The President has a presence on http://www.gather.com. He may be found here:
http://www.barackobama.gather.com
Back in June, 2007, I joined Gather -- an adult social networking site to promote Barack. Recently, I asked the Gather members to share their thoughts about the Inauguaration, and about President Obama.
They link is here:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?memberId=364433&articleId=281474977569131&nav=Namespace
I have written a number of other posts about the President. Feel free to peruse them by looking at the posts here:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticles.jsp?memberId=364433&nav=Namespace
After November 4, 2008, I thought my work was done on this site. The President and Vice President has advised that we are just getting started, aren't we.
YES, WE CAN!
YES, WE DID!
YES, WE SHALL KEEP ON KEEPING ON!
Last Saturday, after our Obama meeting I enlisted the support of a new group. It was a pleasure since their Jamaican cuisine was outstanding (my mouth is watering now, just remembering!) New to the Bay Area and looking for hungry Obama supporters are:
Sweet Fingers at;
www.sweetfingersrestaurant.com
464 E. 14th Street, San Leandro, CA 94577
510-553-9869
They serve authentic Jamaican cuisine, have poetry readings, a full bar, as well as live band evening entertainment. I have been longing for a place just like this one, without having to travel into Oakland or the City.
Look for them, and let them know how we, the Obamatized, operate (like a family). I didn't have a poster, but if I go by there and don't see the one I requested in the front window, I'll be on it!
Wasn't it President Bill Clinton who said in the Presidential debates with President number 41, George Bush, that "there is good experience and there is bad experience"?
The following article, written by Dick Morris back in April speaks to exactly what Bill Clinton was talking about:
"HILLARY'S EXPERIENCE IS AT SURVIVINGBy Dick MorrisPublished on TheHill.Com on April 25, 2007. Polls suggest that the leading attribute attracting voters to Hillary'spresidential candidacy is her experience, a virtue which contrasts,presumably, with the lack of it in Senator Barack Obama, her chief rival. But a close examination of her record as first lady and as New York Senatorsuggests that her experience is largely in the avoidance of death byscandal. Were it to be captured in a television series, it would certainly not rise to the level of Commander In Chief and probably not even to that ofWest Wing. It would find its televised metaphor in the reality seriesSurvivor.Consider what her experience has been. She burst forth on the national stage with two tasks in her husband's administration: The selection of thenation's first female Attorney General and the design and adoption of acomprehensive program of health care reform. Her efforts to designate an Attorney General hamstrung the new Administration for months as twonominees, in succession, had to withdraw their names from consideration.Finally, at the eleventh hour, she urged her husband to appoint Florida's Janet Reno, a selection Bill Clinton would come to describe as my worstmistake. In the bargain, she suggested the appointment of Lani Guanier ashead of the civil rights division, a job she was shortly forced to relinquish when her radical views became known, another embarrassment forthe new Administration. Her other selections for the Justice Department,the White House staff and the Treasury were her three law partners: Web Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William Kennedy, appointments which culminated inone imprisonment, one suicide, and one forced resignation.Her other assignment, health care reform, collapsed in such a debacle that it cost her party control of both houses of Congress, a fate from which ittook twelve years to recover.Beyond these initial tasks, her main focus in the Administration was scandaldefense. From Jennifer Flowers to Whitewater to the FBI file affair to the travel office firings to her Commodities Market winnings to the missing RoseLaw Firm billing records to the Paula Jones scandal, she orchestrated theAdministration's defense against scandal allegations. In the process, she almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice.And her advice in handling these matters was uniformly bad. It was Hillarywho counseled Bill not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit even when the plaintiffs called for neither an apology nor payment and she who stonewalledthe release of Whitewater documents even when it led to the appointment of aspecial prosecutor. When the prosecutor whose appointment she had caused heard about the depositions in the Paula Jones case she had refused tosettle, the Monica Lewinsky scandal eventuated.During the period of 1995-1997, the period of the Clinton Administration'sgreatest achievements, she was nowhere to be seen, focusing instead on writing It Takes A Village, and on dodging criminal inquiry. She did notparticipate in the formulation of a balanced budget, nor in welfare reformlegislation, nor in the reduction of crime that stemmed from the 1994 anti-crime bill.Her experience continued when her race for the Senate and its aftermathbecame, in turn, mired in scandal. The pardon of the FALN terrorists to getLatino support in New York, that of the New Square Hassidim to get Hillary Jewish support, and the clemency shown toward Hillary's brothers' clients toget them financial support caused her ratings to plunge to their lowestlevel in March of 2001 as she took her Senate seat. The theft of White House gifts, almost $200,000 of which had to be returned, did nothing toendear her to the electorate.Since then, Hillary has done nothing of note in the Senate except to votefor the Iraq War, a position she has since disavowed, and to win the applause of her colleagues for not being partisan and obstinate. Her mainefforts have been directed at raising massive sums of money for herself andher colleagues and making a lot writing and selling her memoirs. Her efforts on behalf of New York after 9-11 have been exposed as largelyderivative of those of her colleague, the more effective Chuck Schumer.She has passed no important legislation, except for twenty bills renaming post offices and courthouses and congratulating Alexander Hamilton, ShirleyChisolm, Harriet Tubman, the American Republic, and the Syracuse men's andwomen's Lacrosse team on their respective accomplishments. Is this the experience upon which her candidacy is based?"
