James Dunn

Mr. Brooks,

I respect a man who reveres his actions contrary to political traditions. When I was in grade school, I refused to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. Even when I was in grade school I could see the corrupt practices of the politicians that Represented us.

I show blind faith and reverence to No One, including someone else’s definition of God.

The God referred to in the Pledge of Allegiance was NOT that of a Universal God. The God referred to in Government is based upon Egyptian gods.

I'll not be part of an effort to admonish a person’s reputation, based upon their willingness to stand against entrenched corruption. Separation between church and State was necessary because of the corrupt influences made by corrupt religious factions. Politicians used religion to influence policy and administer witch hunts against fair treatment of peoples and issues. Just like Iran and Iraq, religion here was a political tool, not a profound reverence.

Today, nine out of ten preachers are con artists; pandering religion as a job.

I served 6 years in the US Navy to defend our country, along with many thousands of people willing to risk death to defend against oppression. I'll stand against oppression and unfair conduct, but I will NOT stand silently while an organization throws mud upon apparent good character.

Most politicians tell you what you want to hear, and then does as greed dictates. Every Senator is a multi-millionaire; through political abuse. Who would you have stand against their ranks? I see three people standing with a hand over their hearts and posing for the camera; associating religion and government; "under god" is the main theme. Obama knows what he is doing will hurt him in the polls; yet he is faithful to his principles.

I would rather know why he abstains from the Pledge of [blind] Allegiance, rather than blindly bash him.

Have you ever really considered why politicians created the Pledge of Allegiance?”

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, "
(My allegiance is to the people, not the structure of government, the structure is outdated. Corporations and Special Interest Groups control the government, NOT the people.)

"one nation UNDER God, "
(Whose God, the Egyptian gods first referred to? Christ in my book was a demon. Most people fail to notice the sins of Christ and the bible related to the Ten Commandments. They choose to ignore those sins because it is popular, not because it is justified. So it is also with the Qur’an and Mohammad. Why would any religion subvert the only words from God, the Ten Commandments; corruption, that is why! Few people consider what is being corrupted.)

"indivisible "
(We as a people are divided in philosophy, culture, traditions...; the people are what makes us the United States. We are not a melting pot, we encourage diversity. Politicians have used nice sounding phrases to subjugate various factions of our culture. Most politicians use whatever words they can to deceive the people. We commonly accept that only lies and deception are common amongst politicians.)

"with liberty and justice for all."
(This is certainly not true. Corporations and Special Interest Groups control our country, NOT the people! The Federal Government politicians often use vague issues like abortion to incite the public, shielding the important issues from public scrutiny. Like Bush losing over $10 Billion dollars. How can you lose it, and why can't it be found AND returned to the US treasury by the NSA? Bush singularly controls the NSA.)

If you want to harm Obama, find out first why his actions are different than other politicians. I am deeply disappointed by your actions in slinging mud. Ethics is much more than taking a stance based upon a "feeling".

I can not support Obama, yet; because I have not learned enough about his historical actions. If he has fought against corruption, I will have to support him. Fighting corruption is the number one issue for me related to selection of candidates.

Ethically Eliminate ALL Political Corruption:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/jamesbdunn?p=57

As for Obamas middle name Hussein:

The boy's name Hussein hu(s)-sein is pronounced hoo-SAYN. It is of Arabic origin, and its meaning is "good; small handsome one".

Something like James, Saint James in origin.

A prosecutor can not judge another person by their name, which is akin to astrology and numerology. That would make that prosecutor Pagan; a contradiction regarding reverence to the bible.

I revere a Universal God that permeates all of us; I suppose that makes me Pagan.

I have the utmost respect for most Pagans, regardless of their beliefs, because they revere their beliefs in the face of oppression. Hmmm, wasn't that a founding principle by which the first Europeans came to the Americas; freedom of religion?!

Sling not mud upon the face of integrity!

James Dunn
Concerned Citizen of a Failing Democracy

====================================================

Mrs. Brooks,

The need arose because your email requested that I forward the picture of Obama with the slanderous text content to All States. I slander no one and found it necessary to protect an innocent man. So in equitable response, I had to provide counterpoint in equal strength.

There was only one email that was sent "Reply to Everyone", I did NOT bombard your friends and family with emails; the same email was sent to you. If someone claimed to be receiving multiple emails from me, have them forward you my supposed multiple emails. They will have only one.

