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Technorati tags: Unknown Candidate, joke, video, commercial

Why You Should Stop Watching Mainstream News

Paul Jay, CEO of The Real News Network, is interviewed by Daljit Dhaliwal, host of PBS Foreign Exchange:



The Real News Network:

Paul Jay, is CEO and Senior Editor of The Real News Network. TRNN is independent of political parties, is viewer supported and not-for-profit. TRNN does not accept advertising, government or corporate funding. This funding model allows for uncompromising broadcast journalism. Now in ‘start up’ phase, its mission is to be a daily video news service for a mass audience – online and on television. Prior to TRNN, Jay was for ten seasons the creator and executive producer of CBC Newsworld's flagship debate programs, counterSpin and FaceOff. Jay has produced and directed more than 20 major documentary films including "Return to Kandahar", “Lost in Las Vegas” and Hitman Hart: wrestling with shadows, a feature length documentary, that was screened in 25 major festivals and won more than a dozen awards. It's been called "one of the most acclaimed Canadian films in years"(eye magazine), "A tale as bizarre as Kafka and as tragic as Shakespeare" (Ottawa Citizen) and "one of the best films of 1998"(Peter Plagens, art critic for Newsweek). A past chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada, Jay is the founding chair of Hot Docs!, the Canadian international documentary film festival.

Technorati tags: The Real News, News, Journalism, Mainstream Media, Corporate News, Propaganda, Government Propaganda

The Unknown Candidate: Why I'm Voting For Barack Obama | Part One

Head vs. heart. Mind vs. Emotion. Practical vs. wishful-thinking. Change vs. Politics-as-Usual. A leader vs. a politician. My decision to end my anonymous Presidential campaign and throw my support behind Barack Obama has not come quickly or easily as I grappled with the pros and cons of various candidates. There are no perfect choices. But it all boiled down to this: Barack Obama is one of those rare leaders who come around none too often in life. And, thankfully, he has emerged at a time when we desperately need a great leader as opposed to a good politician.

America is disheartened, disillusioned, beaten down and depressed after seven endless years of enduring the results of the worst policies of any President in our history. We have lost faith in our elections and our politicians. We rightfully feel as if someone has pulled the rug out from under everything we once believed made America, well, America. And we do indeed stand at a crossroad in this election.

The best decisions I have made in life were those that came from my gut, not my brain. Admittedly, my decision to support Barack Obama comes from my heart more than from my head. It comes from a deep longing for a return to civility -- not to be confused with compromise -- in America. It comes from a deep longing for a leader who represents positive values, who embraces all Americans, who has the ability to inspire us to WANT to be the best we can be. Barack Obama has that ability. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther were two of the most influential people in my life because they inspired me on a visceral level to aspire to accomplish what once seemed impossible to attain. They convinced me that real change comes from a belief in our collective selves and that when we pull together, we can do anything. They convinced me to BE THE CHANGE I wanted.

In sports, an egotistical super-star who isn't a team player will more often than not lead his team to failure, while a team that pulls together with a common focus on winning has a good chance of doing just that. Making an analogy, Hillary Clinton is the egotistical super star while Barack Obama is the inspirational coach of the other team. Which team would you want to be on? The one where the superstar arrogantly butts heads with those who disagree with her? Or the team with the charismatic leader who inspires every one of YOU to be superstars?

Admittedly, part of my decision to support Obama involves a leap of faith. He is the greater unknown in terms of his ability to deliver on his campaign promises -- and beyond. And this is where my heart takes over from my head. I can't know, but I truly believe he is capable of transforming our severely depressed nation into an optimistic one capable of true progressive change. No, his public policies don't indicate the kind of bold, new progressive ideas I wish they did. But then I think back to when John F. Kennedy was running for president as a relative unknown candidate who was deemed by his critics to be "too young," and "too inexperienced." His speeches were hugely inspirational and hugely lacking in detailed, big, bold policies. Once in office, he challenged a nation to put a man on the moon and introduced the Peace Corps. Had his presidency not been cut so tragically short, it is likely that he would have accomplished much more, including ending the war in Vietnam.

