During the primaries and continuing on to the general election campaigns we discussed political choices and how Americans, but Blacks in particuler, just blandly accept candidates without thoroughly understanding the policies they are pushing and how this truly end up becoming a painful outcome for the voters.

As you all know, I am defiantly opposed to Barack Obama's message of "change" even though I agree in principle with his old ideals to marshall the grassroot into a coalition. My vote for him was a vote for the grassroot and not because I am convinced in his push for change, even though I desire for that to happen. There are many of you that wish me to be like you; accept Obama without quesion. Someone even went to the extreme and said I hated Obama. Maedan was the only person here that envisioned possibilities for a 2009 or 2012 or even a 2016 Obama Presidency.

I know that the election is over but I want to appeal to those of you who genuinely want "change", that change begins wth you and not in a double-mouthed politician that is asking for your vote to the state legislature or the US congress or the Oval office. You must understand what they stand for and the best way to do that is to enlighten yourself about the government - your city council, your county government, your state government, your congressional district, the federal governmnt and indeed the united nations. Above all, our knowledge in foreign countries are resources that we can employ to bring "CHANGE" to our own country, Nigeria. It does not make sense to vote for change in aother man's land and yet we refuse to fight the cause for change in our own motherland, whether we currently live in it or not.

Not everyone of you readers need this information I presented below, however a lot more of the people in here in NL need their sense of social awareness and political identity heightened. This is not a criticism but an honest suggestion for those interested in enlightening their mind. There is a lot of blank minds out there when it comes to civic knowledge. Grown adults that do not know the name of their congressional representative or the elected officials in their state executive office.

Read this report.
http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/content/our_fading_heritage_11-20-08.pdf

Take this test on your own with no help. If you fail the test, retake it with online help. Compare your scores and see how much you have improved.
http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx


Go here and read the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. .
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/const.htm#N

Compare it with this one from 1960 where reference was made to Her Majesty The Queen. Save a copy for interest - this is the independence version.
http://www.nigeriacongress.org/resources/constitution/nig_const_60.pdf

Are you interested in the various traties between Nigeria and other entities and sovereingties? Type name of country in the field "Party".
http://db.lib.washington.edu/wti/wtdb.htm


You want to know about international legal cases? Go here . . .
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2


These are some of the sites I use to get my information on domestic and foreign affairs, they are in public domain sites. As you use them often you will encounter other sites that are private and exclusive to subscribed membership only. Join them if you believe you will gain from their information.

Knowledge is power, expand yours and never let anyone limit your capability. Be defiant, challenge, question, ponder, reflect. . . never keep still, take risks, succeed, fail, improve, apply lessons learnt and succeed again. Bring your Nigerian ingenuity forth. We are best known for our aptitude and brilliance, let's keep it polished. Never let it dull, never.

[size=18pt]vote negro_ntns

the change we can trust[/size]

if only people listen. however history shows that most voters vote with thier heart and not their brains, _{some have no brains}

Problem is Negro I dont think that many people voted with their hearts.

They heard Palin speak and knew there was a very good chance this "politically dumb woman" could be the next president. Anyone with half a brain would of voted for Obama.

The thing is he cannot change everything and he wont please everyone. He is human afterall but surely he deserves some kind of chance.

I dont get you americans that didnt support Obama, he is not yet in office offically and you are all baying for his blood!

This is the same people who voted that nutjob Bush in TWICE!

first of all lady T, I'm not an american, and until march this yr i was in the UK with you. why didnt we meet sef?

the presidency is not a person but an institution. one of the "dumbest" persons to rule america was harry truman. he was so "dumb" that mrs roosevelt had to tell him that he is now the president. but b/c he was surrounded by the system(roosevelt's presidency, he turned out to be a president even the republicans are willing to love.

i admire barrack a lot. his life has taught me many things and encouraged me to work hard and damn my disadvantages. but i believe, in a capitalistic country like the US, the last thing you may want to do in a recession is to raise taxes (not even on the rich whom you may need to create jobs). i agree with his decision to end the iraq war, i agree with his health plan, though i believe hillary's own is better, however, the issue now is economy and job creation. the US lost nearly a million jobs this yr alone . . . and still counting . . it would be hard to create the jobs while taxing the rich.

and . . . i'm sure obama wont want me to support him simply because he is black

finally, to answer the question in your profile, the answer is yes. they are too big and too good

lmao@toshman you are not serious

but my point is he cant please everyone.

We will ALL end up paying higher taxes even here in the UK due to the excesses of these greedy banks. The tax rate here in the UK is disgusting and we might have to pay more!

At least that hell hole Guantánamo Bay is going

this thread makes pretty little sense. The elections are over and we are still crying about who voted what and when? What has Obama's message of "change" got to do with Nigeria and its fraudulent constitution?

