FYI: AN ORR POST:
Greetings Fired up supporters,My name is TONY B. CONSCIOUS (THE OBAMA HIP HOP HYPE MAN) and yesterday I was verbally assaulted and unlawfully detained by the DENVER POLICE for about an hour for simply walking with a basket of OBAMA BUTTONS on the 16th street mall in downtown Denver.At approximately 3:15pm, I parked my "OBAMA-MOBILE " at a meter 1 block away from the 16TH STREET MALL, (I had just left AURARIA CAMPUS...where i was with other Obama Supporters ALL DAY) when, AS SOON AS I GOT TO THE CORNER of 16th STREET, I spoke to a couple sitting in a restaurant who saw i had on an OBAMA shirt and was like " RIGHT ON, HE'S THE MAN !!!".I walked approximately 25 more feet when 2 DENVER POLICE OFFICERS (ON BIKES) stopped me and PUT ME IN HANDCUFFS !!!They THEN asked me, who I was, and what I was doing in THEIR city...So, I told them that I was an OBAMA SUPPORTER/VOLUNTEER and I was here for the Democratic Convention, and they told me they were already prepared for all the "PEOPLE LIKE ME" coming to their city. "PEOPLE LIKE ME ??? WHAT DID THAT MEAN ?"I had a CITY OF DENVER SELLERS/PEDDLERS PERMIT hanging from my waist on a belt buckle, so i was 100% LEGIT, and they STILL told me they were going to ta ke me to jail.THEY SAID THEY HAD THOUSANDS OF OFFICERS COMING IN TO DENVER JUST TO ARREST ANYBODY THEY WANTED TO, AND THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO SORT IT OUT IN THE COURTROOM.They told me it is illegal to sell ANYTHING on the 16th street mall without a "special permit". I then told them I had not been informed by the CITY OF DENVER of this, BUT THEY STILL HAD ME IN CUFFS, SAYING THEY WERE GONG TO TAKE ME TO JAIL, AND THAT I COULD POST BOND to get out.I had to literally BEG AND PLEAD (almost in tears), for them to let me go. I explained that my vehicle was at a 2-hour meter, and that I would get towed, I didn't have money to "bond out" and that I hadn't try to sell anything on the "mall" and I was actually going to BUY A BELT (I had actually broke n my belt).They ignored that statement, and then said they didn't trust me cause they "know how guys like me operate..."I then got thoroughly frisked as they asked me if I had any drugs or weapons on me.... I THEN TOLD THEM I WAS VEGAN, DRUG FREE, AND AN ARTIST who didn't use anything but my art, and talents as a weapon !!!LUCKILY BY THIS TIME, A CROWD HAD GATHERED AROUND AND THEY WERE LOOKING KINDA STUPID, HARRASING AN OBAMA SUPPORTER IN A LONGLSEEVE BUTTON UP WHITE SHIRT AND A COOL OBAMA SHIRT...So, they (after laughing at me, for begging and pleading) decided to let me go with a ticket, that they said I had to go to court for on SEPTEMBER 3RD (LONG AFTER THE CONVENTION IS OVER) so they told me I couldn't leave the city !!!They then made the remark "YOU OBAMA SUPPORTERS ARE SO SOFT !!! (WHILE LAUGHING)"I instantly called KEVIN SCOTT (the head of CITY OF DENVER , PERMITS DEPT.), he told me they were SUPPOSSED TO LET ME GO WITH A WARNING, and when they saw my PERMIT, they were suppossed to tell me the rules and let me go....SO, I WONDERED.....DID THEY DETAIN ME BECAUSE I WAS BLACK ????I called some local activist here in Denver, one named "BROTHER JEFF" who is throwing a week-long OBAMA STREET FESTIVAL in the historic 5 POINTS DISTRICT and will have a 24 HOUR OBAMA STORE, AND HE SAID THIS..." PEOPLE OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLACK PEOPLE AND ACTIVISTS GET HARRASSED IN THIS CITY SO FREQUENTLY IT HAS JUST BEEN ACCEPTED AS THE NORM. ""THEY HAVE SPENT 1.8 MILLION DOLLARS TO SECURE THE CITY OF AURORA (the Black/ Brown area of Denver) AND KEEP THE PEOPLE ON "LOCK DOWN/ MARSHALL LAW, DURING THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTIION"I did receive alot of support from the RECREATE 68 folks and the DNC DISRUPTION groups. They are bring ing CYNTHIA MCKINNEY !!!THEY ALSO HAVE A 24 LEGAL HELP HOTLINE FOR ANYONE WHO GETS HARRASSED AND ARRESTED...