I would like to encourage every Obama supporter, if you are so inclined, to make calls to help get out the vote for Jim Martin in Georgia. I just did a few and the call script is specifically designed just to ensure his voters show up and no knowledge of Martin or convincing of voters is required. As many of you may already know turn out is key in run off elections. Martin only lost by 3% on election night and if we can ensure all of his voters show up while maybe a few Chambliss voters do not we can get that much closer to that filibuster proof 60 vote Senate. Not to mention the "Remember Max Cleland" call needs to be heard throughout this country by getting Chambliss out of the office he never deserved to have in the first place. Chambliss has vowed to block Obama's and our vision for this country so this is one of the first ways we can ensure the change we want happens.Luckily My Barack Obama has created an easy way for all of us to help out. The call lists are available using the neighbor to neighbor tool we used during the campaign and the link is included below this paragraph. Please check it out and make a few calls prior to the election on 12/2. Note early voting has ended in all but one county(Coweta and only part day this Sat 11/29) from what I can tell, so the idea is to remind people of the run off and get them to the polls on 12/2. No persuasion is required so it is very simple and unobtrusive, though you can find out more about Martin at http://www.martinforsenate.com/home.html.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/votercontact/landing
Good luck everyone! and Happy Thanksgiving! We sure have a lot to be thankful for this year, as despite the hard times, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks,Wayne
Something I sent to friends and family. Thought I would share in case some others liked some of what I wrote.
Everyone, I just want to encourage you all to vote no matter what party, person, etc. that you may be for. By voting for what you believe in regardless the outcome your voice is counted. While that one vote does not always directly determine the end result of the election the aggregate of yours with everyone else's does. Not only that, but by voting you are listed as such and thus your demographic, whatever it may be, has to be listened to. For instance for many years young people have not voted, while senior citizens have. This has led to most legislation being passed based on this reliable older demographic of voters the politicians have to have to win. Just something to keep in mind for why you need to vote. Also do not forget that many times your vote on local ballot initiatives, mayors, commissioners, etc. actually impact your life more than that of the President or Congress. Finally, too many of our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, mothers, friends, those included in this e-mail, etc. have served, sacrificed and/or died for our right to vote, for us not to exercise that right. "Freedom is Not Free" so go Vote!Now for my Obama sell. I realize I have written some of you a few times over the past 4-5 months, but have tried to keep things to a minimum. These are my own thoughts and not a forward based on rumors or non-factual information. The main thing I ask is that you base your decision on policy and the actual qualities of these two men and not rumors that have been proven time and time again to be false. That goes both ways, but particularly for Obama who has horrible rumors spread that he is not a US Citizen, that he is a Muslim, that he has "deep ties" to terrorism (Bill Ayers), that he does not say the pledge of allegiance, he is a "socialist" and many more. All of these have been proven false by all media and fact check organizations. If you do not believe just click the links I imbedded or visit the following sites, the first two are independent well respected 3rd party sites and the third is the Obama site: www.factcheck.org, www.politifact.com, & www.fightthesmears.com. Again do not believe smear chain e-mails that provide no 3rd party verification, but just state things that are completely untrue as fact.Now for why you should vote for Obama. There are many reasons I have: from his stance on Iraq War from day one in 2002; to his energy, education & health care policies; to his working "across the aisle"; to just the way he is trying to bring our country together. "Someday we may be able to tell our grandchildren about the Election of '08 when we, the people, turned away from anger, hate and greed and once again embraced the better angels of our nature." By Joseph L. Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers / Barack Obama The one policy I will share in depth is his economic policies and how he has had the foresight to both see the problems coming and react appropriately with actions and policies. It is just too bad he was not already President to ensure these were done quicker to eliminate much of the pain we all will have to endure in the months to come. As Obama has said in many speeches, "Now, make no mistake: the change we need won't come easy or without cost. We will all need to tighten our belts, we will all need to sacrifice and we will all need to pull our weight because now more than ever, we are all in this together.". Again while I do hope you are all voting for Obama, my main hope is that you all vote. This election is too important to sit on the sidelines. Thanks for your indulgence in reading this and I wish you all the best. Feel free to forward or use any part of this e-mail if you wish.