What you perported was neither supportable nor researched in any way, and it was hurtful.

You wouldn't want someone to slander you, would you? Obama should not be targeted unethically just because he is a politician, and an easy target where he is not in a position to respond directly to your assertion. You did not know anything about his beliefs or principles. If he does something reasonably unethical, then I would want to hear about it.

Somehow I doubt that you understand what practical ethics is; this is not an attack upon you, simply, a small percentage of people have been educated to know how to apply ethics in a practical way. Ethics as a word is overused.

In short, Practical ethics is a system of evaluation tools to corelate the consequences of a proposed action, and use the results of those tools to minimize the negative aspects of that action with regards to society.

Religious institutes founded the study of ethics. If ethics were uniformly utilized in our schools, it would have the greatest positive impact on society. Since ethics originated in religious institutes, why wouldn't it reflect the core values of religion?

But ethical consideration must live within each of us. If I am to be chastised for its use, then so be it; my loss.

James

Vi Brooks wrote:

Date:	Mon, 5 Nov 2007 12:12:41 -0800 (PST)
From:	"Vi Brooks" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was sent by yahoo.com. Learn more
Subject:	Fwd: FW: A picture is worth a thousand words---PLEASE SEND AROUND TO ALL STATES
To:	"danita futrell" , "James Dunn" , "suzi" , "Cindi Green" , "courtney hammond/lewis" , "Linda Collins" , "Robin Campbell" , mcnealyfamily[protected], "glenda" , "mastervamps" , "missy page" , "TOOTSIE ROLL" , "Katz Tude" , "Jeanette"

#message69782647326285062449680860135578941842865239662 { overflow:auto; visibility:hidden }

=============I think this is Obama Himself, I found it online ===============

...I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives -- in the lives of the American people -- and I think it's time that we join a serious debate about how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy.

And if we're going to do that then we first need to understand that Americans are a religious people. 90 percent of us believe in God, 70 percent affiliate themselves with an organized religion, 38 percent call themselves committed Christians, and substantially more people in America believe in angels than they do in evolution.

This religious tendency is not simply the result of successful marketing by skilled preachers or the draw of popular mega-churches. In fact, it speaks to a hunger that's deeper than that - a hunger that goes beyond any particular issue or cause.

Each day, it seems, thousands of Americans are going about their daily rounds - dropping off the kids at school, driving to the office, flying to a business meeting, shopping at the mall, trying to stay on their diets - and they're coming to the realization that something is missing. They are deciding that their work, their possessions, their diversions, their sheer busyness, is not enough.

They want a sense of purpose, a narrative arc to their lives. They're looking to relieve a chronic loneliness, a feeling supported by a recent study that shows Americans have fewer close friends and confidants than ever before. And so they need an assurance that somebody out there cares about them, is listening to them - that they are not just destined to travel down that long highway towards nothingness.

And I speak with some experience on this matter. I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I.

It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma.

I was working with churches, and the Christians who I worked with recognized themselves in me. They saw that I knew their Book and that I shared their values and sang their songs. But they sensed that a part of me that remained removed, detached, that I was an observer in their midst.

And in time, I came to realize that something was missing as well -- that without a vessel for my beliefs, without a commitment to a particular community of faith, at some level I would always remain apart, and alone.

And if it weren't for the particular attributes of the historically black church, I may have accepted this fate. But as the months passed in Chicago, I found myself drawn - not just to work with the church, but to be in the church.

For one thing, I believed and still believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change, a power made real by some of the leaders here today. Because of its past, the black church understands in an intimate way the Biblical call to feed the hungry and cloth the naked and challenge powers and principalities. And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope.

And perhaps it was out of this intimate knowledge of hardship -- the grounding of faith in struggle -- that the church offered me a second insight, one that I think is important to emphasize today.

Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts.

You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away - because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey.

It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street in the Southside of Chicago one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.

That's a path that has been shared by millions upon millions of Americans - evangelicals, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims alike; some since birth, others at certain turning points in their lives. It is not something they set apart from the rest of their beliefs and values. In fact, it is often what drives their beliefs and their values.

And that is why that, if we truly hope to speak to people where they're at - to communicate our hopes and values in a way that's relevant to their own - then as progressives, we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse.

Because when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome - others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith, or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.

Speech by Barrack Obama