Bravo and Many Thanks to Brad Mays, Lori Starfelt & Steve Yaeger!

And, to the many listeners who tuned in! Thanks to you all, last night's show was a huge success! Intended to be a one time special presentation to showcase"The Audacity of Democracy" and its filmmakers, we received so many Favorite markings that we have decided to continue "Kicking Back with Central Park" as a regular Saturday night venue from now on!

"Kicking Back" portends to be a laid back wrapup of current sociopolitical and cultural happenings and phenomemena with guests, commentary and discussion. Put on your jammies, snuggle up to the BTR and join us for a weekend decompression chamber! In coming weeks, we'll present, among other stellar guests, an "Audacity of Democracy Redux," an evening with the film makers once again as we give everyone a chance to call in with comments or questions after they've had a chance to view the full feature. For advance purchase, go to Amazon.com

See you there on Saturdays at 11 PM EST at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Central-Park-7/2009/01/31/Kicking-Back-with-Central-Park Call in number 646-727-3807 (646) 727-3807 (646) 727-3807 (646) 727-3807

Announcing..."The Audacity of Democracy"!

At long last, filmmaker Brad Mays' long awaited documentary about the early PUMA movement is ready for release! While the trailer doesn't begin to do justice to the full feature, it does offer a quick preview and leaves the viewer wanting more. Brad has been working on "The Audacity Of Democracy" for nearly six months. Now finished, he is ready to talk about the ups and downs of political documentary filmmaking, as well as how his film has been misunderstood virtually from its inception. Taking viewers from Washington, DC to Chicago to Dallas and Austin, Texas; from New York City and Princeton to Denver, Colorado, from low farce to high tragedy, "The Audacity of Democracy" is sure to surprise everyone who sees it.

Join me on Saturday, January 24th at 10:00 PM EST for a two hour premier special with Brad and his film crew, Lori Starfelt and Steve Yaeger for a revealing discussion about the making of the film and some of the startling events that occurred during its filming. Lines will be open to listeners for question and comment. Updates for url to be posted later today.

The Audacity of Nope

Today's title, courtesy of esteemed friend and fellow Puma, Rosemary, brings me back to the matrix of the Movement--the last day of May, 2008 [can it really be just 8 months ago--it seems like yesterday and yet lifetimes past--such are the dualities of the human mind's perception of time!] when our illusions crashed to a rude halt and were replaced by a firm resolve to resist and refuse the DNC's attempt to disenfranchise us by breaking their own rules. On that warm, sunny day, in front of the Wardman Marriott in Washington, D.C. a movement came to life for thousands of people who simply decided to just say NO to it all: the sexism, cynicism, mysogyny, dirty tricks, caucus fraud, biased media and corrupt politicians.

Since that time, our coalition of NO's has accomplished incredible things. We have demonstrated that it is still possible to stand up and be counted, voice our beliefs and take on Big Media, Big Government and corrupt politicians. We have called to task and held accountable countless individuals and entities and, lo and behold, weighed in at #8 in Time Magazine's Top Ten Buzzwords of the Year 2008. More importantly, however, we have succeeded in exposing the wrongs we have discovered in our country and begun to spread the word, and begun to supplant main stream media as a reliable source of information.

We have much work to do and much to be proud of as we move ahead toward our Phase III, or Long Range Plans to make our country a better place, rejecting sexism, corruption and disengenuousness as we fight to preserve our Constitution and its sacred blueprint.

I leave you today with words from those wiser than I.

"Lies do matter, whether they are at the individual or the national level. Many people have already found that out, many more are about to. Truth is that which accords with reality, no matter how hard we may wish that it were not so. We are thankfully leaving behind the world where economic truths are determined by the political process and then enforced through legislation. That version of truth is a malign and warped reality that violently clashes with truth and honesty. That which appears to be true, but in fact is not, is an illusion." --S. Mathid

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." --Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

And finally,

"I would prefer a man who will burn the flag and wrap himself in the constitution than one who would burn the constitution and wrap himself in the flag."
--craig anthony washington

And so, Onward All! Remember how empowering and energizing the word NO can be--and if someone fails to take your NO for an answer, ask them what part of "NO" don't they understand.

