Archive for category UMNO
Pak Samad: After five-decade rule, how are Malays under threat?
The Malay Mail Online
November 15, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — National laureate Datuk A. Samad Said rubbished claims today that the Malays are under threat, pointing out that Malaysia has been under the community’s rule for more than five decades now.
The renowned Malay poet and activist told Malaysiakini in an interview that he finds it odd that some from the community are obsessing over the loss of power to the country’s other minority groups, especially when Malaysia is still being governed by the Malays.
“I hope the Malay community is not too obsessed about claims that Malays are under threat,” Samad, or Pak Samad as he is fondly known as, was quoted saying by the news portal.
“How are Malays under threat? How can religion (Islam) and Malays be threatened when those in power have been Malay for over five decades?
“What have they (Malay leaders) been doing for five decades (if Malays can be under threat)?” he reportedly said.
The news portal then quoted him saying that if the current Malay leadership cannot put these fears to rest, then it should hand over the reins of the government to others.
“Let other Malays (rule). They (Umno) have been there for five decades, not one decade,” he was quoted saying. Read the rest of this entry »
Is another ferocious bout of “Chinese-bashing” in the works at the Umno General Assemblies at the end of month
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, UMNO on Saturday, 15 November 2014
It gives me great pleasure to launch Nurul Izzah Anwar’s book “Masa Depan, Masa Kita” in Chinese.
Second-term Member of Parliament, Nurul Izzah, who has the distinguished record of sending two UMNO Ministers packing, represents the hopes and dreams of a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender.
The launching of her book in Chinese today is significant for it underlines one essential quality of a Malaysian leader or icon – he or she must not be an exclusive leader for one race, religion or region but must be an inclusive leader who can reach out to all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.
This is particularly significant as recent years have witnessed an unprecedented upsurge of the rhetoric and politics of hatred, intolerance and extremism causing the worst racial and religious polarization for over four decades.
This was why I had expressed the hope yesterday that the amicable resolution to the nearly year-long Selangor controversy over the seizure of the Malay and Iban Bibles, together with Malaysia’s assumption of the ASEAN Chair for 2015 with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promising to promote moderation in ASEAN, would usher in a virtuous cycle of moderation and establish Malaysia as a regional and international model of moderation.
But this is not to be, for these hopes – that Malaysians would avoid narrow communalism just as ASEAN should avoid narrow nationalism – were dashed yesterday itself firstly by the hysterical paper by the former Univeristi Teknologi Mara (UiTM) at the Johor Umno convention that “If Umno loses, Malays may never rule again” and secondly, the new twisted, irresponsible, dangerous and wicked theory of “shades of racism” by an UMNO Minister, insinuating that the Malays were not welcomed in Pakatan Rakyat-run Penang. Read the rest of this entry »
In the battle for Umno’s soul, money talks louder, not Dr M
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 25 August 2014
COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
25 August 2014
One day soon, it will be remembered that the great Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – the slayer of deputy prime ministers and a prime minister – was finally defeated not by an individual but by RM.
Ringgit Malaysia.
The former prime minister’s biggest miscalculation in withdrawing his support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was in believing that Umno members are followers of men or ideals. Or that they are even concerned about the downward spiral of Malaysia.
They are not. And have not been for decades.
They owe their allegiance only to money and wealth. More so these days when every problem or disillusionment can be fixed with either a contract, project, concession or cash handout.
Or where good publicity and support in blogosphere can be obtained by a handsome monthly stipend paid out to bloggers by businessmen close to Putrajaya. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr M’s tirade will not result in Najib’s downfall, say analysts
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 20 August 2014
The Malaysian Insider
By Eileen Ng
20 August 2014
Despite Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s stinging criticism of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, there is little chance of any revolt against the prime minister from his Umno comrades, say political analysts.
And this, they told The Malaysian Insider, is because there is no one in the Malay party who is either suitable or willing to take the nation’s top job.
As such, they believed the retired prime minister’s latest rebuke against Najib will not see a repeat of the groundswell which made it untenable for Najib’s predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to remain in office.