(303)830-0277So, for ALL YOU OBAMA MERCH SELLERS AND OBAMA SUPPORTERS WHO ARE NOT " LILY WHITE, REPUBLICAN LOOKING"WATCH OUT !!! THERE ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND PEOPLE COMING INTO DENVER WHO ARE UN EMOTIONALLY AFFECTED BY WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE, NOR WHAT YOU STAND FOR....**I'm still fired up, Still ready to go....PEACE ? WHAT ABOUT JUSTICE... OR MAYBE THERE'S JUST US....TONY B. CONSCIOUSTHE OBAMA HIP HOP HYPE MANTEAM OBAMA(323)251-4969
this invitation was sent to me by Latino Voters group if you can please join us for those who live in Los Angeles here is the information.
BBQ/Carne Asada for Obama - Potluck & Meet-Up (Meeting)Come join us for a "Fiesta" Obama Style. We will have some great food, campaign activities, and an opportunity to UNITE for change as a community. ***$5.00 Donation suggested for the BBQ, and bring your favorite dish to share. RSVP at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44brw **When you rsvp, please leave a comment about what you would like to contribute to the potluck. ***Also, check out the video of Temo Figueroa, our Latino Vote Director for the Obama campaign: http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/thelatinovote And then, if you are fired up and seriously interested in joining the CAMP OBAMA that will be held on August 16 & 17th in Los Angeles, AND you can commit to the full 2 days of training, please e-mail Hope at hopa07@hotmail.com ASAP for the application. Hope you can join us - it will be a weekend of community you'll never forget! QUE VIVA OBAMA!Time:Saturday, August 9 at 12:00 PMDuration:4 hoursHost:Raul MorenoContact Phone:323- 296-3597Location:SIBI Center (Los Angeles, CA) 2600 W. 54TH ST.Los Angeles, CA 90043
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44bw3
Fellow Campaigners,
When you read Dale's story, you will see how writing can raise us above that fear which eats our souls. Phoning, tabling, registering, canvassing all advance a campaign, and they must be done. But, writing planks that will help develop a Democratic National Platform that has traction, that speaks to our particular concerns rather than gloss over them with platitudes--this is an opportunity for us to connect with our neighbors in a most meaningful exchange of ideas, ideas strong enough to put our country on the right track. If you wish to exercise the courage of your convictions, I hope you will sign up to help write this platform. I am sure you will be proud that you did.
Thank you for your support. And, if you are as impressed with Dale's piece as I am, I hope you will pass it onto others.
Best regards,
Gregg Heacock
My mother received a donation request from Barack Obama's campaign last week. I sent $100 in her name because she had expressed approval of his candidacy ea rly on. She liked what he said and how he said it. Her eyes were too feeble to read much of his books, but she was impressed by what she saw and heard of him on TV. Unfortunately, she died last November. She was 92 years old.
She was born in 1915, in Ohio, before women had the right to vote for President or hold public office. She could talk about crank telephones, Model T's and the novelty of powered flight. She remembered horses and goats, victory gardens and Harry Truman. She would call a $100 donation today a "small fortune", since she remembered working for $5 a week when she was a young lady.