SOS: Picking up the Pieces and Moving Forward

Many of us have suffered the wrath of friends and family who blindly supported the most corrupt, childish, unintelligent and, yes, evil party in the history of our country. The jeopardy in which our country and its people have found themselves has interested none of these people one whit. The bias, lies, cheating, thuggery, intimidation tactics and blatantly illegal acts interested almost no one save the PUMAs.

We have stepped back from some relationships, realizing that they are not of the type that will withstand the test of time and differing opinion. It has saddened me, but much more saddening and frightening have been the realization that we, at least for the moment, have lost our system of democracy through DNC collusion, illegal acts, voting fraud, and media bias.

What has heartened me and helped me continue my work in the Movement of Reform has been the incredibly high number of wonderfully committed, hard working, brilliant people who share our mutual concern and love for our country, its people and our Constitution. It was an SOS of another kind that brought us all together and continued to help us sustain one another in the frazzled, frantic months of the campaign. So, one door closes...another one opens...a few go out that first door...and many many more enter the second. It is with those kindred spirits that I have now cast my lot. My thanks to all who have entered and my sympathy for all who have left.

And so, another SOS: Hillary Clinton has been offered, and, purportedly accepted the cabinet position of Secretary of State. Much has been said about this issue; there are many opinions. Some say that Hillary should not be accountable to Obama, that she should let him sink in his own stew and stay in the Senate. Being a New Yorker, I would be only too happy to have her continue to represent me in Washington, but in view of Reid, Pelosi and their minions, who openly loathe her and with whom she must try to work, she would be far better served [and so would the American people] to serve as Secretary of State where she would outrank them and be able to put her vast diplomatic currency to work to repair our faltering image in the eyes of the world. Say what you will about the Clintons, but the World loves them for their humanity, their service and caring and their love of humankind.

There are those who would prefer to see her in Congress because the joint efforts of the nonpartisan, moderate Clinton- McCain team would form a formidable and productive force. There are those who felt she should have given them all the back of her hand and refused to work for the Democratic party at all. But Hillary is a grown up in every sense of the word: she knows how to put personal differences aside; she knows how to scale obstacles, take the long view and bide her time. She has information that few, if any of us have about the big picture, and she is one of the most politically astute people of her time, if not in our entire history.

Ultimately, Hillary Clinton is the only one with sufficient information and insight to be able to make an educated decision about whether to accept the post of Secretary of State. She is over 21 and perfectly capable of making that decision without our help. If she wanted it, she would ask for it. Until that time, we must accept the fact that this is her call, and trust in her to make the best decision for all of us, for she is, above all, a brilliant and dedicated public servant.

It's the INCOMPETENCE, Stupid!

Believe it or not, once in awhile, someone still asks, or worse yet, ASSUMES that my point of view is simply the result of a long held resentment 'because 'MY' candidate didn't win.' Well, first of all, she DID win. Yes, I know that media tried to tell us differently, but the facts, if anyone cares, are that Hillary Clinton not only won the primaries BUT had the numbers needed to win in Denver as well. Like it or not, these are the facts. I was there and I saw it. However, that ship has long since sailed under the admiralty of Howard "The Scream" Dean, vice admiral Nancy Pelosi and midshipman Donna Brazile, and this issue, for now, at least, is moot.

The idea that anyone could still even contemplate the wan concept of anger as PUMA's raison d'etre is simply astounding because the facts, i.e., that the DNC purposefully and methodically perpetrated voter fraud upon the American public by illegally installing the losing candidate, an inexperienced, unvetted and completely unqualified candidate, while not readily available on main stream media, are not really that hard to find. Having seen in-my-face, up-close-and-personally the horrors perpetrated by the DNC on the American public and the democratic system, I sometimes forget that there are still a few Americans who remain relatively uninformed about what their party has perpetrated upon them, and, worse yet, don't seem to want to know, either. As Thomas Jefferson's oft quoted wisdom states,

"All tyranny needs to flourish is that good men remain silent."

I forget that most people have not been in the trenches, on the ground and in the news in the fight to restore honesty to media and democracy to voters. And so, although it may seem like once again preaching to the choir, I offer a brilliantly succinct crosspost from American Thinker's Kyle-Anne Shiver,entitled,"Dems’ Split over Obama Not About Race and Sour Grapes" http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/dems-split-over-obama-not-about-race-and-sour-grapes/
who so well states our reasons for fighting the good fight, and our commitment to continuing this Movement until our goals are realized.

