Barack is set to hit the airwaves in one hour with his first keynote address to both houses of Congress. This is why we elected him, because he knows how to tell everyone what needs to be said, even when the truths are difficult to hear. He knows how to express himself quite well-- so much more clearly and credibly than our recently departed Duuhbya. It's been so long we almost forgot what it could be like to have a President we can believe in. Well, we're finally on the journey now.
I realize the times are tough because of the mess we've inherited from W's 8 long years of ineptitude and slamming the national ship from shoal to reef and back again. It will take time and collective work, some sacrifices and faith in our ability as Americans working together for the common good, to patch the hull and get our ship of state out into the main channel where she belongs. Bailout is a good analogy here... If we work together, we can get this job done!
http://www.recovery.gov/
I am so very happy today at the positive outcome of last night's election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.
For many, many months I have been visualizing this event, and the important work that will be accomplished under his leadership as President to restore our nation to its position as the world's bright beacon on the hill. We did not get here without suffering, hard work, hope, and persevering faith. Our children will have a better future as a direct result of today's achievement.
All the work at the community level to organize and mobilize to elect President Obama has finally delivered us to this moment. We own it together. Ohio, like the nation, is with Barack!! I am so thankful to my fellow Americans who helped in this effort. At home, I am grateful to my spouse who spent countless hours at our local Obama campaign office working to get the job done. And to Amy, who gave up two months working straight 16-hour days, for the same great cause. And to Cameron and all those at our local Bexley For Barack office... Three Cheers!!!
A SALUTE TO OUR PRESIDENT-ELECT, BARACK OBAMA -- FOR THE PEOPLE!!
And to Michelle, Malia and Sasha-- thanks for your patient support of this man who will lead our nation for the next term. (Enjoy your new puppy, kids!!)
YES, WE CAN. YES, WE ARE. YES, WE DID. YES, WE WILL!
I am happy to say I have just been an integral part of the most important election in my lifetime. A very historic moment is nearing, and my voice for Change We Can Believe In has been placed into the official ballot counting for the Great State Of Ohio.
Barack Obama will be the president for the people, whom we have been waiting for, to work with us and get things done to improve our community and nation together.
Each day it becomes clearer how stark the choice, and the contrast between what we have been living through-- wars based on lies, selling out the middle class for the rich, unbid contracts for the buddies of the Veep, and destruction of the constitutional protections we have depended on to make this nation great-- topped off with a nice little banking crisis to reinforce where the nation has been headed in this handbasket. Contrast that with the expectation for renewal that an Obama administration will bring. Imagine one big toilet flushing, that is the sound that is going to reverberate through Washington DC on November 4th, 2008. Followed by the quiet hum of renewable energy production beginning through our collective investments in a truly sustainable future-- based not on guns for oil, but on care for the planet and each other.
The future of our nation depends on growing past the politics of fear we were gifted with in 2001. We can go there together led by the example of our own Barack Obama!
This week, Al Gore raised the policy bar where it really needs to be, as he challenged the nation to take bold steps towards solving the climate crisis. Check out his dramatic speech here: http://wecansolveit.orgGlobal warming is an urgent, but solvable problem. In addition to my strong support of the Obama campaign this year, I’ve also joined the We Campaign, a powerful nonpartisan movement of concerned citizens that was founded by Nobel Prize Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. This is a campaign for green jobs and getting our nation out of the deep energy hole it's dug for itself.
I'm also not afraid of a carbon tax. The only losers will be the status quo utilities who don't want to reform with renewables. Carbon cap and trade may not get us where we ultimately need to be on this issue because of the inherent weaknesses in our political system to take the tough decisions head-on to shift away from high-carbon, fossil fuel energy.
YES, WE CAN! OBAMA '08 FOR THE PEOPLE, FOR LIFE ON THIS PLANET
I received a visit from a DNC paid canvasser today. Also got some recent emails asking me to donate to DNC.
Maybe it's just me but for now I want to keep my support and major energies focused on Barack's effort itself. Needless to say I am far from maxing out my contributions, as one of the many little people who are behind the phenomenon that is Barack at the million strong grass roots level.
I'm sure there will be a coattails effect this fall... Pardon me but I didn't see the DNC out in front on the new kind of high road candidacy that Barack is taking here. They seem more interested in getting down in the mud slinging against McCain and I just think it is time for everyone to come together now and stop throwing stones at each other. Yes, point out the major differences between our candidate and theirs. Yes defend vigorously and point out inconsistencies in the opponents platforms and behaviors. However, we won't be resorting to a kitchen sink throwing strategy this year. Not if we want to stand for something new and better for the future of all Americans.
