Matthew McGovern's Blog

McCain and Hagee sitting in a tree...

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:08:30 EDT

Well, it is Mother’s Day, and I am tired of getting e-mails from Hillary, Bill, and even Chelsea. Scrapbook photo’s showing how much Chelsea loves her mother, How Bill is so proud of Hillary for being able to breed a child, and Hillary, for being able to produce a child who loves her so much.

To be fair, if it were not for these e-mails, I would not have really believed that Hillary was a Mother, and not just a politically fabricated one. But that misses the true point of this missive. Hillary is done when it comes to this campaign, and now she must step aside.

The focus now for the Democratic Party, and as should be for Hillary as well, is to begin on McCain. Johnny “Jungle Rot” McCain, who has vowed to run a clean and negative free campaign, is starting his dirty republican ways, vis-à-vis his “uncontrollable” 3rd party surrogates.

Even though Sen. Obama has not sought the endorsement of Hamas, he has received it. And, according to McCain, he should have something to say about such an unsought endorsement. The fueling of terrorist fears, ignorant questioning of Sen. Obama’s Christianity, and justifications for the White Vote to question whether a man named Barack Hussein Obama should be the president of a John Smith white country, shows the true colors of our GOP opponent.

What about Rev. Hagee? Well, here is just a tidbit:

Hagee on Hurricane Katrina: "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on Islamic Beliefs:
Fresh Air host Terry Gross asked if Hagee believed that "all Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews," to which Hagee replied, "Well, the Quran teaches that. Yes, it teaches that very clearly." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on African-Americans:
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Hagee was going to "meet with black religious leaders privately at an unspecified future date to discuss comments he made in his newsletter about a 'slave sale,' an East Side minister said Wednesday." The Express-News reported:
"Hagee, pastor of the 16,000-member Cornerstone Church, last week had announced a 'slave sale' to raise funds for high school seniors in his church bulletin, 'The Cluster.'
"The item was introduced with the sentence 'Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone" and ended with "Make plans to come and go home with a slave." [San Antonio Express-News 3/7/96]

Hagee on Catholicism:
"Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews." [Jerusalem Countdown by John Hagee]

Hagee on Women:
"Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist." [God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters, Sarah Posner]

"[T]he feminist movement today is throwing off authority in rebellion against God's pattern for the family." ["Bible Positions on Political Issues," John Hagee]

Hagee on LGBT Americans:
"The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on Iran:
"The coming nuclear showdown with Iran is a certainty," Hagee wrote [in 2006] in the Pentecostal magazine Charisma. "Israel and America must confront Iran's nuclear ability and willingness to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons. For Israel to wait is to risk committing national suicide." [The Nation, 8/8/2006]

And what might be McCain’s response to an endorsement from Rev. John Hagee?

"Well I think it's important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes. And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagee's spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel. That does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues. I don't have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy. They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions."

And Reverend Wright was a problem? Let us see what kind of people really don’t have a problem with race, and are willing to take to task anyone, of any background, who is “associated” with someone who makes comments that are seen as offensive.

We shall see!

Question for all...comments needed by all....

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:47:38 EDT

Ok, maybe I have had more kool-aid then I should have. But, to tell you the truth, Hillary is not our democratic friend. There is no political reason for her to continue on. There is no reason for her to do as she is doing. Well, that is, unless she wants another shot at the POTUS position in the 2012 race.

Do those that read this believe that she cares so much for the Democratic Party by what she does? Like a bridge over troubled water. When evening falls so hard and when darkness comes. Like a bridge over troubled water.

Oh, my friends, what to do? I propose to you, the general masses, a question. I have put together an Obama meet up/ fund raiser. I have put together everything needed to have an Obama gathering. The place, the entertainment, a congressional presence, specials from the restaurant, and an attitude of success from those involved. Sound good? I think so.

Now, here is the problem that I need a response from everyone, are you ready? Here we go. I was told that what I proposed to do, (a meet up that would have a place, music, Congressional appearance, and an overall motion for a pro-Obama fest), didn't work with the Obama campaign.

I was told that what I had put together was nice, but that that local campaign wanted to focus on getting people to get out the vote. Now, my good friends, I am a believer in getting out the vote. Have no doubt in this. And, my massive friends, I am telling you nothing new and crazy, when I say to you that I am a person whom plays well with others. Yet, we are talking, on the part of the local Obama people, that it is better for me to do nothing (and not have this), then to do it.

But, my issue here is that I was told by the campaign that I what I proposed to do, having a festive gathering of people that want to show support for Obama ( 3 days before the election), was something that would drain energy from the final push in Kentucky.

The final push, which I was told was more important, was getting people to canvass for Obama.

Now, of course the last thing I want to do is screw with that which has worked well for Obama to this point. But, the thing I could not understand was that the local campaign felt that what I had proposed (and had put together) distracted from their goal, which was getting people to canvass for Obama.

My main confusion, which could never be explained by the “leaders” of the Louisville Obama office, was how what I was doing, drew away energy from the final push for Obama in Kentucky. To be honest, it as if they would rather I did not do this, for fear of pulling people away from canvassing.

This is an event that is geard towards people who would not do anything in the first place. Getting them to come out, alone, is a victory.

The gathering I am putting together only hopes to get random and uncommited people to show.

Even when I explained and told the “contact” person John, what I was doing, I was told that it just didn’t seem to work for the campaign. Now, I must say that I made them aware of what I was doing 2 weeks prior to this whole thing. And the only thing that that really would have an issue with is the congressional presence that I garnered on my own.

I guess what really, at least for me, that came across as inefficient and wasteful, is a very simple thing. Their way or the highway was the commentary. There was no attempt to merge what I was doing and what OUR candidate was doing.

Look, I want us to win everything, win it strong, and win it clean. But, to be told by the local Obama people, that do to my ability to do something better then they can do it, I am causing problems, makes me feel useless…hell, uselessly used. This is not Obama’s way of bringing people together. At least not the way that I read and see our guy.

For heavens sake, when I told them that I got our local congressman to come and spend a few minutes, the local Obama people looked at me as if I did not really know what I was saying. I had to explain to them that I went directly to our congressman and told him what I was doing.

Now, to be fair, I am not you average fella. I am a person who grew up in Washington, DC. A person who also grew up with 65 countries represented while I was in school. A person who drank the water like there was no tomorrow, and has more friends from more countries then I have chicks in my black book (I don’t have a black book, but you get the idea).

What am I to do?

My friends, you have read my blog post’s, and if you haven’t you still understand what I am talking about.

So, mi amigos, give me some input. What do you think?

In spirit and in deed,

Matthew

http://themcgovernminute.blogspot.com/

Pass me more kool-aid please.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:36:51 EDT

When it is all said and done, and the numbers are put into the books, Sen. Obama will gain about 214,000 more popular votes and 8 delegates more then Hillary Clinton. So, where does that leave us, my friends?

During the lowest point in the Obama campaign, there was no stunning victory in Indiana, as was predicted by the Clinton campaign. After reeling from the loss in Pennsylvania, and having to deal yet again with the never-ending Rev. Wright situation, Sen. Obama beat Hillary Clinton handily in North Carolina, and only lost in Indiana by about 18,000.

But, we must realize that these are only numbers. The leader of the popular vote, the number delegate vote, or even the leader of contests won, makes no real difference. What really matters in this primary race is one thing; Hillary thinks she would be a stronger candidate.

Pass me more kool-aid please.

After Pennsylvania and the Clinton campaign’s 10 million dollar donation boost, which by the way helped them to make up for being 9 million in the hole, all looked liked the Clinton comeback kid status had kicked in.

They touted that such a flood of donations proved that they were supported by the people. And they told us that over and over again.

But wait, as it turns out, she loaned herself another 6.4 of the 10 million. That brings her personal loans to her own campaign to 11.4 million.

Not bad for a “working class” woman of the people. Imagine how much she might have loaned herself if she were an elitist. It’s as if she quietly has become the Mit Romney of the Democratic Party.

But, do not fear, she claims that she is staying in until the end. Be that the end of this primary race, or the end of the Clintonian Era.

Bosnia: Not Done Wright!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:20:24 EDT

Bosnia: Not Done Wright!

What else can Barack Obama do? What else can the man say? What can he do to separate himself from “the preacher” and his blathering? Nothing, I would suggest, and he shouldn’t have to do another thing to distance himself from the hate filled and divisive rhetoric. He has done all he can do, and it is sad enough that the Traditional Media will not focus on issues that really matter to the American people.

The one thing that really has gotten pushed by the Traditional Media the last couple of days is the questioning of whether or not Sen. Obama has waited too long to respond about Rev. Wright. Is it too late for Obama, they ask.

But wait; hold on for a sec, what was the Philadelphia speech all about? Did he not answer the Rev. Wright question then, and do so in a most presidential way, standing high above the fray and discussing topics that others would treat as a political 3rd rail. Yes he did, for 5 weeks he did this, but it seems that the Traditional Media was not listening.

But now, after coming out and denouncing and distancing himself, yet again, from the man he had already denounced and distanced himself from, it seems it might not be enough. All the while, I imagine Sen. Obama wishes he had lied, in such a bold faced way to America and the world, about running for cover under threat of sniper fire. That is, lied knowingly to the American people, in an attempt to bolster a theoretical claim to 35 years of presidential experience. If he had, the story would have lasted a week, and then it would have gone away.

What else can the man do, when it appears by all rational standards, that the Traditional Media will not let it go? They have ignored the chance for an honest inquest into the character of a person running for the highest office. A person who admitted knowingly lied to the American people was let off the hook without a peep. A person, that the majority of the American public, does not trust in the first place.

A person, who has sided with the McCain camp, allowed the opposition to attack one of their own while standing silently by, and has at every turn distorted truths to win a position that they obviously feel entitled to, gets a nod, and is allowed to pass on by.

And the Traditional media, which until this last outburst by Rev. Wright, as been the only contributing factor to the Obama-Wright story, now asks if Obama has waited too late to speak about his former pastor. Does anyone else see the insanity of this?

We have trusted the 4th Estate to keep the focus on the government, to bring about issues that truly matter to Americans, and to do so in a fair and impartial manner. They have failed, for the most part, in the keeping this trust secure. They have become complacent, lazy, fearful, and above all political. They have become the lowest form of journalism; Yellow.

Matthew McGovern

http://matthewmcgovern.blogspot.com/

the.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Inj case you didn't see it...

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:22:50 EDT

Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler Endorses Barack Obama for PresidentBy Sam Graham-Felsen - Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm EDT Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content LOUISVILLE, KY — U.S. Congressman Ben Chandler from Kentucky endorsed Barack Obama for President today, citing his ability to lead the country forward:

"Today I am pleased to announce my support and to offer my endorsement to Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. I have listened to this man, I have met with him and like many of you, I am inspired by his message of change and of hope for our future. But more importantly, I am convinced Barack Obama will provide the steady hand and leadership we need to chart a new path for our nation.

In these tough economic times, when many in our nation and right here in Kentucky are struggling to make ends meet and to provide for their families, too much is at stake for us to do nothing. I hope all Kentuckians and citizens throughout the nation will join with me in firmly supporting Barack Obama to lead our nation to a better future and to a place of respect for our country around the world."

Said Obama: "I am honored to have the support of Congressman Ben Chandler. As a Congressman, Ben has been a tireless fighter for working families and seniors, our troops in Iraq and our veterans at home. When he served as Kentucky Attorney General, he fought to pass Megan's Law and protect women and children, and he took action to protect the elderly from patient abuse and neglect. I look forward to working with Ben to strengthen our middle class and to keep our sacred trust with our past and present servicemen and women.”

Congressman Chandler is Senator Obama’s 244th Superdelegate endorsement. Senator Obama is now 288 delegates away from winning the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

MSM: What is to be done?

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:41:29 EDT

MSM: What is to be done?

Matthew McGovern

http://www.matthewmcgovern.blogspot.com/

The.McGovern.Minute@gmail.com

The Indiana and North Carolina contests are almost upon us, and how can I express my excitement and anticipation, over the finding out of who will win. Will it be Sen. Clinton, and her 35 years of super-First Lady Experience? Or, could it possible turn out to be the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, with all his over-and-over again played clips, calling out certain issues that might face America?

Beyond all the excitement however, there seemed to be something missing. Something, that no matter how hard I looked at these two über candidates, I could not put my finger on. Then it hit me, that thing that seemed to be so elusive to me, and which had also turned out to be so elusive to the Main Stream Media, was that it wasn’t Rev. Wright that was running against the Clinton/McCain machine. And to make me feel even more out of touch with what was more important to America, it turned out that it was this other guy.

It was actually some guy named Sen. Barack Obama. I vaguely remember this guy from the news media. There seemed to be some question about whether he was a Muslim, or was it a Muslim who converted to Christianity, so that he then could take over America.

Or, maybe it wasn’t that, but that it was that I should question this guy Obama’s intentions because his middle name was Hussein. Hell, even his last name rhymes with that guy that brought us into the war on terror, that guy Saddam. No, that wasn’t it; it was this cave dwelling guy with bad kidneys, Osama. Yea, that was the guy. I even think they said on Faux News that they are distant cousins. Or, was that a guy named Cheney?

