I noticed that I haven't updated my blog for a really long time, so I thought I would quick update everyone what is going on.
I had my community organizing training on Labor Day, which was an incredible experience in and of itself. I really had to open myself up and put myself out there, which is something that I never do.
After training, I was sent back to Western Minnesota and met my field organizer, Libby. I was made Team Captain with Heather, and we were sent on our way to do our work. I am not going to get into details, obviously, but I wanted you to know that it has been amazing.
Western Minnesota isn't exactly Democrat country anymore. It has turned more independent, and in fact where I live right now, it is pretty Republican. We have been working hard opening offices, canvassing and making phone calls. I had the opportunity to meet Tom Vilsak of Iowa (the Former Governor), which was pretty great. I have met a tremendous amount of great people, and even the voters who haven't been willing to vote for Obama are "civil" about it.
I just want to urge everyone that is reading this to please get out there and work hard for Obama. He needs our help to win this thing. Make phone calls, talk to your neighbors, make sure people are registered and know voting rules or go door to door. Every little bit helps.
Ok, I was slated to leave for Colorado on Thursday. But due to a few things, I had to switch my Fellowship to Minnesota, and that doesn't start until July.
I was going to go to Colorado by truck. My sister works for a major company that goes to Denver from Iowa often. We were gonna drive to Iowa, then I was going to ride to Denver with a truck driver. But I didn't get enough details in time, which wasn't the fault of the campaign, because I know they were scrambling to get things done as soon as possible. So it wasn't possible. A second problem is the flooding. I needed to go to a certain place in Iowa to meet the truck driver, but it is flooded and more rain is on the way, so in the end, it would not have worked out.
I am disappointed that I didn't get to go to Colorado. It's so beautiful. But I do have the chance to be a Fellow in Minnesota. And Minnesota is a swing state. So I will be working hard for Obama here, hopefully in a cool city like Duluth or something. You never know.
Keep watch from updates on my blogs regarding the Fellowship. I will try to keep in touch with all of you once this starts.
The DNC has officially stopped taking money from Lobbyists and PACS. A promise fulfilled from Obama before the election? How great is that? Even Lou Dobbs was impressed. Definitely nice to see, and they are looking for donations for anyone interested.
I went on the DNC website. It is looking more and more like Obama's site every day. It has a dashboard, fundraising, point system, and networking. I think they need to work on the blogs, as they are no where near as fast as the major one on this site. I also don't know if they are moderated, but they have really done a lot of great work on there already. I decided to create a profile and fundraising page on there, too. So if you decide to visit the site, look me up. My profile is the same as it is here. I need some friends.
At least, I think that I am going to Colorado. If you haven't heard the good news yet, I was selected as an Obama Fellow. I chose to leave my home state of Minnesota and go to Colorado for the six weeks. I am assuming it will be in Denver, but I don't have the details yet.
I am pretty excited. It's gonna be a lot of hard work, but also an amazing experience. I'm in the process of wrangling up money for my trip, my grandma being very gracious in her help along with another Obama supporter and my dad so far, so I wanted to say thanks to them for all of their help.
I will be sure to check in with the blog from time to time to talk to all in my Obama "family." I believe I am leaving on June 14th and will be back July 26th. I'll be sure to represent Minnesota well.
It takes a lot to get me to post more than once a week, sometimes longer, but this week has been a little different. You see, the Clintons are driving me absolutely crazy. And it's only Tuesday.
Today, Bill Clinton decided to dumb down the young voters by saying that the older generations are voting for Clinton because they know better than to just fall for empty rhetoric. They are smarter than the young voters. We don't understand what we're doing.
I'll be the first to admit, the older generations have seen and been through a lot more than I have. Although, if someone looked at my life for the last five years, I have been through more in those years than many go through in a lifetime. Maybe I have not lived the normal twenty year olds life, but I will not sit here and listen to the Clintons tell me I am stupid because I am young.
Mr. Clinton, the twenty somethings are not stupid. We work hard, yes many of us still play hard, but we know the issues. See, we have to. Because for the first time in the history of the United States, my generation and the voters younger than me are worse off than our parents and grandparents. And it wasn't our generation that made the decisions to put us in this position. We know the issues, because it is our generation (for the most part) that is sitting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know the issues, because we are the ones that are going to have to deal with global warming. We know the issues, because it is our generations that have had our school systems fall apart due to lack of funding. We know the issues, because it is our generation that has to figure out how to get out of massive debt. We know the issues, Mr. Clinton, because with the way social security funds have been spent our generation is going to work our entire lives because there won't be any money left for us. We know the issues, because we watch our parents or grandparents struggle to get by when they are paying a fortune for prescriptions or healthcare. We are not stupid, Mr. Clinton. We are quite intelligent.
See, we have decided that Mr. Obama is the guy we want to help clean up the mess in this country. We see that he understands where we are coming from. We are not only voting for the issues, but for his integrity, character, class, and his message. His message that if we come together, we can move mountains. Together. We can make this country an even better place to live. I can't speak for the rest of my generation, but I am following my instinct. An instinct, that to this day, has not let me down. There is something about Obama, although I can't put my finger on it, that tells me he is gonna be a hell of a president.