________________________________________________
Or maybe the "experience" she speaks of is the "yes" vote on the war resolution -- by the way
what is the count now of troops dead, wounded, and troops who have committed suicide because of the war?
Senator Barack Obama NEVER agreed this war was a good idea, said it was dumb,
is brilliantly advising now that we are there in Iraq, we must be as careful getting out as we were careless going in.
Senator Obama gives a fuller picture at:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/
Bill Clinton was correct: there really is good experience and bad experience.
Good experience shows insight, wisdom, and says "no" to a dumb war.
Bad experience pushes a green button in Congress and says "yes" to a war that should have never been authorized
and should never been waged.
For one to say they have "experience" may mean taking a closer look at just what KIND of "experience" to which they are referring.
All "experience" is not good experience; wisdom (http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/) is always good.
Please stop by and comment on my new article on Barack:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977085106
I could use all the pro-Barack comments I can get to counter any pro-Hillary and anti-Barack comments. The big thing seems to be that our candidate has no experience. Hogwash! Thanks!
Last night whilst I beheld the stars
One stood out as brightly as Mars
Reminded of the star of lore
Forty-seven and forty-four
Reminded of tomorrows' passed
Bright future ahead -- lying in the grass
Ne'er seem to see stars anymore
Except forty-seven and forty-four
A constant smile once was my way
"You ne'er smile anymore," they say
But now I've something to smile again for
Not a dimension, or a rhyme
Simply the right star for this time
It's in the Plan -- bright star o' the heav'ns
Obama's forty-four by forty-seven.
(Happy forty-sixth birthday on August 4, to the honourable Senator Barack Obama, and
our Presidential Candidate for the 2008 Election!)
ObamAmerica Generation USA, and Bay Area For Barack Obama
*Copyright April 2007, All rights reserved
for comments on the Gather blog, see http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977064122#comments
My meter shows my website hits are increasing substantially. I have no idea why (I am not advertising) and that's not important and the meter doesn't show who, most of the visitors are Microsoft visitors with some Apple visitors. The point is we need to reach anybody we aren't reaching.
If you have any OBAMA calendar events you would like to post, send them and I will be happy to post them. Any thing from fundraisers, parties, picnics, whatever, related to Obama.
I am trying to do this from the emails i receive, but filtering through those is nearly next to impossible. I will put up the calendar events as I find them, though, but may miss some. If you want to, send them to:
email@obama--america--generation.com
make sure they have the title, "Obama Calendar Events" and that way I can get right to posting them.
thanks!
oh , I forgot, the web is:
www.obama--america--generation.com
p.s. on Obama events. you can also post them on the blog, but events NOT related to Obama, his campaign or items that are posted reflecting in a negative light WILL BE DELETED.
In my letter-writing effort, I submitting the following to gather.com:
Senator Barack Obama shall be the next President of the United States. He needs to be. This country NEEDS him to be at such a crucial time in its history. It is critical that we listen to him with an open mind. He is the one candidate that is approaching the people in a grassroots effort, rejecting monies from big businesses, and corporations, lobbyists and special interest groups; the "fat cats" and "select few" won't buy him, can't buy him because he is a man of the people. Isn't that what we want?
Check him out on www.barackobama. com Check him out on www.obama--america--generation.com
Stop allowing the few to run this country. Be heard. Participate in this process called Democracy. I dare you to have the audacity to return to the ideals upon which this country was founded -- that all men are created equally, and by the way...
