The Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul are around the corner. Who do you want to hear from? Who should we be interviewing going into the Conventions? Post your choices below.
Soapbox
I would like to hear from commentators who understand that democratic representive elections are not about getting the specific candidate you prefer , rather , one must influence the direction one believes we must go.
I would like to know candidate's positions on so-called "signing statements" that President Bush has used to say how he will interpret and execute laws passed by Congress. This practice was expanded under Bush and has been criticized by some as unconstitutional. Where do Obama and McCain stand on this? Would they use signing statements in the same way?
I would like to know...who is doing the work in the senate offices that Obama and McCain would be doing if not campaigning? Both take two years off to run for President, how are they serving the constiuents that elected them on a day to day basis?
Reporters are doing their jobs if and only if they ask the follow up question of those candidates who say "lower taxes" is a key part of what they are running on.
We ALLLL want lower taxes so just saying that--and the media letting them get away with just that--is not enough. The real question is, "We know you want lower taxes. And what will you STOP doing to make up for the lower revenue."
When politicians are forced to talk about where they'll get the money for tax cuts, then and only then are they describing what their policies will be.
And on the other side of the political spectrum, when a candidates says "I will do x" the next question from the media must be "And the money for that will come from where?"
The media has the power to make a race a battle between fewer taxes vs. more taxes. And guess what? The media introduces a bias and influences elections when they do that.
The issues--policy x vs. policy y--are what you must focus on.
When we as a nation really really want to do something, a trip to the moon or an invasion of a Middle Eastern country, somehow we manage to come up with the money.
Patricia Joseph, Chicago, IL
First choice-
Earl Blumenhauer, the Oregon Congressman who heads the Bike Caucus. Barak Obama met with the bike industry- a first for a presidential candidate- and cycling, pedestrian, and transit are finally getting a deeper look as an appropriate transportation options for the country.
http://blumenauer.house.gov/
My second choice:
The Ginger Ninjas.
http://www.registerguard.com/rg/Weekly/Ticket/story.csp?cid=126776&sid=42&fid=2
They are headed to both conventions with their bike powered sound system and should be turning up the human powered energy to those outside.
I think you should systematically talk to all the groups who are planning to protest at the Conventions - to hear those who have not been represented in recent years, whether by excluded and uncounted votes or by an elected Congress that refuses to respond to obvious mandates.
I'd like to hear from Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). He is holding his own "convention" of sorts (called the "Rally For The Republic" that will coincide with the RNC in Minneapolis with speakers such as Jesse Ventura and Barry Goldwater Jr. I'd like to hear his comments about the RNC and what he hopes to accomplish there and at his own convention.
It is funny, I was lessoning to todays show and heard the part with googling words which the campaigns are picking up to do ads. But, I did my own search for "hybrid electric car" and "electric car" and did not find a thing with both. Why? Why is there not a focus on SOLUTIONS to the oil and gas issues? Why is there a lack of reporting on the reason we can not help Georgia is oil from Russia? And, how about asking a questions like "When is peak oil going to happen? And, how is the nation going to solve peak oil issues?" from both parties leaders.
Don't ask if they think peak oil is going to happen.
I would like to hear from Dennis Kucinich and other liberal/progressive members of Congress. I'd like to hear their reaction to Obama's positions/changes of positions he's taken since June on FISA, the Supreme Court's decisions on the death penalty in the Louisiana child rape case and overruling of gun regulation in DC, decriminalization of marijuana and givernment support of faith based initiatives.
While the war, the economy, healthcare, abortion, terrorism and safety, energy, et.al., always come up in questions and interviews, I would prefer that someone go to the crux of our nationala ngst: the Constitution. What do the candidates believe is the roll of the Constitution? What will each do to re-establish the Constitution as the living document that guides us? How will they prevent decimation of any part of the cConstitution for political ends?
I would like to hear from both candidates on what factual grounds they believe Afghanistan to be 'the right war'. What do they hope to accomplish there that makes it, as they call it, 'right' (implying righteous?)?
Why is accomplishment there thought to be necessarily brought by military action? And why is Afghanistan neither an 'issue' nor a bullet point on the website of either candidate?
Who are the foreign policy advisors of the candidates?
I would like to hear from delegates who are new to the Democratic Party (why did they switch or become involved?) and also from older delegates such as Bertha Means of Austin, TX. This is her first Convention and she is 84 years old. I would like to hear these delegates tell you what have been the most inspiring moments and how they intend to carry that back to work for the general election.
I'd like to hear from somebody on Obama's staff on the role (or proposed role) of former Air Force chief of Staff McPeak in Obama's campaign. McPeak has been seen standing with Obama in the media. This is very troubling to me based on comments from people with first-hand experience with McPeak.
I would like to hear from Andrew Bacevich, who was recently interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS.
what has happened to the political world that has created the "imperial presidency" and why is it that instead of covering the national debt, for instance, we tolerate hearing from ALL media ( NPR included) gossip and bald faced speculation about the "ramifications" of little comments by presidential contenders.
Kanya Vashon McGhee, Founder
Tree of Life Books & Wellness Center of Harlem
1701 M. L. King Drive SW
Atlanta , GA 30314-2227
Email: drkanya@GMail.com
404-753-5700 TOLLFREE 1-866-840-5700
Dear NPR.Org/Soapbox,
I preface my remarks with this observation:
There are two aspects of each individual - a visible but temporary physical body and
an indwelling invisible Eternal Spirit.
