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John Anthony (Cohutta, GA)

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What North Georgian's are doing to elect Obama as President in November.

Join the North Georgia for Obama message board

By John Anthony - Nov 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm EST

Also listed in: 10 groups

We want to keep everyone together for the next few years so we can work in 2012 to reelect Obama. Please choose a user name and one of the great obama avatars we've added.

http://northgeorgiaforobama.com/forum

I've spend a lot of time and money to build this site for North Georgia, I hope you take advantage of it, because that would make it worthwhile. :)

John A

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http://northgeorgiaforobama.com

By John Anthony - Jul 17th, 2008 at 8:32 am EDT

Also listed in: North Georgia For Obama | Whitfield County for Obama | Georgia Congressional District 9 for Obama

Look for us on google maps :)

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Got to meet Barack in Powder Springs this Morning!

By John Anthony - Jul 8th, 2008 at 4:19 pm EDT

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Wow! What a wonderful time I had this morning when we went to see Barack for the first time in Powder Springs GA. The atmosphere was charged with ELECTRICITY! A 2500 seat auditorium was packed to the gills. Barack started with an excellent short speech and then went into a Town Hall format with random questions from the audience in a boy/girl/boy/girl order. I sat with Dr. Jeff Scott, the 9th congressional district candidate for congress (Take it to the House!) Please be sure to vote for him July 15th even though he doesn't have another democratic challenger, and most importantly vote for him in November when you vote for Barack. I will post more info on Dr. Scott later and possibly post an article from him to our North Georgia for Obama networks. I got to shake hands with Barack, which was really cool and have a couple of pictures to share, check them out!

We are the one's we've been waiting for!

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Engage for Progress

By John Anthony - Jul 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pm EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

Too often I hear people complain about this problem or that problem, this politician or that politician, and I ask them who they voted for, and they respond with, "Oh, I don't vote; my one vote doesn't matter." All the while, they are unable to realize that those with this apathetic attitude towards politics are often the majority. Yet, if they were to engage themselves and join with the millions of others who stand on the sidelines and just watch, that maybe, just maybe, we could elect better candidates and realize the change we need.

I believe that many are unsatisfied with the current conditions of: rising healthcare costs, gas prices going through the roof, people not being able to afford medicines they need, retired people having to return to the workplace, or reaching retirement age and not being able to retire because social security has not kept up with the cost of living. Our forefathers' vision was that we elect officials that represent the people, unfortunately, for the last few decades most of our elected officials have become the voice of the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, mortgage companies, etc.

The agenda in Washington has not been set to one that is the most beneficial to the majority of the American people, but to the few that are able to pay lobbyists to voice their opinions and ideas. This has hurt the working class. Tax breaks are being delivered to companies who move jobs overseas, while we are left jobless and asked to pick up the slack. For the areas where we haven't been able to pick up the slack, our leaders then borrow from Japan, China, and others alike, as if they were some kind of credit card. Well that credit card bill is weighing heavily on the value of our dollar, it is worth less now than it has been in many years. In turn, this has become a large contributor in the rising cost of fuel.

Have we dug ourselves into a hole so deep that we cannot get out? I don't believe so, but it is going to take some serious American ingenuity to get us out of this mess. We've invented electricity, the light bulb, the automobile, we were the first to the moon, and we've landed a vehicle on mars! As Barack says, it's time to take the next great step in the American story; we must free ourselves from foreign oil and reduce the debt we have accumulated. We are not going to drill ourselves out of this mess, and huge tax breaks for corporations will not pay off the debt that is killing the value of our dollar.

This is not the year to sit on the sidelines and hope things get better, this is the year to register to vote and vote for change. We cannot continue to follow the same failed policies and expect a different result. We must engage ourselves in democracy if we want to progress as a nation again.

Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your family, we must overcome the taboo of talking religion and politics and tell everyone we know to register to vote and create the conditions for real change by electing a democratic majority in the senate and house and very importantly electing Obama to lead this nation towards progress again.