The media, with whom the Clinton administration had complained and whined about, until the MSM did away with any semblance of parity and went full tilt toward Reverend Wright and his former parishioner, has no complaint these days. They are quite happy to march lock step with the McCain camp, in both actions and silence while never standing up in defense of her fellow Democratic Party members, when the Johnny Mac and GOP attacks come a flyin’.

Now, with the never disappearing Rev. Wright, and his recent self-centered and egotistical publicity rounds, the MSM feels even more emboldened to keep the focus on the non-issue banter going. In all honesty, why shouldn’t they? It really is our own fault. How long have we allowed, hell trusted, the media to keep us informed on what is going on? What are the important things to focus on, and even what the important things that the general public should focus on? How long have we sold our souls for the convenience of the easy thought?

What does the Main Stream Media tell us currently is important? Listen to them, to them all. They tell us that Sen. Obama was a member of this guy Wright’s Church. That he was Sen. Obama’s pastor. That he spent 20 years sitting in the pews. Of course, we have all seen the 15 seconds or so contained in the 3 most played video clips, but what the hey, we all get the idea. Obama cannot be allowed to be the POTUS of the future, due to Rev. Wright, and those 15 seconds.

When the Main Stream Media, (ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, Faux News) decides to look upon an associate of a political candidate that is one thing. But, when the same media comes to the end of whatever it was that made it a newsworthy story in the first place, and then continues to keep the subject of such an inquiry alive in the media when the only new aspect of the story is whatever it is that the MSM themselves has introduced, then there is within the media a problem.

Did he ever lie about the length of time that Rev. Wright was his pastor? Did Obama ever lie to the American public about Bosnia, in an attempt to bolster his perception of toughness and world experience, only to remake such a history into a misstatement? To admit that he knew that he intentionally told what he knew was not true. No, of course it was not Sen. Obama that said such things; it was Sen. Clinton. How long did that story stay in the media? Maybe that would have made journalism something that it isn’t these days.

How can they justify the continuation of such a news inquiry? Sen. Obama has addressed the issue of Rev. Wright, yet due to the media attention that the Reverend has sought, and been given, the story is still front and center. “He sat in the pew for 20 years”, I can hear them say over and over. The simple answer is that they cannot justify such behavior, and they cannot continue to call what they pretend to do journalism; for it is better known as yellow journalism.

Hillary Clinton & the 4th Estate

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:57:25 EDT

Hillary Clinton & the 4th Estate

So, the paper which prints all the news that’s fit to print, has finally seen the error of their ways, and printed some old news. The New York Times, the paper which has endorsed Sen. Clinton, now says that, “By staying on the attack and not engaging Mr. Obama on the substance of issues like terrorism, the economy and how to organize an orderly exit from Iraq, Mrs. Clinton does more than just turn off voters who don’t like negative campaigning. She undercuts the rationale for her candidacy that led this page and others to support her: that she is more qualified, right now, to be president than Mr. Obama.”

The candidate, who claims that what we need are solutions, and not just speeches, is the same candidate who is now emphatically declaring that she has more votes then Sen. Obama. That is, if you listen past the quick phrase, “of all those that have cast votes.”

The math she is using to get to this “more popular vote total” is that ultimately if all Michigan votes for Hillary are counted, and NONE are allotted to Sen. Obama, then she has more votes. And that includes votes from Florida as well. Can she get any more outlandish?

We know what she is implying with her slippery verbosity. Besides her attempt to play the old style political “change the game midway through” strategy, what she is truly showing us, is that she is the same person she has always been, a purveyor of misleading and questionable linguistics.

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base", said Clinton on numerous ocassions, and early in the morning. By now, we all have either seen the media or the Youtube video’s, of her rush for safety under sniper fire arrival, while greeting people and having a poem read to her by a little girl. All she seemed to be able to muster in defense of her outright lie, was, “I misspoke”.

She said she had a "different memory" about the landing. She also said, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I'm human, which, you know, for some people, is a revelation."

However, when the Senator with already questionable trustworthiness, was asked about her Bosnia statements during the questionably “unbiased” Philadelphia presidential debate, she responded, “On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it.” Embarrassed for being caught in a lie? I don’t know about you, but I would have been ashamed.

To cap off her dismissal, of what was obviously known to be a lie, she states, “It just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.”

What we have here is a testament to the integrity and honesty of a candidate that has already demonstrated her desire to play old school and republican politics. A candidate who will tell the people, whose votes she needs to maintain her insurmountable deficit, that even though she has received more PAC and Lobbyist money than any other candidate, that she will not let them influence her more than the American people.

Now, you may ask yourself where the 4th Estate is. Where are those journalist and talking heads that have let this one individual incident go truly unquestioned? Why are there no questions in the Main Stream Media about her honesty? Why have they let this just slip into the past, like so many other Clinton misstatements and unfounded statements? Why are we still hearing about Rev. Wright over and over again, even after Sen. Obama has publicly spoken so many times about it, and not a peep about Bosnia? What about Bitter-gate, but not about her lying without even admitting it directly.

The answer to these questions could be many, but the one thing that would be hard to disprove, is that the longer this un-winnable contest for Hillary Clinton continues, the pundits will have more to talk about, and the networks will make more money.

These convenient omissions of parity on the part of the MSM are battles we must fight against. With that, I STRONGLY encourage you to take a stand in defending our candidate, and our movement toward a new, and more transparent, style of government.
We must show the MSM that we are watching, and that we are not happy with what they are doing. If you have any doubts about what they are up to, take a listen to Joe Scarborough, and the way he continuously calls Hillary his, “girlfriend”, or when he cannot say enough how much he, “just loves Hillary.” You think I am kidding? Just watch the show one morning.

And while you are doing that, make a note of the advertisements that you see. Those are also people you can write to express your displeasure at the commentary by the MSM pundits. Tell them, that until things change that you will be boycotting their products, as well as urging your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Write often, but always attempt to be as civil as possible. Overtly, and abusively angry letters, are not given as much credence as those that seem to be rational, serious, and steadfast. These are the times we need to secure honesty and parity from the Main Stream Media.

Act Now! Go Obama!

In thought and in deed,

Matthew McGovern

http://www.matthewmcgovern.blogspot.com/
The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Ten Things to Remember on Tuesday Night

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:33:53 EDT

An excerpt from Seth Grahame-Smith

The Huffington PostPosted April, 21st 2008

Ten Things to Remember on Tuesday Night

1. Remember that there's no way Hillary can become the nominee without a super-delegate coup -- which would alienate a generation of young Democrats and dangerously fracture the party.

2. Remember that her campaign leaked internals showing an eleven point lead (as a means of firing up her supporters and getting out the vote). Therefore, any win smaller than eleven points should be considered a disappointment by her own assessment.

3. Remember that every time Hillary begins a sentence with "you know," or "my opponent," the next thing out of her mouth is a lie.

4. Remember that when Clinton surrogates say "this proves Obama can't win the big states," they're ignoring the fact that he actually won more delegates in Texas -- not to mention twice as many states as she has.

5. Remember that when the pundits argue that Obama can't win in white rural areas because they broke for Hillary, they're ignoring the fact that he won (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

6. Remember that when Hillary talks about who will be "better against John McCain in the fall," she's talking about the fall of 2012.

7. Remember that Hillary's campaign is $10M in debt, while Obama's has more than $40M in cash on hand.

8. Remember that Hillary's lead in Pennsylvania was as a high as 26 points only a month ago.

9. Remember that Hillary's late Pennsylvania rebound was forged in the fires of negativity and fear-mongering.

10. Remember that the only manufacturing job Hillary ever brought to Pennsylvania was the manufactured notion that she was a middle-class, whisky-swilling duck killer, and not an anti-union multi-millionaire.

What are we to think? What are we to believe?

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:23:30 EDT

When a presidential candidate will do anything and whatever it takes to win the nomination for the highest job in the land, what does that really mean? When a presidential candidate will give the allusion to doubts of an opponent’s religion, and put the interests of their own Party aside, in the pursuit of a position that would change the lives of every American, where would it stop?

We have seen a campaign run by a candidate that has changed with every whistle stop. Be that a change coming in the form of saying that their opponent’s qualifications are nothing more than a speech, to answering during a national debate, when all are listening to the same question, a definitive, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

What are we to think? What are we to believe?

When a candidate, who has taken more money from the special interest groups, PAC’s, and Lobbyist’s, that have plagued Washington for years, and helped allow the very few to govern the American many, what are we to think. Especially so, when the candidate has voiced publicly that they will continue to take these money-with-strings donations.

What are we to think? What are we to believe?

When a candidate will say one thing today, and another tomorrow, all in pursuit of a vote that will only keep them in a race that will be decided by, yet again, a small and selective group, what are we to believe?

What are we to believe when a candidate, who had previously agreed to accept the sanctions made by their own party on Michigan and Florida, when they felt that they were a shoe in for the presidential nomination, only to change and decry the Party sanctions when the chips were down. And then, try and tell the American people that they in fact have the majority of the popular vote, even when in a state like Michigan her numbers would include votes for her, and nothing for her opponent.

Win by any means necessary? What does that really mean? Any reasonable American can see what is going on. Any reasonable American can easily understand the problems that would be created by just such a person, with just such a character.

Judgment and wisdom seems to be something that people with feelings of self entitlement do not usually hold. And in this case it seems quite evident that this holds true. This can even be seen when a candidate would take such a serious vote to go to war, so lightly that they would not even read the main committee report on the legitimacy of such a war, before they cast such an important and life changing vote. Seriously, what are we to believe about such a candidate?

In this world, when you cannot and do not know what the future will hold, can you really take a chance on someone who you at least know to be untrustworthy and a person not of their word, but of their word for a vote? I would rather go with a person who will bring together a country torn apart by a president beholden to the same old day to day special interest’s, PAC’s, and Lobbyists, than a candidate that will tell me what I want to hear today, so they may do as the please tomorrow.

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Dear Friends in Guam!!!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:41:36 EDT

Dear Guam Friends and fellow Obama supporters,

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Matthew McGovern, and I have been inspired by the good Sen. Obama since his now historic introductory speech at the Democratic convention. As of this last Wednesday, I was able to see and hear Sen. Obama twice, and meet him once. I cannot express the wonderful joy I had in being able to see him live and upfront, as well as being able to feel the same enthusiasm that he conveys when one watches him on the television.

His historic opening of a campaign headquarters in Guam is just another example of what this man understands deep inside himself. He knows that all Americans are the intended recipients of the American dream. Not just the PAC's and Lobbyists, or the special interest groups that own Hillary Clinton, but every single American citizen. When we chant, "YES WE CAN!", it is the "WE" that is the heart of our chant. It is quite different the chant that the opposition loves to shout, "YES SHE WILL".

We all understand that this is not just another election, an election that will continue the comings and goings of the special interests groups that have plagued Washington for far too long, but an election to straighten out and reset the U.S. Government back to the agenda of being a government for the people and by the people. The people, you and I, not just another president beholden to PAC's, Special interest, or Lobbyists. Not just another president, and in this case one who feels entitled to the job, but a president who has worked for Americans at every level. From organizing laid off steel workers in the south side of Chicago, to having the wisdom to understand and know the error of going into an unjustified war with Iraq.

Anyway, there I go again, talking all that silly talk that the opposition would refer to as nothing more than "just a speech". It all comes down to you and I in this election. This is our election, and time, in which to tell the old school politicians that the day has come when we will allow the few to govern the lives of the many. Our time is now and our day has come. Yes We Can!

All that is left to do, is to make it happen. We all need to give where we can. be that to volunteer to register others to vote, make calls to family and friends, help out in your community or at the Obama for America headquarters, to wearing your Obama gear or putting your Obama sticker on your car bumper. If your time is hard to come by and scarce, then make that donation of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, or whatever you can give. When it all comes down to it, a burden heavy to one, is always carried lightly by many.

Be well, fight the good fight, stand strong, and do good things!

Matthew McGovernthe.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Hello Guam!!! Let me share!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:10:45 EDT

Dear Friends and fellow Obama supporters,

I just wanted to share a little about the Town Hall Obama rally held in New Albany, Indiana. In a state where 187 delegates are at stake in the May 6 primary, there was no lack of enthusiasm, hope, and faith in the possibility of a new and transparent form of government. The positive energy and smiling faces could be seen everywhere.

After having attended the Cincinnati rally (Feb. 25th, 2008), and being truly amazed that so many people, of so many ages and hues felt as I do, and even more so, could be drawn together and unified under a new political ideology, I knew I could do something more. At this particular event, I volunteered for the campaign as a “people mover”. It was a wonderful way to add even more to my joy at being at an event.

It was a beautiful and sunny day. After we broke into groups, received our badges, did our screening and took our posts, we waited for the gates to be opened. They ended up letting people into the event earlier then the stated 10:45 opening. The crowds entered smoothly with a noticeable excitement. Everyone knew a fun time was at hand.

