We had an amazing time in SC. Check out my blog below!
http://notanothersportsblog.blogspot.com/
Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think.
Today, the Columbus Dispatch decided to print a letter hinting that Barack Obama is not a real Christian and that he is a Muslim. See it for yourself on the link below. E-mail forwards are one thing, but newspapers are supposed to have some integrity. We have to fight back. Call or write the Dispatch and demand an apology.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/02/03/J._Hughes_ART_02-03-08_H4_SN97M1R.html?sid=101
To write, use letters@dispatch.com
To call, 614-461-5072, Glenn Shelter
For letters, include your name, address and phone number and keep it to under 200 words.
Sample Letter(please put in your own words):
I am absolutely outraged that the Columbus Dispatch printed a letter questioning Barack Obama's Christian faith and hinting that he is a Muslim. As an Obama supporter, we have been fighting this type of scare tactic and smear for a while. I never got too fired up about it, because the ideas were in e-mail forwards that only fools would believe. Somehow, your paper decided to print these lies and propaganda. What ever happened to journalistic integrity? The Dispatch must apologize for printing such a misleading letter. It needs to be in a prominent place in the newspaper, preferrably on the letters page. If you don't, I will cancel my subscription immediately.
Brian Fulcher
6196 Lakeshire Dr.
Dublin, OH 43017
614-551-9215
Remember Obama's words: "One voice can change a room. And if it can change a room, then it can change a city. And if it can change a city, then it can change a state..." This will take you no time at all. Let your voice be heard!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FFB998155B67038A
Let's do it all over again down in SC.
Ways you can help:
1. Go to South Carolina2. Encourage or help someone you know to go to SC3. Donate a small amount of money (whatever you can afford) to the campaign4. Attend Saturday's fundraiser5. Talk to anyone and everyone you know about Obama and his message of hope and change6. Wear Obama gear out in public/strike up a conversation with a stranger about Obama
The concept is simple: while the politicians are bickering, downplaying expectations and spinning, I wanted to prove to the world that we, the supporters of Barack Obama, can do some serious good. Don't you have any books on your shelves that are collecting dust and that you'll never read again? Or a couple of board games that you haven't played in years? My fiancee and I cleaned out our basement and with an assist from Nick and Rachel (also Columbus area supporters) donated nearly $700 worth of books, magazines, and clothes.
So, what are you waiting for? Anybody who can help should. Let's blow this thing up. We've already got a similar event posted in Dayton, Phoenix, AZ and Danville, VA. Soon, we should have Northwest and Northeast Ohio covered.
A few pics:
We put stickers on the items for a little free advertising and to connect the project to Obama.
We weren't just giving away crappy stuff here, but I knew I wouldn't read these books again, so why not give someone else the chance?
Putting on the stickers was a lot more fun than we thought it would be. I loved finding the O's in a book title and putting them there :)
This caused me to say, "Quit fooling around, and get back to work!" :)
Some of the stuff we gave...
Rachel, at the Nevada caucus party, pitching in. Nice hat!
Nick said, "Changing the world is easier than I thought" :)
If you want to help, http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vbw4
If you want to start your own event, e-mail me, fulch@yahoo.com
Barack Obama's message is simple: our country and the world needs change. To this end, I am asking every Obama supporter to help. If you are anything like me, you've accumulated a lot of stuff that you no longer need or use (old books, videos, cds, clothes, etc). Please take these items to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army by Febuary 5th (Super Tuesday). Why? Because it's time to prove to the cynics that we are a movement, that the people are about to speak, and they need to listen up. Together, we can change the world.We made history in Iowa. I was lucky enough to be there, and it changed my life. Will you help me make history again?By signing up, you are committing to change. If you live outside of Central Ohio, would you consider starting your own event in your area? Please click the link below. Thank you.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vbw4
and it was a life changing, unbelievable experience for me. If you haven't already, check out my blog:
http://www.notanothersportsblog.blogspot.com
There's the condensed version at the top, and the full text below that. Let me know what you think!