There are more than 6 Billion physical human bodies on Earth today but only ONE Eternal Spirit which makes us ALL connected as ONE.
Having lived through all or parts of the last 9 decades, I would further like to say that The Tree of Life Bookstore of Harlem founded in 1969 has demonstrated over the past 39 years workable resolutions to 5 perplexing Urban challenges: 1] School Dropouts;
2] Drug Abuse; 3] Crime & Violence; 4] Prison Inmate Rehabilitation; and 5] Creation of innercity Entrepreneurs.
Having notified these facts ad nauseum to 5 U.S. Presidents, various Congresspersons,
Mayors, Corporate Officers, Educators, Ministers, Rabbis, Newspapers, Radio & TV stations and various other Media etc., including NPR, I find it so strange that NONE have bothered to respond. I wonder why???
Could it be that the resolution of these worldly challenges is actually the OPPOSITE of what the so-called Elite (CFR, BB, & TC, S&B) that run the World would want to occur???
Yours very truly,
Kanya Vashon McGhee
Please View these Important Websites:
www.naturalusa.com/ads/treeoflife.html
Here's what I want to know: Conservatives make a BIG sink about being "Pro-Life," or if they're brazen "Anti-Abortion," proclaiming things like "all life is sacred."
Yet, these same politicians are vehement supporters of war, in the abstract and in practice, and are equally vehement in their opposition to laws that would restrain the purchase and use of guns that are used to kill people in the commission of violent crimes.
Hypocrisy on this order goes beyond annoyance, and actually makes me angry, yet it is never pointed out by the media when a politician like John McCain stands in front of a church congregation and says that life begins at conception and must be protected, and with a straight face says at the same event that Generals running the Iraq war deserve our admiration.
Either you're pro-life or you're not. War is not pro-life. No matter how lofty the aim or the rhetoric, war is about killing people. And it takes conscious naivete to believe firearms are intended for purposes beyond killing, just because they CAN be used for other things.
So let's cut the crap. Straight talk express my ass.
I think you should be talking to all of the groups that are protesting the DNC; talk to ReCreate 68, Tent City, the organizers of the immigration march on the morning of Aug. 28th, etc. Democracy involves many voices not just the ones that make the nightly news.
I would like to know how I can participate in the convention through interactive technology.
I second Patricia Joseph's observations on followup on "lower taxes". We never have a national discussion of the appropriate levels of taxation. We hear that "lower taxes" increase revenue. How low, before revenues decrease and infrastructure rots? Will 0% tax rates increase revenue? Let's start with that absurdity and move on from there.
I want to hear John McCain himself follow up with specifics on the pro-life stance & the litmus test for future Supreme Court candidates he implicitly promised Rick Warren & his audience. How does John McCain propose to keep his pro-life stance from becoming an "undue burden" on the females of our society? If "life begins at conception" how will he hold men & boys accountable for bringing to term the babies they conceive? Will he support legislation expanding child support to include "womb support" & labor & delivery payments as well as child support beginning at birth - to be required of men & boys whether or not they are married or living with the birth mother? Will men & boys be charged as accessories to a crime if a birth mother has an abortion, if she can provide they provided no financial or support for the preganancy, birth & raising of the child? I need to hear some specifics from John McCain.
With all the talk about appeasing evangelicals, I would like to hear another take on religion in this election.
More and more Americans are secular or are even marking the "Other" box when it comes to religion, so why not talk to some of them at the conventions? For example, Rita Moran of Maine who is a Pagan (the one I know of as I, too, am Pagan).
We also have Native Americans, Hindus, Buddhists, Santeria practioners, and many other non-Christian religions in this country. They vote, and they count, too. We should be reminded that our diversity is one of our strengths.
I would like to hear - from both campaigns - how their candidate intends to represent/govern the approximately 75% of the American population that are NOT evangelical Christians.
Given recent history, I find myself wondering who each candidate is leaning towards for Chief of Staff. In some ways, this post may be even more important than V.P.!
I'd also be interested in coverage of smaller, non-traditional "caucuses" within the Democratic Party. Are there gatherings of Pagan Democrats out there in Denver? Or Muslim Democrats? Or Voluntary Simplicity Democrats?
Just curious!
Just tell me how many tours does one soldier have to do until they're done? Three? Four? Five? Six? How many times are you going to ask the same soldier to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan?
I'd like you to ask each of the presidential candidates where the majority of our oil comes from? Answer: Canada.
Also, McCain specifically - what percentage of our offshore drilling sites are currently being drilled?
Having checked that category more than once, I would also be interested in hearing from members of the "Other" religions at both conventions. More importantly, both Democrats and Republicans need to have an answer for why they seem to court Evangelical Christians first, other Christians second, and everyone else last.
I'm writing to second the following post re: suggestions (for DNC and RNC) on an important issue in these times of transportation challenges.
The Ginger Ninjas.
http://www.registerguard.com/rg/Weekly/Ticket/story.csp?cid=126776&sid=42&fid=2
They are headed to both conventions with their bike powered sound system and should be turning up the human powered energy to those outside.
They are also featured here:
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2008/julaug/pc/gingerninjas.html
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