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clearwater (Western MA)

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PLEASE CALL REPS IN SUPPORT OF BUDGET

By clearwater - Mar 30th, 2009 at 4:04 pm EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

For those of you who live in states and regions in which
representatives have not been supportive of President Obama's plans
and objectives, it's clear why it would be extremely helpful to call
your representatives, telling them you do want them to support the
President's plans and actions on behalf of the country.

I live in MA and so have Senators (Kennedy and Kerry) and a
Representative (Olver) who have been supportive of Pres. Obama even
before he was elected. I therefore didn't think I NEEDED to call them
to express my husband's and my support for President Obama's programs.
It seemed like a drag on their working days, and thus not helpful, to
call when they were already supportive.

Then I happened to hear on a previous issue--the stimulus, I
think--that calls to the state representatives were running the other
way, by a fairly substantial margin. Others in our mostly supportive
state probably felt the way I did...that we didn't have to call
because they would already "do the right thing." I'm sure Kennedy,
Kerry and Olver would have done the right thing anyway, but how much
better to let them know they had the strong support of their
constituency going into the discussions and the vote? I ended up calling and hearing that
it was appreciated.

This time, when asked to call to say we support the President's budget
plan, I did so, calling all three of my representatives. I asked the
people on the other end whether it was a bother or helpful, given our
senators' and representative's position, and they said it was
helpful and welcome.

We elected President Obama and put him in this position and this struggle for all of us. Now we can't leave him there alone. We have to continue
to support him and help him carry on and fulfill the work and goals we
fought so hard for before the election and need so much now. It's
essential to keep listening and to stay engaged and, yes, to call our
representatives.

Please support President Barack Obama in his work for us. It's our work too. And know
that the representatives really do want to know what their
constituencies think about these issues so important to the future of
our country and the world.

(P.S. Calling is easy. Organizing for America will pull up the names and numbers of your representatives and give you some guidelines for the call if you need them. Couldn't be easier.)

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Obama Event at Historic Reinhold Niebuhr Cottage

By clearwater - Sep 25th, 2008 at 12:51 am EDT

Also listed in: 9 groups

Barack Obama calls Reinhold Niebuhr "one of my favorite philosophers."

When asked by David Brooks what his takeaway was, Barack replied, "I take away...the compelling idea that there's serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn't use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away...the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naive idealism to bitter realism."

Barack a naive empty suit? I don't think so! Rather, he is someone who understands that in the face of the world's woes, hope is necessary, and that combined with intelligent assessment, compassion, resolution and hard work, it can make a difference.

I only discovered through this campaign that a lovely cottage and grounds that Niebuhr owned for about 15 years, and where he wrote his famous Serenity Prayer, is near my home!

The cottage is in private hands, but to benefit Barack Obama, the owners contacted us to help organize a fundraiser (and volunteer finder) event at the cottage. We were delighted to step in to help organize the event.

Now the public will have a rare chance to see the cottage (without paying for a weekly rental), stroll the grounds, socialize and enjoy refreshments and live music, and learn ways to volunteer to help Obama win the election. (There will be information about Niebuhr also.)

Please come join us on Saturday, October 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. for this event. Here's the link for more information and sign up:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/fundraising/gs79hf

Hope to see you there!

Linda

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Franklin Cty Veterans (and other veterans)

By clearwater - Aug 8th, 2008 at 10:44 pm EDT

Also listed in: Franklin County Friends of Obama

I received the following post from a friend, Bernard Jones, and am passing it along for all veterans in Franklin County, MA, and elsewhere.

You can join your state group by finding and clicking the appropriate link below. I've included all states. One veteran here in MA might know another in another state to forward this to.

I'm not a veteran, but my thanks go out to all veterans!