I am not saying it will be easy to get our journey through and past November to the promised land of the first term of the Obama Administration, but I am more confident that the outcome will be some real change we can believe in, when we are involved at the grassroots level through work and sweat equity like we are with Barack's campaign. Getting voters registered, keeping the name out there visible and energy building-- that is what we are building a real mandate for change-- not just attacking the opponents but standing up for what we know is needed now for the country at this time.
OBAMA 08 -- For The People!
The primary season continues to wind down here. The Obama signs in my town continue to proclaim the powerful message of Hope about Change we Can Believe In -- even as the bad news wrought by the current W administration continues to mount.
I'm not planning any expensive vacations or trips this year. Just a camping trip or two probably, clsoe to home. Driving two states away for a long weekend will be the biggest distance; luckily it will be driving in a hybrid. I'm still biking to work, saving money and resources there too.
Barack's intelligence and savvy to get the job done without selling out, is what really impresses me, and I know will carry us through November and beyond. That and the way this campaign reaches out to all the people, the ones who didn't care before, to get involved and make a positive difference. Yes, We Can.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN? We can be the positive change we seek in this world.
Barack is showing us the way, leading in the best possible way: By Example.
Let's keep it positive right now. The time to reply to the negative hits, Barack can handle himself well enough. He's been on the streets enough to know how to respond when he has to. There may be a time, if the Rovian lobby starts pulling strings. Or if there's some funny business in October. But now is not that time. Barack is doing right by us all here. Let's keep helping him out, for the good it is doing collectively to restore what needs to be restored now in this great nation of ours.
It's a huge night for Obama, and we all feel like we're a part of it because we have been connected to the effort emotionally for a very long time, we have made the grassroots commitment to be there for Barack because he's there for us, the People, standing up with honor and dignity for what is needed in our nation's presidential leadership in the years to come.
Indiana is right next door, so is PA but what a difference. I am looking forward to return of my spouse who has been in Muncy and Indy the past 2 days, and also was there on Saturday by bus from Columbus, to help out. The margin is narrow enough that every vote really really did matter there.
The pundits have declared tonight the watershed moment of the end of the primary season with Barack the winner. If the opponent can bow out with sense we can move forward to prepare for the real effort of the fall contest and get this done right.
I am going to bed now, the results aren't yet reported (8 % left to be counted/reported in IN), but it appears to be turning Barack's way in actual title for a win in Indiana as well as the elected delegate count overall.
Whew,
Obama '08 OBAMA '08 FOR THE PEOPLE, YES WE CAN-- CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN. LET"S GET TO WORK and CHANGE AMERICA for the better!
Obama '08 OBAMA '08
FOR THE PEOPLE, YES WE CAN-- CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN.
LET"S GET TO WORK and CHANGE AMERICA for the better!
Today I was involved for the second Saturday in a row, in planting native tree and shrub seedlings along my local riverbank and greenway trail. We planted 200 seedlings last week and almost as many again today. The environment in this area is quite disturbed, as much of the low lying flood plain land was used for landfilling in the past here in my city. We dug up 6 old tires last weekend and another one today. The original topsoil is gone, just some gravelly clay fill is there now. But it is enough to support grass and some invasive honeysuckle shrubs (we pull them out before planting the natives that the birds and other animals like better). Yet the native seedlings will take root and grow, renewing the area and leapfrogging it forward from the wasteland it's been. The seedlings were obtained in dormant, bare-root form, but soon they will be magically awakening from their winter slumber, and will send out new rootlets and leaves with the help of the rain and sunshine in the coming months.
We do this not because we think it will make things perfect, not because we think every single seedling will grow to maturity-- or that we will personally witness them all growing to that full ecological maturity-- but because we have faith in our ability to make a positive difference in our local environment by working together in this way.
It's the same reason my family has gotten involved in the Obama campaign, because Barack's candidacy represents Change We Can Believe In.
We watered the seedlings, put marker stakes next to them, mulched with old straw, marked the area with some rocks to help fend off overly agressive mowers during the summer months, and hope for the best.
I believe Barack will win this 2008 election, and he will be a great President, because he approaches everything he does with integrity and honesty and candor and a rare quality of grace that allows him to rise above so much of the petty BS that is being slung by his primary opponent and some of the media. This is leadership by example, it's what we do when we set about greening the planet too.
Happy Earth Week, everyone!! Have at it, keep at it and keep BARACK-ing!
Wow, Robert Reich has also endorsed Obama today. That's someone I respect for levelheaded rationality, and his reasons for endorsement were well stated. Obama's the one for our next President, of that I am more sure than ever!
Springsteen, Sam Nunn, John Kerry all have endorsed Barack. I am so happy and proud; I know there is more work to be done to get to this election day but the momentum for Change We Can Believe In -- for THe PEOPLE is stronger than ever.
I would have loved to see the candidates at the debate this week, have received the question of how they would fulfill the oath of President if elected.
I am certain that Barack will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, of the People By the People and For the People.
