The Freedom Bulletin

Did you know that Barack Obama once said there were 57 states in the US?

I didn’t either, until this week when I saw it briefly mentioned in the Metro. Obama made this gaffe way back in May. At a rally during the primaries, he said…

“It is wonderful to be back in Oregon. Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it.”

None of the media have made a big deal out of Obama’s misstatement at all. I watch the news and read newspapers pretty often, and I never heard about it.

On the other hand, you’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard about Sarah Palin’s comment that “you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” In fact, Palin’s comment was not inaccurate, as there are Alaskan islands from which Russia can be seen.

So when Palin makes a comment that is not even inaccurate, the media relentlessly exploits it in an attempt to make her look stupid. When Obama says something that most kindergartners would know was wrong, the media ignores it. That, more than anything else, shows how biased the mainstream media is toward Obama.

So far, the presidential and vice presidential debates have not been very exciting. Both Obama and McCain want to help the middle class, revive the economy, make it easier for people to get health insurance, make the country more secure, cut government waste, and protect the environment. Neither of them have said much of anything that is new or different, and their views are essentially the same on many issues.

I think it would be great for American voters if the presidential debates were open to all the candidates, not just those from the two major political parties. The unfortunate result of a two-party system is that only two sets of views get publicized. Voters who do not agree completely with either the Democratic or the Republican platform are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils because the candidate they truly support has no chance of winning.

If third-party candidates such as Bob Barr and Ralph Nader were allowed to participate in the debates, voters’ eyes would be opened to a wider variety of opinions. Barring (no pun intended) these candidates from the debates is just another way to silence minority views and reinforce the political duopoly.

Today I went to a rally for a great cause – ending the Massachusetts income tax. The event took place at Faneuil Hall and featured 11 speakers; pictures that I took of them are below. If you live in Massachusetts and are sick of the government growing bigger and bigger and spending more and more money, you should vote yes on Question 1. If Question 1 passes, the state income tax will be eliminated and each worker will get to keep, on average, $3,700 more each year instead of handing it over to the government. Visit smallgovernmentact.org to learn more!

Michael Graham, WTKK radio host

Carla Howell, Chair of the Committee for Small Government

Keith McCormic, State Senate candidate

Ted Tripp, Citizens for Limited Taxation

Kamal Jain, independent state budget expert

JC Cunningham, congressional candidate

Chuck Ormsby, North Andover School Committee

Garrett Quinn, Press Coordinator for Committee for Small Government

Cynthia Stead, Secretary of Mass. Republican Party

Brion Cangiamila, State Senate candidate

Matt Kinnaman, columnist