Linda Barten

VETERANS FOR OBAMA
Western Mass.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Obama For America - Veterans <veterans@barackobama.com>
Date: August 8, 2008 2:21:37 PM EDT
To: Veterans for Obama <Veterans@groups.barackobama.com>
Subject: [Veterans] Grassroots Outreach -- Veterans for Obama
Reply-To: Veterans@groups.barackobama.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was sent to 12313 members of Veterans for Obama
This email was sent from Obama For America - Veterans veterans@barackobama.com
Listserv email address: Veterans@groups.barackobama.com
Your reply will be sent to: Veterans@groups.barackobama.com
Unsubscribe or change your email settings: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/Veterans/listserv-unsub
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Franklin Cty/Western MA SAVE 8/28 FOR A PARTY!

By clearwater - Aug 7th, 2008 at 9:35 pm EDT

Also listed in: Franklin County Friends of Obama | Western Mass for Obama '08!

Details will follow, but we wanted to get word out now that there will be a chance to CELEBRATE, DONATE & PARTICIPATE at our Audacity of Hope benefit party, OBAMARAMA, scheduled for the evening of Barack Obama's historic nomination and speech, Thursday, August 28.

This event will be help at Hope and Olive Restaurant on Hope Street (really!) in Greenfield, MA, starting at 8:30 p.m.

We will gather with friends and neighbors to watch Obama's speech. There will be live jazz, free refreshments (cash bar), a raffle, a chance to learn how you can get more involved, and a chance to network with and enjoy fellow Obama supporters.

Watch this site for more news of the event listing with RSVP and contribution information, but in the meantime, PLEASE SAVE THE DATE and prepare to join us on this historic occasion!

Looking forward to seeing many of you!

Linda Barten

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Franklin County MA Residents & Friends: Please Join Us!

By clearwater - Aug 7th, 2008 at 8:00 pm EDT

Also listed in: Franklin County Friends of Obama | Western Mass for Obama '08!

We've just created a group for our county in Massachusetts called Franklin County Friends of Obama, which is a "subset" of the Western Mass for Obama group.

We can focus more on activities and events we're working on right here. We'll also post activities and events happening elsewhere in Western Mass that would be of interest to our members, and let you all know of opportunities, such as canvassing, in other states being organized by our larger group, Western Mass for Obama.

We hope our group members will come from all parts of Franklin County (and beyond for those who want to join us in our efforts here or who might like to know of special events they can attend here). There are groups combined from the many small towns and a group in Greenfield, as well as individuals not (yet) affiliated with any of the grassroots efforts already underway.

We'll be posting news about an office soon to open in Shelburne Falls and many activities that will be taking place there...voter registration, food drives, etc.

Visit us often, and we hope you'll join us!

Linda Barten

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Helping Barack Obama Lift the Country Up

By clearwater - Apr 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

Helping Obama Lift the Country Up

I’ve just read the wonderful, positive endorsements of Sam Nunn, David Boren, and Robert Reich.

And I remember the evening of the last debate when Barack tried so hard to keep pulling the topics back from the divisive nastiness to the real concerns of hurting Americans…from “tearing each other down to lifting the country up.”

Today my husband heard a bit on MSM where commentators were discussing uncommitted superdelegates. The gist seemed to be that a lot of superdelegates were staying uncommitted as long as possible because they feared being permanently in the Clinton doghouse if they should choose incorrectly. The commentators were saying that these delegates had been bombarded by Obama supporters and that there seemed to be just as much nastiness on their side as on the Clinton side, leading the commentators to wonder whether this is really “new politics” or just more of the same. (The commentators did make the distinction that these nasty comments were not from the campaign but from bloggers in the Obama camp.) It is not clear to me that these were even people from this website or just others out there. But for those of us here who are working hard and sharing our ideas about how to succeed, I raise this so that we, at least, can try to help Barack in his efforts for change.

It seems to me (and I’ve read others on this site who would seem to agree) that the best way to help Barack Obama win, and then succeed in fulfilling his promise once he’s won, is to listen to the message he’s trying so hard to send and try to support him and act accordingly: being the change we want to see, working on inclusiveness and empathy, finding common ground to work to help all Americans, being “our brother’s keeper,” and so much else.