After the attendees had been seated, and the crowd primed by Floyd Co.’s own Randy Stumler, the crowd began our signature chant, “Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!” The electricity was apparent, and the crowd was ready to blow.

When it seemed as if it could get no louder, the chants grew deafening, and then there he was, the man himself. Sen. Obama took the stage after shaking a few hands, and spoke to those in attendance about the importance of being able to do something real about our economy, healthcare, education, and other major issues. He emphasized that there is a difference between a candidate who has taken more PAC and Lobbyist money then anyone else, and a candidate, who has been completely funded by individual Americans. The difference, between a candidate who will be beholden to those many PAC’s and groups that the lobbyists represent, and a candidate that has always been the one to fight for the individual American.

After speaking on the issues for about 40 minutes, Sen. Obama did the town hall thing, and answered various questions from the audience. He answered these questions openly and honestly. They ranged from questions about the economy and American workers and their jobs, to the state of our governments educational system, AIDES, and the Ryan Whites foundation. Throughout the Town Hall meeting, Sen. Obama was open and candid, bringing the crowd into the ongoing conversation.

It was a great day, not just for me and the others that volunteered, but for the American people. Yet again, we were able to see and here what a true and trustworthy candidate sounds like. A candidate who understands and knows what it is that it will take to bring America back from the brink of even deeper problems, to it’s prominent place in the world.

I would urge everyone, young and old, Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian, gay and straight, to volunteer in one fashion or another. Contact your local Obama for America headquarters and find out what can be done. There are so many things that can be done by volunteers. There is answering phones, making calls, canvassing, voter registration, and beyond. There will always be something that you feel comfortable doing, so do not feel apprehensive in giving a little time. Remember, this is for ALL of us, and the future of America.

Matthew McGovern

the.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Heads Up Indiana & North Carolina: Clinton is Push Polling!!!!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:55:31 EDT

Is Hillary Clinton Push Polling?Posted April 24, 2008 | 01:05 PM (EST) The Huffington Post

North Carolina activist David LaMotte just got a push poll call from the firm of Geoff Garin, the new head of Hillary Clinton's campaign team. It wasn't as bad as asking "would it change your mind if you knew John Kerry actually bought his Vietnam medals off eBay." Or "How do you feel about John McCain's illegitimate black children?" But it was a push poll nonetheless, even if it also had elements of information gathering and message testing. This isn't the first time that the Clinton campaign or their allies have had pollsters offering positive information about Clinton and negative information about her opponents--they did it on the eve of the California primary and in South Carolina. (And firms linked to the Giuliani campaign made highly negative push poll calls against Mitt Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire) But it's a disturbing practice precisely because it tries to spin the recipient under the pretense of merely asking about their views.

Here's LaMotte's story, below, and you can listen to the actual call here -- it's pretty amazing:

Press the play button to listen

(Go hear it yourself: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/is-hillary-clinton-push-p_b_98446.html )

A guy named Ed called from Akron, Ohio, and when I asked what polling outfit he works for he said Garin-Hart-Yang, based in DC At first I was delighted to be polled, as I've been interested in the race and following the rest of the nation's polls closely throughout the campaign.

The questions started out normal enough, but got progressively more ridiculous. Early in the conversation Ed asked my preference among the Democratic candidates and I told him I was an Obama supporter.

Then the questions turned to long Hillary-praising and Barack bashing policy statements with the response options being "Do you consider that a very strong, strong or weak or very weak reason to support her candidacy for president?" which is kind of an unanswerable question, and clearly not the point. At the end of the conversation they asked "Now based on everything we've discussed, who would you vote for?"

The questions were often based on statements that I wouldn't agree with in the first place. It's classic push polling as I've read about it, though never experienced it before. The questions are of the "Are you still beating your wife?" variety. No way to answer with any sense of veracity and integrity.

Toward the end of the conversation it occurred to me to record it on my old-school tape-based answering machine, so the following is a verbatim transcript of some of the content:

"Hillary Clinton knows that people are being squeezed by the rising costs of everyday items, especially the cost of a gallon of gas. People have been paying through the roof and at the pump, and she thinks it is time the oil companies paid their fair share. She wants to end their special tax breaks and use that money to invest in alternative energy that will create millions of new jobs. As president she will launch a full-scale investigation of the oil companies' price rigging. Upon taking office as president she will lower gas prices by taxing the excess profits of the oil companies and use that money to cut gas tax.

Do you consider that a very strong, strong or weak or very weak reason to support her candidacy for president?"

It goes on a bit later:

"I'm going to read you a few criticisms opponents might make about Barack Obama. For each one please tell me if they give you very major doubts, fairly major doubts, some doubts or no real doubts about supporting Barack Obama for president. At a time when we need leaders who are clear, strong and decisive, Obama has been inconsistent, saying he would remove all troops, but then indicating that he might not, and pledging to renegotiate NAFTA, but then sending signals that he would not actually do so as president. He supported George W. Bush's 2005 energy bill which payed six billion dollars in subsidies to the oil and gas industry, nine billion dollars in subsidies to the coal industry and twelve billion dollars in subsidies to the nuclear power industry. It was called 'a piñata of perks' and 'the best energy bill corporations could buy. Would that leave you with major doubts, some doubts or no real doubts?"

And how do I answer that question, given the fact that I dispute some of the premises laid out?

Didn't they already get embarrassed about push polling in the Midwest early in this campaign and didn't she repudiate the practice? I find this kind of thing pretty shocking, and I think people should know it's going on. It's demeaning and disheartening, especially given the fact that my civic pride was piqued by being called in the first place, only to realize I was being manipulated.

Town Hall Obama rally held in New Albany, Indiana.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:28:02 EDT

Dear Friends and fellow Obama supporters,

He emphasized that there is a difference between a candidate who has taken more PAC and Lobbyist money then anyone else, and a candidate, who has been completely funded by individual Americans. The difference, between a candidate who will be beholden to those many PAC’s and groups that the lobbyists represent, and a candidate that has always been the one to fight for the individual American.

After speaking on the issues for about 40 minutes, Sen. Obama did the town hall objective, and answered various questions from the audience. He answered these questions openly and honestly. They ranged from questions about the economy and American workers and their jobs, to the state of our governments educational system, AIDES, and the Ryan White foundation. Throughout the Town Hall meeting, Sen. Obama was open and candid, bringing the crowd into the ongoing conversation.

It was a great day, not just for me and the others that volunteered, but for the American people. Yet again, we were able to see and hear what a true and trustworthy candidate sounds like. A candidate who understands and knows what it is that it will take to bring America back from the brink of even deeper problems, to it’s prominent place in the world.

Matthew McGovern

the.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Hillary Clinton & the 4th Estate

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:08:49 EDT

Dear Friends and Obama Supporters,

The math she is using to get to this “more popular vote total” is that ultimately if all Michigan votes for Hillary are counted, and NONE are allotted to Sen. Obama, then she has more votes. And that includes votes from Florida as well. Can she get any more outlandish?

We know what she is implying with her slippery verbosity. Besides her attempt to play the old style political “change the game midway through” strategy, what she is truly showing us, is that she is the same person she has always been, a purveyor of misleading and questionable linguistics.

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." By now, we all have either seen the media or the Youtube video’s, of her rush for safety under sniper fire arrival, while greeting people and having a poem read to her by a little girl. All she seemed to be able to muster in defense of her outright lie, was, “I misspoke”.

She said she had a "different memory" about the landing. She also said, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I'm human, which, you know, for some people, is a revelation." However, when the Senator with already questionable trustworthiness, was asked about her Bosnia statements during the questionably “unbiased” Philadelphia presidential debate, she responded, “On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it.” Embarrassed for being caught in a lie? I don’t know about you, but I would have been ashamed.

To cap off her dismissal, of what was obviously known to be a lie, she states, “It just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.”

What we have here is a testament to the integrity and honesty of a candidate that has already demonstrated her desire to play old school and republican politics. A candidate who will tell the people, whose votes she needs to maintain her insurmountable deficit, that even though she has received more PAC and Lobbyist money than any other candidate, that she will not let them influence her more than the American people.

Now, you may ask yourself where the 4th Estate is. Where are those journalist and talking heads that have let this one individual incident go truly unquestioned? Why are there no questions in the Main Stream Media about her honesty? Why have they let this just slip into the past, like so many other Clinton misstatements and unfounded statements? Why are we still hearing about Rev. Wright over and over again, even after Sen. Obama has publicly spoken so many times about it, and not a peep about Bosnia? What about Bitter-gate, but not about her lying without even admitting it directly.

The answer to these questions could be many, but the one thing that would be hard to disprove, is that the longer this un-winnable contest for Hillary Clinton continues, the pendants will have more to talk about, and the networks will make more money.

These convenient omissions of parity on the part of the MSM are battles we must fight against. With that, I STRONGLY encourage you to take a stand in defending our candidate, and our movement toward a new, and more transparent, style of government.

We must show the MSM that we are watching, and that we are not happy with what they are doing. If you have any doubts about what they are up to, take a listen to Joe Scarborough, and the way he continuously calls Hillary his, “girlfriend”, or when he cannot say enough how much he, “just loves Hillary.” You think I am kidding? Just watch the show one morning.

And while you are doing that, make a note of the advertisements that you see. Those are also people you can write to express your displeasure at the commentary by the MSM pundits. Tell them, that until things change that you will be boycotting their products, as well as urging your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Write often, but always attempt to be as civil as possible. Overtly, and abusively angry letters, are not given as much credence as those that seem to be rational, serious, and steadfast. These are the times we need to secure honesty and parity from the Main Stream Media.

Act Now! Go Obama!

In thought and in deed,

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

US Newspaper List

USNPL*

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Dist. of Col
Florida
Georgia Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Newspaper Mailing Addresses 3900+ Mailing Addresses for US newspapers.

NC Newspaper Links

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:26:25 EDT

Dear North Carolina Friends and Obama Supporters,

She said she had a "different memory" about the landing. She also said, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I'm human, which, you know, for some people, is a revelation."

However, when the Senator with already questionable trustworthiness, was asked about her Bosnia statements during the questionably “unbiased” Philadelphia presidential debate, she responded, “On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it.” Embarrassed for being caught in a lie? I don’t know about you, but I would have been ashamed.

To cap off her dismissal, of what was obviously known to be a lie, she states, “It just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.”

Act Now! Go Obama!

In thought and in deed,

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Newspapers
Click ( A ) for Newspaper address
Click ( C ) for County summary