You claim - During the primaries and continuing on to the general election campaigns we discussed political choices and how Americans, but Blacks in particuler, just blandly accept candidates without thoroughly understanding the policies they are pushing and how this truly end up becoming a painful outcome for the voters.

Blacks voted enmasse for Clinton . . .

88% of Blacks voted for Gore, the rest of America enthusiastically embraced Bush TWICE. Now how is that the fault of blacks? Are blacks the only ones guilty of "blandly accepting candidates"?

Ok lets assume Obama was nothing but rhetoric, do you honestly believe McCain was a better alternative?

I am sick and tired of this premature crucifixion of Obama. He hasnt even been president and Faux news and their sidekicks like you are already crying about the coming apocalypse.

Una just type sha . . .

. . . if only people listen. however history shows that most voters vote with their heart and not their brains, some have no brains

Tosh, that's the scary part! Remember Patrick Kennedy, Mark Foley, Larry Craig? These men are congressional representatives voted in on sentiments and turned out to be assholes. In both Kennedy and Foley case we were told that their actions can be attributed to mis-judgement brought on by drinking. If a person cannot make clear and wise decisions on issues of his own personal well being, what can you expect of him in matters relating to the well being of other people? These men were voted in to legislate and pass laws. Going by their show of irresponsibility can you imagine what depth or lack of was brought upon to bear on their vote on the floor? I don't blame them, I blame brainless people that voted them in. It's important to know the candidates and what they stand for before they are voted into office. None of these have anything to do with Obama, it's a general measure of principle that needs to be applied if voters genuinely expect accountability from their government officials.

They heard Palin speak and knew there was a very good chance this "politically dumb woman" could be the next president. Anyone with half a brain would of voted for Obama.

Wassup T? Long time no see. . .

In response to you I have to say the worship started before Palin appeared on the scene. If you ask each person to write a short essay on why they are voting for or against Obama, much of the people voting for him will tell you it's because he is black.
That's an insult to the brain. It was so bad that some actually believed, faithfully, that his Presidency will solve problems for Blacks in Africa. What is monumental is the historic milestone. It's a celebratory mark for all of us but the stupor was maddening - it reminds of the car dealer that promises to approve loan application for a jobless person. It's true he can get the loan approved but who looses when the payment is not made?

I voted Gore in 2000 babe. I was against Bush for his record as Governor in Texas but I liked the GOP platform for that year because they had formulated the "New American Century" ideology and I loved it, even though I would not vote for republican Newt Gingrinch who was my congressional representative that year.

I did not vote in 2004. I still liked the Republican agenda but I detested Bush for his mis-management of it and would not vote for him. I did not vote for Kerry because he was intelligent but was an ineffective leader - he lacked self-assurance and boldness and would have tuned up to be a "woosie" commander in chief. Very maleable and easy to manipulate.

Yes, Guantanamo prison has a countdown, thanks to Obama for standing up for justice.

@negro

Thumbs up bro. Better yet, give me a Hi-5

Peace

DavidDylan:

You claim - During the primaries and continuing on to the general election campaigns we discussed political choices and how Americans, but Blacks in particuler, just blandly accept candidates without thoroughly understanding the policies they are pushing and how this truly end up becoming a painful outcome for the voters.

Blacks voted enmasse for Clinton . . .

88% of Blacks voted for Gore, the rest of America enthusiastically embraced Bush TWICE. Now how is that the fault of blacks? Are blacks the only ones guilty of "blandly accepting candidates"?

Ok lets assume Obama was nothing but rhetoric, do you honestly believe McCain was a better alternative?

I am sick and tired of this premature crucifixion of Obama. He hasnt even been president and Faux news and their sidekicks like you are already crying about the coming apocalypse.

Una just type sha . . .

This canard about the Black vote for Obama having nothing to do with race should have been put to bed when Blacks voted overwhelmingly for Obama against Clinton. . . . .policy wise, how different is Clinton from Obama?

Obama's term never start and you are already getting sick of criticism Sit back and relax, the invectives will mount, often to sickening proportions, over the coming years. When you consider how divisive American politics is - nearly half of Democrats believe Bush had a hand in 9-11 - Obama Derangement Syndrome never even start.

In the coming years, Blacks' affection for Obama will be untethered from his actual performance a la Ray Nagin, Mayor Kwame or William "Cold Cash " Jefferson of Louisiana. We will probably see greater racial divide as non- Blacks turn on the President and Blacks get ultra-defensive.

4 Play:

This canard about the Black vote for Obama having nothing to do with race should have been put to bed when Blacks voted overwhelmingly for Obama against Clinton. . . . .policy wise, how different is Clinton from Obama?

- we could easily say that about the white vote. Remember PUMA?

- There's no hiding the fact that much of the black vote went for Obama but he didnt get there on the back of the black vote alone. I wouoldnt blame blacks either, this was one opportunity too good to pass up.

