I got there a little late, but it was amazing to see the place was packed. A bacd was playing music outside to get more people to drop in.
The YouTube Video is below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCQESBauJio
It was a great meeting, and please contribute to my FR if you can afford it.
Soory for a short blog post. I'll expand this on the weekend.
I have been enjoying the David McCullough biography of John Adams. It also has been made into an HBO series, which seems very well done.
I was initially drawn to support Senator Obama due tohis brave stance in opposing the war in Iraq. Senator Obama has said he does not oppose all wars, just dumb wars.
And so it was with John Adams. His first challenge came when England statred to attack American ships, and force the sailors into the British navy, saying they were "British citizens." President Washington was urged by most people to declare war on England. Vice-President Adams knew better. He knew that the country was not yet ready for yet another battle with England, so soon after the end of the Revolutionary War. Adams advised that a treaty with England be pursuued instead. The Jay Treay as signed, with very little benefit to America, but it DID avoid a war that probably would have ended this bold experiment in Democracy.
Then, when President Adams was faced with cries for war with France, he also sent ambassadors to France, in the hopes of avoiding another costly war, which likely would have also split the country and ended the United States of America. His use of slow diplomacy worked, and France declared that they no longer wanted to wage war with America, and that the matter was a "family squabble."
But Adams used the French threat to build the first American Navy, and navy that would proved instrumental in defeating the British only eight years later, in the war of 1812.
So instead of entering into rash wars, Adams saw the need to wait until the country was stonger, and had built up its' defenses. This is the act of a patriot. To know when to use force, and know when to use diplomacy.
Do you see the connection? Senator Obama will wage war when it is the right thing to do, not as first option.
Please click on the link if you have the time and try to get Senator Obama to appear in Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg area. Hopefully, after March 4th, his appearance will not be needed.
http://eventful.com/demand/D0-001-000195479-8/join
Thanks!
The theme of this campaign season is that everyone has been wrong all the time, so now that everyone thinks the Democratic primary campaign will extend into March and possibly April and beyond, could everyone be wrong again? Is the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination already over?
Nicholas Beaudrot does the math at Cogitamus, the liberal group blog. “It’s over. I’m calling it,” he writes. “When all is said and done, Barack Obama will have a Florida-and-Michigan-proof lead among pledged delegates (68 or more) to convince enough superdelegates to earn the nomination.” Beaudrot explains:
Even if Clinton manages a narrow loss, tie, or narrow win in Virginia, Barack Obama should win Maryland and DC handily. Combined with a likely big win in one of his home states (Hawaii), he’ll have roughly a 100 delegate lead going into the Wisconsin primary. Let’s be pessimistic and assume Obama loses by 15 percent. With 75 pledged delegates, that means his lead will drop to the high 80s.We’re now all the way to the Ohio and Texas primaries, with a total of 334 pledged delegates at stake. To claw back to a draw, Hillary Clinton will have to win a whopping 61 percent of them. There’s no way that can happen; the only state where Clinton has managed a margin that large is Oklahoma. And remember, this is the pessimistic scenario; if Obama wins Virginia by 15 percent as polls indicate, and can play two out of three between Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to virtual draws, he’ll have lead large enough that Clinton will have to pack it in.
Even if Clinton manages a narrow loss, tie, or narrow win in Virginia, Barack Obama should win Maryland and DC handily. Combined with a likely big win in one of his home states (Hawaii), he’ll have roughly a 100 delegate lead going into the Wisconsin primary. Let’s be pessimistic and assume Obama loses by 15 percent. With 75 pledged delegates, that means his lead will drop to the high 80s.
We’re now all the way to the Ohio and Texas primaries, with a total of 334 pledged delegates at stake. To claw back to a draw, Hillary Clinton will have to win a whopping 61 percent of them. There’s no way that can happen; the only state where Clinton has managed a margin that large is Oklahoma. And remember, this is the pessimistic scenario; if Obama wins Virginia by 15 percent as polls indicate, and can play two out of three between Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to virtual draws, he’ll have lead large enough that Clinton will have to pack it in.