“The ability to mobilise support within the party to unseat Najib now is a bit of a stretch. Najib’s position is safe for now,” said respected pollster Ibrahim Suffian. Read the rest of this entry »
Do Umno Baru men fear women?
Posted by Kit in Mariam Mokhtar, UMNO, women on Monday, 4 August 2014
Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
August 4, 2014
The WikiLeaks ‘RM5 banknote gagging order’ has revealed that we cannot look to the West (read Australia) for an example of a nation which upholds democratic values, rule of law and a free press. Similarly, Malaysians cannot look to some men, principally Malay men in Umno Baru, as role models for equality, fairness and justice.
Last month, an Umno Baru constitutional law ‘expert’ said that PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail could not become menteri besar because her menstruation was an “obstacle which would prevent her from accompanying the sultan, at functions”.
A few decades ago, when working in the petroleum industry, some men tried to discourage women with comments such as, “How can you go offshore, or climb ladders? Your clothing is an ‘obstacle’.”
These men had not heard of overalls. In their opinion, high-flying women were either stenographers or shop assistants. Things have not progressed much, in Malaysia.
Perhaps, Umno Baru men are trapped in a time warp, in which women are subservient and docile. Do they hanker for the good old days when a woman was a maid at home, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom? We are not living in an Islamic caliphate nor are we living in the dark ages.
Umno Baru lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun, Umno Baru Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) lecturer Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz forget how they arrived in this world. For nine months, women carry a foetus, suffer weeks of morning sickness, have eating and sleeping problems, to climax in the pain of delivery. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat will become a Brazil in 2014 World Cup in 14GE if it fails to stay true to the PR Common Policy Programme and falls into the Umno/BN trap to destroy it with the hudud ploy
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 17 July 2014
The independent pollster Merdeka Centre has found that nearly three in five Malaysians think the country is not prepared to implement the controversial hudud Islamic penal law.
Its survey on hudud in April found that a total of 59 per cent of the Malaysians polled shared this sentiment, with 58 per cent of Malays believing so while 59 per cent of Chinese and 61 per cent of Indians gave the same response.
Just 25 per cent of respondents — and 30 per cent of Malays — believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now.
Just over half of Malaysians also said they believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place. Only 32 per cent felt it would be implemented fairly.
Only 56 per cent of Malaysians polled said they understand the law, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”.
Those who did not understand it included 62 per cent of Chinese and 49 per cent of Indians polled.
I think a more rigorous poll is needed for the result to be more credible, but whatever the flaws of the survey, what is indisputable is that for the first time in the nation’s history, Malaysia will be divided down the middle if hudud laws are implemented – as reflected by the rather conservative findings of Merdeka Centre that 59 per cent of Malaysians polled think the country is not prepared to implement the hudud law, with just 25 per cent believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now; over half of Malaysians who believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place as compared to 32 per cent who felt it would be implemented fairly; and 56 cent of Malaysians who said they don’t understand hudud, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno’s caveman mentality
Dyana Sofya
The Malay Mail Online
July 15, 2014
July 15 — Apparently, some people feel that Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail may not be a suitable candidate for the Selangor menteri besar post because she suffers from “uzur syarie” (menses).
This statement from UMNO legal adviser Dato’ Hafarizam is another testament to show how UMNO has failed to promote women in politics. This is unsurprising when even the UMNO Wanita Chief belittled my candidacy during the Teluk Intan By-election.
It is precisely this sort of negative attitude by those in power that has constantly robbed women of opportunities to lead in this nation. Only a person with a caveman mentality can deny women the opportunity and right to hold a leadership position in government simply because she may not be able to perform certain ceremonial acts during “that time of the month,” even though she is perfectly capable of performing her governing and administrative obligations.
Obviously Dato’ Hafarizam has never heard of three-term Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, who is one of the most powerful leaders in Europe. Perhaps if he had watched the World Cup Final yesterday, he may have noticed Merkel in the audience, sitting next to the President of Argentina, Christina Fernandez de Kirshner. In case it is not obvious enough for Dato’ Hafarizam, they are both successful women leaders.
In the Muslim world, we had Benazir Bhutto who was the first Muslim woman to head a democratic government as Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988. Her achievement was followed by Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991-1996 and again from 2001-2006. Read the rest of this entry »
On soup kitchens, and MCA aping DAP
– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
6 July 2014
Umno leaders have no compassion for the poor. MCA is a monkey of a party. Monkey does what monkey sees.