Everyone, I just want to encourage you all to vote no matter what party, person, etc. that you may be for. By voting for what you believe in regardless the outcome your voice is counted. While that one vote does not always directly determine the end result of the election the aggregate of yours with everyone else's does. Not only that, but by voting you are listed as such and thus your demographic, whatever it may be, has to be listened to. For instance for many years young people have not voted, while senior citizens have. This has led to most legislation being passed based on this reliable older demographic of voters the politicians have to have to win. Just something to keep in mind for why you need to vote. Also do not forget that many times your vote on local ballot initiatives, mayors, commissioners, etc. actually impact your life more than that of the President or Congress. Finally, too many of our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, mothers, friends, those included in this e-mail, etc. have served, sacrificed and/or died for our right to vote, for us not to exercise that right. "Freedom is Not Free" so go Vote!
Now for my Obama sell. I realize I have written some of you a few times over the past 4-5 months, but have tried to keep things to a minimum. These are my own thoughts and not a forward based on rumors or non-factual information. The main thing I ask is that you base your decision on policy and the actual qualities of these two men and not rumors that have been proven time and time again to be false. That goes both ways, but particularly for Obama who has horrible rumors spread that he is not a US Citizen, that he is a Muslim, that he has "deep ties" to terrorism (Bill Ayers), that he does not say the pledge of allegiance, he is a "socialist" and many more. All of these have been proven false by all media and fact check organizations. If you do not believe just click the links I imbedded or visit the following sites, the first two are independent well respected 3rd party sites and the third is the Obama site: www.factcheck.org, www.politifact.com, & www.fightthesmears.com. Again do not believe smear chain e-mails that provide no 3rd party verification, but just state things that are completely untrue as fact.Now for why you should vote for Obama. There are many reasons I have: from his stance on Iraq War from day one in 2002; to his energy, education & health care policies; to his working "across the aisle"; to just the way he is trying to bring our country together. "Someday we may be able to tell our grandchildren about the Election of '08 when we, the people, turned away from anger, hate and greed and once again embraced the better angels of our nature." By Joseph L. Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers / Barack Obama
The one policy I will share in depth is his economic policies and how he has had the foresight to both see the problems coming and react appropriately with actions and policies. It is just too bad he was not already President to ensure these were done quicker to eliminate much of the pain we all will have to endure in the months to come. As Obama has said in many speeches, "Now, make no mistake: the change we need won't come easy or without cost. We will all need to tighten our belts, we will all need to sacrifice and we will all need to pull our weight because now more than ever, we are all in this together.". Again while I do hope you are all voting for Obama, my main hope is that you all vote. This election is too important to sit on the sidelines. Thanks for your indulgence in reading this and I wish you all the best. Feel free to forward or use any part of this e-mail if you wish.
Then I added my economic sell on Obama that is posted at my blog http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/WayneCassidy/gGgkhl
Well I want to post some information on Obama’s economic plans that will work to get our economy out of the difficultly it is in now. First I want to start with the Tax Calculator so you can determine your savings under Obama’s plan versus McCain’s. Remember for those making under $250,000 there will be no tax increase and for people under around $200,000 there will be a tax cut. Check this out to see where you stand. For almost all of us we will see bigger number under Obama’s than McCain’s plan. (for 3rd party verification go to the Tax Policy Institute at http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/ with a full report and summary).
http://taxcut.barackobama.com/
Now I will show and discuss briefly information on Obama’s response to the various economic problems. As you may have noticed when the crisis struck Obama was prepared while McCain initially was still stating the “fundamentals” of our economy are fine. That McCain speech was given on the day Lehman Brothers failed and Merrill Lynch was purchased by Bank of America showing how weak our financial system was and still is.
In comparison here is the statement Obama gave on the bank failures the same day. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gG5qKN
In addition Obama sent the following letter to Secretary Paulson regarding corporate “golden parachutes” http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gG5qWh
Some of you may have also seen the advertisement Obama ran following that discusses his economic plan, with the link shown on the ad and the second down.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGg42R
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amandascott/gGgmlK
Article on the above Obama ad, his plans and their contrast with McCain’s. http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/17/on-wall-street-obama-is-all-wonk-and-mccain-is-all-words.aspx
Now finally here is the actual economic plan and this is not new. Obama has believed in many of these plans and warned and submitting proposals for regulation of Wall Street for months/years. Please take a look to see how Obama has been prepared for and continues to be prepared for the economic crisis. Since I compiled many of these he helped get the “rescue plan” with real protections for tax payers, ability to modify home mortgages, elimination of “golden parachutes” and other good items for our country passed by working behind the scenes rather than making empty dramatic gestures like suspending his campaign. He proved yet again he can “walk and chew gum” at the same time and get real legislation passed with real leadership, but you can read it for yourself needless to say there were things put in the speech to keep some “blue dog” Democrats in the House on board for this Senate version of the bill.