A recent Associated Press story glibly proclaimed that “deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House.” The story relied on an AP-Yahoo poll that posed questions regarding race to white Democrats.

One is left to wonder why questions regarding race were not posed to black Democrats or why the “poll” was more of a word association test, left open to completely subjective reasoning in deciphering results. But anyone who has been following the Democratic Party rifts from this season’s primaries and caucuses would not, in my opinion, be inclined to buy the it’s-all-about-race argument.

It’s quite troubling, really, that mainstream media outlets are focusing upon “racial misgivings” factors, while all but ignoring the major divides among voting constituencies that occurred during the nominating contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. These rifts revolved much more around exactly how Barack Obama received the Democratic nomination than any sort of racial divide or even sour grapes.
In fact, there are dozens of voter groups which claim outright that Barack Obama’s nomination was garnered illegitimately and with decidedly undemocratic methods. These are the PUMA people, the NoBama folks, the caucus-fraud investigators, and a whole lot of others who fervently believe that Barack Obama is not the legitimate nominee of the Democratic Party electorate, but the nominee of the party elite and caucus strong-arm tactics.
If Barack Obama loses a large swath of traditionally Democratic voters in November, then the party should conduct serious introspection, not point fingers at white bigots and rednecks.

Howard Dean and his minions who control the Democratic Party apparatus should examine the methods used by Obama to grab the nomination and his manipulation of the caucus system, and take a long, serious look inward to see if their party still deserves the adjective “democratic.”

In the Democratic nominating contest, some votes count more than others

When the Democratic Party changed all of its nominating rules following the convention of 1968, the goal of nominating a candidate who could win the general election was changed to a goal of nominating a candidate representative of the various special constituencies of the party and rewarding party loyalty, not electability.

At the beginning of the contest, the African-American vote was split in Clinton’s favor, especially on the gender line.

Believe it or not, we're not angry--at least, not anymore. We're in love: in love with our country and its forefathers' words of wisdom; in love with our fellow countrymen and women; in love with the Democratic ideals of Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and in love with the conviction that, like our courageous forefathers and mothers, we CAN make a difference; we CAN restore truth, honor and integrity to our country and its media; and, together, we CAN build the world of equality and prosperity we all envision. For those in doubt, click on the Democrats for Principle Before Party button on the right--it will show you the way!

Denver Disaster: Coerced Unity is the Worst

If ever there was a reason not to vote Democrat this year, this would be it:

Reading Marc Rubin's interview, "Denver After Action Report," http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09/21/holding-the-dnc%E2%80%99s-feet-to-the-fire-an-interview-with-marc-rubin-of-the-denver-group/ [co- founder with Heidi Li Feldman of Denver Group and Democrats for Principle Before Party http://tdg.typepad.com/democrats_for_principle_b/ ] brought it all back to me, and should remind us all how vital it is that we not forget the truth about this heartbreaking Denver Debacle. At the risk of sounding hackneyed, I would implore everyone to remember George Santayana's admonition that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it--and never was it more applicable than in this election year. Just Say No Deal's soon to be released "Delegate Terror" compelled me to share my experience in Denver as it related to Obama fear and intimidation tactics, and, further, to dedicate today's entry to Denver and all those brave citizens who came and spoke out against them.

Some of my notes from the logs I kept about The Denver Disgrace while I was there:

I spoke with various delegates, primarily women from 'swing states' who reported countless incidents of attempts by Obama Team individuals, state chairs and, worst of all, even other delegates to strong arm, intimidate, threaten and bully them into supporting Obama instead of their pledged delegate, Hillary Clinton. Several of them were crying as they recounted their experiences and the fear they felt as a result. Wall Street Journal Reporter, James Taranto witnessed and recounted just one of the many verbally brutal attempts by Obama supporters, this one a delegate, which took place in the streets of Denver on August 26, 2008. http://s.wsj.net/article/SB121972716996172197.html

Among delegates who were the victims of intimidation tactics, only Cynthia Schwartz of Washington State was willing to be interviewed. As a blogger and media consultant in Denver, I kept an incident report log after repeated occurrences of fear and intimidation tactics were brought to my attention from both delegates and attendees, and some of the victims' statements were filmed by Brad Mays, our filmmaker in residence at PUMA HQ on Delaware Avenue.