Ahoskie Roanoke-Chowan News Herald (A) (C)
Albemarle The Stanly News & Press (A) (C)
Andrews The Andrews Journal (A) (C)
Asheboro The Courier Tribune (A) (C)
Asheville Asheville Citizen-Times (A) (C)
Asheville Mountain Xpress (A) (C)
Asheville W. Carolina Business Journal (A) (C)
Black Mountain Black Mountain News (A) (C)
Boone The Mountain Times (A) (C)
Boone Watauga Democrat (A) (C)
Bryson City Smoky Mountain Times (A) (C)
Burlington Times-News (A) (C)
Carolina Beach Island Gazette (A) (C)
Cary The Cary News (A) (C)
Cashiers Crossroads Chronicle (A) (C)
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill News (A) (C)
Charlotte Business Journal of Charlotte (A) (C)
Charlotte Charlotte Observer (A) (C)
Charlotte Charlotte Post (A) (C)
Charlotte Charlotte Weekly (A) (C)
Charlotte Creative Loafing (A) (C)
Charlotte La Noticia (A) (C)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Times (A) (C)
Charlotte Peri (A) (C)
Charlotte Que Pasa (A) (C)
Charlotte Rhino Times (A) (C)
Clayton The Clayton News-Star (A) (C)
Clemmons The Clemmons Courier (A) (C)
Clinton The Sampson Independent (A) (C)
Columbus Polk County News-Journal (A) (C)
Concord Independent Tribune (A) (C)
Creedmoor Butner-Creedmoor News (A) (C)
Denton The Denton Orator (A) (C)
Denver News@Norman (A) (C)
Dunn The Daily Record (A) (C)
Durham The Herald-Sun (A) (C)
Durham The Independent (A) (C)
Eden Daily News (A) (C)
Elizabeth City The Daily Advance (A) (C)
Elizabethtown The Bladen Journal (A) (C)
Elkin The Tribune (A) (C)
Fayetteville Acento Latino (A) (C)
Fayetteville Fayetteville Observer (A) (C)
Forest City Daily Courier (A) (C)
Franklin Macon County News (A) (C)
Franklin The Franklin Press (A) (C)
Fremont Wayne Wilson News Leader (A) (C)
Fuquay Varina Fuquay-Varina Independent (A) (C)
Garner Citizen News & Times (A) (C)
Garner The Garner News (A) (C)
Gastonia The Gaston Gazette (A) (C)
Goldsboro The News-Argus (A) (C)
Greensboro Carolina Peacemaker (A) (C)
Greensboro The Business Journal (A) (C)
Greensboro The News and Record (A) (C)
Greensboro Yes! Weekly (A) (C)
Greenville The Daily Reflector (A) (C)
Hampstead Topsail Voice (A) (C)
Havelock Havelock News (A) (C)
Hayesville Smoky Mountain Sentinel (A) (C)
Henderson The Daily Dispatch (A) (C)
Hendersonville Times News (A) (C)
Hickory Hickory Daily Record (A) (C)
High Point High Point Enterprise (A) (C)
Highlands The Highlander (A) (C)
Hillsborough The News of Orange County (A) (C)
Huntersville Huntersville Herald (A) (C)
Jacksonville Jacksonville Daily News (A) (C)
Jamestown The Jamestown News (A) (C)
Kannapolis Independent Tribune (A) (C)
Kenly The Kenly News (A) (C)
Kernersville Kernersville News (A) (C)
King The Stokes News (A) (C)
Kinston The Free Press (A) (C)
Laurinburg Laurinburg Exchange (A) (C)
Lenoir Lenoir News Topic (A) (C)
Lexington The Dispatch (A) (C)
Lincolnton Lincoln Times-News (A) (C)
Lincolnton Lincolnton Tribune (A) (C)
Locust The Weekly Post (A) (C)
Lumberton The Robesonian (A) (C)
Madison The Madison Messenger (A) (C)
Marion McDowell News (A) (C)
Mebane Mebane Enterprise (A) (C)
Mocksville The Enterprise-Record (A) (C)
Monroe The Enquirer-Journal (A) (C)
Mooresville Lake Norman Times (A) (C)
Mooresville Mooresville Tribune (A) (C)
Morehead City Carteret Co News-Times (A) (C)
Morganton The News Herald (A) (C)
Mount Airy Mount Airy News (A) (C)
Mount Olive Mount Olive Tribune (A) (C)
Murphy The Cherokee Scout (A) (C)
Murphy The Cherokee Sentinel (A) (C)
Nags Head Outer Banks Sentinel (A) (C)
New Bern Sun Journal (A) (C)
Newland Avery Journal (A) (C)
Newton Observer News Enterprise (A) (C)
North Wilkesboro The Record (A) (C)
North Wilkesboro Wilkes Journal-Patriot (A) (C)
Oriental The Pamlico News (A) (C)
Pittsboro Chatham Journal (A) (C)
Princeton Princeton News Leader (A) (C)
Raeford The News-Journal (A) (C)
Raleigh News and Observer (A) (C)
Raleigh Que Pasa (A) (C)
Raleigh The Raleigh Chronicle (A) (C)
Raleigh Triangle Business Journal (A) (C)
Reidsville The Reidsville Review (A) (C)
Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald (A) (C)
Robbinsville The Graham Star (A) (C)
Rockingham Richmond County Daily Journal (A) (C)
Rocky Mount Rocky Mount Telegram (A) (C)
Roxboro Courier Times (A) (C)
Salisbury Salisbury Post (A) (C)
Sanford The Sanford Herald (A) (C)
Shallotte The Brunswick Beacon (A) (C)
Shelby The Shelby Star (A) (C)
Siler City The Chatham News (A) (C)
Smithfield The Smithfield Herald (A) (C)
Southern Pines The Pilot (A) (C)
Sparta The Alleghany News (A) (C)
Spruce Pine News-Journal (A) (C)
Statesville Statesville Record & Landmark (A) (C)
Swansboro Tideland News (A) (C)
Sylva Herald and Ruralite (A) (C)
Tarboro The Daily Southerner (A) (C)
Taylorsville Taylorsville Times (A) (C)
Thomasville Thomasville Times (A) (C)
Troy The Montgomery Herald (A) (C)
Tryon The Tryon Daily Bulletin (A) (C)
Wadesboro The Anson Record (A) (C)
Wadesboro The Express Newspaper (A) (C)
Wake Forest The Wake Weekly (A) (C)
Warrenton The Warren Record (A) (C)
Washington Daily News (A) (C)
Waynesville Smoky Mountain News (A) (C)
Waynesville The Mountaineer (A) (C)
West Jefferson Jefferson Post (A) (C)
Whiteville The News Reporter (A) (C)
Wilmington Star-News Online (A) (C)
Wilson Wilson Daily Times (A) (C)
Winston Salem Que Pasa (A) (C)
Winston Salem The Chronicle (A) (C)
Winston Salem Winston-Salem Journal (A) (C)
Wrightsville Beach The Lumina News (A) (C)
Yadkinville The Yadkin Ripple (A) (C)
Yanceyville The Caswell Messenger (A) (C)
Zebulon Eastern Wake News (A) (C)

College Newspapers
A & T State The A & T Register
Appalachian State The Appalachian
Chowan College Chowan Connections
Davidson College The Davidsonian
Duke Univ The Chronicle
E. Carolina Univ Greenville East Carolinian
Elon College The Pendulum
Guilford College The Guilfordian
Lenoir-Rhyne Lenoir-Rhynean
Mars Hill College The Hilltop
Montreat College The Whetstone
NC Central University Campus Echo
NC State Raleigh Technician Online
Univ NC Asheville The Blue Banner
Univ NC Chapel Hill The Daily Tar Heel
Univ NC Charlotte The Niner Online
Univ NC Greensboro The Carolinian
Univ NC Pembroke The Pine Needle
Univ NC Wilmington The Seahawk
Univ NC Winston-Salem The Kudzu Gazette
Wake Forest Old Gold and Black
Western Carolina Univ Western Carolinian

Magazines
Statewide Appalachian Highways
Statewide Up & Coming Weekly

NC Newspaper Links

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:26:25 EDT

Dear North Carolina Friends and Obama Supporters,

She said she had a "different memory" about the landing. She also said, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I'm human, which, you know, for some people, is a revelation."

To cap off her dismissal, of what was obviously known to be a lie, she states, “It just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.”

Act Now! Go Obama!

In thought and in deed,

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

US Newspaper List

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:49:07 EDT

US Newspaper List

USNPL*

Newspaper Mailing Addresses 3900+ Mailing Addresses for US newspapers.

There is a reason not to believe what Clinton says.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:04:42 EDT

The candidate, who claims that what we need are solutions, and not just speeches, is the same candidate who is now emphatically declaring that she has more votes then Sen. Obama. That is, if you listen past the quick phrase, “of all those that have cast votes.” We know what she is implying with her slippery verbosity. Besides her attempt to play the old style political “change the game midway through” strategy, what she is truly showing us, is that she is the same person she has always been, a purveyor of misleading and questionable linguistics.

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." By now, we all have either seen the media or the Youtube video’s, of her rush for safety under sniper fire arrival. All she seemed to be able to muster in defense of her outright lie, was, “I misspoke”.

She said she had a "different memory" about the landing. She also said, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I'm human, which, you know, for some people, is a revelation." However, when the Senator with already questionable trustworthiness, was asked about her Bosnia statements during the questionably “unbiased” Philadelphia presidential debate, she responds, “On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it.”To cap off her dismissal, of what was obviously known to be a lie, she states, “It just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.”

What we have here is a testament to the integrity and honesty of a candidate that has already demonstrated her desire to play old school and republican politics. A candidate who will tell the people, whose votes she needs to maintain her insurmountable deficit, that even though she has received more PAC and Lobbyist money than any other candidate, she will not let them influence her more than the American people.

There is a reason not to believe what Clinton says.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:02:05 EDT

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." By now, we all have either seen the media or the Youtube video’s, of her rush for safety under sniper fire arrival. All she seemed to be able to muster in defense of her outright lie, was, “I misspoke”.

What we have here is a testament to the integrity and honesty of a candidate that has already demonstrated her desire to play old school and republican politics. A candidate who will tell the people, whose votes she needs to maintain her insurmountable deficit, that even though she has received more PAC and Lobbyist money than any other candidate, she will not let them influence her more than the American people.

Indiana Newspaper email addresses

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:09:19 EDT

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

Write early! Write often!

Alexandria The Alexandria Times-Tribune (A) (C)
Anderson Anderson Herald Bulletin (A) (C)
Auburn The Evening Star (A) (C)
Batesville The Herald Tribune (A) (C)
Bedford Bedford Times-Mail (A) (C)
Bloomington The Herald-Times (A) (C)
Bluffton Bluffton News Banner (A) (C)
Brazil The Brazil Times (A) (C)
Brookville Brookville American-Democrat (A) (C)
Brownstown Jackson County Banner (A) (C)
Chesterton Chesterton Tribune (A) (C)
Cloverdale Hoosier Topics (A) (C)
Columbia City The Post & Mail (A) (C)
Columbus The Republic (A) (C)
Connersville News Examiner (A) (C)
Corydon The Corydon Democrat (A) (C)
Crawfordsville Journal Review (A) (C)
Crawfordsville The Paper of Montgomery County (A) (C)
Decatur Decatur Daily Democrat (A) (C)
Elkhart The Elkhart Truth (A) (C)
Elwood The Call-Leader (A) (C)
Evansville Evansville Courier (A) (C)
Evansville News 4U (A) (C)
Flora Carroll County Comet (A) (C)
Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (A) (C)
Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Reader (A) (C)
Fort Wayne Ink Newspaper (A) (C)
Fort Wayne The News-Sentinel (A) (C)
Frankfort The Times (A) (C)
Franklin Daily Journal of Johnson County (A) (C)
French Lick Springs Valley Herald (A) (C)
Goshen Goshen News (A) (C)
Greencastle Banner-Graphic (A) (C)
Greenfield Daily Reporter (A) (C)
Greensburg Greensburg Daily News (A) (C)
Hartford City Hartford City News-Times (A) (C)
Huntington Herald Press (A) (C)
Indianapolis Indianapolis Business Journal (A) (C)
Indianapolis Indianapolis Star (A) (C)
Indianapolis Indy Outlook (A) (C)
Indianapolis Nuvo Newsweekly (A) (C)
Indianapolis The Indianapolis Recorder (A) (C)
Indianapolis The Southside Times (A) (C)
Jeffersonville Evening News and Tribune (A) (C)
Kendallville Kendallville News-Sun (A) (C)
Kokomo Kokomo Perspective (A) (C)
Kokomo Kokomo Tribune (A) (C)
La Porte Herald-Argus (A) (C)
Lafayette Journal & Courier (A) (C)
Lebanon The Daily Sun (A) (C)
Lebanon The Reporter (A) (C)
Linton The Daily World (A) (C)
Logansport Pharos-Tribune (A) (C)
Madison Madison Courier Online (A) (C)
Marion Chronicle-Tribune (A) (C)
Martinsville The Reporter Times (A) (C)
Merrillville Gary Post Tribune (A) (C)
Michigan City The News-Dispatch (A) (C)
Monticello Herald Journal (A) (C)
Mooresville Mooresville Times (A) (C)
Muncie NewsLink Indiana (A) (C)
Muncie The Star Press (A) (C)
Munster The Times (A) (C)
Nashville Brown County Democrat (A) (C)
New Castle The Courier Times (A) (C)
New Harmony Posey County News (A) (C)
New Paris The Farmer's Exchange (A) (C)
Newburgh Newburgh Chandler Register (A) (C)
Noblesville Noblesville Daily Times (A) (C)
Noblesville The Noblesville Ledger (A) (C)
Noblesville Topics Newspapers (A) (C)
North Vernon Plain Dealer & Sun (A) (C)
Paoli Paoli News-Republican (A) (C)
Peru Peru Tribune (A) (C)
Plainfield The Flyer Group Newspapers (A) (C)
Plymouth The Pilot News (A) (C)
Portland Commercial Review (A) (C)
Princeton Princeton Daily Clarion (A) (C)
Rensselaer Rensselaer Republican Newspaper (A) (C)
Richmond Palladium-Item (A) (C)
Rochester Rochester Sentinel (A) (C)
Rushville Rushville Republican (A) (C)
Seymour Seymour Tribune (A) (C)
Shelbyville Shelbyville News (A) (C)
South Bend South Bend Tribune (A) (C)
Spencer Spencer Evening World (A) (C)
Terre Haute Journal of Business (A) (C)
Terre Haute Tribune-Star (A) (C)
Tipton Tipton County Tribune (A) (C)
Versailles Osgood Journal (A) (C)
Versailles Versailles Republican (A) (C)
Vincennes Vincennes Sun-Commercial (A) (C)
Wabash Wabash Plain Dealer (A) (C)
Warsaw Times-Union (A) (C)
Zionsville Times Sentinel (A) (C)

College Newspapers
Anderson Univ News and Events
Ball State Univ News
Butler Univ DawgNet
DePauw Univ theDePauw.com
Goshen College Record
Indiana State Univ Indiana Statesman
Indiana Univ Bloomington Digital Student
Notre Dame Observer
Purdue Univ Exponent
Purdue Univ Calumet Chronicle
Purdue Univ Indianapolis Sagamore
Wabash College Bachelor

Magazines
Indianapolis Indianapolis Online
Statewide Indiana Tourism
Statewide Inside IN Business
Statewide Special Edition Monthly
Statewide The Hype Magazine
Statewide The Ryder
Statewide VisitIndiana.net

Indiana Newspaper email addresses

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:09:16 EDT

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

Write early! Write often!