October 2008:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/economyplan & http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/
In March 2008 he said:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june08/obamaeconomy_03-27.html
In September 2007, Obama gave the following speech at Nasdaq.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/us/politics/16text-obama.html?pagewanted=print
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley.""I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
Received the following from our local county organizer involving Obama working hard on making sure every vote counts. Another good story on this from my favorite website 538.com and another here. Thought this would be encouraging after my previous posts related to voter suppresion in MI (by the way Obama campaign is on that one too, but I can not remember where I heard that so I leave the Google searches to you all).
Morning Great Lane OATs!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/mollyclaflinblog/gGgyHYhttp://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vpcvol2We will have lawyers everywhere on November 4th—we are amassing an army. Thus, folks need not fret, we got this!Please let me know if you have any questions.
My now weekly update on what has happened in Cottage Grove, OR for Obama.
This past week saw an acceleration of volunteers and activity in Cottage Grove. There were 6 separate events during week including phone banking (1 continuous operation by leader Romney!), 3 canvass events (Tues, Sat two shifts and Sun with 13 canvassers several doing more than one shift), voter registration (Tues two shifts by 3 people) and our weekly meeting. This was about a 100% improvement over the previous week in people being involved, so that was great.
Some rough numbers I have are that we knocked on well over 250 doors and had somewhere around 30-40% response with the majority still being for Obama. I know having talked to several canvassers and seen for myself we are making a difference with the undecided vote. As noted at 538 for every 12 voters we talk to face to face we get one voter to the polls. Based on that we got at least 8 or so voters for Obama in one week. That may not sound like a lot but when you consider Kerry lost Cottage Grove precinct by about 250 votes (more exact numbers from elections office will be in later post) that can make a huge difference. With double the number of canvassers we can easily double that number of voters we get for each of the remaining 6 weeks. That would mean we turned at least 96 votes between now and the election and that is not counting Romney’s phone calls and our voter registration effort that is outperforming even the Obama campaign expectations.
Speaking of voter registration, on Tuesday we did our normal Wal-Mart NON-PARTISAN voter registration and got another 22 voters registered and most were Democratic (not that was a goal, but nice nonetheless)! Do not have totals for the whole week, but that alone was a good day and Kathy is planning an all day Wal-Mart drive today and for the next two Tuesdays on top of an LCC voter registration drive, so please come help out. Also for those who can not do a set time get up with Kathy for training so you can “freelance” when you have time and at places you think will yield voters!
As for the other news of the week the chance for an office, that one is still in the works and not a done deal yet but with some luck by next week’s update we will have it up and running. Look forward to seeing many of you at the debate parties being held in town. Till then we have a great team here in Cottage Grove so let us keep working hard to make Cottage Grove turn Blue for Obama!
Wayne, Cottage Grove for Obama “computer dude”
Had a great day in Cottage Grove for Obama today. Had a total of 3 people doing voter registration (Kathy, Peg and myself) at the local WalMart (non-partisan) over two shifts, 5 people go out canvassing with Leslie (Dave, Steve, Ort, Claire and Romeny) after meeting up at 4PM and another 3 people getting phone lists (Anna, Desiree and Romney) to make calls.
Today included 3 new people to volunteering (hi Peg, Anna and Ort), including one reached through our own online group (thanks Anna! Good Luck!). Anyway after such a great day 23 new people were registered (majority democratic, though again non-partisan so that was not our goal, but nice to get anyway!) and over 3 turfs were covered by our canvassers!
Here is to seeing more of you out there. Again canvassing is the main goal now, with proven results to swing voters and to get people out to vote, but with such good voter registration going we plan on keeping that going too! Voter registration ends 10/14 and ballots go out 10/17 so time is running short!