The singular characteristic of Umno leaders which is more pronounced than anything else is their arrogance and holding in perfect contempt the rights of others. Perhaps this stems from being in power for so long, which generates a feeling of invincibility and infallibility.
Hence, Tengku Adnan Mansur announces punitive measures to get rid of soup kitchens.
He has issued a directive that no soup kitchens can operate within 2km limits of Lot 10. He is afraid; the sight of vagabonds, homeless and beggars will offend the sensibilities of patrons and denizens in the citadels of luxury and opulence in the Golden Triangle.
The only sin of the soup kitchen organisers is to provide hot food to the destitute and poor in the city. The measures ought to be commended but BN holds such efforts in contempt, because it embarrasses them that the world will know there are many poor people in Malaysia.
Feeding the poor is not a glamorous act like presenting demands at the immigration department to secure the release of a teenager remanded by the authorities. Read the rest of this entry »
Subsidies for the poor or Umno-Putras, part 2
Posted by Kit in NEP, UMNO, university on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
1 July 2014
In the first part of my article on subsidies for the poor or the rich such as Umno-Putras, I drew attention to the subsidy cut on gas that has come into effect and analysed its impact on poor- and middle-class households.
In this second part, I shall look at the area of subsidies for the cronies of the political elite which run the country – subsidies which are beneath the radar, unaccountable, undeserved and which have been partly responsible for the financial mess that the country is now facing.
What should be in front line of subsidy cuts
What should comprise the first, second or third rung of subsidy cuts to balance the national budget should be open to national debate. Read the rest of this entry »
Recent revival of hudud controversy another deep UMNO plot to cause dissension and break-up of Pakatan Rakyat
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 22 June 2014
PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad has accused UMNO behind the controversial raid and seizure of Malay and Iban Bibles by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and the disruption of the Hindu wedding of Zarinah Abdul Majid to regain power through the backdoor after losing the Selangor state government in two successive general elections.
This was in fact not the only mischief UMNO was up to, as the recent revival of the hudud controversy was another deep UMNO plot to cause dissension and break-up of Pakatan Rakyat.
A study of the recent revival of the hudud controversy will show that it was all initiated by UMNO when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom made the surprise announcement in Parliament during the winding up of the Royal Debate on March 27 declaring that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government was prepared to help the Kelantan State Government to implement hudud law, even suggesting that PAS move a private member’s bill in Parliament on the matter.
That started off what is to become a three-month-long revival of the hudud controversy, plunging the three Pakatan Rakyat component parties of DAP, PAS and PKR to the second crisis to engulf Pakatan Rakyat in the six-year history of the alternative coalition.
The first crisis faced by Pakatan Rakyat was in September 2011 which nearly led to its break-up and was also over the hudud controversy. It was only when Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PAS, PKR and DAP finally reaffirmed the common policy programme proclaimed earlier by PKR, PAS and DAP leaders in the formation of PR as PR’s common priority agenda that PR was saved from an early demise.
If PR had broken up over the hudud controversy in September 2011, then the historic result of the 13th General Elections last May which saw PR winning 52 per cent of electoral vote and reducing the Najib federal administration into a minority government, with PR winning 89 Parliamentary seats and 229 state assembly seats (excluding Sarawak) would not have been achieved. Read the rest of this entry »
MCA and Gerakan cannot dismiss Jamil Khir’s “Malaysia is not secular state” statement in Parliament as a personal view but must demand a retraction and a clear Cabinet and BN Supreme Council pronouncement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion
After more than a week, both the MCA and Gerakan Presidents have finally come out with a position today on the parliamentary statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Malaysia is not a secular state, but both have tried to evade the issue by dismissing it as merely Jamil’s “personal view”.
The excuse that a Minister is giving his “personal opinion” might be used if the Minister is speaking outside Parliament, but it is completely unacceptable when a Minister makes a speech or a statement in Parliament.