Also, I'm going to Charleston, South Carolina for the primary. Anybody interested? :)
I live in Columbus, OH, and I am most likely coming to Iowa for the caucuses. I contacted the campaign about volunteering, but there is a week long training that I can't swing. Instead, I think I am going to go out to Iowa City, wear my Obama gear, and pitch in where I can...sort of off the grid...It would help me a lot if I had a free place to stay. Would anyone be willing to host me for the nights of the 2nd and the 3rd? I realize this is an odd request, but I got the brush off from the campaign, so I am trying the grassroot's route.
Please e-mail me if you or anyone you know can help out. fulch@yahoo.com. I can even send you a picture of Barack and myself from the Columbus rally, so you know I'm an actual supporter :)
Got a cell phone? Go here...Link to sign up or text the word "go" to 62262. It will give you directions on how to get your free bumper sticker, download ringtones and images for your phone.
Not sure what the heck I'm talking about? E-mail me, fulch@yahoo.com, and I should be able to help you out.
I thought we had an awesome turnout for this past Saturday's Honk For Obama event; 14 people came to wave, hold signs, and get Obama's name out there for all to see. Thanks to all of those who came.
The day was gorgeous, and Ohio State fans came out in force for the Spring football game, which was also on Saturday. A total of over 75,000 people came out to see the Buckeyes. We got a lot of honks and smiles and even a few high fives. Could anyone that took pictures send them to me? fulch@yahoo.com Thanks again.
Next Saturday's (4-21) Honk For Obama event just happens to coincide with the OSU Spring football game, which starts at 1 p.m. I was thinking the Buckeye's group should do a Honk For Obama event from 10:00am-12:00pm at Olentangy and Lane. Over 70,000 people (I think) attended last year's game. That's a lot of cars driving by plus a bunch of foot traffic (we'll need flyers :). We would have a chance to get Obama's name out there and meet face to face with many potential voters.
Also, ending at 12:00 will give people a chance to get a bite to eat and then head into the game, if they want (tickets are like $5).
Do you guys think this is a good idea? We can discuss the finer points at the Buckeye's meeting on Saturday.
If you are interested in helping, send me a message on here or preferrably an e-mail at fulch@yahoo.com
I thought it went great. We had an enthusiastic group of ten or so, and we got a lot of approving honks and waves. Even a few people got out of their cars to find out more about Obama and Gahanna for Obama. That was extremely neat. Sure, we were met with a few negative responses, but we just kept smiling and waving and kept our sarcastic responses under our breath. :)
Some thoughts on improvements:
Would we draw more attention to ourselves if we had a few helium balloons? I saw some on my car ride there, and they definitely caught my eye. Of course, so does 10 people on a corner waving signs.
Would we look better/more organized if we were color coordinated? For instance, obviously, the ideal would be if we all wore the same Obama t-shirts. We're not there yet, but what if next time we all wore jeans and a red, white or blue shirt?
It would be great next time if we had 20 people instead of ten. Let's say we do get twenty. Would it be best if they all stood on the same corner as we did yesterday? Or would we spread out to a different corner? Or a different intersection?
The intersection choice worked out great, I thought. Would we have more impact if we went to a different intersection next time? Are there any intersections that have more foot traffic?
These are all questions I'm not sure I have the answer to, but I wanted to see what you guys thought. Thanks to Valli and Faye for organizing a very successful event.
Barackobama.com has a pretty neat tool to facilitate letters to the editor on the war in Iraq. I thought this would be a nice and easy way for us to get our feet wet writing letters to the editor. What do you guys think? Good or bad idea?
It can be accessed through this link:
Link
National Obama Phenomenon Originates in Columbus Ohio
National "Honk for Obama" Day is March 24. This idea, born at the (insert date) Gahanna for Obama meeting, involves local citizens, who have been energized by Barack Obama's political momentum, broadcasting their support with creative signs, banners, and posters. Gahanna's group members will take to the streets on March 24th at 11:00 am at the intersection of Hamilton and Morse Roads with the goal of increasing the visibility of this Democratic Presidential contender and encouraging everyday Americans to educate themselves about the campaign.
An idea that originated locally has spread across the country. (Insert different cities) will be joining this movement, likely meaning that hundreds of people from California to New York will be actively seeking to change their county's future. Mere hours after the idea was blogged on barackobama.com, grassroots supporters of the Illinois Senator had signed on nationwide.
Thoughts?