Thanks,
Wayne
Everyone, this makes me sick. How can anyone in this country support such a thing! Someone loses their home and is trying to put their life back together so you challenge their vote, because they have not changed their address on the voter registry. This is why we need to do TWO things in this election.
http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote
1. Work locally to reregister voters at their current addresses, get out the vote and turn swing voters to Obama. We also can volunteer locally to work at the precincts to help ensure no one steals this election. Those in OH and MI particularly need to be out in force election day. By doing this at the grass roots, Obama then can spend campaign dollars on the major battleground states and having people in place to take the documented cases we the local volunteers observe and both protect those voters rights and challenge this horrible procedure wherever required.
2. Donate, donate, donate! We all need to give whatever we can to this campaign for change. This money will be used for all the items listed in #1 above. Obama needs to WIN big to actually win as the Republicans apparently will stop at nothing to steal this election. Now I do not care where and how you donate to Obama, but for my local folks here in Cottage Grove, please donate to our fundraising goal for Obama at Cottage Grove for Obama Fundraising Page.
I had planned to send an e-mail in a few days with lots of great things from Obama about the campaign and why we need to change the direction of our country (like future looking energy and foreign policy, help for college education, sensible economic policy...), but when I saw this I just could not wait to have time to graft such a carefully worded letter. We can not let FL of 2000 and OH of 2004 happen again! Please fight back both by working in your communities and by donating, even if just $5 every bit will help. Forward this on to everyone you know to get them more involved. This country is a democracy where the right to vote and be represented is above all else and should not be infringed!
"ENOUGH!!!" Obama Acceptance Speech 8/28/2008
The following was obtained by one of the women of Cottage Grove for Obama, Nancy Leon. Thanks Nancy for this information.
Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce--on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate--that has a real possibility of becoming fact.Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform,environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does notdemonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience--the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be. Thank you for your time and action.Sincerely,Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston (note from Wayne C, Lyra was at our Cottage Grove Convention watch party)New York, NYwomensaynopalin@gmail.com**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.
Our group here in Cottage Grove (CG) is beginning to roll. We are getting organized and have over 18 actively volunteering members, with numerous more just being signed up. This week in CG we had or will have 2 canvass events, 1 phone banking event and a voter registration event. Looking to duplicate that this week and improve in the weeks to come. Just as an example today the canvassing of 4 people during 2 shifts led to over 100 doors knocked and 60 people idenitified. The vast majority strong or leaning Obama! Not to mention getting yet another volunteer and 2 voters registered. On Tuesday during a voter registration drive at a local store over 20 people registered, including my favorites of a 1st time able to vote 18 year old and a 1st time voting 21 year old Iraq War Vet! The phone banking event reached so many people I can not even begin to mention numbers.
These numbers do make a difference and I think we are turning CG into Obama country. It is hard being more rural and conservative, but their is a lot of interest and momentum. Here is to everyone out their working hard for the next 60 days to make it President Elect Obama come Nov. 4. For those in OR, do not forget that registration ends 10/14 and ballots are mailed 10/17 so our time is short to reach voters.
"We are the change, We have been waiting for" Obama '08
As during the floods in the Midwest this year (previous post on my BO blog) Obama has again placed prominently on his web page a request for donations to the American Red Cross and a request for help here. He has also sent the below e-mail to his supporters to donate to the Red Cross. Note that the gift is not tied to the campaign, so there is no “publicity” on the donations made. Obama is just concerned about our citizens. Not about the publicity he receives. Again Obama has shown his compassion and sound judgment, further reinforcing why I support him as the next president. He will never let cronyism affect our response to natural disasters like during Katrina. Please donate to the Red Cross and volunteer to local charities as you can to help those affected not only by Gustav, but the other disasters such as the Midwest and FL flooding this year.