4 Play:

Obama's term never start and you are already getting sick of criticism Sit back and relax, the invectives will mount, often to sickening proportions, over the coming years. When you consider how divisive American politics is - nearly half of Democrats believe Bush had a hand in 9-11 - Obama Derangement Syndrome never even start.

True. My point is, allow the man to start and fail first before we start sounding the drums of cynicism.

4 Play:

In the coming years, Blacks' affection for Obama will be untethered from his actual performance a la Ray Nagin, Mayor Kwame or William "Cold Cash " Jefferson of Louisiana. We will probably see greater racial divide as non- Blacks turn on the President and Blacks get ultra-defensive.

Lets wait until he fails. At least Bush got a long rope before he hung himself.

DavidDylan:

- we could easily say that about the white vote. Remember PUMA?
- There's no hiding the fact that much of the black vote went for Obama but he didnt get there on the back of the black vote alone. I wouoldnt blame blacks either, this was one opportunity too good to pass up.

I don't see how you can equate bloc voting by Blacks(reaching 96-04) to bloc voting by Whites. Lets face it, if Whites voted like Blacks, Obama wouldn't stand a chance. Put a black skin on Clinton, a white skin on Obama, and Blacks will be proclaiming Obama is a clueless buffoon.

What I don't get is why people are in denial that race motivated a lot of black voters, both in turnout and actual preferences, from the primaries to the grand finale.

True. My point is, allow the man to start and fail first before we start sounding the drums of cynicism.
Lets wait until he fails. At least Bush got a long rope before he hung himself.

In which democratic country do you know of where people "wait" for the politicians to fail before carping about his abilities?

Ok lets say race did play a part!

Blacks are a MINORITY! They alone are not responsible for Obama winning.

Im worried Negro you beginning to make Black people sound really dumb. Yes some of us should of been drowned at birth but come on babe!

Yet no one battered an eyelid when McCain picked dumbass Palin as his sidekick to gain the female vote.

Also its so funny people are upset Blacks only voted for Obama because he was black.

At the end of the day you side with people you can relate too or you believe you relate too.

Obama is a positive role model. Especially for the young black people who are so lost and hell bent on these evil self-fulfilling prophecies.

He will make mistakes, he will piss people off. But for the love of sweet Jesus can you let him get his arse in the whitehouse first before you crucify him?

4 Play:

I don't see how you can equate bloc voting by Blacks(reaching 96-04) to bloc voting by Whites. Lets face it, if Whites voted like Blacks, Obama wouldn't stand a chance. Put a black skin on Clinton, a white skin on Obama, and Blacks will be proclaiming Obama is a clueless buffoon.

What I don't get is why people are in denial that race motivated a lot of black voters, both in turnout and actual preferences, from the primaries to the grand finale.

No denial there - i indicated that most blacks voted for Obama solely on the basis of color.

4 Play:

In which democratic country do you know of where people "wait" for the politicians to fail before carping about his abilities?

Probably not many countries but the vitriol that has greeted Obama is unprecedented. Its more like we're just waiting for the "i told you so" moment.

Cayon, [size=16pt]HI FIVE [/size] back at ya! Thanks!

I'm worried Negro you beginning to make Black people sound really dumb. Yes some of us should of been drowned at birth but come on babe!

T,
You are generalizing there. Don't take my expression out of context. I'm not saying anything you don't already know.

I have a great investment in Nigeria and a desire to see us Nigerians get a grip on our own government and society. As long as I continue to claim myself, proudly, as a Nigerian, then I represent other Nigerians in my speech and actions everywhere I go and in everything I do. I expect the same of other Nigerians and hope that they will have this consideration in their attitude. So that when a Nigerian opens his/her mouth to speak the effect is a powerful impression that represent us all. So when you introduce yourself as a Nigerian, people give you a respectable audience because of the credibility that has already gone forth ahead of you.

T, don't worry about me representing you but I think you need to worry about your fellow Nigerians that vote for politicians with sentimental emotions and not logical reasoning. This is all I'm saying. I don't know why it became an Obama issue. Won't you agree with me that if we begin to make wise choices in our politicians, instead of inbred cultural leanings, that our country will be better? Do you not agree that if we shape up our public conducts and utterances that our image around the world will improve? Don't you agree with me that each one of us here can be an influential change agent in that call?

Let me know which you disagree with.

Negro Im lost.

Are we not talking about Obama?

This is foreign affairs!

If you want to talk Nigerian politics theres no such thing. We only have greed and corruption!

People dont vote. Votes are rigged and votes are bought.

Fela said it all Democrazy

My mention of Obama was in passing, he was not the subject of the thread. The theme of the story is expanding minds for broad understanding of social issues - domestic and international. I mentioned Obama to cast significance on the story.

The title is a song that goes :

This little light of mine, Im gonna let it shine; This little light of mine, Im gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

The moral of it is to bring brilliance to bear on one's soul as the individual look outward in his/her perspective.