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:02:42 EDT

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

Write early! Write often!

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:02:42 EDT

Indiana Newspaper email addresses!

Write early! Write often!

New York Times Editorial Opinion April 23rd 2008

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:24:15 EDT

New York Times

Editorial Opinion

The Low Road to Victory Published: April 23, 2008

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.

On the eve of this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the narrator intoned.

If that was supposed to bolster Mrs. Clinton’s argument that she is the better prepared to be president in a dangerous world, she sent the opposite message on Tuesday morning by declaring in an interview on ABC News that if Iran attacked Israel while she were president: “We would be able to totally obliterate them.”

By staying on the attack and not engaging Mr. Obama on the substance of issues like terrorism, the economy and how to organize an orderly exit from Iraq, Mrs. Clinton does more than just turn off voters who don’t like negative campaigning. She undercuts the rationale for her candidacy that led this page and others to support her: that she is more qualified, right now, to be president than Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama is not blameless when it comes to the negative and vapid nature of this campaign. He is increasingly rising to Mrs. Clinton’s bait, undercutting his own claims that he is offering a higher more inclusive form of politics. When she criticized his comments about “bitter” voters, Mr. Obama mocked her as an Annie Oakley wannabe. All that does is remind Americans who are on the fence about his relative youth and inexperience.

No matter what the high-priced political operatives (from both camps) may think, it is not a disadvantage that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton share many of the same essential values and sensible policy prescriptions. It is their strength, and they are doing their best to make voters forget it. And if they think that only Democrats are paying attention to this spectacle, they’re wrong.

After seven years of George W. Bush’s failed with-us-or-against-us presidency, all American voters deserve to hear a nuanced debate — right now and through the general campaign — about how each candidate will combat terrorism, protect civil liberties, address the housing crisis and end the war in Iraq.

It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs.

NC GOP Statement about Obama

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:17:49 EDT

This is what we are going up against in NC______________________________________________
NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY
1506 Hillsborough Street • Raleigh, NC 27605
Phone: 919-828-6423 • Fax: 919-899-3815 • www.NCGOP.org
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Contact: Brent Woodcox, Communications Director, 919-828-6423
OBAMA: NOTHING’S CHANGED BUT HIS STORY
RALEIGH—Barack Obama is visiting Raleigh and Greenville for campaign events in North Carolina today. As part of his campaign in North Carolina, he has run an ad entitled, “Nothing’s Changed.”
Obama, in his own words:
"Since the gas lines of the ’70s, Democrats and Republicans have talked about energy independence, but nothing's changed — except now Exxon's making $40 billion a year, and we're paying $3.50 for gas. I'm Barack Obama. I don't take money from oil companies or Washington lobbyists, and I won't let them block change anymore.”
(“Nothing’s Changed” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCwLIOmf2PM)
But Obama does take money from oil company executives:
“But Obama's campaign has accepted $213,000 in contributions from people who work in the oil and gas industry or their spouses, according to the Center For Responsive Politics. And according to FactCheck.org, Obama's campaign has received money from executives of ExxonMobil ($30,850), Hess ($5,200), Shell ($9,900), ConocoPhillips ($4,300), Chevron ($9,500) and BP ($6,396.)”
(“Claims Dept: Obama on gas prices” The News & Observer: Under the Dome blog, April 15, 2008 http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/ claims_dept_obama_on_gas_prices)
Obama also takes money from lobbyists:
“Barack Obama often boasts he is ‘the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists,’ yet his fundraising team includes 38 members of law firms that were paid $138 million last year to lobby the federal government, records show.
Those lawyers, including 10 former federal lobbyists, have pledged to raise at least $3.5 million for the Illinois senator's presidential race. Employees of their firms have given Obama's campaign $2.26 million, a USA TODAY analysis of campaign finance data shows.
Thirty-one of the 38 are law firm partners, who typically receive a share of their firm's lobbying fees. At least six of them have some managerial authority over lobbyists.”
(“Obama tied to lobbyists, but boasts of not taking money” USA Today, April 15, 2008 http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-04-15-obama_N.htm)
Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:
“Barack Obama’s claims to stand for change ring false. The only thing that keeps changing is his story. North Carolinians have had enough of politicians who play politics with the truth. We don’t want a President who talks down to us and expects us to be too naïve to check the facts. We know better. Barack Obama should be ashamed of himself. That is why voters who want a President who is known for straight talk and telling the truth even when it is difficult will cast their votes for John McCain this November.”
###

Speech in Evansville Indiana Tonight --April 23rd, 2008

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:01:16 EDT

"I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on her
victory tonight, and I want to thank the hundreds of
thousands of Pennsylvanians who stood with our campaign
today.

"There were a lot of folks who didn't think we could make
this a close race when it started. But we worked hard, and
we traveled across the state to big cities and small towns,
to factory floors and VFW halls. And now, six weeks later,
we closed the gap. We rallied people of every age and race
and background to our cause. And whether they were inspired
for the first time or for the first time in a long time, we
registered a record number of voters who will lead our
party to victory in November.

"These Americans cast their ballot for the same reason you
came here tonight; for the same reason that millions of
Americans have gone door-to-door and given whatever small
amount they can to this campaign; for the same reason that
we began this journey just a few hundred miles from here on
a cold February morning in Springfield - because we believe
that the challenges we face are bigger than the smallness
of our politics, and we know that this election is our
chance to change it.

"After fourteen long months, it's easy to forget this from
time to time - to lose sight of the fierce urgency of this
moment. It's easy to get caught up in the distractions and
the silliness and the tit-for-tat that consumes our
politics; the bickering that none of us are immune to, and
that trivializes the profound issues - two wars, an economy
in recession, a planet in peril.

"But that kind of politics is not why we're here. It's not
why I'm here and it's not why you're here.

"We're here because of the more than one hundred workers in
Logansport, Indiana who just found out that their company
has decided to move its entire factory to Taiwan.

"We're here because of the young man I met in Youngsville,
North Carolina who almost lost his home because he has
three children with cystic fibrosis and couldn't pay their
medical bills; who still doesn't have health insurance for
himself or his wife and lives in fear that a single illness
could cost them everything.

"We're here because there are families all across this
country who are sitting around the kitchen table right now
trying to figure out how to pay their insurance premiums,
and their kids' tuition, and still make the mortgage so
they're not the next ones in the neighborhood to put a For
Sale sign in the front yard; who will lay awake tonight
wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's
bills.

"We're not here to talk about change for change's sake, but
because our families, our communities, and our country
desperately need it. We're here because we can't afford to
keep doing what we've been doing for another four years. We
can't afford to play the same Washington games with the
same Washington players and expect a different result. Not
this time. Not now.

"We already know what we're getting from the other party's
nominee. John McCain has offered this country a lifetime of
service, and we respect that, but what he's not offering is
any meaningful change from the policies of George W. Bush.

"John McCain believes that George Bush's Iraq policy is a
success, so he's offering four more years of a war with no
exit strategy; a war that's sending our troops on their
third tour, and fourth tour, and fifth tour of duty; a war
that's costing us billions of dollars a month and hasn't
made us any safer.

"John McCain said that George Bush's economic policies have
led to "great progress" over the last seven years, and so
he's promising four more years of tax cuts for CEOs and
corporations who didn't need them and weren't asking for
them; tax cuts that he once voted against because he said
they "offended his conscience."

"Well they may have stopped offending John McCain's
conscience somewhere along the road to the White House, but
George Bush's economic policies still offend ours. Because
I don't think that the 232,000 Americans who've lost their
jobs this year are seeing the great progress that John
McCain has seen. I don't think the millions of Americans
losing their homes have seen that progress. I don't think
the families without health care and the workers without
pensions have seen that progress. And if we continue down
the same reckless path, I don't think that future
generations who'll be saddled with debt will see these as
years of progress.

"We already know that John McCain offers more of the same.
The question is not whether the other party will bring
about change in Washington - the question is, will we?

"Because the truth is, the challenges we face are not just
the fault of one man or one party. How many years - how
many decades - have we been talking about solving our
health care crisis? How many Presidents have promised to
end our dependence on foreign oil? How many jobs have gone
overseas in the 70s, and the 80s, and the 90s? And we still
haven't done anything about it. And we know why.

"In every election, politicians come to your cities and
your towns, and they tell you what you want to hear, and
they make big promises, and they lay out all these plans
and policies. But then they go back to Washington when the
campaign's over. Lobbyists spend millions of dollars to get
their way. The status quo sets in. And instead of fighting
for health care or jobs, Washington ends up fighting over
the latest distraction of the week. It happens year after
year after year.

"Well this is your chance to say "Not this year." This is
your chance to say "Not this time." We have a choice in
this election.

"We can be a party that says there's no problem with taking
money from Washington lobbyists - from oil lobbyists and
drug lobbyists and insurance lobbyists. We can pretend that
they represent real Americans and look the other way when
they use their money and influence to stop us from
reforming health care or investing in renewable energy for
yet another four years.

"Or this time, we can recognize that you can't be the
champion of working Americans if you're funded by the
lobbyists who drown out their voices. We can do what we've
done in this campaign, and say that we won't take a dime of
their money. We can do what I did in Illinois, and in
Washington, and bring both parties together to rein in
their power so we can take our government back. It's our
choice.

"We can be a party that thinks the only way to look tough
on national security is to talk, and act, and vote like
George Bush and John McCain. We can use fear as a tactic,
and the threat of terrorism to scare up votes.

"Or we can decide that real strength is asking the tough
questions before we send our troops to fight. We can see
the threats we face for what they are - a call to rally all
Americans and all the world against the common challenges
of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons;
climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's
what it takes to keep us safe in the world. That's the real
legacy of Roosevelt and Kennedy and Truman.

"We can be a party that says and does whatever it takes to
win the next election. We can calculate and poll-test our
positions and tell everyone exactly what they want to hear.

"Or we can be the party that doesn't just focus on how to
win but why we should. We can tell everyone what they need
to hear about the challenges we face. We can seek to regain
not just an office, but the trust of the American people
that their leaders in Washington will tell them the truth.
That's the choice in this election.

"We can be a party of those who only think like we do and
only agree with all our positions. We can continue to slice
and dice this country into Red States and Blue States. We
can exploit the divisions that exist in our country for
pure political gain.

"Or this time, we can build on the movement we've started
in this campaign - a movement that's united Democrats,
Independents, and Republicans; a movement of young and old,
rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native
American. Because one thing I know from traveling to
forty-six states this campaign season is that we're not as
divided as our politics suggests. We may have different
stories and different backgrounds, but we hold common hopes
for the future of this country.

"In the end, this election is still our best chance to
solve the problems we've been talking about for decades -
as one nation; as one people. Fourteen months later, that
is still what this election is about.

"Millions of Americans who believe we can do better - that
we must do better - have put us in a position to bring
about real change. Now it's up to you, Indiana. You can
decide whether we're going to travel the same worn path, or
whether we chart a new course that offers real hope for the
future.

"During the course of this campaign, we've all learned what
my wife reminds me of all the time - that I am not a
perfect man. And I will not be a perfect President. And so
while I will always listen to you, and be honest with you,
and fight for you every single day for the next for years,
I will also ask you to be a part of the change that we
need. Because in my two decades of public service to this
country, I have seen time and time again that real change
doesn't begin in the halls of Washington, but on the
streets of America. It doesn't happen from the top-down, it
happens from the bottom-up.

"I also know that real change has never been easy, and it
won't be easy this time either. The status quo in
Washington will fight harder than they ever have to divide
us and distract us with ads and attacks from now until
November.

"But don't ever forget that you have the power to change
this country.

"You can make this election about how we're going to help
those workers in Logansport; how we're going to re-train
them, and educate them, and make our workforce competitive
in a global economy.

"You can make this election about how we're going to make
health care affordable for that family in North Carolina;
how we're going to help those families sitting around the
kitchen table tonight pay their bills and stay in their
homes.

"You can make this election about how we plan to leave our
children and all children a planet that's safer and a world
that still sees America the same way my father saw it from
across the ocean - as a beacon of all that is good and all
that is possible for all mankind.

"It is now our turn to follow in the footsteps of all those
generations who sacrificed and struggled and faced down the
greatest odds to perfect our improbable union. And if we're
willing to do what they did; if we're willing to shed our
cynicism and our doubts and our fears; if we're willing to
believe in what's possible again; then I believe that we
won't just win this primary election, we won't just win
this election in November, we will change this country, and
keep this country's promise alive in the twenty-first
century. Thank you, and may God Bless the United States of
America."

Time to Donate!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:42:00 EDT

Time to Donate!