My hope is that the reason for Obama's rather less than bold platform is a politically strategic one: in order to appeal to a broad base and put together a broad coalition of support, why rock the boat BEFORE he is elected by revealing big, bold policy initiatives which will only be attacked and dissected endlessly and perhaps permanently wounded by his political opponents? Rather, why not tap into what the majority of Americans are FEELING, tap into their frustration and despair, thereby inspiring them to demand the kind of bold policies he -- and they -- truly want?

One thing I do know. Nothing will change in the way politics are conducted in Washington should Hillary Clinton be elected. Special interests will likely remain strong and continue to unduly influence policies. Our foreign policy will not likely change in any substantive way. Change, if there is any, will be slow, adversarial, and in small increments. While there are never any guarantees, Obama is the only candidate with the leadership abilities necessary to actually effect significant progressive change. Whether he succeeds will largely depend on us: will we actively demand it? If we do, nothing can stop it. If we don't, we will have ourselves to blame.

In the past, my heart and my head were with Dennis Kucinich, whose bold, progressive policies most closely match my own. Kucinich's downfall was his lack of charismatic leadership and political acumen. When it comes to leading a nation -- much less a political campaign -- both are a necessity in order to accomplish transformational goals. Unfortunately, Kucinich is presently under attack by corporate interests and is fighting for his political life in his own state. I encourage each of you to contribute what you can -- monetarily and otherwise -- to help him to hold his congressional seat. We need Dennis Kucinich in Congress -- and a whole lot more like him.

As for the Presidential race, I urge all of you to look into your hearts, follow your gut, and vote in the coming primaries for the candidate best poised to bring about real progressive change. I hope you'll agree with me that Barak Obama is the candidate who deserves your vote.

(Stay tuned for more on my decision to support Obama.)

Also See:

• Christopher Hayes | The Choice | Here's why Obama is the left's best chance to take back the country.


• Katha Pollitt | Why I'm Supporting Barack Obama | He's less warlike, and he's exciting new voters


• John Nichols | The Nation | An Obama Sweep? What Are the Possibilities? | New polls and patterns raise the prospect -- not the certainty -- that Super Tuesday could be definitional

Technorati tags: The Unknown Candidate, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Presidential Election, Endorsements, President, Election

Poof! Gone!

I Will return .... exactly when, of course, is unkown.

In the meantime, stay informed by clicking on the sidebar links, and keep up the pressure on your elected officials.

Oh, yes, if you're still trying to figure out who the heck the Unknown Candidate is, watch this:


Enjoy!

Peace to all,

--TUC

Gone to Places Unknown ...

Back a week from Thursday ....
Meantime, keep up the good fight.

Peace,

TUC

This Guy is An Imposter

My supporters and I are hoppin' mad!

Came across this copy-cat blog today and I am not amused. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery, but in this case, it is close to, if not, plagiarism.

If this guy is actually running for something, I suggest he get a new M.O. He certainly starts off with a failing grade in originality. His "Mission Statement" (must be a corporate-type) starts with this:

"America needs fresh ideas...."

So how about starting with a fresh name and concept for your blog, bud? This one is taken.

At any rate, I just wanted you all to know that whoever this guy is, he isn't me, lest you be confused.

Grrrrrrrr.

Technorati tags: The Unknown Candidate, Plagiarism, Bloggers

Time Out for Blog Update

Just want to alert everyone that "The Unknown Candidate" blog is being updated and posts may be a bit more sparse than usual until the update is complete.

You should be able to access the blog while we are working on the site and hopefully won't experience any problems. If you do, please be patient ... we'll get things up and working smoothly as soon as possible. Hopefully, the site will be a bit more user-friendly when we're all done and have a fresh, new look.

Until then .... Keep fighting. Keep up the pressure for Impeachment, for getting us the heck out of Iraq, and for keeping us the heck out of Iran.

Peace all,

TUC

P.S. If you would like to be notified when there are new posts, you can easily subscribe to the blog by filling in your e-mail address (see right hand column) and clicking on the "Subscribe me!" button below the "Enter your e-mail" field. Should you like, you can cancel your subscription at any time, and you can be assured that your e-mail address will not be given to a third party.