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Tale of a Wayward Republican

By John Anthony - Jun 27th, 2008 at 12:02 am EDT

Also listed in: Georgia Congressional District 9 for Obama | Whitfield County for Obama

A new acquaintance I met online recently (a republican) wrote this article to be posted in several North Georgia newspapers, I thought I would share it here first.

Tale of a Wayward Republican

by Randall E. Leverette

If I had a dollar each time someone asked me how a Republican could or would consider voting for Barack Obama this November I’d be a rich man. Admittedly, Obama didn’t start out as my candidate of choice; I had already made up my mind that I was going to support John McCain during the primary and if he was our party’s nominee I’d vote for him in the general election. It was my view as political junkie and former student of politics that his years in Congress, where he has worked hard at being a moderating voice in the Republican Party, was what the country needed and, by gosh, he’s a Republican. Then something happened; I became an angry Republican.

Our party has spent eight years behaving in a mean-spirited manner by using various issues that in my view have nothing to do with governing our nation, these include: abortion, gay marriage (the thought of including any form of discrimination in the U.S. Constitution is shameful) the influence of religion in our politics and attempts to force various moral values on fellow Americans. Then there’s the war in Iraq, and the multiple infractions and suspensions of fundamental rights that are so basic to this nation that our current president and his followers wrap themselves in under the guise of “national security.” Our party has also decimated a budget surplus with the very war the current administration wants to continue. This isn’t the Republican Party I know, one that has stood for lower taxes, less government, personal freedoms or a strong national defense. Nor has George W. Bush turned out to be the compassionate conservative, non-nation building uniter that he sold himself as when he campaigned for our votes in 2000. What’s worse, our party’s presumptive nominee promises to continue the course (which, if you’ve noticed isn’t working) and admits he knows little about the economy.

Recognizing that turn-about is fair play I ask my fellow party members: How many times should we, as voters, fall victim to the bait-and-switch game that has been played for so long? Are we so blindly loyal to our party that we can’t see the forest for the trees? Why in all these years has abortion not been overturned? After all, seven of nine (a clear majority) sitting justices are Republican appointees. Why wasn’t a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage proposed after the 2004 election? Especially when Congress was controlled by our party. Why has our current president decimated a budget surplus on a war, yet extols the virtues of tax cuts? Who among us would quit our jobs and increase spending at home with less money flowing into our personal bank accounts? Do we honestly believe that another Republican Administration is the best thing for our country or that it will bring to fruition all of the moral issues that it campaigns on each election year to “energize the base?” By the way, energize the base is a nice way of saying “use these voters until I’m elected, and then I can go back to neglecting them.”

At the prompting of a very close friend who is a Democrat, I decided to read-up on Barack Obama and I tuned-in to a few of his speeches prior to the Iowa Caucus. The only thing that came to my mind after listening was this man moved me like Ronald Reagan did when he ran against Jimmy Carter. During that election cycle, America was hostage not only to militants in Iran but to high interest rates, outrageous inflation, lines at gasoline pumps with odd-even days and an economy that wasn’t doing very well. Obama’s vision of change mirrored what I had felt about our current government and the Bush Administration over these past eight years; our political system is broken, and needs a serious makeover.

Senator Barack Hussein Obama (yes, Hussein; truly, how many of us have a choice in selecting any of our names?) has rejected the politics of division and the win-at-all-costs attitude that has hurt our ability to move forward as a nation. While a Republican I will not always see eye-to-eye with a President Obama, if elected, but I strongly believe that his politics of competency and unity will lead to a stronger America and will go a long way to improving our stature abroad. Moreover, strip away the attacks: He’s a Muslim, he is not; he’s inexperienced, he has as much experience as John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush when they campaigned and were elected. The only presidents in my lifetime to have more experience were Richard M. Nixon and George H.W. Bush. Remove these fables and he is the the epitome of Republican ideals, that of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

The focus of both parties should be about coming together to solve the major issues that trouble our country, regardless of individual political ideology. The national debt; lower-cost, domestic energy sources; lower healthcare costs—these are some of the many growing problems that the majority of Americans want our political leaders to handle. These true issues will be addressed and solutions realized if we are united politically without partisan infighting that has crippled us for the last 20 years. Obama has the intellect and temperament to accomplish this.