It looks like we will fall short of the outright victory tonight. But we still have lost very little ground in our march to the White House. There is one thing we can be certain about when we hear the Clinton campaign try and make tonight the victory of all victories. She will tout the money she has raised overnight.
She needs to be able to tell the super delegates in the morning that she had received X amount of donations after her victory. She can only win with the help of the super delegates, and her fundraising is a big question on their minds. She has sent out a mass email asking for $5 donations, not just to get a cash influx, but also by asking for a small amount she will get more numbers when it comes to people donating. She needs a large number to flash the super delegates with.
We need to counter this ploy from the Hillary campaign. We need to show the same support for the good Sen. Obama, and donate tonight. We need numbers to counter whatever she has to say in the morning. If the super delegates see that even in defeat we are not defeated, then her win in Pennsylvania will be like her words; empty, shallow, and vain.
Do it now. Anything! 5, 10, 15, 20 25, 50, 100. Whatever the amount, we need to get our day after number up.
Think of it this way; can you, after 8 years of hearing the voice of George Bush, spend 4 years listening to the voice of a president Hillary Clinton?
Do it tonight! Donate Now!
Let us fight the good fight, and show the super delegates that we will not let the shillary continue.

Your comrade in thought and deed!
Matthew McGovern

Time to Donate!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:40:20 EDT

Time to Donate!

It looks like we will fall short of the outright victory tonight. But we still have lost very little ground in our march to the White House. There is one thing we can be certain about when we hear the Clinton campaign try and make tonight the victory of all victories. She will tout the money she has raised overnight.

She needs to be able to tell the super delegates in the morning that she had received X amount of donations after her victory. She can only win with the help of the super delegates, and her fundraising is a big question on their minds. She has sent out a mass email asking for $5 donations, not just to get a cash influx, but also by asking for a small amount she will get more numbers when it comes to people donating. She needs a large number to flash the super delegates with.

We need to counter this ploy from the Hillary campaign. We need to show the same support for the good Sen. Obama, and donate tonight. We need numbers to counter whatever she has to say in the morning. If the super delegates see that even in defeat we are not defeated, then her win in Pennsylvania will be like her words; empty, shallow, and vain.

Do it now. Anything! 5, 10, 15, 20 25, 50, 100. Whatever the amount, we need to get our day after number up.

Think of it this way; can you, after 8 years of hearing the voice of George Bush, spend 4 years listening to the voice of a president Hillary Clinton?

Do it tonight! Donate Now!

Let us fight the good fight, and show the super delegates that we will not let the shillary continue.

Your comrade in thought and deed!

Matthew McGovern

Time to Donate!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:36:24 EDT

Time to Donate!

Do it now. Anything! 5, 10, 15, 20 25, 50, 100. Whatever the amount, we need to get our day after number up.

Think of it this way; can you, after 8 years of hearing the voice of George Bush, spend 4 years listening to the voice of a president Hillary Clinton?

Do it tonight! Donate Now!

Let us fight the good fight, and show the super delegates that we will not let the shillary continue.

Your comrade in thought and deed!

Matthew McGovern

Time to Donate!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:26:41 EDT

Upward and Onward!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:37:50 EDT

Upward and Onward

The race is to early and close to call! That's great! Close is good, especially since she had a 20+ lead 6 weeks ago. It's the neighboring state to New York. She has a strong case for being from there. Close is fine!

No matter how it turns out, we know something important, and that is that we have caused Hillary to spend herself into a hole. With her big pocket donors tapped out, the only money she can really count on will have to come from the internet, which as we all know, is the good Senator Obama's ball court. They cried that they were outspent. Let them cry, because we know that she would have spent the cash if she had it. She has what Keith Olbermann has called, "a salary cap."

Now our job is that much more clear for us. We must redouble our efforts and continue our attack. We should focus for the next 2 weeks on a few things:

We need to keep on top of the media. We need to force them to be as equal in time and attitude as possible. No more allowing them to play yellow journalism on us. Letters to the MSM telling them that we demand them to be more impartial.
Letters to newspapers in the upcoming primary's. We need to get as many people to send their pro Obama letters to the editors of the Indiana and North Carolina (May 6th), and Guam (May 3rd), newspapers. They should be sent to the local & statewide newspapers.
Volunteering in the given primary states. Getting in touch with local state campaign HQ's. Find out what can be done.
Letters to the uncommitted Super delegates. Urging uncommitted super delegates, especially from your own states, to come out for Barack. While we are at it, urge committed super delegates for Hillary to switch.
Donate! Give what you can.

These are just a few suggestions. But, one thing we need to focus on, is that Barack Obama is the right man for the job. His wisdom in past choices is far superior to the PAC & Lobbyist beholden Clinton. Stay strong, work hard, do the right thing!

Your comrade in arms and thought!

Matthew McGovern

Upward and Onward

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:26:01 EDT

Upward and Onward

Now our job is that much more clear for us. We must redouble our efforts and continue our attack. We should focus for the next 2 weeks on a few things:

We need to keep on top of the media. We need to force them to be as equal in time and attitude as possible. No more allowing them to play yellow journalism on us. Letters to the MSM telling them that we demand them to be more impartial.
Letters to newspapers in the upcoming primary's. We need to get as many people to send their pro Obama letters to the editors of the Indiana and North Carolina (May 6th), and Guam (May 3rd), newspapers. They should be sent to the local & statewide newspapers.
Volunteering in the given primary states. Getting in touch with local state campaign HQ's. Find out what can be done.
Letters to the uncommitted Super delegates. Urging uncommitted super delegates, especially from your own states, to come out for Barack. While we are at it, urge committed super delegates for Hillary to switch.
Donate! Give what you can.

Your comrade in arms and thought!

Matthew McGovern

Now on to Barack

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:49:52 EDT

Now that we have all come to a conclusion with the silly hubbub, let us regroup, and strike forth for Obama.

I am looking for people to help gather information for actionable causes. I have formed the Action Information Forum.

This group is focused on being a central location for information regarding actionable events we supporters may encounter. These events may come in many forms, anywhere from letter writing to phone calling members of the Main Stream Media and Congress. The object of this group is to be able to lend informational support for those other groups that are attempting to do some form of outreach for the Obama Campaign. Again, the focus of the Action Information Forum is to be a clearing house for needed information for supporter outreach.

The creation of such a central information repository will allow us to create a much easier environment for supporters to take action and empower themselves within the campaign. It is one thing to write an email of support for Sen. Obama, but to have to spend as much time looking for the right place to send it, cuts into the energy and time of the individual supporter.

Please feel free to give suggestions and comments which your chosen field of expertise has given to you. A burden heavy to one, is carried lightly by many! I hope that you will consider joining the Action Information Forum, and contribute your ideas, enthusiasm, time and knowledge, to helping bring Sen. Obama to the place he needs to be; The White House!

If you would rather not take an active role in this group, that is fine, but I do ask that if you come across some useful information, just send it to me with what it is in the subject. (Ex. INFO: phone numbers for Chris Matthews).

If you would like to take a more active role, just go to the group page and join. In the next few days I am sending out an email with more details.

Anyway, be well, fight the good fight, and whatever you do, do your best.

Thank you and YES WE CAN!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ActionInformationForum

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Listen Mary! Enough of your chaos.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:02:08 EDT

Listen Mary,

First off you are wrong! Plain and simple! Not one of my links led to a cookie or anything. Did you ever think that the virus had been on your system and activated at that point. Besides the technical impossibility of the Google page giving you a virus, I would have been notified if there was a rerouting of the link. The issue happened when I transferred the CNN page from my Frontpage prog to the Blog. Nobody attempts to hack me without me being notified. Period! Before you start making serious attacks on my credibility and integrity, understand the technology you are using when you go on the internet.

If you had any comprehension as to what it was I wrote in response to your accusations, you would realize that if anyone between us looked to have the possibility of being a Hillary shill, then someone who falls within the demographic of a Hillary supporter and a disenfranchised feeling voter from Florida would be where one would start to look. AND, if you would have understood what I wrote, you would have read where I said that I DID NOT think that you were a Hillary shill.

Direct quote ---

” With such quick and easy judgment, based on NOTHING, people might think that the poster (a woman from Florida…Hillary demographics) was possibly a disgruntled voter, who unjustly blames Sen. Obama, was a Hillary shill herself. I do not think she is, personally, but I do think she has taken things she does not understand (i.e. a Google page that gives you a virus), and runs with the first negative thing she can think of.”

Again, I gave you no virus, and you have wasted my valuable time dealing with inane issue, while I could be continuing to get OUR guy into the White House. I do hate it when peoples computers get muffed, but I will not apologize, say oops, or I am sorry, for something I did not do, and for which I am sure, after your comments, you really do not understand it how it happened.

----------

Thus, I owe you no apology. Yet, should I bill you for my time in dealing with this great big waste of time? For heavens to Betsy, focus your time and energy on something that will help OUR candidate and not on something that helps you vent the anger over getting a virus and your frustration in not really understanding it.

If you need some work to do, I really could use some help in gathering information for my Action Information Forum group.

Enough of your silliness, for you see, there is real work to be done.

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

(Cheap plug for the Action Information Forum group)

Hello Fellow Obama Supporter,

Again, the focus of the Action Information Forum is to be a clearing house for needed information for supporter outreach. The creation of such a central information repository will allow us to create a much easier environment for supporters to take action and empower themselves within the campaign. It is one thing to write an email of support for Sen. Obama, but to have to spend as much time looking for the right place to send it, cuts into the energy and time of the individual supporter.

Thank you and YES WE CAN!

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ActionInformationForum

Today is a big day in the process!!!!

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:13:05 EDT

Fellow Obama Supporters,

Today is a big day in the process, and a day that will tell us many things. We know that either way we will leave this day with a sense of victory. We went into Pennsylvania with a 20+ deficit, and have made many inroads into the opposition’s rhetoric.

At the end of the day, we will lead in overall delegates, popular vote, states won, and still have maintained the higher ground, while our opponent has continued to put the future of our Party in danger of fracturing.

We have better honed our grassroots activities, and come together even more.

After today, the chances that Hillary will drop out are small. Yet, that is fine, for we are only getting started. Our activities here, and the time we all have spent, have only made us stronger, and more readily capable for the McCain defeat.

If you have not done so yet, I encourage you all to call your friends and family in PA. Let them know the truth about Sen. Obama. Remind them of the pandering and twisted truths that Hillary loves to share.

Above all, fight the good fight, and stand strong and proud of what we do.

GO OBAMA

Matthew McGovern

Mary accuses me of being a Hillary spy?

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:37:36 EDT

Mary accuses me of being a Hillary spy?

If she cared to look at my record here on the MYBO site, she would know how ludicrous and insane such a claim is. I take great offense at my loyalty and belief in what WE are doing here being questioned. And, to do it so quickly and dismissively is just pitiful.

With such quick and easy judgment, based on NOTHING, people might think that the poster (a woman from Florida…Hillary demographics) was possibly a disgruntled voter, who unjustly blames Sen. Obama, was a Hillary shill herself.

I do not think she is, personally, but I do think she has taken things she does not understand (i.e. a Google page that gives you a virus), and runs with the first negative thing she can think of.

If Mary would have bothered to look at my total blog record, she would have found that (to the best of my knowledge) every information oriented posting with links that I have posted, has worked. I wonder why she did not bother posting her comments about me being a spy, etc. on the posting that she questioned in the first place. If it were not for some of my good Obama friends who notified me of this libelous act on the part of Mary, I would never had known.

I normally would just ignore something like this (not that it has ever happened before), but this accusation really upset me when she said that she has reported me. It is things like this that waste the time of everyone. The creation, of division, of doubt, of paranoia, and fear (in the case of informational links), takes time and energy away from getting our guy into the White House.

Anyway, nuff said!

Any questions or comments:

The.Mcgovern.Minute@gmail.com

(Shameless plug: I have formed a group called: Action Information Forum. Come check it out and if it seems to be something your into, feel free to join.) -M

WELCOME! Intro Blog Posting

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:51:17 EDT

Hello Fellow Obama Supporter,

The object of this group is to be able to lend informational support for those other groups that are attempting to do some form of outreach for the Obama Campaign. Again, the focus of the Action Information Forum is to be a clearing house for needed information for supporter outreach. The creation of such a central information repository will allow us to create a much easier environment for supporters to take action and empower themselves within the campaign.

It is one thing to write an email of support for Sen. Obama, but to have to spend as much time looking for the right place to send it, cuts into the energy and time of the individual supporter.

Please feel free to give suggestions and comments which your chosen field of expertise has given to you. A burden heavy to one, is carried lightly by many!

I hope that you will consider joining the Action Information Forum, and contribute your ideas, enthusiasm, time and knowledge, to helping bring Sen. Obama to the place he needs to be; The White House!

Thank you and YES WE CAN!

Matthew McGovern

The.mcgovern.minute@gmail.com

Gibson's capital-gains tax assertion during debate disputed by economists

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:24:24 EDT

Fri, Apr 18, 2008 8:41pm ET

Gibson's capital-gains tax assertion during debate disputed by economists

Summary: During the April 16 Democratic presidential debate, Charles Gibson asserted of capital-gains tax cuts that "in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down." In fact, economists dispute Gibson's assertion. Moreover, looking forward, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the 2006 extension of the 2003 cuts on capital-gains taxes would result in decreased revenues over 10 years.