It's comments like the one you made today, Mr. Clinton, that shows just out of touch the Clintons are with the American public. My generation has a lot of work to do in the coming years, and instead of realizing, or even attempting to see where we are coming from, you insult us. That, Mr. Clinton, is why your wife is losing the majority of the "young vote."
Unbelievably, this weekend's news has been about Barack Obama's comments regarding the working class vote in Pennsylvania and other areas. In a nutshell, he basically said that Americans are bitter and angry about our economic status, and because as a country, many of us are used to not being helped by our government, a lot of us tend to focus on other issues, such as guns or abortion when they vote. Or we blame others for our problems, such as illegal immigrants.
Of course, Hillary Clinton and John McCain jumped on this issue and have made a stink about it since. The MSM is going nuts over it, too. At times, they have been almost rabid about it. And all I can do is sit in my room, amazed that this is even an issue. I sit here, more than a little bitter due to some horrible circumstances that I have been through the last five years. Instead of being angry about what he says, I was amazed at the truth he told-I was amazed that someone finally GOT IT.
You're right. I am bitter.
I am bitter that gas prices are getting closer to 4 dollars a gallon every day, and our government won't do anything about it.
I am bitter that the average wage in rural Minnesota is about 7.50 an hour. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pay rent, buy groceries, pay for utilities, and now pay for gas on 7.50 an hour? It's ridiculous.
I am bitter that my father and my cousin, veterans of the Army, are not being taken care of because of budget cuts.
I am bitter that graduation rates are sinking all across the country, and instead of helping schools, we tell them that they are on their own.
I am bitter that there are people in the United States of America that cannot read in this day and age. Everyone should be able to read, and people have been falling through the cracks for far too long.
I am bitter that I am currently unemployed and have sent jobs applications and resumes all over the place, and can't even get an interview because there are no jobs. And I have a degree and experience.
I am bitter that Americans have to choose between paying for their bills or eating.
I am bitter that people are losing their homes at an alarming rate and no one is trying to help them.
I am bitter that our economy is in recession.
I am bitter that people can't get decent healthcare in this country because they can't afford insurance.
I am bitter that the democratic party continues to sit and watch Hillary Clinton do John McCain's job for him and insult the best thing that has happened to our party for a long time. In fact, I am more than bitter about that, I am angry.
You see, deep down, we are all bitter about something. Maybe for some people, they are only bitter about one thing. But we all have a complaint about something. When people say they aren't bitter about an issue, they are probably lying through their teeth. And for Hillary Clinton and John McCain to say that Barack Obama is the one out of touch with the American people- To call Barack Obama condescending, elitist, and demeaning- that boils my blood.
Hillary Clinton has 109 million dollars in her bank account and lives in a mansion. How exactly does she know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck? And John McCain!? He thinks Obama is out of touch!? He is married to a billionaire heiress and owns eight houses. In a time when many can't afford one. Who is out of touch with the American people?
I tell you what, when I look at my life and all that has happened the last few years, the person I can relate to best is Barack Obama. He knows what it like to be on food stamps. He knows what it is like to have nothing handed to him and work hard to get where he is today. He knows what it is like to have student loans and mortgage payments. He is most like one of us.
And I may be bitter and angry about a lot of things. But it is Barack Obama that has consistenly lifted out country up and not just inspired me, but given me hope. Hope that with hard work and determination, I can lift myself back up. Hope that with his help and a country working together, we can fix schools, we can fix the mortgage crisis, we can get out of Iraq, we can help our veterans, we can help the poor, we can help solve global warming. Hope that we can be an even better country that what we are now. I am bitter, but I hope.
One of my favorite quotes, and something I think everyone can live by, especially when things get rough:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes." Charles Swindoll
First of all, I want to give a shout out to Ty, who is over in Iraq. We are doing our best to get you all home safe.
I got a phone call from my dad today. His cousin Eldy, a Veteran, isn't doing so well. It seems that he has a bad heart. He goes to the VA Medical Center for his care. For a year, they have hardly done a thing for him, including surgery, and now he probably doesn't have a long time to live. He doesn't have a lot of money, so he can't go to a doctor outside of the VA because he can't afford it. I don't think it is right. American Veterans aren't getting the care they were promised when they signed on to fight for our country. And now Eldy, such a good man, isn't going to make it.
I, of course, have known this for years. My dad is also a Veteran. He served in the Army in the 1950s. He was stationed in Germany. He was a linesman. When he signed on to be in the Army, he was told that as a Veteran, he would always be taken care of. But it hasn't been the case. My dad has had heart problems, too. When he found out, he refused to go to the VA, and was able to go to another hospital for his care. He absolutely refuses to go to VA hospitals, because he says too often, they never come out. He has a major dental issue that needs to be taken care of because his teeth are poisoning his system. He asked his VA doctor what he could do. His doctor told him that due to the recent cuts in help for our Veterans, and because he was not injured when he was serving this country, he cannot get help.
This is a major reason why I am voting for Barack Obama. He is the only one talking about helping our Veterans. They put their lives on the line for us. They have protected our freedom. Many have died, and some have come home, and they should not be treated like this. I want someone in office that is going to fight for our Veterans, whether or not they were injured. I don't want more Vets to end up like Eldy. A good man being ignored by the VA system. God bless him, and all that have fought for us, in every war.