Since neither Obama nor Clinton had the requisite number of votes [270] to secure nomination, and there were 160 undeclared, it appears clear that Clinton would have been the distinct winner had the convention been allowed to progress honestly, according to DNC rules and tradition, without rule breaking and bully tactics. Indeed, she won 13 of the largest electoral states by a landslide as well as by the largest popular vote in history. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that Obama and the DNC colluded to game and cheat the DNC's own rules in order to ensure his selection as the Democratic nominee, contrary to the will of their own electorate. This being the case, it is only further logical to follow the advice of Tom In Paine, one of our most knowledgeable and prolific bloggers, and work as hard as we possibly can to insure an Obama defeat in November.

HOW A MASSIVE OBAMA DEFEAT BECOMES A MASSIVE DEMOCRATIC VICTORY.

The best thing that can happen for the country and the Democratic Party this November is a massive defeat of Barack Obama.

http://tominpaine.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-massive-obama-defeat-becomes.html

If, for some reason, the facts above have failed to move our readers, note below extensive data on just one of the Obama smear campaign tactics, gathered and reported by Rusty Shackleford of the Jawa Report
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php and http://www.theminorityreportblog.com/story/simpson316/2008/09/22/jawa_report_uncovers_obama_ties_to_smear_campaign

As always, the caveat remains: ignore Main Stream Media and do your own DD!

Turning Left To Go Right--The World Turned Upside Down

Upon hearing the news that Sarah Palin had been chosen as John McCain's running mate and learning of the spate of vicious sexist attacks upon her, Thelma, Louise and Princess Laia veered suddenly left and north to head to the Republican Convention in Minneapolis. In our last episode, we had arrived safely thereon and were making plans to be interviewed and attend Governor Palin's speech scheduled for Wednesday, September 3.

Today finds us mulling over the events of last night, and all the permutations therein. It was a first for this writer: attending a Republican convention was the last thing I ever thought I would be doing. Amidst frantic phone calls from family asking whether I had lost my mind, I marched forth with my stalwart sisters to make our stand for feminism, women's rights, and human rights.

Irrespective of candidates' ideologies, it is our position that sexist smears, comments and accusations cannot be tolerated, at any time or any place. To continue to allow this kind of thing to perpetuate is to keep all people enslaved. As Hillary says, "Women's Rights Are Human Rights."

We were met at the skybox most graciously by two lovely RNC officials and were immediately struck by the contrast between the two conventions. Just having come from Denver, we had experienced and witnessed a great deal of unpleasantness--delegate intimidation, aggressive Obamabots, hostile and arrogant DNC officials were the rule rather than the exception, and at times the only friends we felt present were the Denver police, the foreign press and the residents, all of whom were terrific.

On the other hand, the officials and attendees here in St. Paul have been nothing but open, welcoming and enthusiastic about our presence. Regardless of whether one agrees with Sarah Palin's policies, one has to respect her right to voice them without fear of her family or herself being maligned.

The utter disrespect and sexism that has emerged, once again, toward a woman running for office in the United States is unacceptable. When Joe Biden lost a wife and child in a car crash years ago, no one suggested to him that he quit his job to stay home and take care of his children; no one has suggested that he is a poor parent because his daughter was arrested for obstructing justice--in fact, no one even REPORTED the incident, which occurred years ago, until NOW!

And so it goes. It will not stop until we MAKE it stop. Call us what you will--we will not stop until equality is a reality, not just something Democrats feel they can apply only to themselves or those of whom they approve. Equality is for EVERYone...all races, religions, creeds, genders, and yes...even political parties. Even Republicans have the right to be free from sexist, personal assaults upon themselves and their families. If one is maligned, we are all vulnerable.