Thanks for your support over the last year!

P.P.S. Scratch the above P.S. It seems that the "Subscribe me!" button has disappeared along with a whole bunch of other stuff ... including the "Peace" Store. We're workin' on it ....

P.P.S.S. Scratch the above P.P.S. and reinstate the original P.S! Whew -- everything is recovered. We'll try to work behind the scenes on the blog in an effort to keep things functioning. Thanks for your patience!

Any suggestions or things you would like to see while we upgrade? Let us know!

Technorati tags: The Unknown Candidate, news, blogging

Who Am I? Why won't I reveal my identity?

The current political climate is one that relies on personal smear tactics and media manipulations to win elections. In the midst of all this sleaze, a candidate's message is lost. It's not necessarily that views are not being expressed, it is that they are not being heard above the sleaze fray.

Another unfortunate fact of our current political process, ever since JFK and Chamelot, is that the amount of "charisma" a candidate exhibits can be the deciding factor over whether or not he is eventually elected. How else did we end up with Arnold "I'll be back" as Governor of California? Or Sonny Bono as a mayor? Or, frankly, Ronald Reagan as a president?

Because I don't believe candidates should be elected on the basis of their good looks or charm--or lack thereof--both of which serve to distract from their message, I choose to keep myself invisible for the time being. The only way I can be judged is by the value of my words and the quality of my beliefs. And that is how it should be.

Politics should be about real, not manufactured, issues: solving the kinds of real problems that are preventing this country from being the great democracy it should be. Rather, certain political factions want to distract you from those very real problems by manipulating you into paying attention to the unimportant, manufactured ones. Since 9/11, "fear" has been their most effective tactic to distract you from what is really going on. Frankly, things have gotten so bad, who can believe anything one hears from government officials anymore? They have lied to us so often, cried 'wolf' so many times, we have learned to ignore them. God forbid there should be a REAL terror attack in this country. No one, at this point, would take the warnings -- if given -- seriously.

In an effort to change the political climate, I will become more vocal as the election approaches. I will withhold my identity for as long as possible, in order to keep the focus on the issues and off political superficialities. In the meantime, a clue: I'm no different than you. I am frustrated by what has (and has not) been happening in Washington and by our government's inability to solve our problems and be responsive to our needs. We need: Universal Health Care. Quality education for all. Environmental protection. Protection of our privacy and civil rights. A fair tax code. A foreign policy that promotes peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world instead of illegal wars in the name of peace. And on and on...

I invite you to tell me YOUR needs. Tell me what YOU think. Give me YOUR ideas. What are YOUR priorites? Health Care? The War in Iraq? Post your comments. I WILL read and consider every one. Together we will create a campaign of the people, for the people and by the people...which is what our government is supposed to be all about. POST YOUR COMMENTS. AND STAY TUNED...

The Unknown Candidate: Who am I?

The Unknown Candidate: Who am I?

Are you tired of politicians spouting political agendas that have no bearing--or worse, a negative bearing--on your life? So am I.
I dream of something better. Read on...

Who am I?

I am a non-party-affiliated, progressive independent. I have concealed my identity to focus attention on my message rather than my media appeal. My sole goal is to take back our country from the cabal in the White House and build a government (that really IS) of the people, by the people, and for the people... a government committed to taking care of its most vulnerable people and ending war as a way to solve world problems.

I am a dreamer.

I dream of:

• A United America, where the leadership works for the benefit of ALL Americans, not just the elite.

• An America with character. A country with morals and ethics and actions that inspire the rest of the world to emulate us, not hate us.

• An America that unites the world against terror, rather than alienating the world with aggressive, unilateral actions.

• An America that puts the needs of the American people first, with priority attention to the most vulnerable among us.

• An America where humanitarian causes are a-political, leading all of us to make the world a better, safer place for
humanity.

• An America that is fiscally responsible. An America that uses our money wisely, in our best interests.

• An America that is honest. Honest with the American people. Honest with the world community. Honest and open to
criticism -- good or bad -- of our actions at home and abroad.