Did you know that Benjamin Franklin (a staunch abolitionist) and all of the Northern colonies were vehemently opposed to slavery, and were in strong opposition to it from the beginning BECAUSE of the belief that "all men are created equal." It was only in a reluctant compromise to pass the Constitution that they acquiesced to the Southern colonies' insistence to keep slaves that slavery continued for approximately another 100 years. Thought I would throw that little bit of trivia in there. (Read David O. Stewart's, "The Summer of 1787". )
I received a very positive, constructive response from "Vicki", not bashing the Senator at all. Here is what she said:
I do like Obama, but I don't think he'll be the next President. I got this from his website,"Bringing People Out of the Shadows"America has always been a nation of immigrants. There are millions of people living in the shadows that would like to fully embrace our values and become full members of our democracy. For the millions here illegally but otherwise playing by the rules, we must encourage them to come out of hiding and get right with the law. Barack Obama supports a system that requires undocumented immigrants that are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, not commit crimes, go to the back of the line for citizenship, and then after all those conditions are met, they would be granted the opportunity to stay in the United States."I think the whole "back of the line" talk is disingenuous. You're not at the back of the line, if you're already in the country. Although, I would love to support Obama, the next person that gets my vote for President, won't be pro amnesty.Many of the people who were holding these jobs (construction, factories, even farm workers) were being held by low skilled American workers. In fact, many of these were often workers of color. I know because they were often classmates, clients, etc. Now, people like Obama, may not know individuals like these - but unfortunately, I do. Although, I've been a democrat for 15 years, I'm now facing a presidential election, where I probably won't be voting in that block. Vicki W., Jun 19, 2007, 1:33am EDT
Vicki has good points, and I LOVE objections. They give me something to work with. They cue me in that the person is thinking, that they want you to tell them WHY they should believe what you believe, and they they are looking for a reason to believe what you believe IF you can show them WHY.
Vicki is open-minded and reasonable, and represents so many of the undecided American electorate out there. We already know that Senator Obama is the ONLY candidate who is ready for the crucial issues facing this country today. Part of our job is to show people who have not yet decided that Senator Obama is the person THEY are looking for. I hope my response was that answer. Vicki had part of Senator Obama's position on immigration, but not the whole position. I decided to give her the whole position, as well as my personal experience. So -- for what it's worth -- here was my answer to her. I sincerely hope it was a blessing to her:
First, Vicki, if you would be so kind, I would like to share with you my personal experience. I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley -- Fresno, CA, to be specific -- the very heart of the farmworkers' movement, the heart of the Cesar Chavez activist movement. I was there, was in it, saw much of it, the injustices, the hard working Hispanics, the modern-day slave trade (if you will) and many of the improvements, (such as they are), brought about by activism, because of people like Cesar Chavez. I know, Vicki. I know.
My mother was an activist, a very popular one in Fresno, but what her family didn't know was what she did for the undocumented workers there in the Fresno area, not just out in the fields, but in the sweat shops. Mom did not discuss her activism with her family -- that wasn’t the dynamic that went on in our family. She mainly discussed the Lord, but she did not discuss the good things she did in the community; we had to hear about those things from other people. (My mother was also a businesswoman, law enforcement officer, and a Pastor.)
My brother is a construction worker; he builds homes. He has talked about some of the Hispanics workers who have approached him, asking, (because of his last name), “Do you know a Precious Whittle?“ When my brother tells them she was his mother, they will proceed to tell him how she walked into their sweat shop or up to their field boss, demanding to know the working conditions, the benefits being given to these workers. In every case -- these workers reported -- after she left, their conditions immediately improved. Why? These employers knew they were breaking the law by hiring undocumented workers. My mom wasn't trying to prevent undocumented workers from working, but she was concerned about the CONDITIONS under which they were working; she knew employers were EXPLOITING, ABUSING and USING them, and the employers knew my mom.