The Winds of Change

Another glorious day in Downtown Denver brought a plethora of special activities and programs in celebration of both the 2008 Convention and the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage. Would that there had been time enough to attend them all. The day started early with the Women's Caucus in the Four Seasons Ballroom at the Convention Center, followed by a moving Sufragettes' March to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment in Tennessee. The months leading up to that historical moment have been called "The War of the Roses", because those who were against giving women the right to vote wore red roses and those who supported it wore yellow. The vote was carried by a surprise shift of the voter upon whom the result would depend: a young man of 24 who had worn the red rose of resistance to women's suffrage received a letter from his mother the morning of the vote, in which she admonished him to "be a good boy and do the right thing." That afternoon, he placed the deciding vote for women's suffrage, saying, "I have always found it wise to listen to one's mother."

Today's march, with a large contingent of women wearing white dresses and suffrage banners, was a moving reminder of the hard fought, years long battle [1848 - 1920] for women's right to vote. The coup de grace was a luncheon on a large, multileveled piazza, where Hillary spoke as Chelsea stood by, and men and women of all ages shared the incredible good fortune of sharing the commemmoration of women's voting rights with Hillary RodhamClinton, the first woman to run for the presidency of the United States.

The day ended with an inspiring reception hosted by the incredible Heidi Li Feldman of The Denver Group, and author of Heidi Li's Potpourri blog, at which we shared our thoughts on our plans going forward with respect to our continued initiatives of media and political reform. Heidi, like Hillary, is another of our most inspiring leaders in the fight for fair, equitable and lawful election procedures.

At the end of the day, many returned from the day's mardching to gather at the PUMA den to watch Hillary's speech. Tears flowed as we watched Bill watching Hillary as she spoke, and recommitted ourselves to our shared ideals of PUMA unity in our work ahead.

As the winds of change continue to blow across civilization's timeline, bringing women's right to vote and the civil rights act, so they continue to blow life into the new movement for political and media reform.

Why I am a PUMA:

This does not mean, however, that I won't do everything in my power to work for reform of media and politics in our country.As long as a political campaign abrogates all responsibility toward the democratic process of one person-one vote and mainstream media continues their complicity in eradicating the electorate's ability to be informed, any concept of democracy is dead. It is for this reason that I will in NO way support the DNC or its selected but unelectable messiah, who continues to demonstrate the fact that he is Inexperienced, Unqualified and Dangerous.

Daily, he exhibits frighteningly poor choices, all of which constantly remind us that his self serving, self absorbed focus takes precedence over anything and everything else. Witness his refusal to visit wounded troops in Germany because the Pentagon refused to allow him to drag a fawning media entourage with him and turn it into a campaign photo op: his decision to work out rather than ditch his media facetime for an hour or two and visit with veterans clearly illustrates the degree to which he places Self before Country…or his claim that the Senate Banking Committee was "His."Scary business all around. It's time for PUMAs to leave the ground and POUNCE!

About TruthIsGold

Welcome to yet another woman’s opinion...

The heat of the summer of 2008 has been nothing compared to that which has befallen the Democratic National Committee in the wake of their decision to disenfranchise millions of voters in Florida and MIchigan. I read with interest, amusement and chagrin as mainstream media, both broadcast and print, attempted to downplay, deride and defuse Hillary supports by calling them fanatics, sore losers and wackos. However, as history has proven, it is always unwise to underestimate both the outrage and the determination of a disenfranchised people. Time and again, the disenfranchised have risen up to get their story told and gain representation, and time and again they have succeeded.

Craig Della Penna’s Heraclitis summarizes the current political climate in the Democratic Party and makes an excellent argument for the formation of a third one in light of the DNC's decision to disenfranchise and alienate 18 Million voters.

Not Now Not Ever

The story is not over by a long shot–over past weeks I have listened to people from all walks of life–from people who live in the street to those who clean it to those who it, figurative speaking–and the prevalent view is that they will not stand by and let their own party disenfranchise them by arbitrary rules and back room deals. These people are not going to just “get in line” or go away. They are going to make themselves heard and they are committed to taking action for the future of their country, their families and their party...many are committed to leaving that party when they feel it no longer represents them. They will not accept a candidate whom they do not trust represent them. Overnight, after the May 31 RBC meeting in Washington, DC disenfranchised millions of its own voters, dozens of sites have sprang up, forming a coalition of PUMAs. With thousands of members and more joining every day, We are indeed a force to be reckoned with, and a force that refuses to have its vote stolen by insider party politics.

The outcome remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the story is NOT over!

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