• An America that rejects "fear" tactics and safeguards our freedoms at all costs.

• A United America. An America that serves ALL of her people. An America that brings people together through respect and honest debate and compromise for the good of all.

• An America that embraces American Values in more than just rhetoric, but, rather, lives her values – justice, freedom, opportunity for all, peace – in every action she takes at home or abroad.

• An America that spurns secrecy, and secret deals, and Presidential privileges and opens it’s arms to every single citizen in this country and says, we, the government, work for YOU. We are RESPONSIBLE to you. To each and every one of you.

• An America where you have the inalienable right to know the truth about what your government is or isn’t doing for you in your name.

• An America where you are the auditors of this country. You are America’s conscience. You are the keepers of America’s Flame.

• An America where truth prevails, and candidates are judged honestly and fairly by an open debate on the issues.

• A new America, where it is not only immoral, but illegal, for our leaders to slander others, to bend the truth, to mislead and misrepresent either their own records or the records of their opponents.

• A new America where dissent is encouraged, where difference of opinion is sought out, where voicing heart-felt objections is considered as patriotic and essential to a free society, as a stamp of approval.

• A new America, where a president who dares to take this country to war under false pretenses, or otherwise, bears the full responsibility of his actions to his troops, to the American people, and to the world community.

• A new America that respects the world community and their beliefs, that values building bridges over building walls, that values diplomacy over ultimatums and bullying, that knows the difference between strength and abuse of power.

• A new America where our ethical and moral conduct, domestically and internationally, set the example that inspires the rest of the world.

• A new America where the media holds itself to the highest standards and reports the news without bias rather than creating the news and spinning it to their own agenda.

• An America where no one is elected to office until every single vote has been counted, and even the Supreme Court cannot take away this basic right of every citizen.

• A new America, without labels, without hatred, without dirty tricks, but rather, an America that pulls together, as one, with
one single purpose: the good of all.

• A new America where those who can, reach out to help those who can’t.

• A new America where peace is not equated with war, where we work feverously to find peaceful solutions to all problems, with war only as a last, last resort.

• A new America that values a Department of Peace more than a Department of War.

• A new America where every citizen would gladly sacrifice in some way for the good of the whole country, because they recognize that it is that sacrifice and generousity of spirit which has made this country great.

• A new America that is not divided by our differences: by race, or gender, or religion, or politics, but, rather, is united in it’s respect for and honor of those different from ourselves.

• A new America where democrats listen to republicans with respect, and republicans listen to democrats with respect,
and issues are debated and policies made with one goal: to make America a better place to live for all of her citizens.

• A new America where there are enough good jobs for every American who wants to work.

• A Revolutionary America, where the right to first rate health care is every American’s right.

• A Revolutionary America where corporations value their people above their products or services, and treat them as fairly, and respectfully, as they would like to be treated.

• A Revolutionary America where workers are so valued by their companies, and employees so proud of their work,
that the phrase “Made in America” is viewed as the benchmark for quality and innovation throughout the world.

• A Revolutionary America where a first rate college education is affordable and available to every person who wishes one,
where quality pre-schools are affordable and available to all working parents, where the best possible schools are available to every child, because insuring their future is insuring America’s future, something we are unwilling to compromise.

• A new America where the environment is protected and nurtured, where every citizen and every business willingly does his part to ensure that our planet and our air will be healthy, beautiful, and hospitable for generations to come.

• A Revolutionary America where women’s rights, and civil rights, and gay rights are no longer devisive issues, because we have finally realized our constitution: All men – and all women – are created equal and are treated equally—and never separately, under the law.

• A Revolutionary America where the best America has to offer run for public office and participate in our government eagerly, without hesitating due of a lack of money, because we finally instituted campaign finance reform that removes all private money from any political campaign.

• A Revolutionary America where “politician” is no longer a dirty word, where constituents can trust that what their representatives pledge, will be honored, because in this new America, politicians are soley focused on their constitutional duty of serving their constituents and not special interests.

I dream of a Revolutionary America.

There’s only one way to make that dream a reality:

Make it your own.

Follow your heart and vote to make this country live up to the bold, new, American dream we all grew up believing in.