The summer before she died, one of my sisters and I tried to work out a way for her to fly to visit her latest great-grandchildren in Texas, whom she had never seen. She and my dad (who died in 200 2 at 88) raised four kids starting in 1942. They survived the Depression and WWII, the threat of nuclear holocaust, race riots and political distress. They saw men walk on the Moon. They were lucky to travel extensively in retirement, seeing most of the U.S. and even visiting England once. But as they aged, their kids and grandkids scattered around the country to New York, California, Texas, Colorado, and Montana. Great-grandchildren were born in places that fragile old folks had a hard time getting to. Travel became difficult for her.
We soon found out just how difficult it had become.
In calling to arrange a flight, we were assured that, due to new travel restrictions, if my mother couldn't show a proper State-issued ID, she probably wouldn't be allowed to board an airplane. She hadn't had a driver's license for years. Her passport expired in '88. This had not been a problem before.
When we looked into getting a photo ID in Colorado, where we live, newly established rules required sound, separate proof of citizenship. We didn't have a birth certificate from 1915 because (acco rding to family legend, at least) it was lost in a courthouse fire back in the day when such an event wasn't u ncommon. We had a baptismal certificate from 1924 (not acceptable); a census document from 1930 with her full name, age and parent's names (no longer acceptable); high school graduation certificate, 1933 (no good); marriage certificate, 1938 ( nope); her Social Security card from when the program was first created (nix). If we could get her to an Ohio probate court with these documents, we were told, and she signed a notarized affidavit, the Bureau of Vital Statistics could be persuaded to issue a replacement birth certificate.
Catch 22. Welcome to the post 9/11 world...
The irony of it! A 92-year-old member of the "Greatest Generation" couldn't prove to the government's satisfaction that she "had the right to be in the United States"!? (The actual words of one State office staffer, expressed with genuine sympathy.) Repeated trips to the DMV with these original documents would not move the rules.
The impression I came away with, rightly or wrongly, was that we weren't just protecting America from terrorists. We were protecting ourselves from possible blame for failure. The rules would not bend for what I considered a clear case of injustice.
We conta cted Congressmen, the Governor's office, Ombudsmen, and they tried to be helpful. We started making progress. In fact, the rules were eased in August, not from our efforts alone, of course, but from other complaints, and we thought we had a chance. But it was too late. Her final decline began.
As it happened, we had walked into an administrative donut hole. Our luck was such that an old woman who had lived through a momentous period of history in America was denied what amounted to her dying wish. We were defeated.
Welcome to America Afraid...
The lesson I take from this is that we are not living up to our claim to be "the land of the free, and the home of the brave". We stand in fear of the nihilists who would just as soon see this old woman die in a fiery blast for the sake of some political grievance. We tremble at the thought of being blamed for failure to avert the next attack of a vile, unscrupulous enemy. After winning a long struggle against an ideology that promoted atheism as the cure for human misery, we now battle an ideology from the other extreme of theistic certainty, certain that the dominance of their theology would put humanity on the path of righteousness, at the expense of personal liberty.
We were st ruck dumb with fear when the towers collapsed.
But if we live in fear, we lose some of our dreams. We're defeated in the pursuit of some of our wishes. In my mother's case, a final wish.
What price do we pay for living in fear?
What cost for the semblance of security?
It's time to add one word to the Pledge of Allegiance between "God" and "Indivisible". As we inserted "Under God" as a slap to the Marxist theories of how men and women should live, we should slap the theocrats that want to dictate whether, and how, we worship.
The word is "Unafraid".
On Sat. July 12, I went to volunteer to register new voter at first I was nervous because I did not know what to expect or how people were going to react, most of the people were nice but some don't even want to look at you lol, anyways I met with 5 other supporters and it was wonderful to finally meet them in person they were really helpfull and nice. So I got an e-mail from Robin the coordinator district and I wanted to share with you, I'm so proud we were able to register 42 new people and the good news that I got two of the 42 Yes We Can!!! here is the email.
