Virginia's Voice

Virginia and Obama

By

Varo Borja

An article in the Christian Science Monitor today cried hope for the Democratic presidential bid in the state of Virginia, an otherwise and aforetime staunch bastion of Republican sympathy. According to the article, Mr. Obama stands a good chance of winning Virginia in some polls, but according to one academic mentioned in the article, we are not to count Virginia’s electors before November 4. The article gave two opposing pictures: one of a pseudo-glorious McCain on stage with Hank Williams Jr. at a rally in Richmond. The other snapshot was of Mr. Obama kissing an elderly black lady at a hair salon somewhere in the state. I think this photo comparison does justice to both candidates, especially in regard to the slogans for their respective support centers: McCain’s, “victory centers” and Obama’s, “Campaign for Change” offices. Mr. McCain represents the tired old hegemony of the wealthy, white, landed gentry while Mr. Obama stands for a departure from traditional views and an enfranchisement of little old African American ladies who not only get their hair done on Saturdays, but topple whole socioeconomic structures, as was the case with Rosa Parks in the 1960’s. The state of Virginia has a long history of rebellion; some of the most prominent and levelheaded leaders of the American Revolution and the Civil War hailed from Virginia. Virginia also has a history of economic and racial disparity, coupled with the long arm of the Tidewater Elite and the old planter class. It remains to be seen what direction one of the greatest, and oldest, states in the Union will take on November 4th, but one thing is for certain: the result of Virginia’s vote will most likely determine who will reside on Pennsylvania Avenue in January.

Last Debate

Last Debate

By

Varo Borja

The Economist, on October 16, 2008 heralded the last presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain to be the finest so far. I must agree. For the most part, John McCain was on the offensive, jabbing, huffing, snorting, pouting and gouging at Mr. Obama for all he was worth. Mr. McCain knew he was desperate, and according to the polls, he still is. Mr. McCain brought up some valid points, but his body language and mental inferiority to Mr. Obama clouded what could otherwise be seen as a determined effort to close the gap in the polls. Mr. McCain made some very obvious blunders. He dwelt on petty issues, such as Mr. Obama’s association with Bill Ayers, and he seemed to be losing his dwindling acumen for the facts. Mr. McCain even went as far as to say that he would hire troops, just back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to teach high school students, all without undergoing the process to achieve a teaching license! With all due respect, Mr. McCain is more ready for the rest home than the White House, and I believe that this final debate will seal the victory for Mr. Obama and Joe Biden. Mr. Obama, throughout the debate, kept a cool head and steady pressure on John McCain, who seemed to be on the verge of physical assault upon both the mediator, Bob Schieffer, and Mr. Obama himself. Surely the American public sensed the desperation in Mr. McCain’s tone and body language, and much like the dying gurgle of the annual Thanksgiving turkey, Mr. McCain and Sarah Palin’s chances for a prolongation of the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney legacy have all but given up the ghost in favor of the economic Santa Claus: Barack Obama.

Debt Before Dishonor

Bailout Plan Passes the Senate

By

Varo Borja

The Economist, on October 2, 2008 stated that the Wall Street bailout plan proposed by George W. Bush and Henry Paulson has passed the Senate by a large margin. However, the bailout is somewhat revised and includes several “sweetners”, including a raising of the FDIC bar to 250,000 dollars and several giveaways to parties unnamed. My thoughts on this issue are myriad in scope, but my first reaction to this entire crisis is a cry of disbelief at the shamelessness of Wall Street. A legion of robber barons and petty gentry who in aforetimes decried almost as a whole the institution of public welfare and social services in general, now cries for a gargantuan aid package from the Federal government to “sweeten” their demise. What in God’s name is this “bailout” other than corporate welfare—a payoff for failure, greed, and irresponsibility of a magnitude hitherto unknown in the annals of economic history? Meanwhile, residents of ghettos, slums, and tenements across the United States live in such degradation and squalor as to make even the most stolid members of “decent” society cringe in disgust, and John McCain squawks about cutting all “unnecessary” spending. I suppose the good old spirit of greed, profiteering, and what was termed in the Middle Ages as usury will continue as sovereign in the land of the American Dream. Exactly how much wealth does one group of our population need? In Africa and Asia, starving denizens grasp for a bowl of rice and a little rat meat, while the baronial manors of the Hamptons burst at the seams with the amenities of the modern age. How, in God’s name can a generation of thieves and corporate Pilates underwrite their actions with the name of the Son of Man who hung on a tree in the desert, penniless and abandoned by his followers? Exactly what would Jesus do in this situation? Would he cosign this orgy of profiteering and abashed extravagance, or would he cast the money changers from the temple and feed the more than five million poor, hungry residents of America who borrow to the hilt just so they won’t be turned out on the streets? Something must change. Individual liberty relies not on a single document or 700 billion green pieces of paper, but on personal responsibility and justice for the downtrodden and the oppressed. Otherwise, we shall reap the harvest of our actions and fade into oblivion with the rest of the dynasties who turned a deaf ear to suffering and clothed themselves in the purple robes of dishonor.

Obama and the Jewish Vote

Obama and the Jewish Vote

by

Varo Borja

Recently I was perusing an article entitled, “Obama’s Jews” by Bernard Avishai for Harper’s Magazine, and I found it very interesting the shift that has taken place among a large section of the American Jewish population. According to Mr. Avishai, the Jewish American voter was traditionally a Democrat, mainly because of FDR’s opposition to Nazi Germany and then later in the century, because of civil rights. Mr. Avishai goes on to state though, that a large bloc of the Jewish American population didn’t feel well served by the civil rights movement, especially in regards to the empowerment and economic liberation of, as Mr. Avishai says, “black toughs”. It goes without saying that Jewish American voters aren’t thrilled with the likes of Louis Farrahkan and Al Sharpton, and Mr. Avishai goes on to say that American Jews lampooned themselves as, “earning like Episcopalians and voting like Puerto Ricans”. Mr. Avishai notes, however, that the 1968 Israeli war brought about a shift in the Jewish vote to a more conservative stance, progressing even further with the 1973 Israeli/Egyptian war and culminating in the support, by a significant section of the American Jewish population, of Ronald Reagan. Mr. Avishai does note though that there has always been a large section of American Jews loyal to the Democratic party—he also says that neoconservative Zionists in the media and the political arena misrepresent the majority of American Jews. He goes on to state that what the American Jewish population is looking for is a movement, a grand cause, to revive their interest in liberal American politics. Mr. Avishai states, in a matter of fact manner, that Barack Obama can and will provide that impetus. The days of the Paul Wolfowitz’s and the William Kristol’s won’t soon come to an end however, and Mr. Obama will likely be rejected by the majority of Jews over 65, but I am glad to know that the progressive spirit hasn’t left the Jewish community. Even more so I will be glad when the trumpet of Zionism blares its last note. Zionism is one of the major setbacks for the Middle East and especially the Palestinian/Israeli peace movement, and parties such as the Israeli Likud and its malefactors will hopefully tire of their collective psychosis and relent for the good of us all.