Thank God for those working with my brother who were obviously able to get a Green Card, or maybe even Citizenship, but what about all of the rest? What about all of the others who are still being exploited? It isn't right. When you have lived seeing it, and been in the very heart of it, growing up in it ALL OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, you have quite a different outlook on it, and especially when you see the extreme sickness, despair, abuse, exploitation, and poverty. Something needs to be done to correct it. I do think Senator Obama is on the right track, but mine is one opinion, and if I didn't respect yours, I would not have placed it on our site. Thank you for your input. Now, if you would be kind enough to read an informed, insightful position, here is the Senator's position:
Immigration and the Border
Barack Obama believes the immigration issue has been exploited by politicians to divide the nation rather than find real solutions. This divisiveness has allowed the illegal immigration problem to worsen, with borders that are less secure than ever and an economy that depends on millions of workers living in the shadows. Obama believes we must rise above divisive politics and act in the interests of our national and economic security. Obama has played a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reform and believes that our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a solution that strengthens our security while reaffirming our heritage as a nation of immigrants. Creating Secure Borders Barack Obama wants to preserve the integrity of our borders to reduce illegal immigration. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology on the border and at our ports of entry. Obama believes we need additional Customs and Border Protection agents equipped with better technology and real-time intelligence. However, enforcing our borders is only one step of comprehensive immigration reform. Despite tripling the size of the U.S. Border Patrol along the southern border between 1990-2005, the undocumented population doubled in size, the death rate of border crossings tripled, and the per-apprehension cost increased from $300 in 1992 to $1700 in 2002, according to the Center for American Progress. Removing Incentives to Enter Illegally To remove incentives to enter the country illegally, we need to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Barack Obama has championed a proposal with Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and Max Baucus (D-MT) to create a new employment eligibility verification system so employers could verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S., making it fair to legal workers and tougher on employers. Improving Legal Immigration The overwhelming majority of immigrants, both legal and undocumented, come into this country with the hope that hard work and sacrifice will secure a better life for their children. Every year, an estimated 500,000-800,000 people enter the country illegally or illegally overstay their visa. Another million enter legally. Barack Obama believes we must address illegal immigration by stronger border measures and fixing the dysfunctional bureaucracy to balance the needs of American workers and the U.S. economy. That includes creating legal avenues for people to work here. Barack Obama believes immigrant workers should have legal protections to avoid abuse and downward pressure on American wages and working conditions. Obama believes that we have to fix our immigration system to increase the number of people we allow into the country legally to a level that unites families and meets the demand for workers for jobs employers cannot fill. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has decided to raise fees on applications to as much as $2,400 for a family of four. Obama joined Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to introduce the Citizenship Promotion Act to ensure that immigration application fees are both reasonable and fair. This bill reverses large fee increases for legal immigrants seeking to become citizens and provides grants to states to help educate and promote citizenship. A key choke point in the process to becoming a legal permanent resident or a U.S. citizen is the FBI name/security check. Many law-abiding legal immigrants see their immigration applications delayed by months and often years as the overwhelmed FBI completes their background check. Obama introduced legislation that passed the Senate to improve the speed and accuracy of these background checks. Bringing People Out of the Shadows America has always been a nation of immigrants. There are millions of people living in the shadows that would like to fully embrace our values and become full members of our democracy. For the millions here illegally but otherwise playing by the rules, we must encourage them to come out of hiding and get right with the law. Barack Obama supports a system that requires undocumented immigrants that are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, not commit crimes, go to the back of the line for citizenship, and then after all those conditions are met, they would be granted the opportunity to stay in the United States. Honoring our Immigrant Troops About 69,300 foreign-born men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces, roughly 5 percent of the total active-duty force. Of those, 43 percent - 29,800 - are not U.S. citizens. The Pentagon says more than 100 immigrant soldiers have died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barack Obama believes that legal immigrants who have fought for us overseas should have expedited procedures towards citizenship.
Eventful.com has made a demand from UCBerkeley students that Barack visit their campus. I joined the Demand, and the last time I checked it was about 80 others with the same demand. I challenge all Berkeley students and the community to get on Eventful and make their Demand known to the Senator.
Also, I invite everyone to obama--america--generation.com, a Bay Area based website.
Blogging will be up and working soon. until then, we invite your letters, community posts and any GOOD articles for the Senator, as well as your comments to make the site a better one!
Peace!
There may be some young and college students who qualify for scholarship opportunities. check a few of them out on:
under community services.
I haven't had much time to really look at them -- too busy cutting and pasting, but a brief scan, some of them look pretty good. Hope it helps. :)
What are first-year law students taught -- never commit anything to paper, or something like that. Maybe the same should be true for WORDS, because they, too, might come back to haunt you.
When then Governor Clinton was running for President against the first President Bush, he was faced with the question of HIS experience. Below was his answer, and you can check my accuracy by clicking here for reference Link as you read then Governor Clinton's response, ask yourself, "What current candidate is he describing? Who best fits the description of the candidate with the qualifications even Bill Clinton says would be best for President?" I'll give you two clues 1) It ain't Hillary, and 2) You are on his website right now. Happy reading :) :
"I believe experience counts, but it's not everything. Values, judgement, and the record that I have amassed in my state should count for something. You know, my wife Hillary, gave me a book about a year ago in which the author defined insanity as just doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We have got to have the courage to change. Experience is important, yes. I've gotten a lot of good experience in dealing with ordinary people over the last year and month. (sic) I've touched more people's lives and seen more heartbreak and hope, more pain and promise than anybody else whose run for President this year. We need a new approach. The same old experience is not relevant, and what works in this new world is not "trickle-down", not government for the benefit of the privileged few, not tax-and-spend, but a commitment to invest in American jobs and American education. Controlling American healthcare costs and bringing the American people together -- that is what works -- and you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people, and it will bring real results, if we have the courage to change."