There is no such thing as a “personal view” when a Minister speaks in Parliament, whether in speeches or in replies to parliamentary questions, as whatever the Minister speaks in Parliament is in an official capacity on behalf of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet which binds all Ministers under the doctrine of collective Ministerial responsibility. Read the rest of this entry »
Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …
The Malay Mail Online has reported that the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik has submitted a motion to push for the implementation of hudud law for the forthcoming Selangor State Assembly beginning next week.
The Malay Mail Online has also reported that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak may carry out a major Cabinet reshuffle as early as Friday, which will include bringing in the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong.
Liow and Mah should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA and Gerakan will not be part of Barisan Nasional Cabinet until UMNO can give an undertaking that it will not push for implementation of hudud law whether at federal or state level, as this will be against the founding principles of the founders of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan as well as the Malaysian Constitution that Malaysia is a secular democratic nation. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor
By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
June 10, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 ― After Kelantan, Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) is now eager to see hudud roll out in Malaysia’s most developed state, which is likely to open another can of worms.
The state opposition coalition is meeting today to decide whether or not to propose a study to push out the controversial Islamic penal code at the next sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly, which starts next Monday.
Selangor State Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh confirmed the study on hudud to be among four proposals she received from BN for debate.
“I have yet to decide on them, whether to allow or not for them to be debated,” she told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.
Umno’s Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, who mooted the study, told The Malay Mail Online that his proposal was submitted last week.
“It was submitted around a week ago, but it was sent on my behalf by Inmind,” Kamarol said over the phone, referring to Institut Perkembangan Minda, an agency which acts on behalf of BN assemblymen in the state. Read the rest of this entry »
Dyanamania, Dyanaphobia and Dyanaphiles
Posted by Kit in DAP, Dyana Sofya, UMNO on Wednesday, 4 June 2014
– OMG
The Malaysian Insider
4 June 2014
Malaysiakini reported today that high-ranking officials in the Education Ministry had called a teacher since last week, “advising” her to remove Facebook postings on Dyana Sofya which they deemed as “anti-government.”
The teacher told the Malaysiakini news portal that a special officer to the Education Ministry director-general had told her to close down her Facebook page and that she will be “watched”.
“It is indeed the height of irony that on one hand, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the ‘real movers’ of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook,” Mr Lim Kit Siang, the MP for Gelang Patah, Johor said in a statement today.
“Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election,” he asked.
My online Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions are:
1. mania: extreme enthusiasm for something that is usually shared by many people
2. phobia: an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something
3. -phile: suffix used to specify some kind of attraction or affinity to something
So now we can express precisely what all the hullaballoo was about. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep Muhyiddin’s Education Ministry?
Posted by Kit in DAP, Dyana Sofya, UMNO on Tuesday, 3 June 2014
A new phobia is sweeping the Boleh-land of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
I will like to know whether Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow will put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep the Education Ministry under the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or whether he would also succumb to it.
Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election from May 19 – 31, although 26-year-old DAP/PR candidate, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud lost to the Gerakan President and BN candidate, Datuk Mah Siew Keong by a wafer-thin majority of 238 votes in a record-low voter-turnout of 66.5% on polling day on May 31.
It indeed the height of irony that on the hand, the UMNO Secretary-General and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the “real movers” of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia is ready for Dyana
Posted by Kit in DAP, Dyana Sofya, Elections, NEP, Telok Intan by-e, UMNO on Thursday, 29 May 2014
Aerie Rahman
The Malay Mail Online
MAY 29, 2014
MAY 29 — It seems that nothing can stop Dyana Sofya’s meteoric rise. The cynic could cast aspersions that she is merely a DAP token. After all, the DAP is a predominantly Chinese party which has been trying to shake off this description.
The DAP needs to widen its support base in order to hold real power and not rely on the atavistic PAS or the fractious PKR. Dyana is Malay, young and from the affirmative action university, UiTM. It all fits the bill for the cosmetic change that DAP appears to desire.