Wayne -- Today, the thoughts and prayers of all Americans are with those in the path of Hurricane Gustav -- and many of you are asking what you can do to help. We do not yet know what the impact of Hurricane Gustav will be, and we hope with all our hearts that the damage will not be as great as it was three years ago. But we know there will be damage, and there is something you can do right now. Your financial support will strengthen organizations like the American Red Cross that are evacuating Gulf Coast residents and planning to help communities get back on their feet. Make a donation to support the American Red Cross today. At times like this, it is our compassion and resilience that define who we are as a nation. Please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm: https://donate.barackobama.com/redcross Thank you for your generosity, and I hope you will join Michelle and me in praying for the safety of those in the path of the storm and the first responders who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their communities. Barack
Paid for by Obama for America
I just had to post about my experience today canvassing in Cottage Grove, OR. I knocked on 33 doors and got to talk to 18 people (many "no one home" places). Out of this 9 were strong Obama supporters (including 3 volunteers signed up), 4 were leaning Obama and 5 were undecided. Now I know the lists tend to be designed to get the undecided vote at least somewhat inclined to Obama/Democrat, so it is not scentific, but not a SINGLE McCain person. Even the 5 undecided voters were very eager to talk about Obama and seemed inclined to his message. (note last week, did same thing with a few McCain and 3rd party folks, but still more Obama and "listening" undecided's)
Anyway, just had to share and encourage everyone out there to get involved on the local level. Whether it is volunteering at an office, making calls, attending an event, registering voters or hitting the pavement for face to face with voters, please do so. Studies show that face to face contact with voters is the best way to get them to the polls for your candidate. Even just an hour a week from each of us can win this thing big.
"We are the change, we have been waiting for"
Eveyone out there check this group site and itinerary out and do whatever you can to help them take the cart from Divide, MT to Unity, NH. Sounds like a great idea that will get the word out to local communities.
Group Site: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/FromDividetoUnityforObama
Fundraiser Event: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpgdwv
Please Read Trip Itinerary: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/cherylsouza/gG5YBF
First Publicity: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/cherylsouza/gG5TN7
Cheryl Blogs: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/cherylsouza
" Please DO Join Us One and All - Just keeping you all in Our Group in the Know--Please join the Fundraiser Event to this Group and BLOG for us! This got bigger than I can manage alone and really need your help from today through next week in helping me blog this regularly and help us with this fundraiser Blast during Convention Week! You know the deal here--even $5 to the fundraiser is an Obama builder! Thanks a bunch to you all for joining the group. Now get ready for some stories and publicity! Help us do this!
Bill and his wife Dixie yesterday drove their daughter to college. Today they are at a wedding. Tomorrow, Sat. Aug. 23 they Begin their Trek Across Country. Please take another look at the Itinerary and see if your on route. Those that can please call your media and let's get this moving smoothly for this brave couple.
I am so pleased at your being here! Call me with any timely help at:
617-320-1610--Cheryl --I have been blogging this to all my groups. Please those that can copy and send:"
Everyone should go to the following link and watch this music video by Dave Stewart, "American Prayer" and then use the attached links to download the iTune version. Just about everyone I know, including myself, who has seen this got teary eyed. It reminds us what we are doing here is special and I encourage everyone to download it and use it as our anthem going forward to Nov. 4 and beyond. Let us make this one of the biggest sellers on iTunes!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-stewart/an-anthem-for-change_b_120514.html
THIS IS OUR MOMENT!
Posted the following based on Jack Cafferty of CNN’s post “Is McCain Another George W. Bush?”
Finally, and thank you Cafferty for an honest evaluation of McCain. As someone who supported McCain in 2000, I have come to realize this is not the maverick we thought. He definitely does not provide the needed thoughtfulness required for the job of President. As someone who is in charge of the "button", we do not need a president who will "shoot from the hip". That is not the definition of a decisive leader that is the definition of a young inexperienced teenager that thinks they know it all. Real leaders see all sides, discuss consequences and then make the call. They accept responsibility and inspire our respect. Like one of our leaders, Eisenhower, on 6/5/1944 when he made the decision to go ahead with landing the following day (after postponing the previous day), based on information from his meteorologist and commanders, that ended in the successful D-Day advantage.
I appreciate Cafferty for pointing out this necessary quality in a leader that has been sorely lacking for the last 8 years. Finally we have a candidate in Obama who will talk to us honestly and with thought about the issues we face. As he stated at the end when asked, "what would you tell people if there were no consequences", he said (paraphrasing), "these changes will be hard and require sacrifices, but this nation of the greatest generation can make those sacrifices and succeed". Interesting that McCain never got that question, but Obama showed he is a different politician by providing an honest and reasoned answer.
Wayne C.