One more thing working in Obama’s favor: Over at The Atlantic, Marc Ambinder points out that Texas may not be the favorable terrain for Hillary Clinton that everyone (who, again, is always wrong, right?) assumes it will be. “Suffice it to say: whatever you call Texas’s system — a hybrid, a primacaucus, whatever — do not assume that, because it’s a big state and the media calls it a primary, the math favors Hillary Clinton,” Ambinder writes. He lays out how this “primacaucus” works:
The delegate-rich districts are the most heavily liberal state senate districts. According to this calculation, they’re in Austin and in two of the most concentrated African American parts of the state. Advantage: Obama.Clinton will get plenty of support from Latino voters, but they tend to be more spread out and thus will see their votes somewhat diluted in the 31 separate primaries. In order to “win” — both enough delegates and statewide, you need to organize what amounts to caucus-like campaigns in each of these districts.The white vote in Texas will probably split, with Obama taking men and Clinton taking women. Though Latinos make up a slightly larger share of the electorate than African Americans, they tend to vote in lower proportions.The process has two steps. First, folks vote. 126 delegates will be accorded proportionally via state senate district. Then, when polls close, they caucus in more than 1,000 precincts.At the caucus, attendees chose the identity of the delegate and the presidential candidate that the delegate is supposed to represent. These delegates are sent to a “senatorial convention” a few weeks later, during which the final math is worked out and the actual delegate slate for the convention is chosen.67 delegates will be chosen this way.
The delegate-rich districts are the most heavily liberal state senate districts. According to this calculation, they’re in Austin and in two of the most concentrated African American parts of the state. Advantage: Obama.
Clinton will get plenty of support from Latino voters, but they tend to be more spread out and thus will see their votes somewhat diluted in the 31 separate primaries. In order to “win” — both enough delegates and statewide, you need to organize what amounts to caucus-like campaigns in each of these districts.
The white vote in Texas will probably split, with Obama taking men and Clinton taking women. Though Latinos make up a slightly larger share of the electorate than African Americans, they tend to vote in lower proportions.
The process has two steps. First, folks vote. 126 delegates will be accorded proportionally via state senate district. Then, when polls close, they caucus in more than 1,000 precincts.
At the caucus, attendees chose the identity of the delegate and the presidential candidate that the delegate is supposed to represent. These delegates are sent to a “senatorial convention” a few weeks later, during which the final math is worked out and the actual delegate slate for the convention is chosen.
67 delegates will be chosen this way.
I just had my petitions notarized (yesterday) and they will be delivered to Harrisburg on Monday by another candidate pledged to Senator Obama.
We rented a table at a local mall, and coupled with other signature efforts, at bus stops, at the mail boxes in my community, got more than the minimum 250.
We hope to be on the ballot in the 11th CD in PA, and head to Denver to vote for Senator Barack Obama!
I might find out by today if my application to be a delegate for Senator Obama in Pennsylvania will be approved.
Keep your finger crossed, everybody! HOPE!
If it is, then I have to gather 500 signatures to be placed on the ballot.
No Problem!
B-)
On December 26th, 2007, I boarded a flight to Des Moines, Iowa, where I would spend the next 9 days working as a volunteer for Senator Obama's campaign.
Although the flight was booked on November 9th, 2007, I actually committed to go much earlier, in April 2007, when I read the first few chapters of "The Audacity of Hope."
In the prologue of the book, Senator Obama tells of a media consultant who was encouraging him to run for statewide office in Illinois. The meeting had been scheduled for late September, 2001.
"You realize, don' t you, that the political dynamics have changed, he said, picking at his salad. "What do you mean?", I asked, knowing full well what he meant. We both looked down at the newspaper beside him. There, on the front page, was a picture of Osama bin Laden. "Hell of a thing, isn't it? he said, shaking his head. "Really bad luck. You can't change your name, of course, Voters are suspicious of that sort of thing."
I vowed that this man would not be defeated by the coincidence of a name. I started a local web site to keep track of the Obama campaign, while also providing a way for East Stroudsburg residents to find a way to connect to the national campaign.
I became a frequent visitor to barackobama.com, and then started to read about a special training that was offered - Camp Obama. They were being held throughout the country. Unfortunately, I missed the training that was held in New York City, and so had to enroll in one of the last classes in Chicago. Attendance at Camp Obama was not necessary for anyone wanting to volunteer, but it was highly recommended if you did not have any extensive campaign experience.
That was me. With the exception of canvassing for Kerry/Edwards in 2004, and a couple of stints as a poll watcher, I was more of a 'bumper-sticker" Democrat.