I searched Yahoo for community/recreation centers in Columbus and the various suburbs. Most of what I found was city operated community/recreation centers. This can be a jumping off point for creating a list.
City operated Community Centers with phone #'s:
Dublin 410-4550, also Jewish Community Center 764-2414 (not city operated)
Worthington 436-2743
Westerville 901-6500
Columbus has 28 "recreation" centers. Instead of calling each of these, it would probably be wise to contact the Parks and Rec: 645-3300. Interestingly, Columbus has a "Barack Recreation Center"!
Hilliard 876-5200, found this #, but with no website, I'm not sure if it is operated by the city.
Some cities I could not find a community center, but did find a Senior center:
Gahanna: 342-4265
Grandview Heights: 488-8792
I'm sure there are more senior centers, but these are the ones I came across while looking for community centers.
Cities where I could not find a community center:
Delaware
Bexley
Whitehall
Reynoldsburg
Grove City
Upper Arlington
Powell
If you know of any additional community centers, feel free to post them. It would be most helpful if you could post their phone # as well. Also, am I missing any suburbs?
Should I expand my search to ALL Community Centers in the Central Ohio area? Or are we mainly interested in City Operated Community Centers?
What do you think about the idea of contacting senior centers?
How about Columbus area libraries?
Would someone else be able to call the numbers I have listed? I do not have a land telephone line, so it would not be super convenient for me to make these calls.
If we do call, what type of information do we need? Here's a tentative list:
1. Are there rooms available to host an Obama Informational Event?
2. Is there any cost in procuring a room? If so, what is the hourly rate?
3. How far in advance might these rooms need to be booked?
I worked on the "outreach/branding" committee during yesterday's meeting and James asked us to post what we had talked about. I thought it would make sense to post this in the Buckeyes and Gahannna groups as well. Here is a list of ideas/questions that we came up with:
-We liked the idea of calling high schools for student volunteers and possibly sending some of our members to talk about why we support Obama.
-We expressed a need to find out about various events going on in the coming months. Commfest, Gallery hop, and various arts festivals were mentioned specifically as good places for visibility activities. I also thought it would be a cool idea to pass out Obama stickers before a Blue Jackets game next season, and then attend the game together in Obama t-shirts. I think there are some tickets available for $10 each. Just throwing the idea out there, what ideas do you have?
-We talked about the importance of each of us bringing 1 friend to next month's meeting.
-We discussed going to various community centers in Central Ohio and holding Informational Sessions about Obama and his message.
-A breakfast fundraiser was discussed.
-We discussed the need to outreach to other Obama groups so as not to duplicate what others are doing. There was a suggestion of creating a "Central Ohio Media Outreach" group on my.barackobama.com to avoid redundancy.
-We talked about focusing on free forms of outreach vs. those we have to pay for.
-We talked about a subcommittee that would write letters to the editor. Would anyone have any interest in this?
-We talked about the need for us all to get bumper stickers for our cars. We seemed to agree that buying 1000 bumper stickers at 35 cents a piece (for a total cost of around $350) made the most sense. I personally think we should find 35 people (perhaps a few more if there is a shipping cost) to pitch in $10 a piece. I was thinking that we could split up the bumper stickers evenly between the 35 people (I believe that comes out to about 28 bumper stickers per person). I personally would probably want about 5 of those and would donate the rest back to the group :). What do you all think of this idea?
-We all thought meeting in early April would be a good idea, and it would nice to have some time to meet with this committee again during that time.
So, what do you guys think? Comments? Questions? Anything at all? What are we forgetting? Did anyone not attend the meeting that would like to be on this committee?
As far as general comments about the meeting, I thought things went great. I was left with two main goals that we all could pursue this month: Let's all recruit one friend to come with us to the next meeting and let's all get bumper stickers on our cars in the near future (if 35 of us give $10 toward the pot at the next meeting, we can make this happen soon). How does this sound?
1. No experience.
If experience made for a good President, George W. would be stellar by now. That's not how it works. The person with the best ideas going forward is the right person for the job.
2. He's black.
It's not the 1950's anymore. I know there are still racist people out there, but we don't want or need their votes anyway.
3. Hillary's going to win anyway.
Are you joking? Have you ever heard her speak? So uninspiring and calculating. I don't get that from Barack. What I hear from him is optimism and charisma.