I decided to put together an blog with as much energy facts as I could find after being thoroughly annoyed at the lack of real and factual information on the "news". People are throwing around numbers that have no basis in reality and no one seems to want to challenge them or discuss the issue thoroughly. I state right now that anyone can use this data as they see fit to get the word out. I would not mind credit, but frankly do not care that much as my priority is to educate as many people as possible.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/04/news/economy/obama_energy/index.htm?cnn=yeshttp://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/04/campaign.wrap/index.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2008/08/04/news/economy/obama_energy/index.htm?cnn=yes
Now here is a link that discusses how much just improving tire pressure would save each day. Now this is not Obama' energy plan as McCain claims, just a comment he made during a town hall meeting, but still not a bad idea is it? As Olbermann noted tonight Charlie Christ, Arnold Schwarzenegger, NASCAR and the NHTSA all support this idea. Note it mentions tire inflation would increase efficiency by 3% and with proper maintenance that goes to 4%, that is a rough estimate of 600,000-800,000 barrel/day, which is 3-4 times the amount of oil the OCS (see below) would provide.
Tire gauge solution is no joke
Now for the scientific teeth to my discussion. This is a bit more complicated and requires some study, but I have tried to summarize prior to pointing to the appropriate links from the US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Following are EIA studies on ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Reserve) and OCS (the outer continental shelf that laws presently prohibit use of). What you will see is that ANWR will increase daily output by at best, in 2030, 1.45 million barrels/day and the OCS will add at best, in 2030, 200,000 barrels/day. Now keep in mind that presently we use just in the US 20.7million barrels/day. That means if we are REALLY lucky (I used the best case high resource noted in the documents rather than mean or low) we will add 8% to our domestic production per day from these two sources. Not to mention you will note they comment that of course oil is sold on the world market and it is likely (without changes in conservation other than recent CAFE law Obama help push through Congress, bill was initially Senate Bill S-767 "Fuel Economy Reform Act", but eventually passed after compromise as "Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6)") that it will go up to what they state is estimated to be 117.6 million barrels/day. Now in the scope of world use that means the additional 1.65 million barrels/day (again best case) that ANWR and OCS would add is 1.4%. Also note that the reference case on each is what oil companies already have the right to use and far exceeds both of these sources. This certainly gets us no where near being free from foreign oil, assuming the Republicans suddenly write a law regulating the oil industry to only sell US oil in the US. I think that is highly unlikely, since "free trade" and "capitalism" is the solution of all that ails the economy. Finally, remember that these offshore and Alaskan sources of oil are much harder to reach and extract (I have been to the North Slope it is not an easy place to work), so will require more expense and energy just to get there and get the oil out.
DOE offshore drilling information
EIA "Impacts of Increased Access to Oil and Natural Gas Resources in the Lower 48 Federal Outer Continental Shelf"
Sent the following e-mail of support to Joe Klein regarding his excellent post on McCain's increasingly negative campaign. Please check out his blog and send him additional support e-mails to (letters@time.com) with Joe Klein in the subject line.
Subject: Joe Klein - "Hope Dashed (Again)"
Dear Mr. Joe Klein,I appreciate your blog "Hope Dashed (Again)" bringing up the increasingly negative nature of Sen. McCain's campaign. It is rare in today's media to find anyone that will challenge Sen. McCain on his character and nature of his campaign, so I greatly appreciate your excellent insight to balance the general thread of media coverage. I encourage you to continue to be insightful and balanced in your coverage of both candidates. We need more substantive discussion of their policies, political moves, character and the facts of this campaign.Sincerely,Wayne Cassidy
Following was sent in an e-mail to Mr. Schieffer of "Face the Nation" regarding his comments today on Obama's denigrating McCain's service.
"
Dear Mr. Schieffer,During today's "Face the Nation" you noted that "Obama's people are trying to denigrate the war hero's military service". When did they actually do this? Are you referring to Gen. Welsey Clark's statement that McCain's years as a POW did not necessarily qualify him to be president? If so there are three things wrong with that. First, Gen. Clark was not denigrating his service (he had prefixed it with honoring his service, something a wounded Vietnam Vet himself would do), but just stating a fact that having showed courage while a POW does not make you a commander in chief. It might show some admirable qualities and character, but not definitively show someone who should reside over the most powerful military force in the world. Second, Gen. Clark was not speaking for the Obama campaign, he was there as a supporter, but not a campaign official. Do not forget that Gen. Clark endorsed Sen. Clinton during the primary so has not been involved with the Obama campaign. Finally, even with the first two points the Obama campaign repudiated the statements of Gen. Clark (Washington Post & CNN). So again I ask when and how does Sen. Obama, who often says about McCain, "As I've said before, John McCain is an American hero whose military service we honor." during his speeches, denigrate his service. I respectfully ask that you review your comments and the facts regarding Sen. Obama's respect for McCain's military service and withdraw your statement during your next "Face the Nation".