The training was lead by Jocelyn Woodards, and included a visit by Mike Kruglik, who was the organizer Senator Obama had worked with on the South Side of Chicago in 1985. Mike's message to all of us was inspiring - he urged us all to consider ourselves "organizers" who would contact others we knew and urge them to become part of the Obama campaign. He said the time was past for us to talk about how we liked Obama, how he was charismatic guy, but instead, he urged us all to 'Be Obama" As such, as the face of the campaign, we were not to engage someone in a negative battle to ask for their support.
At the end of the training, I signed a pledge to volunteer to work in an "early state" - Iowa.
The flight was surprisingly easy, with no delays. I got to my hotel around midnight, and set my alarm for 8:00 AM, as all out of state volunteers were requested to attend a training at a UAW union hall in Grimes. After the meeting, we broke up into groups and assigned to our field captains, who in turn assigned us to the Precinct Captains who would collect our completed walk lists each day.
My contact at this level was an accomplished water color artist in Grimes, Nadine Hawbaker. She showed me a beautiful watercolor portrait of Senator Obama she had completed because she admired him, (it had been signed by the Senator).
Each morning or in the evening, Nadine gave me my "walk lists." These lists were culled from Democratic voting lists, along with calls made by Obama campaign volunteers to identify potential Obama supporters.
Each list contained about 40-45 addresses. Theoretically, these walk lists were designed to be completed in 4 hours, and since we were assigned two shifts of four hours for door knocking (voter contact), we were supposed to complete two of these lists each day.
But Des Moines was still recovering from an icy snowfall, with most side streets and sidewalks still snow and ice-covered. I found that I was not able to complete more than one list per day, since the footing was better suited for the National Hockey league than for quick walking. Plus, I would occasionally encounter an extremely well versed Iowan, who would talk to me at great lengths about the minutia of policy differences between John Edwards and Senator Obama. Since once such Edwards supporter told me he would support Senator Obama as a second choice, I did not want to cut him short. Second choices are extremely important in Iowa's caucus system, since after the first count, non-viable candidates can "re-align" with a second choice.
I estimated I knocked on about 240 doors. Not everyone was home, but I would leave literature which told people about the caucus process. I was out sick for one day with a bit of a head cold - temperatures the day before were 5 degrees with wind chills at -15.
My field organizer, Jaclyn Urness, and Nadine Hawbaker told me to take a day off and rest up for caucus night, since I was going to drive some senior citizens to their caucus location. I picked up Merline, who was 68, and got to the caucus by 6:25 PM. You have to be in line by 7:00 PM to caucus.
The community center in Grimes (a suburb of Des Moines) was absolutely jammed. The Republicans also had their caucus in the same location. Initially, we were in a fairly large room that wasn't nearly large enough. An announcement was made that the caucuses were being moved to the gymnasium. Apparently large turnouts all across Iowa caused similar overcrowding.
It was exciting to see the initial count. There were 250 in total attending the caucus. The first count was 81 for Obama, 61 for Edwards, 51 for Clinton, with no other candidate being viable. By the way, the formula is 15% of total attendance equals the number needed for viability. So a candidate needed 38 people standing up (or sitting down and raising your hand) to be viable.
There was 30 minutes for re-alignment. Most of the Richardson caucus-goers moved to Edwards, which I found odd, since Governor Richardson had asked that his supporters pick Obama as their second choice. After the re-alignment, Senator Obama picked up an additional 12 votes.
So Senator Obama got three delegates, Edwards three, and Clinton two. I then got a text message on my phone - Obama Wins Iowa!
I picked up another senior citizen for the ride back to their homes in Grimes (she was 78), and then headed to The Wells Fargo center in downtown Des Moines to hear Senator Obama make a victory speech. Michelle Obama and their daughters, Sasha and Malia also made a brief appearance. The crowd of Obama supporters was overjoyed, and I felt that I had made a small contribution to our democracy.
I am no longer a passive American, and am proud to be actively participating in our Republic, what Thomas Jefferson called "an experiment." I have hope now that this experiment will continue to thrive and flourish for generations of Americans to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pof3RbCIk78
All the best,
Jim Lyons
After seeing the warm holiday greeting video of Senator Obama with his family, I just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone here on MyBO!
For some nice Chrismas pictures to display on your computer, please go to my Flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92803449@N00/sets/72157603518694540/
Most are pictures of Christmas window displays at Macy's in NYC and the Lord and Taylor windows.
