to join the Power to the People campaign. This is a campaign that seeks to include everyone. We want to draw from every population that feels that somehow their values are not represented by the powers that be. They are not represented by the two corporate parties. They are not represented by any other way, shape, fashion or form. And so perhaps the Power to the People campaign and the Green Party can express the views and the values of people who want peace for a change. They want ecological wisdom for a change. They want social justice for a change. They want real democracy for a change. That's what the Green Party vote represents and so I invite everyone to vote your values and vote Green. Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) explains, "Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are running for president and vice-president on the Green Party ticket, but their larger goal is to reignite a mass movement based on principles that are anathema to the financiers that call the shots in the Obama campaign. They are among the voices that have not been silenced in this deformed election cycle."  Meanwhile Chris Hedges encourages people to examine the health care plan Barack is proposing and to show spine, "We on the left, those who should be out there fighting for universal health care and total and immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, sit like lap dogs on the short leashes of our Democratic (read corporate) masters. We yap now and then, but we have forgotten how to snarl and bite. We have been domesticated. And until we punish the two main parties the way big corporations do, by withdrawing support and funding when our issues are ignored, we will remain irrelevant and impotent. I detest Bill O'Reilly, but he is right on one thing-we liberals are a spineless lot. . . . We need to throw our support behind alternative candidates who champion what we care about, whether Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader."     RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot" "Other Items" "Silences . . . despite cholera, fuel and energy shortages and violence" "it's not about republican or democratic" "Secret meeting?" "WMC needs to decide if it wants to stop sexism" "Brief" "Responses to 'I do not support the WRSC'" "Not much" "The 'left' goes right (and it's not pretty)" "THIS JUST IN! NEW DEM DIRECTION!"

THIS JUST IN! NEW DEM DIRECTION!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE   TONIGHT THE G.O.P.'S CONVENTION WAS ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS INCLUDING INTRODUCING SARAH PALIN TO AMERICA.   IN ISN'T IT INTERESTING NEWS, THE LEFT SPENT THE WEEKEND TOSSING GUTTER RUMORS AT A PROFESSIONAL WOMAN.  APPARENTLY THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES WERE NOT AN ABERRATION BUT A SIGN OF NEW DIRECTION FOR THE DEMOCRATS.   [VOTE NADER!]   FROM THE TCI WIRE:     Barbara Starr (CNN) reports US Secretary of Defense "Robert Gates is expected to present proposals to cut U.S. troop levels in Iraq to President Bush, along with proposals for beefing up American forces in Afghanistan".  Barring some huge change of direction at this week's Republican Party convention, the two major parties will both be offering the American people cuts and calling them "withdrawal."  Turning to the US presidential race, not content to disgrace themselves on the front page of the New York Times today, the press decided to do so at the White House.  "One last question for you," a reporter who will remain nameless asks, "because this is another on that you hear a lot --  this issue is raising a lot of questions and sort of prompting a lot of debate about -- the idea of Sarah Palin, mother of five, soon to be grandmother of one, coming to Washington potentially as a vice president, in the most demanding job one could imagine. Any issues raised there about the whole motherhood-work divide?"  Pay attention to Dana Perino (White House flack) responding because even WMC blows it (and Feminist Wire Daily still doesn't appear to have noticed a woman had been named as a running mate), " You know, I don't think that those questions would be asked if it was Todd Palin that was the nominee. And I think that Sarah Palin has proven that you can choose as a woman to be a mother and be a strong executive, and to have a wonderful, loving family. And that's what she's chosen to do. And I think that's why the party has rallied around her so fully."  Exactly right.  Dana Perino got something 100% right today -- a rare thing for her.  But not only was it rare for her, it's too much for many 'lefties.'  The question WOULD NOT and HAS NOT been asked of a man.  But Palin, John McCain's running mate pick if he gets the GOP nomination, is being 'probed' in what should damn well remind many of the crap Kimba Woods and others had to put up with over 15 years ago.  It wasn't right then, it's not now.  The paper of little record tries to hide behind "Mommy Wars" to 'cover' the non-story.  Susan (Random Thoughts) gets right to the point, noting no one gives a damn about Barak's two children while he's on a ticket but Palin is supposed to be uanble to have kids and run for VP: "The article reeks of sexism. The message is clear: If you're a woman and you've just had kids, don't bother running for high political office."  