During the April 16 Democratic presidential debate, co-moderator and ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson asserted of capital-gains tax cuts that "in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down." Gibson later asserted that "history shows that when you drop the capital-gains tax, the revenues go up." In fact, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, asserted in an April 17 American Prospect blog post addressing Gibson's statements: "[T]he evidence that a capital gains tax cut raises revenue is rather dubious, since most of the apparent increase is likely due to timing: investors delay selling stock when they know a tax cut is imminent. After the cut takes effect, they then declare their gains and pay taxes at the lower rate." Indeed, a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Revenue and Tax Policy Brief states that "[r]ising gains receipts in response to a rate cut are most likely to occur in the short run" and that investor responses to capital-gains tax cuts in the short term can "mislead observers."

From the CBO brief:

Because taxes are paid on realized rather than accrued capital gains, taxpayers have a great deal of control over when they pay their capital gains taxes. By choosing to hold on to an asset, a taxpayer defers the tax. The incentive to do that -- even when it might otherwise be financially desirable to sell an asset -- is known as the lock-in effect. As a consequence of that incentive, the level of the tax rate can substantially influence when asset holders realize their gains, as can be seen particularly clearly when tax rates change. ... For instance, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 boosted capital gains tax rates effective at the beginning of 1987. Anticipating that increase, investors realized a huge amount of gains in 1986. Then, in 1987, realizations fell by almost as much, returning to a level comparable to that before the tax increase.
[...]
The sensitivity of realizations to gains tax rates raises the possibility that a cut in the rate could so increase realizations that revenue from capital gains taxes might rise as a consequence. Rising gains receipts in response to a rate cut are most likely to occur in the short run. Postponing or advancing realizations by a year is relatively easy compared with doing so over much longer periods. In addition, a stock of accumulated gains may be realized shortly after the rate is cut, but once that accumulation is "unlocked," the stock of accrued gains is smaller and realizations cannot continue at as fast a rate as they did initially. Thus, even though the responsiveness of realizations to a tax cut may not be enough to produce additional receipts over a long period, it may do so over a few years. The potentially large difference between the long- and short-term sensitivity of realizations to tax rates can mislead observers into assuming a greater permanent responsiveness than actually exists.
Because of the other influences on realizations, the relationship between them and tax rates can be hard to detect and easy to confuse with other phenomena. For example, a number of observers have attributed the rapid rise in realizations in the late 1990s to the 1997 cut in capital gains tax rates. But the 45 percent increase in realizations in 1996--before the cut--exceeded the 40 percent and 25 percent increases in 1997 and 1998 that followed it. Careful studies have failed to agree on how responsive gains realizations are to changes in tax rates, with estimates of that responsiveness varying widely.

In its conclusion, the CBO brief states that "the relationship of realizations and receipts to gains tax rates is neither predictable nor obvious."

Addressing Gibson's question in an April 16 entry on washingtonpost.com's Fact Checker blog, Post staff writer Glenn Kessler cited the CBO brief and wrote: "Charlie Gibson twice challenged Obama on the question of why he might consider raising capital gains taxes when, he claimed, cuts in the tax always results in increases in revenues. Gibson must be unduly worried about his stock portfolio. Gibson is right that a cut in capital gains taxes results in a brief increase in revenue, but that's only because stockholders decide to unload some stocks they have held in the new tax regime; there is less incentive to sell the stock if you know the rate is going to soon drop." In a New Republic blog post about Gibson's question, Jonathan Cohn quoted Brookings Institution economist Jason Furman as follows: "Joint Committee on Taxation and Treasury both score raising capital gains taxes as raising revenues. There is some behavioral response but much of that is timing and doesn't affect the medium-to-long term revenue loss." According to Cohn, Furman stated that "the experience after the 1997 cut and the 2003 cut is not a meaningful way to assess the impact of capital gains tax cuts on revenues because so many things were happening simultaneously."

Further, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that the 2006 extension of the 2003 cuts on capital-gains taxes would result in decreased revenues of $20 billion over 10 years.

In addition, numerous economists have said that cuts in capital-gains taxes do not pay for themselves, let alone increase revenue. In an article published in the Journal of Public Economics, N. Gregory Mankiw -- former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers -- and Matthew Weinzierl asked, "To what extent does a tax cut pay for itself?" Mankiw and Weinzierl concluded, "In almost all cases, tax cuts are partly self-financing. This is especially true for cuts in capital income taxes" [emphasis added]. Discussing those findings in a 2007 blog post, Mankiw noted, "Matthew Weinzierl and I estimated that a broad-based income tax cut (applying to both capital and labor income) would recoup only about a quarter of the lost revenue through supply-side growth effects. For a cut in capital income taxes, the feedback is larger -- about 50 percent -- but still well under 100 percent." A May 17, 2006, Knight Ridder Newspapers article citing Mankiw's study noted that "paybacks of 50 ... percent still mean a net revenue loss for the Treasury." The article also reported, "Treasury Secretary John Snow conceded Tuesday that the much-touted tax cuts for capital gains and dividend income don't drive today's strong economy. Asked by Knight Ridder if the tax reductions paid for themselves, Snow acknowledged that they don't."

From ABC's April 16 Democratic presidential debate:

GIBSON: You have, however, said you would favor an increase in the capital-gains tax. As a matter of fact, you said on CNBC, and I quote, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28 percent."
It's now 15 percent. That's almost a doubling if you went to 28 percent. But actually, Bill Clinton in 1997 signed legislation that dropped the capital gains tax to 20 percent.
OBAMA: Right.
GIBSON: And George Bush has taken it down to 15 percent.
OBAMA: Right.
GIBSON: And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that 100 million people in this country own stock and would be affected?
OBAMA: Well, Charlie, what I've said is that I would look at raising the capital-gains tax for purposes of fairness. We saw an article today which showed that the top 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year -- $29 billion for 50 individuals. And part of what has happened is that those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair.
And what I want is not oppressive taxation. I want businesses to thrive, and I want people to be rewarded for their success. But what I also want to make sure is that our tax system is fair and that we are able to finance health care for Americans who currently don't have it and that we're able to invest in our infrastructure and invest in our schools.
And you can't do that for free, and you can't take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children and our grandchildren and then say that you're cutting taxes, which is essentially what John McCain has been talking about. And that is irresponsible.
You know, I believe in the principle that you pay as you go. And, you know, you don't propose tax cuts unless you are closing other tax breaks for individuals. And you don't increase spending unless you're eliminating some spending or you're finding some new revenue. That's how we got an additional $4 trillion worth of debt under George Bush. That is helping to undermine our economy, and it's going to change when I'm president of the United States.
GIBSON: But history shows that when you drop the capital-gains tax, the revenues go up.

—J.H.

CNN Contact Information.

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:02:34 EDT

Here is a pretty good contact sheet for CNN. At the end if this email is a nice list that allows for quick and easy submission to directed people.Matthew_______________________________________________CNNWANT TO SUBMIT A NEWS TIP OR STORY IDEA?
• Click here to submit your news tip!
• Click here to submit your story idea!

WANT TO COMMENT ON THE TOP STORIES OF THE DAY?
• Click here to comment on any general news topic (Do you have a comment that is not specific to one of the shows below?)

• Did you notice an error on CNN TV? Click here here to let us know!

• Do you want to advertise on CNN TV? Click here to submit your request!

CNN SHOW COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANCHORS AND REPORTERS

• Christiane Amanpour
• Wolf Blitzer
• Jack Cafferty
• Jim Clancy
• Heidi Collins
• Anderson Cooper
• Carol Costello
• Lou Dobbs
• Hala Gorani
• Sanjay Gupta
• Tony Harris
• Erica Hill
• T.J. Holmes
• Larry King
• Howard Kurtz
• Don Lemon
• Susan Lisovicz
• Betty Nguyen
• Miles O'Brien
• Soledad O'Brien
• Kyra Phillips
• John Roberts
• Rick Sanchez
• Ali Vashi
• Fredricka Whitfield
• Gerri Willis
• Other

Contact numbers for NBC executives

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:26:36 EDT

Contact numbers for NBC executives

TO CONTACT NBC Executives:

Bob WrightVice Chairman and Executive Officer, GEChairman and Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal
Headquarters30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: robert.wright@nbcuni.com
Phone: (212) 664-4444Fax: (201) 583-5453

Jeff ZuckerPresident, NBC Universal Television Group
Headquarters30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
E-mail: jeff.zucker@nbcuni.com
Phone: (212) 664-4444Fax: (201) 583-5453
Neal Shapiro -- NBC News
NBC News PresidentHeadquarters30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
E-mail: neal.shapiro@msnbc.com Phone: (212) 664-4444Fax: (201) 583-5453

David Verdi -- NBC News
Executive News Director
Headquarters30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: david.verdi@nbc.com Phone: (212) 664-4444Fax: (201) 583-5453
Bill Wheatley -- NBC News
News Vice President - PlanningHeadquarters30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: bill.wheatley@nbc.com Phone: (212) 664-3882Fax: (201) 583-5453

TO CONTACT NBC Nightly News:

Steve Capus -- NBC News
Executive ProducerNBC Nightly News with Brian Williams30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
E-mail: nightly@msnbc.com Phone: (212) 664-4691Fax: (212) 664-6044

Brian Williams -- NBC News
Anchor; Managing EditorNBC Nightly News with Brian Williams30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: brian.williams@nbc.com Phone: (212) 664-4691Fax: (212) 664-6044

TO CONTACT The Today Show:

Tom Touchet -- NBC News
Executive ProducerToday Show30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: today@nbc.com Phone: (212) 664-4249Fax: (212) 664-2914Eliott Sparkman-Walker -- NBC News
ProducerToday Show30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112E-mail: eliott.walker@nbc.com Phone: (212) 664-3230Fax: (212) 664-2914

Ready to bridge yesterday and tomorrow

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:35:09 EDT

Response to Di (Di phoenix)

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:01:14 EDT

Di from Madison, WI,

Thanks for being my friend. I really am glad that you pointed out the number groups I have joined. And yes, I am not a student in Germany, even though I did study German and Spanish in high school (and Russian in college), that was not my point in joining that particular group. I do currently live in Kentucky, Louisville to be more specific, but that was brought about due to my two grandmothers nearing their final days (one here, the other in New York). I decided to return to the United States so as to be able to spend time with them near the end.

I have lived in the Czech Republic, and returned from Spain (Barcelona) recently, due to my previous explanation. I graduated with degrees in Sociology, Psychology, and Criminology. My enjoyment of different human groups, various types of people, and the way they deal with themselves and others in a living environment, is a passion I have held for a very long time. For me, the “groups” have allowed me to follow greatly many different groups of people, from many different social worlds, learning about the things that are important to them, the ways in which they may view the world, as well as the overall unity people feel with those they do not know.

It might help you to understand that I was born in Tennessee, lived in Indiana and Kentucky, and then in 1975 my father moved the lot of us to Washington, DC. To my surprise, I found that the diversity of the Washington Metro area, and the classmates from more than 50+ other countries that shared my classes, childhood and young adulthood, became a dear essence for my human spirit.

I know it has only been a while since I have been a supporter of Sen. Obama on this website, but I have supported him since the convention speech in many different capacities. The points mean nothing. For me it is being able to connect with so many people from so many various places. I would suggest to you, that you also join a group (or groups) from someplace outside of your comfort zone. Yes, Sen. Obama’s site is to bring people together. To help us all connect and unify. Not just a few people in a few groups (but that is an important human connection in the movement as well).

“I doubt it is entirely to help the Obama campaign.” Why would you, without knowing me, or the reasons that I enjoy the site, assume that that would be the case? You mention Points. The points have no value. That assumption I find offensive and unfounded. “Is it to increase your point amount, or to get The McGovern Minute up and running?” The McGovern Minute is nothing more then a communication device to share various things I find of interest with a great many people that I have become friends with here. I make no money, plan to make no money with it, and personally do not need to make money. “These groups are meant to connect specific people, and give strength to minorities (be they black Americans, German students, or StarBucks frequenters in Flint Michigan), so that they can have one strong voice together. That is what My.BarackObama is about. Uniting us, so that we can better reach a common goal. Not bettering a rank, or furthering some sort of Posting Other Peoples News career.”

Now, your accusatorial tone seems to be turning ugly and judgmental. I must have missed the operator’s guide they handed out when I joined this aspect of the good Sen.’s campaign. Do you honestly feel that this website is intended to join the person(s) from town A, to the person(s) 10 miles down the road in town B? It is, partly, but it is also a way that a great many people, from a great many places, can come together and experience the bonding and unity that the new ideology and perspective Barack Obama is bringing to America. There is a new way in which to see and become a part of America, and subsequently, the World. So please do not try to tell me what this website is, or is not, about.

Have you honestly gone through the groups; All of them? And if you have, which at this point I do not believe you have, has there not been a single one (outside of the 5 you have joined) that holds no interest for you? If you have not, then that is perfectly fine. But please do not assume anything about me, or my relationship with this website. Look beyond your assumptions of nefariousness on my part, and open your eyes to the possibilities of true movement unity that this site offers.