Peace on Earth, good will to all!
In Hope and in Peace,
I'd like to thank the organizer of a meeting this Sunday at East Stroudsburg University. Great job, Greg Stewart! I was scheduled to be at another event Greg had scheduled, last week in Harisburg, but I was not able to attend because it's a six hour round-trip by car. What can I get you from the Wa-Wa store Greg? I'm buying!
We will be discussing the upcoming petitioning drive to get Senator Obama on the ballot in Pennsylvania. I am realy fired up about about becoming a delegate for the Senator. I have already sent my form into the Democratic Party in Harrisburg.
It would be great to be able to attend my first ever convention, and for a historic candidate like Senator Obama, what a tremendous feeling it will be to be there when some state delegate standsup and puts the Senator "over the top."
I must admit I had a fantasy about being that delegate, but jsut for a fleeting moment. I am sure that this privilege would go to a long time party regular.
In any case, my dream would be to attend the convention, but just participating in the petitioning process will be an amazing experience, and will keep me focused on spreading the word about the Senator's message of Hope.
In Hope and Peace,
Licenses and National Security (II)
I recently wrote to criticize presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton about her waffling on the issuing of licenses to undocumented persons. But in a political campaign, a candidate needs not only to be on the correct side of the issue, he/she must also be able to explain the matter in a way that gathers support. Even though I liked how Governor Bill Richardson, our fellow Latino, answered that question and although I was edified at the support from our fellow “person of color”, Senator Barack Obama, I think both of them could sharpen up their responses. Here are a few of my ideas.
First, remind listeners that public safety demands that every state determine control who drives and who doesn’t. Bad drivers, including the intoxicated, kill far more people than undocumented immigrants. So it is really a life-and-death matter to ensure that people driving cars know what they are doing. Borrow the right-wing slogan about the borders and say: “Any state that cannot control its highways isn’t protecting its people.”
Secondly, no one just walks into a DMV office without papers because applications for a driver’s license require proof of birth and residence. The undocumented never get licenses. Admittedly in some cases, immigrants use forged documents: but in all others, the immigrants legitimately obtain the license. Often, their immigration status is later changed by marriage, schooling, etc. AFTER they had obtained the license. The talking heads on TV – even the generally reliable like Chris Matthews – don’t seem to know that a person can enter this country legally (e.g. student or tourist visa) but become “illegal” because they take a job. The states have neither the jurisdiction of the budget to police these fine points of law. Washington should pay for the laws Washington passes, and not shift the burden to the states. So at the next debate about the issue, ask “How much more in taxes are you willing to pay to have a Big Brother government investigate your neighbors?”
Of course, the anti-Latino zealots would suggest that the government investigate only those who speak Spanish or who look Latino. But the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution requires that what you do to one person, must be done to all. The right-wing consistently fails to remember that the constitution uses “person” rather than “citizen.” Like the KKK in the post-bellum South, they have already used race to identify who is the enemy, which of course is the definition of racism. I would argue that any measure imposed on the Spanish-speaking constitutes taking freedom away from the entire population. As Barry Goldwater said: “Any government big enough to give you rights is big enough to take them away.”
Lastly, as Senator Obama noted in the Las Vegas debate, the real issue is using the license as an identity card. Surely, too many false IDs abound in our society today and excessive identity theft is a serious problem, especially over the internet. Identity affects everything from the use of credit cards and securing welfare benefits to merely disguising one’s age. But it is not an abuse limited to immigrants. Yes, people who use a false ID should be punished – that is principle. But how come underage drinkers named Bush get off the hook consistently while government seeks to punish people named Rodriguez who need to drive to work each day? Safety on the roads is an issue different from a national ID card.
In sum, the issue of driver’s licenses makes conservatives and liberals switch sides. Most Republicans today favor big government investigating citizens, unfunded federal mandates, higher taxes, spying on neighbors, violation of state’s rights and putting at risk the security and safety of the American people -- all to satisfy a racist agenda on immigration. Most Democrats favor a strict interpretation of the constitution, oppose activist judges who want to make legislation from the bench, favor family values, and oppose measures targeting race and ethnicity: only these will keep this nation one and under God. Go figure.
Biographical note: Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo is Professor Emeritus of Puerto Rican & Latino Studies at Brooklyn College. Author and scholar, he serves as member of the Pennsylvania State Advisory Committee to the US Commission of Civil Rights in Washington.