Hmmm. Whose side is Bill Clinton on? Didn't he just describe Senator Obama? (rhetorical question.)
Note: Insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same results is a quote from Albert Einstein, and I am sure Clinton knew that -- what is he talking about?
Also, I wonder if what he meant by "invest in American jobs" was handing them off to NAFTA, which IS what he did. What will Hillary do? Send more to China and India; Just a thought, since we know she will NEVER get THAT opportunity, at least not as President.
How do you combat negative "press"? The same way you combat darkness, which is, you turn on the lights.
Have you ever known darkness to stick around when the lights are turned on?
Let's not focus on negative statements made about our candidate, Senator Obama, because we already know that mudslinging is part of the political process. What can we do? Not even MENTION -- not give credence or "press" to Senator Obama's opposers -- IGNORE them, make them into people of unimportance, people who don't even exist, negate their words with OUR POSITIVE words.
For every negative statement you see about the Senator, instead of wasting your energy and effort writing about that, write a letter, a blog, a letter to the editor of a newspaper, or magazine about the Senator totally negating what you have read or heard WITHOUT mentioning the name of the person making the statement(s). Don't give them any press or publicity at all. Remember, even bad publicity -- to some -- is good publicity, so don't play into their hands. Besides, we are are the ObamAmerica Generation -- he would not do it, would he? So, we want to honour him by not doing what he would not do. Obama focusses on the positive, and what unites, NOT what divides or creates negativity. Let's do the same.
Join the Letter Writing Campaign, sponsored in Connecticut (check "Events" on the www.barackobama.com website), and let's get busy writing thousands upon thousands of letters for OUR President-to-be, Barack Obama. Let's get those lights turned ON! But for heaven's sake, NEVER let them see you sweat -- we've already won!
There may be a few people who don't know that Obamania has actually become a word. I guess, as with most words, usage is going to dictate how it finally gets labelled. It is wonderful for us Obamaniacs because -- yes -- we are crazed in a very positive, rewarding, high-spirited, enriching manner that will better this country and this world, as long as we maintain Obamania.
What is disturbing is seeing some on the world wide web refer to us Obamaniacs and Obamania in a negative way, as nuts or stupid or crazy. There is NOTHING negative about Obamania. It is a noun which means:
"The excitement and enthusiasm for the sincerity, freshness and uniqueness that Barack Obama has introduced into the 21st century political process, not only being sensed in the United States, but throughout the world; the "audacity to hope", is how Barack Obama phrases his felt presence in the world's eye; his encouragement and belief in "ordinary people doing extraordinary things" that excites and regenerates people's visions, hopes, dreams, and their possibilities for a promising future on a worldwide scale."
"Obamania" copyright Library of Congress, 2007 All Rights Reserved
Connecticut came up with an excellent idea that everyone can participate in. Check it out:
You are invited to participate in the 'Letter Writing and Commentary Campaign' -- click here to view theinvitation and submit your response:
Link Val McCall, Volunteer ChairCT Grass Roots Organizing Obama'08www.ObamaCT.blogspot.com(860) 995-3364
Corporations can give billions of dollars to a campaign; what they cannot give is what they do not possess -- hearts and souls.
Senator Obama has won and is continuing to win the hearts and souls of Americans. Even a homeless person can walk into a polling area, give his formal registered address and VOTE! A corporation with all of their billions cannot do that.
Just look at what WE are doing! Walking for Obama, registering for Obama, recruiting for Obama, speaking out for Obama, giving for Obama, doing all for Obama that we can. Corporations throw some donations at their candidates and say, "I've bought you, and you had better produce." What you we want from Senator Obama? To work with us to make America and the world a better place and have a brighter future for the next generations.
Corporations want more power and more money in their pockets.
We should all be proud of ourselves and work even harder. The work has only just begun.
:)
The Hayward Public Library, located at 835 "C" Street in Hayward, California has a "Book Group" that will be discussing, Senator Barack Obama's autobiography, "Dreams from my Father" on June 19, 2007, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This event is free, and the public is invited. Be sure to tell anyone and everyone. The Autobiography Book Group meets in the upstairs room of the Main Library. You may contact them for further information at (510) 293-8685, or online at www.library.hayward-ca.gov
Don't forget to spread the word to everyone here in the Bay Area!