Joseph (Cannonfire) notes the garbage that's been thrown at Palin already (false rumors) and where it's coming from: The Daily Toilet Scrubber and Andrew Bareback Mountain Sullivan.  Somehow Bob Somerby, covering similar terrain, can only hiss at Andy Sullivan -- well Somerby's always been scared of his own shadow.  As for a non-rumor regarding Palin's family that is also non-news, my opinion is here and Anglachel offers her own here.  It's a real shame that Stephanie Miller (who wants no one digging through her closets) has chosen to demonstrate just how trashy she is on this topic and it's even sadder that Women's Media Center finds her to be a voice worth quoting in an article.  As pointed out here last night, "And 'scoring' a 'win' for Barack via smut only further adds to the perception that he has nothing to run on and no qualifications. Why else would you be tearing into a young girl?"   The RNC is currently holding their convention and will select their presidential nominee (presumably John McCain).  Amy Goodman's already found attention getting stunts to get her name in the headlines.  She could have pulled the same stunts in Denver and faced the same police treatment.  But Denver was about her selling the Democratic Party and Minneapolis is about her tarring and feathering the RNC.  (Most years, we generally let the RNC tar and feather itself.  But it's CrackPot time these days.)  Ava and I addressed Goody's garbage Sunday but two things need to be noted Obama Groupie Patricia Wilson-Smith LIED on air and got away with it.  She said early on (sticking with the talking point) that she was for Hillary originally, as she became more heated she wanted the whole world to know about the work she's been doing: ". . . I've been working so tirelessly over the last year and a half for Senator Obama".  It's not both ways.  Wilson-Smith lied.  Get used to it.  You'll see a lot more woman trying to tell you they were Hillary supporters at the start and then went over to Barack with the implication being that you can as well!  Don't believe liars.  Do what you want, but don't believe liars.  The second thing is that, as noted, there was no convention bounce for Barack.  As Ava and I noted:   The Thursday speech was a whimper (and as we feared last week, no one taught Barack to modulate). The entire week was a Love-In. Only, unlike past love-ins, it wasn't about "us" (however, you define the noun), it was about Barack.  Try to get it if you support Barack (we don't) because you (his supporters and the media) continue to hurt his chances of winning in November. Americans want to elect a president to work for them. Americans aren't electing a Love God, a Second Coming, a Homecoming King. James Carville has famously (and rightly) called the first night as a disaster. It was a disaster. The disaster continued all week, with few exceptions.   The convention was supposed to bring America on board. What was being sold? It wasn't the Democratic Party. It wasn't a need to make the country better. It was Barack, Barack, Barack, Barack. Over and over.   Here's reality that the campaign better start accepting: Barack is not experienced.  That's a reality. America will gladly take a chance on a candidate if they believe the candidate has something to offer them. You need to accept the reality and you need to drop the testimonials. If you're serious about getting Barack into the White House (we plan to offer advice when we cover the GOP convention as well), you need to start making it about America and not about Barack.   It was a vanity parade. It was grown adults embarrassing themselves like Baby Soxers. It was never about where American can go, only that Barack could lead.   "Change to what?" was the question created during the primaries by the campaign refusing to be specific. "Lead us where?" is the question they replaced it with as a result of the convention. And, just like during the primaries, they had no answer to the question their actions raised. Four nights of non-stop infomercials told you there was a product named Barack and that you should buy it. But no one could ever tell you what Barack could or would do. Now people may buy a number of things from infomercials. They might buy a treadmill or a hair care product or anything else. But the infomerical has to tell you what it does. Repeating "It's great!" over and over doesn't sell the product.  And the convention didn't sell to America. It may have picked up a few converts. It didn't provide what Barack needed or anything he could build on. Four percent is what we're told the 'bounce' was. Four percent isn't a bounce and isn't even beyond the statistical margin of error. In other words, four four days, a non-stop infomercial ran and it didn't sell a damn thing.   RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot" "Other Items" "Dexy, still working it for the military" "Iraq" "It's neither your news nor business" "No, the man e-mailing wasn't sincere" "Response to Lady X" "Clearing up Gutter Trash's lies" "Notes (Ava)" "Public reply so everyone sees it posted here first!" Truest statement of the week Truest statement of the Week II Truest statement of the Week III A note to our readers Editorial: Ignoring the only news out of Denver TV: The endless non-news Sexism MSNBC's Weiner Dog The overview of Gutter Trash's attack How it started and who started it A rare moment when John Edwards told the truth Highlights "The polling doth not riseth" "THIS JUST IN! CHRIST-CHILD FALTERS!"