If there are untruths or injustices that need to be addressed, it’s fair, and even important, to address them. But acting out of a calmer place, having looked for common ground and tried to “walk in the other’s shoes,” and speaking from that place, closer to the truth than to our anger, may have much greater impact on the people we’re trying to reach.

It’s certainly a tone and attitude the superdelegates would appreciate. But it’s also a tone and attitude that might gradually convince others in the country who are now skeptical. It might convince them that we really mean what we say we’re fighting for and that there is hope that it is possible.

We have older friends who have supported Clinton, although they don’t dislike Obama. They just don’t believe it is possible for “the old politics” to change…like these commentators who are skeptical. Obama alone can’t convince them and so many others like them, however high his principles. It will take a large body of people, from leaders in Washington and in the states to Americans operating at the grassroots level, who are willing not just to rally for Barack Obama’s ideas and hopes but who are also willing to try to embody them in our own lives and words and actions. No human being is perfect, but efforts and intentions count a lot.

So when you post a comment, or send a message to your superdelegate, or talk to an uncommitted voter, or even to one who at this point is planning on voting for Clinton, please keep in mind that speaking truth is important, but whenever possible, speaking it in as positive, respectful, and empathetic a way as we can is in most cases the best way to have it heard and to bridge that divide Barack is trying so desperately to help Americans bridge. “Righteous anger” has its place too. But that is not a knee-jerk reaction, rather a tool we can use to try to point to the truth, to the best of our lights to see it, after thinking and feeling into the situation.

I understand how hard it is. I get angry and frustrated. I at times walk around fuming and trying to calm down after some outrageous attack. I am trying (with some difficulty!) to do what I’ve said and to channel that energy into thoughts and actions that will possibly help ending up making positive change. (Barack did this in a grand way, for instance, when he used the Wright tapes to turn around and give his magnificent speech on race, giving Americans a much-needed chance to begin to open up and talk about and examine these problems that do exist.)

All these negative attacks by Clinton serve the purpose of helping draw the distinction between the “old politics” and the new. We just have to try to be sure we are not ourselves falling into the old politcs (same old ways) but are helping pave the way to the new.

Thanks for “listening”!

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Say a prayer for protection?

By clearwater - Mar 12th, 2008 at 5:52 pm EDT

My husband and I turned on the TV last Saturday night to bask in the good news of the Wyoming landslide after a difficult week only to hear an elected official (King), a member of Congress, making inflammatory, scurrilous, non-issue-related comments about Barack, which I won’t dignify by repeating here.

We had read that Barack had to have early Secret Service protection, and we’ve heard about other verbal attacks and sleazy emails; we also know there are some unstable people in the world. My husband and I and a friend thus decided quite a while ago to start praying for his safety and that of his family, physically and in the less tangible ways these horrible thoughts might affect them. I would be very surprised if many others aren’t doing so also.

As an antidote to our frustration over the questionable tactics of the other campaign of late, I recently started reading the blogs and comments on the Obama website, which I thank people for….they have been comforting and inspiring.

We’re trying to write comments on the issues where we can in the MSM. But reading these comments within the Obama community brought the idea to post this thought:

If many people of many faiths were to come together, in effect, to choose to pray or think a good thought for the protection and safety of him and his family, whether one time, weekly, daily, occasionally, it might provide a powerful protection for him/them.

This would be in the spirit of Obama’s campaign of coming together to work for something good and might help him be able to accomplish what we all feel is so needed. (Of course praying for that, too, directly, is always in order!)

We offer this thought out of our concern for him and his family and our belief that our country (and the world) desperately needs to hear and feel the healing effects of his message of trying to understand each other, respect (or at least be civil to) each other and work together wherever possible right now to make the positive changes America needs. We need the benefit of his excellent judgment, intelligence, capabilities, and ideas.

And, yes, people need to feel hopeful and inspired to see the goals more clearly and to find the will and strength to help make these changes!

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