Most people still ask, “but you’re still a Republican?” My answer is yes I am but first and foremost, I’m an American and more importantly a wise consumer. I will not continue to buy a product that doesn’t function as it should and the only way that I can bring about a new improved Republican brand is to say to my party “I’m not buying this year.” Hopefully, Republican brand and product managers will rethink their offerings after this election season and in four years or maybe eight our party will have had enough time for reflection and introspection and will offer up a slate of candidates worthy of our votes.

Randall E. Leverette

Member, Republicans for Obama

www.republicansforobama.org

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North Georgia for Obama

By John Anthony - Jun 26th, 2008 at 11:57 pm EDT

Also listed in: Georgia Congressional District 9 for Obama | North Georgia For Obama | Whitfield County for Obama

North Georgia for Obama

2705 Airport Rd Ste 112

Dalton, GA 30721

706-260-8732

We will be on google maps in a few weeks.

Unite for Change Meeting to be held on July 12th at 7:00 pm

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gy9q

Volunteers unite, lets put Georgia in Barack's corner on November 4th!!!

Location is directly across from Zaxby's on Airport Rd beside Walnut Square Mall in Dalton Ga.

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A great article I found online

By John Anthony - Jun 6th, 2008 at 12:36 am EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

To The Editor:

As a 78 year old American of African descent, I feel compelled to respond to
all this "much ado about nothing" when it comes to the statement that
Michelle Obama made about the fact that this is the first time in her adult life
that she has been proud to be an American.

The country needs to hear this from the Black perspective.
Long before I was born my grandfather, Joseph Burleson, owned a considerable
amount of land in oil rich Texas . Because during that era, Blacks could not
vote, nor could they contest anything in the courts of the United States, my
grandfather's land was STOLEN by his White neighbor.

My grandfather, who was literate and better educated than my grandmother,
drove to town. Seeing my grandfather leave, the covetous neighbor asked my
grandmother to show him the deed to the property. He snatched it. She could not
insist that he give it back, nor could she have reported this THEFT to the
sheriff because of the fact that Blacks had no rights in the 1800's. The
prevailing law at that time was he who held the deed owned the land. Do you think
that is something that I am PROUD OF? Right now I should be living off the oil
and gas royalties.

In 1934 when my dad drove us to Texas to meet his family, when he stopped to
purchase gasoline, his daughters and wife were not allowed to use the
washroom. As a man it was easier for him to relieve himself in the bushes, but not
for the females. We were, however, reduced to having to go in the bushes ,
also. Do you think I am PROUD OF THAT?

In 1938 when my oldest sister went to enroll in Hyde Park High School, she was
told by the counselor that she did not want to take college preparatory
courses; she wanted to study domestic science. Do you think Im PROUD OF THAT? Of
course, when Beatrice Lillian Hurley-Burleson went to school the next day,
that was the last time anyone thought that the Burleson girls wanted to study
domestic science.

When in 1943 my parents attempted to buy the 2 flat at 5338 South Kenwood,
where we had lived since 1933, in Hyde Park, Chicago , IL we were told that we
could not buy it because there was a restrictive covenant that said that the
property was never to be sold to "Negroes."
Do you think I am PROUD OF THAT?

In 1950 when I graduated from college, I was unable to get a job because I
was considered "overqualified." the code word for they would not hire me
because of my race. All of the want ads called for Japanese Americans or Neisis
(the word given to Japanese Americans at that time). Do you think that was
something that I should have been PROUD OF?
I understood that America was trying to make up for the interring of
innocent and patriotic Americans who were our enemy by association.