THIS JUST IN! CHRIST-CHILD FALTERS!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE   THE CHRIST-CHILD STARRED IN A WEEK LONG INFOMERCIAL LAST WEEK.   AND ON THE THIRD DAY?  THE POLLING DOTH NOT RISETH.   4%? SO TAKING INTO THE ACCOUNT THE MARGIN OF ERROR OF PLUS OR MINUS 5%, BARACK GOT NOTHING.       FROM THE TCI WIRE:   Starting with the US presidential race.  Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader held a Super Rally in Denver Wednesday and took the stage to the tune of "This Land Is Your Land."  Below are some of his opening remarks and you can see the video here:   Ralph Nader: . . . one of the best songs of social justice ever written.  And for those of you concerned, all this [points to confetti] can be recycled. Well, where do we start?  Let's start with something dealing with Colorado.  The Democratic Party Convention selling sky-boxes.  And guess who paid big money for those sky-boxes? Coors.  One million dollars.  How about this one: Excell, one million dollars. Qwest, six million dollars.  Well, you know, if they are really a part of working people, the way they used to say they were, fifty, sixty years ago, under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.  They'd have hospitality suites, not for these fat cat corporate lobbyists who are tearing the heart and soul out of America, they'd have hospitality suites for workers, for farm workers, for nurses, for patients trying to get health care, for consumers being ripped off, for students who are being gouged by student loans.  They'd have all kinds of hospitality suites and maybe they ought to go and see how some people in Denver live on the other side of the tracks, to see the poverty and the desperation and the lack of affordable housing and the lack of insurance when they get sick. This party is sick.  It's decaying.  It's lost its soul.  And its leaders can't ever get up on the stage like at the Pepsi Center -- the Pepsi Center, imagine after you say "The Pepsi Center" -- I'll bet you the tax payer built that center. You never talk about the poor.  That's a no-no in Democratic Party dictionary.  You talk about the middle class, which they've helped shrink through NAFTA and WTO and all the way they've crushed opposition to corporate power.  Corporate power has crushed so much of its opposition  they've brought trade unions to their knees.  They've made it almost impossible for industrial or commercial workers to even form a trade union because of the Taft-Hartley Law and other obstructive laws that no other western country puts before it workers.  The Democrats are dialing for the same dollars, the same corporate dollars the Republicans are dialing for.  And they don't even bother covering it up.  They're being winded and dined by the corrupters, the corporate predators, the corporations who have ripped off American consumers and workers that depleted their pensions who are outsourcing your jobs when you get out of college. Who are saying to you when you get out of college, "You got a skill but try getting a good paying job, try getting affordable housing, try getting affordable health insurance, try getting anything that your forebearers were able to get."  You know what you're doing?  I'm talking to young people in the audience, you're the first generation that's ever polled and said they aren't going to be as well off as their parents. And the indicators are all coming down.  More and more, millions of Americans, not making a living wage, not even close.  Wal-Mart wages.  K-Mart wages. Millions and millions of people who have to get sick or become sicker or even die because they can't afford health insurance.  Just think of that. This is the richest country in the world and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, just to give you a fact, says 18,000 people a year in this country die because they can't afford health insurance.  That's six 9-11s. Washington turned the country upside down after . . .  9-11.  In a lot of bad ways, as we know.  They don't turn the country upside down for 58,000 people who die every year from work-related diseases in the mines and foundries.  They don't turn the company upside down for 65,000 Americans who die from asphyxiation or cancer due to air pollution.  They don't turn the country upside down for the 100,000 people who die from medical negligence and  malpractice in hospitals. They don't turn the country upside down for any form of violence -- however preventable it is -- if it's source is corporate crime, corporate negligence, corporate greed and corporate power. You know some people ask me this around the country, "Nader, what are you doing this for?  What do you expect to achieve?"  Well look at what we've achieved tonight.  You have seen the young leaders of the future on this stage.  You have seen not only veteran advocates like Cindy Sheehan, you've seen Ashley Sanders.  You've seen Rosa Clemente.  You have seen Nellie McKay.  You've seen someone you're going to hear a lot more of in the next few months, you've seen Rev. J  Wait and see.  He's only 21-years old and he's breaking away from this notion that although many of us have always hoped there would be an African-American ascended to the presidency of the United States.  He's saying something more than that.  He's saying that's not enough, that may be an unprecedented career move into the White House but it's got to mean more than that, it's got to mean standing up to the corporate subjugation of the American people.  It's got to mean pushing forward a war against poverty.  It's got to mean coming from your background, something more than if it were just a White man or White woman in the White House, it's got to mean a peculiarly insistent sensitivity to the bottom 100 million Americans in this country who are at the bottom of the income scale: African-Americans, poor Whites, Latinos who do the most dangerous work, who do the most dangerous work for us, who do the most thankless work for us, who raise our children, take care of our children, be with our ailing parents, harvest our food, service us in all kinds of ways while they're underpaid and overcharged, while they're excluded. While they're disrespected.  While their marginalized.  And the only time they're held up before the country is when they ask them to go overseas and fight our criminal wars for us.     RECOMMEND: "Iraq snapshot" "Other Items" "Iraq, China, etc." "When C.I.'s right, she's right (Ava)" "The sock puppet master calls" "What Elaine said" "brief" "i just cross posted for c.i. and probably screwed ..." "The weekend " "Naomi Wolf" "Taxi ride" "Kate Michelman" "Laura Kaminker: Her own little fan club" "Rachel Maddow" "I don't support the War Resisters Support Campaign..." "Gutter Trash Is a Damn Liar " "Laura Flanders" "Denver and bust" "THIS JUST IN! THE DENVER SUICIDE PACT!"