Hillary’s Gamble in Las Vegas (I)
I don’t usually worry much about party politics until the general election. The many debates and a good deal of the media attention try to reduce serious issues to controversies. The focus is on “the horse race” and not on the role of government.
But I had to react against Senator Hillary Clinton’s big gamble at the televised debate in Las Vegas in which she bet that Latinos and Latinas wouldn’t notice how she rolled the dice against us. Just a few days before, she had “stumbled” (word from the blogs) when asked if she supported the New York governor’s decision to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. If you didn’t catch it, she first said she “supported the action,” then changed that to she only “understood the reason for the licenses,” than a third version that she hadn’t really taken a stand. The three statements were made within the period of two minutes, something her rivals, Senators Dodd, Edwards and Obama considered confusing – at the very least.
The next few days, according to those in the know, her staff worked furiously to get the governor to retract his initiative – which had been approved by Homeland Security and is already the law in several states including California, the largest in the nation, and in Illinois, the home state of Barack Obama. Days later, her derriere now covered with behind-the-scene maneuvers, Hillary answered the question about licenses for the undocumented in Las Vegas with an unequivocal, “No.”
I would not be alone in considering this change of position to be a reaction to the polls and a typical politician’s effort to say “whatever is necessary to get elected.” Frankly, I’m disappointed. I’m not sure if the error is big enough to get me to vote against the Senator should she face off against a Republican like Mitt Romney, but it certainly dampens my enthusiasm for her.
Despite a good record for the people of New York, support to end the bombing of Vieques, Puerto Rico and a generally progressive stance on social welfare initiatives, there is very little on the positive side that distinguishes Senator Clinton from any generic brand Democrat. Not so the issue of licenses. The Republicans give every sign of tripping over each other to be the most anti-Latino immigrant candidate for 2008. (Spreading hate for Latinos and Latinas, it would seem, is an easier path to power than supporting the war in Iraq and a national debt over 9 trillion dollars.) Moreover, the impetus to crackdown hard on “illegals” feeds its spawn of racist nationalism and fear-mongering.
Senator Clinton’s cowardice – grudgingly, that is what I would have to call it – sends a signal that we Latinos and Latinas are expendable in her pursuit of the presidency. While her position is virtually the same as that of Chris Dodd of Connecticut, at least he was clear and forthright on his reasons. (Not representing a border state is also part of the background for his stance). I will now seek to support another Democrat for president in 2008, although I was looking forward to see the gender ceiling broken. Defense of our Latino rights and our freedom is too precious to surrender to a merely symbolic victory for women.
My wife Susan is a great person. She was named after the famous suffragette, Susan B. Anthony. Ever since I have supported Senator Obama in February of this year, she has supported me while I had my "Walk For Change" event in June (means she gets to the the shopping AND the laundry on the weekend), agreed to pay for me go to Camp Obama in Chicago (we live in Northeastern Pennsylvania), and allowed me contribute about $800.00 to the campaign.
She is an extremely busy person. also a lawyer (ala Michelle Obama), and one of the best in her office (won 13 cases in a row!). She has well-deserved a nickname - "the hammer." You don't want to be facing "the hammer" in a courtroom - the results will probably not be what you wanted.
Susan has been too busy to pay attention to the campaigns, but has been a supporter of Senator Clinton since I expressed my preference, but also because she was raised as someone who has always supported women's equality (named after Susan B. Anthony!).
I have asked her to read Senator Obama's first book, "Dreams from My Father," or "The Audacity of Hope," but her busy schedule has not allowed it.
I have always told her that because of her unselfish support of me in my support of Senator Obama, I fully respect her choice of candidate.
I was talking (probably too much), about the main sream media's inevitability of Clinton as the nominee, so I agreed to limit my talking about what I felt were Senator Clinton's shortcomings as opposed to Senator Obama to just one statement a day.
Last night, after a long work week and long drive home in the rain, my wife said that she is now leaning towards supporting Senator Obama!
"Whoa oh oh whoa oh - "can't touch this!" It's "hammer-time!"
Yet another reason to love you, my dear.
Apologies to Neil Young - this is based on his song "be The Rain" from a great album called "Greendale."
BE OBAMA!