OBAMA '08
The Obama campaign for me is about empowerment and self-empowerment, to make the world the kind of place we want it to be-- nationally and, just as especially, at the local level.
As a cyclist and environmentalist for Obama, I want to share some local efforts underway this month here in Central Ohio.
Anyone who wants to help make a positive difference in our local environment this month should please feel free to come help the Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries planting trees along the Alum Creek bike path and greenway trail near I-70 and near SR-104 in Columbus on April 12 and April 19, also cleaning up the area near Academy Park for Earth Day on April 26th as part of the greater Columbus Earth Day activities which are going by the slogan this year of, "now get busy" .
FACT will be planting about 750 native trees and shrubs along the river in sensitive riparian areas near the bike trail.
Come join the fun, and wear your Obama shirts!! We get our hands dirty, we see the results and they will last a good long time! For every volunteer at one of these events with an Obama shirt on, I will personally donate $08 to the campaign. I challenge all like-minded readers to match me here or with your own similar local events!!
I continue to hold great hope for the outcome of the primary season and the election of Barack as our next President. The Clintons don't seem to be good at much besides stubborn fight-based campaigning which will not help the Democratic party grow or evolve where it needs to be for the positive future of our nation. Only Barack at this time is still standing for that in the campaign.
The negativity is disheartening but I have to remember it is based on fear, the same fear that allowed the rise of fascist dictators in the past. We the people hold the key to our own future, Barack has made that abundantly clear in his empowering work and leadership. We need to firmly keep hold of those keys to our nation's power and share them only with one with a heart that is not going to abuse them for self-interest, or use them to abuse other countries in our name, or hand power to the corporate lobbies, PACS or other corrupting teasers out there.
I don't know how Barack manages to do it sometimes, consistently taking the high road when all this vile stuff is being thrown his way by the surrogates and their trolls. I pray that we may all hold fast to what is good, and render no one evil for evil.
Here in Ohio, we seem to be nearly surrounded by states that have yet to vote. I am glad to see the building energies and local empowerment in Pennsylvania, Oregon and Indiana from the campaign grassroots there. Barack is able to reach so many more voters in a meaningful way.
I have had no doubt that Barack speaks for, and to, all of us. He is refreshingly genuine and honest, unlike most of the other politicians lately.I was reminded tonight in Barack's second book, does anyone recall George W's campain promise of a Kinder, Gentler America?? What a joke. The promises of the Billary years also left a funny taste in our mouths when they were done shuffling the cards. Too many sellouts they made without trying to deal the people a decent hand.
Barack OBAMA will be the best President for our nation since Abraham Lincoln, I think. I believe he, and we, will make real progress; and he is not afraid to tell it like it is-- when we need to hear something that may not be so great, but it is necessary. Average citizens are now ready to work for something better, in this case, together!
Billary can fold their tents and go home any time, we are ready to move forward now with Barack.
The cynics in the margins will just have to be pleasantly surprised. They need to stop trying to pull us back into the slime. Luckily their slippery slimy tactics mean they have no traction, no grip and will just be flailing away in futility, drawing attention to themselves as they spout their ventings of negativity and rancor.
I spent the last half hour watching and listening to a recording of Barack's wonderful speech on issues of Race in America, which he delivered this morning (3-18-08) in Philadelphia. What better venue than the city of brotherly love-- agape, the Christian love we are called to practice toward friends and strangers alike. I really felt that Barack was talking to each of us Americans, and as always that he is helping to lead us forward in a positive direction together, instead of apart. Once again, Barack is tackling the meaningful and tough issues head-on in a way that we can all respect and appreciate!!! This, my friends, is true leadership at its finest.
here are the links to the video of the speech:
Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4
I don't have illusions that the wounds of the past will be healed instantaneously, but surely there is a way to move beyond the increasing polarization that has marked the public and political discourse for the past 25+ years now... be they on racial or socioeconomic, religious or political lines.
I now believe I have a deeper appreciation and understanding of Barack's experience, values and a validation of the path he has chosen, which is one of honor and perseverence, consistently facing challenges and finding ways to reach goals too many people have persistently claimed were impossible. It would have been easier to condemn and dismiss, oversimplify and stereotype but he understands that all human beings need to work together, building on their best strengths. If there is ever to be a way of resolving some of the difficult problems our nation faces: this stupid war, the job losses and recession, our warming planet, the health care system's dysfunction.
Barack is truly the candidate for our time, the best and most qualified to lead these UNITED states of America forward as our next President, and I will continue to support his great work in as strong a way as I am able, with my time and my energy and by making my modest contributions as I can.
Honestly I was pessimistic about our nation's politics for so very long. I am so used to being sold out, left out and ignored by the ones who have been elected lately. This time feels different. Barack is speaking genuinely, not naively but honestly and he touches us all with a cause of Hope and Change We Can Believe In.