But look deeper and one can see that Dyana’s story is something that most post-NEP Malaysians can relate to and identify with. And that makes her worth more tokens than one can spend at Genting. Read the rest of this entry »
GE14 lost if Barisan still fails to impress young voters, warns Sabbaruddin Chik
Posted by Kit in Dyana Sofya, Elections, Telok Intan by-e, UMNO on Thursday, 29 May 2014
by Md Izwan
The Malaysian Insider
May 29, 2014
Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose Putrajaya in the 14th general election (GE14) if young voters remain unimpressed with the coalition and its handling of issues such as corruption and transparency, warns former Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik.
He said the younger generation was no longer stupid, and Umno and BN were in for an unprecedented nightmare should Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his administration carry on without any meaningful reforms.
“In the next general election, I am worried that if we do nothing, we will face bigger problems… most of the Generation Y are not with us,” Sabbaruddin told The Malaysian Insider.
The Election Commission (EC) said in 2013 that 70% of the estimated 4.2 million unregistered voters were between the ages of 21 and 40. Some 450,000 Malaysians turn 21 each year, the eligible voting age in the country.
Sabbaruddin did not rule out the possibility that BN would lose half the seats it managed to cling to in last year’s general election, which already saw the ruling coalition lose the popular vote in its worst polls showing in history. Read the rest of this entry »
Zahid, Umno’s absurd vote-catcher in Teluk Intan
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Telok Intan by-e, UMNO on Tuesday, 27 May 2014
COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
May 26, 2014
Does Umno and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expect the Chinese to vote for Datuk Mah Siew Keong just because the Umno vice-president said they are ungrateful if the Gerakan president does not win this Saturday?
Is this a show of tough love or just the same kind of vile and disgusting mindset of politicians who have been in power too long and now expect people to show their gratitude instead of the other way round?
The absurd thing is this – Zahid made the remarks on the same day he was seen having his arms around Mah – the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate facing DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.
And yet Mah and Gerakan and the MCA have the cheek to share the same stage with Umno in the Teluk Intan campaign. Read the rest of this entry »
Dyana Sofya dan keberanian politik DAP
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Telok Intan by-e, UMNO on Sunday, 25 May 2014
Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 25, 2014
Sejak Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud dinamakan DAP sebagai calon mereka bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Teluk Intan, nama gadis itu terus melonjak naik dan menjadi “darling” kepada media.
Sebagai pengamal media atas talian, saya sendiri dapat menyaksikan apa sahaja berita yang mempunyai nama Dyana Sofya tidak kira yang menyanjung atau menghinanya, pasti akan “laku terjual”.
Di media sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter dan YouTube, Dyana Sofya begitu laku sekali.
Teluk Intan yang bersedih di atas kematian bekas Ahli Parlimen Seah Leong Peng kerana penyakit barah kini mempunyai fenomena baru dengan kehadiran Dyana Sofya. Read the rest of this entry »
Can the Dyana phenomenon last?
Josh Hong
Malaysiakini
May 23, 2014
DAP’s decision to field Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud as the candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election is not only bold, but epoch-making. More than merely a window-dressing to showcase the party’s multi-racial credentials, the move has changed the dynamics of the campaign in that the party is now directly competing against Umno, the Barisan Nasional’s lynchpin and a world-renowned racist entity, relegating the (even more) Chinese-based Gerakan to insignificance.
In many ways, DAP remains very much rooted in its Chinese constituency – just look at the rousing public speeches – albeit imbued with populism – by Hew Kuan Yew, popularly known as Superman, and the triumphal reception that greets him in Chinese-majority areas.
But the party has begun to demonstrate more and more resolve to become a broad church (I bet some ill-educated and incurious Umno members would scream at the word ‘church’ and the idiom), and now boasts an army of young blood, of whom many are also female professionals, Dyana being just the latest addition.
Moreover, DAP has always maintained the loyal support of the Indian community to a considerable extent, thanks perhaps to the late P Patto, V David and Karpal Singh who did much to prevent the party from becoming parochial and ethnicised.
Dyana is of course not the first Malay candidate on a DAP ticket, but her being a young woman usually without a tudung and, most shocking to Umno, hailing from a true-blue Umno family background, has been portrayed as an original sin by the Malay press.
All hell broke loose and we have seen a stunned Umno dispatch its ruffians to wreak havoc at DAP. Expect more to come as the by-election campaign is gearing into full force in the coming week. Read the rest of this entry »