Be Obama start to organizeAttention citizensVote for Obama and change!Be Obama in the early FallSave America!Hear the call!Don't care what the pollsters sayThey're all boughtand paid for anyway.Be Obama and stop the warSupport our troopsBring them back now!Obama organized in Chicago townHe could've worked for business - wear the corporate crownInstead he helped the people be strongMake a difference and right some wrongsWe got to wake upWe got to keep goin'If you follow usa new wind'll start blowin'We got a job to doWe got to Be Obama now!Be Obama when you knock on doorsYou can make a difference.If you really try.Be Obama and listen wellto the truththat people tellBe Obama as you roll alongUnite our countryAs you sing this song,Be Obama when you feel like quittingGet FIRED UP!READY TO GO!After 9/11 we got the Patriot ActThe Constitution was down we got to get it backObama is the one to lead us homeHe'll tell the truth so join the movementWe got to get thereIowaWe got to be thereBefore the big machinesWe got a job to doWe've got be Obama nowDream the hunter on the western plainThe birds are all gone.Where did they go?Dream the fisherman in his boatHe's comin' home empty.He's barely afloat.Dream the logger in the great northwestThey're runnin' out of trees.They got to give it a rest.(There's no other way to cut it)Dream the farmer in the old heartlandCorporate greed and chemicalsare killin' the land.Next mornin' Barack was up at dawnHe looked around and Earth was goneDark visions he had last nightHe needed peace, he needed light.He heard the rumble andHe saw the big machinesThe green army roseIt was a bad dreamHe had a job to doHe had to run for President!Be Obama and organizeBig freighters are dumpingwaste somewhere right now.Be Obama in the northern lights(The ice is melting!)Be Obama as you roll alongToxic waste dumpin'from corporate farms.Be Obama you want to be!Be Obama!Be Obama!Be Obama start to organizeBe Obama!Be Obama!Be Obama as you roll alongBe Obama!Be Obama!Be Obama! Be Obama!
Great job by Kirstie Stramler and friends handing out over 450 flyers for Senator Obama's free Rally at Washington Square Park in NYC!
I was signed up for Kirstie's event, but was delayed by traffic. We still got a chance to say hello in Greenwich Village, where we had a couple of cappuchinos and talked about the next POTUS!
Nice Suzuki, Kirstie! See you on Thursday!
In Hope and Peace
A face from the early days of Senator Obama's early organizing days was the "agitator" speaker at the second day of Group 16's (AKA "Sweet 16) visit to Camp Obama.
An excerpt from Obama's Third Way is below -
http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/149/obama.html
Fellow-organizer Mike Kruglik recalls Obama's approach with panhandlers. "Instead of giving 50 cents and walking down the street, he'd engage a person and invest some emotion in that person," Kruglik says. "I remember him saying, 'That could easily be me. There's not that much that separates that kind of person from me.' There was some relationship between his capacity to empathize and his determination to do the job, the possibility starting to gel in his mind that he could create this organization of African-Americans that would be very powerful."
Obama's attempt to create a community organization was also part of a personal quest for a community of identity and a political community. As he recounts in his autobiography, he struggled as a young man with questions of who he was and where he fit in to American society.
"Some things in Dreams from My Father where he talks about community foreshadow the politics he seems to be trying to build now in this campaign," Kruglik says. "We say communities are groups of folks whose destinies are bound together and feel that. Barack was trying to enter into such a community, to create a political community of people who feel their destinies are bound together and decide collectively to shape that future."
We interviewed each other and tried to find that motivator that would link us to issues in Senator Obama's campaign. Then Mike went over the concept of "self-interest" - which is when both parties benefit from some action.
We are now organizers in the mold of Saul Alinsky. We will be be powerful and use power with love. Our actions will also gather other leaders who will train more organizers to work for Senator Obama.
We also participated in a mock Iowa caucus, going over the basic rules of Iowa. This was new to I think all of us, but very interesting.
I will post a video taken of the group at the close of our information-intense weekend. There is much to be done.
A adaptation of Neil Young's "Be The Rain"
Be Obama!
Organize and energize for Obama's way,Attention voters.Join Team Obama do it todaySave the US for a better dayWin Iowa!Get out there now - don't delayDon't care what the pollsters sayThey're all boughtand paid for anyway.Save the US for a better dayHey Big Oil!What do you say?We were runnin' through the nightNever knowin' if we would see the lightParanoid schizophrenic visionsLivin in fear of the wrong decisionsWe got to wake upWe got to keep goin'If they follow usThere's no way of knowin'We got a job to doWe got to save the USABe Obama and reach for the skyYou can make a difference.If you really try.Be the magic in the early states,Six Days...Six nights.Be Obama as you roll alongOrganizing will make you strong.Be Obama you know you want to'Be Obama!Be Obama!