What an amazing historical time it is for all Americans as we witness, support, join and validate Barack's remarkable journey toward the Presidency which simultaneously is building up and empowering us all to be the positive change we seek in this world.
OBAMA '08 OBAMA '08 : HOPE, and CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN. YES, WE CAN!!! AND WE ARE! AND WE WILL! Together, We SHALL ALL Overcome.
OBAMA '08 OBAMA '08 : HOPE, and CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN.
YES, WE CAN!!! AND WE ARE! AND WE WILL! Together, We SHALL ALL Overcome.
I agree that Barack needs to come out with a strong statement in favor of more protective standard. The action of the US EPA setting a new ozone standard moved the limits a bit in the right direction, but they left too many deaths per year unaddressed. The scientific advisory panels and the American Lung Association were correct in advising the limit be lowered further to 65 or 70 ppb, instead of where it was set at 75.
What am I kidding, this administration is a joke. They always ignore their scientists. They did so on the CO2 regulation that California and 12 other states were promulgating. I know most of this will get thrown out when the legal challenges are heard, but for now they are buying valuable time for their corporate stooge buddies.
Ditto the situation with Polar Bears and oil leases in the arctic. It's evil what they are doing, plain and simple.
As we say here in Ohio, there is plenty of hay for Barack to make with these issues, if he chooses to.
I for one believed Ohio had the power to put Barack over the top for good! And we still can in November. Nobody's putting their Obama signs away around here.In retrospect, I do blame Strickland. He loaned the Clintons his campaign staff for 2 weeks and they barnstormed SE Ohio, his base area. He was standing behind her like a bobblehead doll in Zanesville or someplace, nodding while she spouts her "Shame on You Barack..." lies. Strickland has now lost all my support, after doing nothing to impress me as governor so far in his term. This ices it. Strickland's energy proposal was weaker than the state senate repubs even have come up with, and he hasn't spent any political capital other than to lobby for a business-friendly perception of Ohio. Ohio deserves better in the way of visionary progressive leadership. The presence of Barack in our midst just makes that difference so abundantly clear to me now!!!What a sellout that governor is right now. Unbeknownst to us (and how professional it was too when he shared the story on Tuesday night without any prompting to a reporter) he had been nursing an old grudge of his father's (?), against Ted Kennedy who had endorsed Barack-- whatevs. That polarizing is the way of the past, not of our necessary future if we are going to go forward. Hillary deserves someone like that who keeps permanent enemy lists among their own party for 27 years, just waiting to say "I told you so, Ted Kennedy". You know, after I saw Barack for the first time ever in Columbus on behalf of Ted at Nationwide Arena lobby, before Ted's election in fall of 2006, I'd have thought Strickland would have done something nicer in return. Not a whole lotta respect welling up in me for this guy.
At this point, I have no doubt that Barack would have won the Ohio primary vote 2 days ago if Strickland and his campaign machine had assisted like they did for the opponent. Maybe there's some truth to the rumor that Ohio's Ted wants to be Veep on a Clintonista ticket. She ain't happening, though. Nor is Ted in 2010, at this rate.
I am proud to know the Obama primary campaigning in Ohio was so much different, and grassroots real, with volunteers pulling real weight. That makes all the difference. WE, THE PEOPLE are fully vested in this process with Barack, and our tide is still rising.
OBAMA 08 OBAMA 08 OBAMA 08
Just in case anyone out there is wondering, volunteers successfully recycled a couple tons of obsolete, leftover paper and cardboard materials from the Columbus office yesterday. Although it was sad that the materials are now out of date (with March election dates and details on them), and disappointing that they were not all distributed out to voters in this part of the state, I am comforted to know that these items won't be sitting in the local landfill here now forever after. I guess that million door reaching campaign required even more numbers of grassroots volunteers last weekend to use all these materials!
Has anyone considered the value of distributing literature by bicycle in the less-densely-populated areas? Judging from the content of the leftover materials, it seems that the GOTV outreach in this part of Ohio was limited (arbitrarily?) to more dense areas where walkers could reach the doors in a reasonable time. Perhaps there is another way (via bikes) to reach the desired goals in a sustainable manner. Just a suggestion... I know the value of possible face to face contact with the residents during the outreach effort.
Let's face it, the weather at this time of year in the midwest is highly variable, and on election day was just horrible. But I'm biking to work again this morning... it's amazing what you can get done with a bike.
I continue to believe that Senator Obama is the best person to lead America forward from this moment, by example and effort, and empowerment of each of us at the grass roots level. Hillary's "kitchen sink" negativity is the antithesis of the constructive vision needed to lead our nation forward, and it saddens me that so many of my fellow citizens may be swayed by irrational fear at this important time when we are deciding about the next four years of what should be positive leadership of our nation in the world.
OBAMA '08 OBAMA '08 OBAMA '08