My cousin's barbershop was bombed in Mississippi in the 50's because he was
encouraging Black people to register to vote. His wife who had earned a
Masters Degree from Northwestern University lost her position as the principal of
the local school because of the voter registration activities. Is that
something I should be PROUD OF?

Now we get to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of the Obama family.
Rev. Wright like so many religious zealots overstates many things that many
of his members do not agree with. To suggest that Senator Obama should leave
the church of his choice is not only a double standard, but it is
absurd. Would any of the talking heads who are so alarmed by Rev. Wright's thoughts and
speeches suggest that Catholics should abandon their faith or denounce and
reject the Pope because so many priests have molested children?These children
were exploited and taken advantage of and they had no choice to even know they
could resist, reject and denounce. To me the situations are parallel, except
for the fact that the priests behavior is a physical violation of the
innocence of children who are marred for life; and the priests behavior is a crime.
Rev. Wright's speeches are just words, that one can listen to or not, the
members have a choice. Should Governor Romney denounce and reject the Mormon
Church because some of their members practice polygamy?

As Senator Obama has previously stated, we have entered the silly season.

Barack Obama is an adult, and most importantly, he is an exceptionally
intelligent adult. Like most of us adults, fortunately, we do not accept all we
hear or see. If we did, the world would be more amoral, debased and perverted
than the world of today is.

I see all these "so called" ponderings an attempt to marginalize the
candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. I cannot truly call this racism because some
ignorant Blacks have also spoken disparagingly about him.

I accept this as the darker side of mankind who because of their own
inadequacies, they project their deficiencies on others. Barack Obama is a very
rare individual, the likes of whom the world seldom sees.
Like most geniuses, they are often misunderstood. They are objects of envy
and jealousy. They are suspect because they soar above the average man who
does not have the intellectual ability to understand the greatness of special
people. They are also targets to be pulled down to the level of the mediocre
that cannot stand to see an individual with deep convictions and high standards.

We have not seen a phenomenon like Barack Obama in many years and many
generations. Like Ghanda, like Jesus, like Einstein, like Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., like Mother Theresa, genetically, intellectually and spiritually,
these people offer the world so much, but they are often maligned and
misunderstood.

Barack Obama is a Christian in the true sense of the word. A true Christian
loves his fellow man unconditionally. A true Christian wants the best and
tries to bring out the best in his fellow man. A true Christian wants to unite
and bring the world together in peace and harmony. This is what Senator Obama
stands for; but, unfortunately, he has had to get off point to answer these
false charges, innuendoes, and just plain lies.

We are in the presence of an angel unaware in Senator Barack Obama; and this
country needs him, more than he needs us. He is the only person at this time
in history that can restore respect for America with the world's people.
Because of his family background, the influence of his beloved mother who
instilled great values in him, the influence of his absent father who vicariously
inspired a son to go to Harvard as the father had done, the influence of a
minister who brought him to an understanding of the value and meaning of
Christianity, the influence of a brilliant Princeton educated wife who inspires him and
keeps him grounded; he is the epitome of a citizen of the world. He is of
the world because the world is in him; and this is what America needs to bring us
out of the abyss to which we have sunk in the eyes of the world.

Like, Michelle Obama, after living in this country all of my 78 years,
loving my country and not understanding why my country has not loved me,
I now for the first time in my adult life feel PROUD OF MY COUNTRY
because I sense a maturing, a recognition of talent and character, and
not color, and a field of candidates aspiring to lead this nation coming
from very diverse backgrounds of gender, religious beliefs, national
origin, ethnicity, age and experiences.

This to me is the HOPE that America is coming into her own and will begin to
CHANGE and will embrace the philosophy upon which this country was founded,
where all men are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.

Now I truly believe, YES WE CAN!

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