We are the 16th Camp Obama in Chicago. Our nickname will be "Sweet 16."
We will set up our group here on MyBO, and keep in touch ovder the months leading up to the early states primaries.
We had some great organizing information from Jocelyn Woodard, and Tiffany Edwards filled us in on the role of Obama for America's Press group.
It was a lot of information to absorb, but I think all of us want to do more, and so we are more like sponges at this point, soaking up the details of how to organize and mobliize support for Senator Obama.
After the day at the volunteer headquarters finished, we had a brief walk over to the national campaign headquarters. Alex Lofton gave us a great tour of the HQ, and we ended by discussing the emphasis on the early states ans the need for people to assist the campaign in Iowa.
There are 19 people in our group, and about 6 or seven raised their hands (including moi) when asked if they'd be willing to help in Iowa. I hope a good night's rest will make more of our group take up the challenge.
I'll post some pictures of our group tomorrow, (mabe a quick video?), and report back on Day 2 of Sweet 16 in Sweet Home Chicago.
"Take them to 95th Street!" (ask me what that means!)
I have made a short film (about nine minutes) which recounts my experiences on 9/11/2001 and those that I lost that awful day.
I feel a special connection to Senator Obama and his message of Hope.
The film is in Quicktime format, and can be downloaded at the link below.
I suggest you save it locally, as my web site is not set up for streaming media, and might not play in a browser. The file is large - about 45 megabytes, so if you have a dial-up connection, I would not try to view or download the movie.
http://poconopcdoctor.com/images/TCF_HOPE.mov
I have been accepted for Camp Obama training in Chicago! This is the weekend of September 15th. I'll be flying in on Friday, and leaving on Monday.
I recently had a vacation where my family and I visited Chicago. It was great! I saw the White Sox and the Cubs - at Cellular Park and at Wrigley Field.
We also took in the Chicago production of "The Color Purple."
Although I don't think I'll have as much time to see the sights this time around, the trainining does end at 6:00 PM, so maybe I check out a few more attractions.
Wish me luck!
In peace and HOPE!
http://eburgobama08.org
I jsut re-signed up for Camp Obama. I was so busy recently with my job recently coupled with a film project, that I neglected to return a call from Camp Obama for the New York City camp.
Dang it!
All is not lost, however. I asked my wife could I go to Chicago at the end of September for Camp Obama, and she said "why not?" Gotta love that lady!
Now all I have to do is pass the pre-interview and get a plane ticket and a hotel for a couple of nights. Piece of cake.
I am a little concerned that I might miss this training session. I will call back the person from the NYC Camp Obama and see if they can talk to me about the Chicago September CO.
I will HOPE for the best,
In Peace,
BTW - who read the GQ article on Senator Obama?
http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5841
Obama looked pretty sharp on the cover - I might start wearing suits again.....umm maybe not, I don't think a suit will help me.
I'm in Chicago on vacation, (and will be here until next Thursday - June 28th) and was hoping to stop by the national campaign headquarters to make a short video. It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I hopped on the RTA from Skokie (where my hotel is) and headed into the Windy City.
I got off the Red Line at the Chicago/State Street stop, and walked down the Miracle mile and past the Chicago Tribune building. Then I went into the the building where the headquarters are on North Michigan.
Of course I could not just walk in, and so the security person called upstairs and asked if I could stop by for a short visit. She explained that I was an Obama volunteer from Pennsylvania. The answer was short too. No.
OK. Understood. Security, etc. But do I give up or do I persist? Did I just knock on 97 doors on my "Walk For Change?" Persistence is my choice. After calling the Obama '08 toll free number, I spoke with Lynn, (or was her name Liz? cell phones!!!!) who listened to my request, and said that she was not sure if it could be honored. I have a new HD video cam and wanted to make a short video of the headquarters to put on my blog - Link took my contact information and said she would let me know. Hmmm.... sounds like what they say when you don't get that job.
B-(
Oh well, i had a nice walk, and took some video, which I'll try to edit and post on my blog.
jpclyons@eburgobama08.0rg
Peace!