Clear your presuppositions, and do away with the attitude of divisiveness you have brought to the site; open up to the world out there. A world filled with so many wonderful and sharing people.

“If you're such a big Barack supporter, please respect the site that bares his name”.

The McGovern Minute -- Articles in the Media -- 4/18/08

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:57:39 EDT

Friday, April 18, 2008

To Subscribe and/or comment:

The.McGovern.Minute@gmail.com

Articles in the Media

[1] Superdelegates unswayed by Clinton's attacks:

Cross-section shows that none were persuaded by her Pa. debate tactics

By Patrick Healy

New York TimesPosted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[2] Former '60s Radical Is Now Considered Mainstream in Chicago

By Peter Slevin

The Washington

PostPosted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[3] Obama Looks To Turn Debate Into a Victory

Harsh Tone Is Symptomatic Of Politics as Usual, He Says

By Shailagh Murray and Perry Bacon Jr.

The Washington

PostPosted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[4] Ongoing nomination fight hurting Clinton more than Obama

By Charles Babington & Trevor Tompson

Associated Press Writers

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[5] Rachel Maddow Hands Joe Scarborough His Ass

By lookit

Daily Kos

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[6] Obama: Let's campaign, not have more debates

By CNN

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[7] Poll: Obama overtaking Clinton despite bruises

Majority of Democratic voters say Ill. senator more likely to beat McCain

By MSNBC/Associated Press

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[8] Cornered Clinton on attack in debate

By Geoff Elliott

The Australian

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[9] Blue-Collar Distrust of Obama in the Rust Belt

By Cordula Meyer

Der Spiegal Online International

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

[10] Democratic debate gets personal

By Jamie Coomarasamy

BBC News, Philadelphia

Posted: 04/18/2008

_________________________________

An interesting Post from Wade Hudson

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:01:15 EDT

Post from Wade Hudson's Blog: Transforming the SystemBy Wade Hudson - Apr 17th, 2008 at 3:30 pm EDT Also listed in: 6 groups Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content Tags: strategy, system, systemic reform

Popular culture includes many references to "the system." Mass advertising, for example, occasionally affirms “beating the system.” The American Heritage Dictionary recently added the phrase “the system” and defines it as “the prevailing socialorder; the establishment.”

By building on this common-sense knowledge and clarifying the nature of today’s dominant social system, we can lay the foundation for transforming that system.

A system is a group of elements that work together as an integrated whole to perform a particular function. These components create a reality that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Systems adjust to maintain stability. A worker, for example, can cope with a bad job by getting sick, which enables the worker to escape temporarily. But after she is cured and returns to the workplace, the job eventually leads to another illness. The cycle repeats itself, the worker keeps the job, and the boss is happy.

A nation is a unified social system, a coherent whole composed of many social systems that fit together, as individuals participate in and rely on interlocking social networks. Without this harmony and sense of common identity, nation-based societies would disintegrate.

Modern social systems consist of formal public institutions (such as education, government, economy, media, religion, entertainment, sports, and science), informal social institutions (such as families), a common culture whose ideas and values are embedded within individuals, individuals who perpetuate the prevailing social order through their daily actions, and the natural environment within which they operate. All of these elements are interwoven into self-perpetuating social systems that reproduce themselves in the hearts, minds, and bodies of their members.

In recent decades, the world’s various societies have become integrated into a global social system. As the planet has been globalized, we have witnessed the consolidation of a global social system that shapes and manages the entire world. Throughout the world wherever you go, societies function in much the same manner. And they cooperate to protect each other’s interests.

Since human beings are purposeful creatures, social systems are devoted to a central purpose. To endure over time, a social system, whether an organization or society-at-large, must have a primary purpose. Secondary goals serve the primary purpose.

As one can determine the purpose of a tree by its fruit, one can determine a social system’s purpose by observing its nature. Being the world’s most powerful country, the United States clearly manifests the nature of our global social system.

Two central facts stand out concerning the United States: 1) One percent of the population owns 50 percent of the nation's wealth, and 2) We have the best government that money can buy.

These conditions are not God-given and they don't emerge spontaneously. Our society intentionally manufactures these realities. More than any other force, this dynamic explains how our society works. The global society’s primary purpose is to protect the wealth and power of the wealthy and powerful.Our society then persuades people that the elite are entitled to their wealth and power.

Wealth breeds power and power breeds wealth. Most people who are addicted to the pursuit of one, desire both. Money is a way to keep score, to know who has the most power. The lust for power and the desire to make money are so interwoven, they have become one. Life is a never-ending competition, as people strive for more money and power.

In 1912 former President Theodore Roosevelt stated, "Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people...[an] unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics." That same condition prevails today.

This country has never been a land of equal opportunity. From childhood on, the super-rich use their enormous advantages for their own benefit and pass on those advantages to their children and grandchildren. The top-level managers of our institutions carefully screen applicants to the corridors of power in order to assure that lower-level mangers operate within the limits of what is expected of them. If these trainees don’t play the game properly, the "old boys’ network" replaces them with others who are willing to act properly.

Any adolescent can resolve to enter the upper ranks, but only a few succeed, for the number of seats in the theater is always far less than the number of people who want inside. The overwhelming majority of Americans never rise far above the status of their parents. The social inheritance of wealth and power has replaced biological inheritance.

The governing elite move back-and-forth through the revolving door of big business, media, the military, and government -- enriching themselves and their friends along the way. This elite consists of people who share common values and characteristics. They circulate in the highest circles and collaborate to wield controlling influence over all of our major institutions.

A few positions of power are left open for people who aren't born into privilege. This limited openness enables the elite to argue that the system is fair. It also serves as a safety valve to let off pressure, as the more ambitious try to gain what is denied to the great majority.

So individual executives are not the primary problem. They deserve neither primary credit nor blame. They are disposable and they know it. “The players change but the game remains the same.” The system is self-perpetuating. The main problem is the "prevailing social order."

Real progress requires transforming this social system from bottom to top and from inside to outside. Through systemic reform, we can avoid only placing Band-Aids on gaping wounds. We can correct causes rather than merely attack symptoms. Otherwise, our actions allow the dominant social system to re-create the same problems.

Why Address the System?

We need to talk about systemic reform for many reasons.

Talking about systemic reform will help make it happen because naming a nightmare makes it easier to deal with it.

By placing our own specific work within the framework of systemic transformation, we can clarify our work’s connection with other work and help validate that other work, rather than discounting other efforts by insisting that our issue is the single most important issue.

By elaborating concretely what we mean by “systemic reform,” we can move beyond abstract rhetoric and more effectively connect with people.

Presenting a vision of systemic change will inspire people who want to do more than tinker.

Agreement on a long-term commitment to systemic change will help hold the progressive movement together over the long haul.

A focus on systemic change discourages scapegoating certain elements of the global social system – such as corporations, rich people, politicians, a particular President, the media, the ruling elite, the American people, the Republicans, or whomever. We can’t justifiably place primary blame on specific individuals or groups of individuals. All of us are responsible. Without our consent, the system could not function. Understanding that our social system is self-perpetuating helps us let go of excessive anger and adopt a more positive attitude that can be more effective in the long run.

Understanding and talking about our social system helps avoid the mistake of believing that self-improvement or spiritual growth alone is sufficient. Changing the world and changing ourselves are complementary and each is necessary. Political action contributes to personal growth and personal growth contributes to political progress.

Understanding and talking about our social system can prompt progressives to correct personal and organizational weaknesses that reinforce the system and undermine the effectiveness of our work.

Understanding and talking about our social system helps maintain many-sided awareness. Life is not a matter of all or nothing, or black-and-white. We can, for example, acknowledge and accept our weaknesses without allowing them to control us. We can allow private businesses to make a profit without neglecting their responsibilities to society, their workers, and the environment. We can be aware of future threats while being immersed in the present. We can understand the past without dwelling in it. We can use our rational mind while staying in touch with our feelings. And we can promote governments that exercise authority wisely without being authoritarian. A systemic analysis nurtures these attitudes.

Understanding and talking about our social system helps us avoid trying to predict the future and control others. Living systems are not machines. They are unpredictable, complex organisms, like a garden. Human beings are particularly unpredictable and uncontrollable. By nurturing self-determination and spontaneity, we foster creativity. By being open and flexible, we can resolve contradictions and find balance on a higher path. Life’s not always a matter of either/or. It's often both/and. It’s not always win/lose, it’s often win/win. We can take care of ourselves – and care for others. We can face fears – and shore up faith in the future. We can provide for ourselves financially – and participate in caring communities. We can love our selves – and love all humanity, life itself, and the source of life. In loving partnership with the rest of the world and Mother Nature, grounded in nonviolence as a political strategy and a way of life, we can create a new world. A systemic analysis fosters this kind of compassion.

Understanding and talking about our social system can encourage a synthesis between liberal and radical reform because steady change can lead to qualitative transformation. Slowly adding heat eventually turns water into steam. Biological evolution transforms one species into another. Likewise, human social evolution can move humanity to new forms of political and cultural organization. Liberal reforms can eventually lead to fundamental transformation.

By talking about and advancing comprehensive transformation, we, the people of the United States, can forge a new national identity by drawing on the best from all of our traditions. The United States is torn. On the one hand, we hold high ideals and have achieved remarkable progress. On the other hand, we don’t fully honor those ideals. By being honest about our weaknesses, we can better grow as a nation. We can create a more compassionate, just, sustainable, and democratic society that treats other nations fairly as members of a global community that no one country tries to dominate. We can join hands with other nations in partnership, rooted in the Earth Community, and build a positive upward spiral that will change the world.

For these reasons, progressives need to speak openly and as clearly as possible about transforming the global social system. By better understanding what we are doing and talking about it more honestly, we can be more effective.

Systemic Transformation

Communities need a sense of purpose and in most cases that purpose needs to be written, even if it is subject to revision. In recent decades, students of social organizations have come to emphasize the importance of clearly identifying, briefly and in writing, an organization’s primary mission. By doing so, the organization can better assure that its activities contribute to fulfilling ts mission.

Societies also need a central purpose. If we are to transform our global social system, we need a new purpose for our global community – one that is more fulfilling than the primary purpose of the current system, which is to protect the wealth and power of the elite.

Fortunately, on this question, there is no necessity to begin with a blank slate. The problem is not the lack of ideals. The problem is that we have not lived up to our ideals. As Edward Said wrote:

Great antiauthoritarian uprisings made their earliest advances, not by denying the humanitarian and universalist claims of the general dominant culture, but by attacking the adherents of that culture for failing to uphold their own declared standards, for failing to extend them to all, as opposed to a small fraction of humanity.

In this light, the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America is instructive. It begins:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We could update that statement by declaring, “Our purpose is to to promote the common good of our entire human family, help make the nations of our world more just and democratic, and protect our environment."

A progressive movement united behind clearly establishing that purpose as our society's mission would then need to adopt secondary goals to serve as means for achieving that end. Those secondary goals could be presented in a concise, written worldview that would be affirmed by all members of this movement when they join, with the understanding that they could later help reshape that statement as needed.

This statement would need to be:

    * Substantial, comprehensive, and clear enough to help hold a wide range of people together over time.
    * Grand enough to inspire people who want major change.
    * Practical enough to attract those who want to make a difference.
    * Short enough to be read easily.
    * Clear, honest, and coherent so members and potential members could trust where the movement is headed.

A written worldview like this would help recruit new members and inspire them to recruit their friends, relatives, and co-workers to join. Next week (I post here every Thursday shortly after 12 Noon Pacific Time), I will offer a rough draft of what such a statement could look like.

Until there is comprehensive transformation that creates a new global social system that helps us overcome our egocentric impulses and protect the Earth Community, we will continue to be afflicted with one crisis after another.

To accomplish this goal, we need to advance reform in every arena, all at the same time. Personal growth, social change, establishing harmony with the environment, cultural change, and restructuring our institutions – government, media, education, religion, families, parks, libraries, transportation, criminal justice, etc. – are all important. There won’t be a major breakthrough in one arena until there is a major breakthrough in every arena. Simultaneous change throughout society will be mutually reinforcing. We need a whole new way of life rooted in a common culture that respects diversity and local attachments, customs and practices – a culture of sub-cultures. We need to recognize that we are one human family.

Once we have established a new purpose for our society and transformed our institutions, our culture, and ourselves to serve that purpose, we will have transformed our global social system. In this way, we can fulfill humanity’s promise, reinforce our finest qualities, inspire each other to be better persons, and insist that our institutions live up to their highest ideals. By applying the same approach in every arena, we can create a global society that is truly democratic, just, loving, and peaceful – and protects the environment. Steady, coordinated, simultaneous, comprehensive progressive change can place us on an upward spiral leading to the transformation of our entire society, ourselves included.

The McGovern Minute Headlines in the Media April 17, 2008

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:45:05 EDT

Posted April 17th, 2008

Questions and comments The.McGovern.Minute@gmail.com

Headlines in the Media

[1] Hillary And The Commies by Marc Cooper

The Huffington Post Posted April 16, 2008

[ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-cooper/hillary-and-the-commies_b_97131.html ]

[2] