Dear Friends,

Recently someone had sent me an e-mail asking me to join the Friends of Obama network.  Here is a copy of the e-mail I replied with:

… I was questioning whether or not to just delete or respond to your e-mail, I hope you at least give my letter a read before you delete it and curse me.  After all, everyone comes from different circumstances.  I am sure that we have different views of the way our great country should be run.  Each of our diverse views help to make this a great country!

I have never liked John McCain, as he reaches out to the Democrats too often.  However, I agree with him on abortion, gay marriage and the war, and I love his choice of Sarah Palin for his running mate; but this Barack Obama really scares me!

Obama is running on a platform of change but after 4 years in the Senate he has not authored or co-authored any major legislation.  Which knowing what I know now, is not so bad.  Do you know what kind of changes Obama has in mind for our country?  Remember, he is a Socialist with views much like those of Karl Marx.  Electing him would be equal to electing Marx.  As a US Army Veteran, I remember joining the Military to fight Socialism; I could not imagine now voting into power that which I was willing to fight and die to stop.

What Defines Barack Obama:

1.       He voted against banning partial birth abortion, and stated that it was “above his pay grade” to answer a question if life begins at conception. He also voted "no" on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. A speech he made in Pennsylvania describes the choice of an abortion being a reasonable alternative to a young pregnant woman being “punished with a baby” for her “mistake.”  There is also video footage on the internet of an Obama speech in which he speaks of his support for teaching science based sex education as early as Kindergarten.  Here is Obama’s explanation of what he said after the public outrage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ6vZRy62KY 

2.       He supports affirmative action in colleges and government which is contrary to a “color-blind Society.”

3.       He voted "Yes" on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security and supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and extending welfare to them.

4.       He voted "Yes" on comprehensive immigration reform which, had it passed, would have resulted in 20 million instant citizens without a requirement for them to learn the English language.  Once citizenship had been granted, I would expect extended family members to immediately leave their country to join each new citizen in America.  What do you think the effects would have been to Social Security, healthcare costs, law enforcement, and overburdened schools, if that had occurred?

5.       Obama suggests that if he were elected, he would hold a summit meeting (without preconditions) with those world leaders who hate the United States:  Hugo Chavez, Fidel & Raul Castro, Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Ahmadinejad has actually denied that the Holocaust ever happened and has called for Israel to be wiped off the face of the Earth.

6.       After Russia’s recent invasion of neighboring Georgia, Obama made statements which proved he was not informed that Russia has veto power on the UN Security Council.  In other words, his lack of foreign policy understanding leaves him ill-prepared to negotiate with such nations.

7.       He opposes the Patriot Act and voted "Yes" to providing Habeas Corpus for Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees.  He has repeatedly denied that the Iraqi surge has succeeded and does not have a clear plan for victory himself.  If the current administration had such policies, do you think that they would have thwarted the 30 domestic terrorism plots discovered since 9/11?  What kind of world would we have today if any of these plots had been successful?  What if all 30 had been?

8.       He supports a Stalinist-style prosecution of the Bush administration for war crimes in connection with the war in Iraq.  Officially, he has only promised to look into it, which means that he would not do it if it equals political suicide.

9.       Obama and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, have given in to the Environmental Lobby Groups by opposing a vote on any additional drilling of domestic oil.  Pelosi is the single biggest obstructionist to drilling.  They have even proposed increasing taxes on the “big oil companies” which we all know will result in even higher gas prices.  Obama stated that he believes that higher gas prices are not the problem, it is just that the prices rose too fast.  He believes that a credible approach to reducing our use of oil is to over-inflate our tires; this would be just one part of his solution to decreasing our oil dependency.  I guess he does not realize that although this may increase our gas mileage, it will also prematurely wear down our tires, which are made out of rubber, a petroleum product.  (Please note that it is also unsafe to drive a car with over-inflated tires!)

10.    With much of the public opinion against the Bush Administration, it has become easy for the Democrats to play the blame game against them.  The truth is that the Administration’s only major part of the current financial fiasco on Wall Street is that they were the alarmists who brought the crisis notoriety and pushed both parties in Congress to agree that something needed to be done. The House and Senate have been run by the Democrats now for almost 6 years, which places the blame more on the Senate Oversight and Banking Committees.  Obama’s tie-in to all of this?  Money, of course.  Political contributions to be more precise.  Barack Obama’s campaign is the largest recipient of political funds from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with a total of $111,849, according to federal campaign finance reports.http://beliefcorner.com/Latest/Freddie-Mac-and-Fanny-Mae-Hearing.html  

11.    He recently claimed to be on the Senate Banking Committee when he obviously was not.  Maybe he lied about this to give himself the credibility in economic issues which he obviously lacks.  Evidence of this lack of understanding is clearly represented in his desire to make the minimum wage a "living wage" which will ensure higher unemployment rates and inflation.

12.    He is opposed to efforts to privatize Social Security and instead supports increasing the Social Security tax to include your full income.

13.    Recently, Obama has promised that anyone earning under $250,000 a year will receive a tax cut. This sounds really nice but it does not add up with all of his proposed new programs (such as a national police force that would report directly to the President; tax credits to those that pay no income tax; and increased entitlements.)  How does he plan to pay for such programs?  - - - Just for the record, the rich already pay more taxes than the rest of us. We need the rich to provide us jobs.  The more of the tax burden the rich have to bear, the fewer jobs they will be able to provide.

14.    Obama has promised to raise the Capital Gains Tax from the current 15% to 30% on dividends and the sale of stocks.

15.    He voted "No" on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax and would like to increase the “Death” Tax burden to 60%.  He also wants to increase the top income tax bracket (currently at 35%).  He has opposed legislation that would make the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts permanent.  If you think that this would only increase the taxes of the rich, let me know and I will send you a tax bracket showing your increased tax rate (I will also know if you actually read this or just deleted it).  No matter what Obama has been claiming in the debates, he has a very long record of voting for tax increases and opposing tax relief, having voted against tax payer relief 94 times.

16.    He supports a universal healthcare system for everyone including 12 to 15 million illegal aliens (who do you think will pay for this?).  Trust me, our current system, although greatly flawed, would be better than creating another government-run bureaucracy.  If you think you cannot afford health care now, watch out!

17.    Sadly, in spite of receiving a Harvard education and traveling this great country, Obama actually thought that we had 57 states: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWa4jKGR82U&NR=1   But then again, his citizenship is in question yet he has failed to provide proof.  He claims to have been born in Hawaii, but his birth certificate is an obviously doctored copy of his sister’s.  Growing up in Indonesia, he had duel residency but traveled with an Indonesian passport, which actually listed his religion as “Muslim.”  If he is not a US-born citizen, then he is not eligible to become President.  So why wasn’t he required to provide proof when he filed his candidacy papers?  That is a good question. There is speculation that his recent trip back to Hawaii is to fix his Birth Certificate.

18.    He exploited his trip to Jerusalem’s sacred Western Wall by allowing his written prayer that was stuffed in the wall’s cracks to be published by the media.  The exploitive use of any sacred site for political gain should outrage the devoted members of any religion, but in this case Orthodox Jews in particular.

19.    He is ranked as the most liberal Senator in the Senate today and that takes some doing.  Joe Biden is ranked third.

20.    He was absent from the Senate enough to miss 40% of the votes prior to his run for the Presidency. Would you hire an employee with an attendance record like that?

21.    Joseph Biden & Obama both voted for Alaska’s “bridge to nowhere” that Gov. Palin stopped.

22.    He has questioned harsh penalties for drug dealers and says that street-level drug dealing should be considered a minimum wage affair.