Sincerely,
Wayne Cassidy"
I posted the following to the following post by David Gergen. In this piece he stated now with the polls "tightening" he should consider putting Clinton on the ticket. I have always and will always disagree as I have posted before. In this case there were a lot of comments about how people could only vote if Hillary were on the ticket, Obama was a flip-flopper, Obama does not have enough experience, etc. I decided to post the following based on the "experience" argument.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/08/01/reviving-the-hillary-idea/#comment-247143
I have thought a lot about this and came to the following conclusion. Sen. Obama has enough experience by working in the Senate for the last 4 years sponsoring over 50 pieces of legislation with over 30 "across the aisles" with Republican co-sponsors (like Ethics Reforms to show all government spending on the internet with Sen. Coburn and securing "loose nukes" in Russia with Sen. Lugar). He sought and took on the Foreign Relation and Veterans Affairs comittees to understand the world and our nation better. While he has obtained this experience (not to mention State Senate, community organizer, law professor, etc.) and judgment in his life, he has not been in Washington too long. This provides him just enough knowledge of the system to get things done (like Energy, Health Care, Ethics Reform) while not being jaded or corrupted by Washington.
I look forward to this change that such a person can bring and do not think that having Hillary Clinton on the ticket adds to this message and ability to change while governing. Do not take my word research his policy statements online, go to a town hall to listen to his answers to questions, etc. If you listen to the message that Obama presents not only on this change for our country, but the policies he supports I think you will realize who you should vote for this year."
Given the recent uncalled for outcry from the right on Obama having to cancel a visit to visit wounded US soldiers in Germany, because of some last minute changes in attitude from the Pentagon regarding the nature of the trip. I did some research and found that Obama was doing his best to respect the soldiers. As you will see below, not only has he visited wounded soldiers in the past and even during this overseas trip while in Iraq (without cameras as it should be), but also he has fought to help our wounded soldiers faced with less than desirable conditions at Walter Reed and other military and VA hospitals. This first link gives some better overview of what happened in Germany and shows why the criticism is unwarranted.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/07/25/schneider.obama.troops.cnn
This next one is what I heard on AC360 7/25/2008. Which mentioned the provision for the plane and staff. Of course that was from the Pentagon spokesman so we know how accurate that is ;)
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/07/25/bash.mccain.vs.obama.cnn
Ultimately, Obama had indications that some thought this might be viewed by the military as inappropriate campaign use of the wounded soldiers, so he made the decision not to go. Given that at this point the Obama Senate staff had already left after the visit to Iraq and Afghanistan and the campaign was paying for the travel, he made the right call.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-lumea/pentagon-red-lights-obama_b_115067.html
Now just to show he of course has no issue visiting the soldiers here are some links to previous visits by Obama to those at Walter Reed. The politico one looks forward to the visit mentioned in the second two and states that would be his 3rd trip. By the way the first link has some interesting info on that old GI Bill story.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11411.html
http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/theMustangMajor/C2YT
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/28/obama-visits-walter-reed/
Finally, this is from Obama's Senate site, where the statement released by the three Senators after their visit to Iraq is. It notes, "They visited with doctors, nurses and patients at the 86th Combat Support Hospital". Well sounds like Obama already visited wounded soldiers, during this trip, so certainly is not snubbing them. Only reason we did not hear more is this of course was not a campaign visit and no pictures were taken to protect the soldiers’ privacy. Plus, he did call some of the soldiers in Germany in lieu of the personal visit that unfortunately had to be cancelled, as noted in the second link to follow.
http://obama.senate.gov/press/080721-statement_of_se_48/
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/25/1222409.aspx
By the way Obama has introduced legislation many times to help these wounded warriors as a member of the Veteran Affairs Committee, a position he sought when joining the Senate in 2005. One such occurred after the discovery of deplorable conditions at Walter Reed and is in the 2nd link below. There are other such veterans’ legislative efforts by Obama that can be found easily via web searches.
http://www.senate.gov/~veterans/public/index.cfm?pageid=7
http://obama.senate.gov/press/070301-obama_mccaskill_1/