23.    To further the goal of equality between the sexes, Obama has stated that his administration would support women being required to register for the draft.  Although current Department of Defense guidelines restrict women from frontline units in direct combat, one could expect these guidelines to change as well once the draft expansion requirement is in place.  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77875

24.    Obama recently stated that he has started smoking again (Hopefully not the marijuana and cocaine he admitted using while enrolled in college.  Should we ask, “What is he smoking?”).  At the very least, his dependence on a legal drug when under the stress of a presidential campaign is disturbing since the stress of actually being President will undoubtedly be a lot higher.

You should question Barack Obama’s choice of friends as that is an indication of what we might find in an Obama Administration:

·         Obama's good friend, William Ayers, currently holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  He is also a former member of the radical Weather Underground Organization* which claimed responsibility for a dozen bombings between 1970 and 1974.  Ayers is an American terrorist who has no regrets for his murdering of innocent Americans.  He told the New York Times in September 2001, "I don't regret setting bombs...I feel we didn't do enough."  Ayers would have gone to prison had the FBI not botched the evidence against him.  Ayers and Obama grew up in the same neighborhood of Chicago, and although Obama was only eight years old when the WUO bombings occurred, his political success owes Ayers much of the credit.  Obama and Ayers have a 5-year working relationship on Boards:  one was a paid position on the Woods Fund which is a leftist Chicago foundation that provided financial backing to an Arab-American group which is openly hostile to the state of Israel.  Other Board relationships were educational foundations including one organized by Michelle Obama.  Obama has recently tried to distance himself from Ayers stating that he did not know about Ayers’ hatred towards the country. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html

* Bill Clinton actually commuted the sentences of a couple of convicted Weather Underground members, Susan Rosenberg and Linda Sue Evans, shortly before leaving office in January 2001.  http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/04/27/obamas_mainstream_friends/

·         Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi - Muslim Terrorist Supporter, who has been very critical of the Jewish nation, has also worked with Ayers and Obama on the Woods Fund.  Khalidi also has held a fundraiser for Obama and reportedly has had a long-standing relationship with Obama since the two met and worked together at the University of Chicago.  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=57231

·         Obama's long-time friend of 17 years, the recently indicted Antonio Rezko is a fundraiser who raised as much as $60,000 in 2003 for Obama’s senatorial campaign.  Mr. Rezko, who was characterized by Hillary Clinton as a “Muslim slumlord,” served as a top adviser to Illinois Democratic Governor, Rod Blagojevich.  Rezko had  helped the Obamas obtain property in Chicago's South Side.  Obama admitted  "There's no doubt I should have seen some red flags in terms of me purchasing a piece of property from him." http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article; and  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html

·         Obama's Mentor / Spiritual Leader  Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. is a racist, “Nation of Islam” supporter, anti-American,  former Senior Pastor and now Pastor Emeritus of the of the Trinity United Church of Christ, a mega-church in Chicago with around 10,000 members. Fortunately for those who are interested, sermons are available on their website. Wright has recently be accused of adultery with Elizabeth Payne a 37 year old church secretary.  ..Hmm, I thought churches were about building God’s Kingdom and teaching about Christ’s love for this world.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright  

·         During the presidential campaign, Michelle Obama actually stated “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”  Why is she proud now? Did she just realize the American dream?

·         Barack Obama has represented ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform and reportedly trained ACORN staff on strategies for pressuring banks to loan money to high-risk applicants who might not have qualified otherwise – a large part of the financial crisis facing the mortgage industry and our country as a result.  Now ACORN is accused of voter fraud by illegally registering people to vote who are not eligible.  Do you think these people were registered as Democrats or Republicans? http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7203

·         Barack Obama’s friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L2-ZMUYthc

·         There are numerous other reports available online that question Obama’s business & personal relationships, citizenship status, policy proposals, etc, etc!

I expect any Obama supporter to be skeptical of all these claims, but I hope you will search out the truth of my statements and pray for our country!  We need a true leader that we can trust in the White House!

Watch this recent add:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

Thank you for taking time to read this,

Rick “Average Joe” Smith

Family Man

Denver, CO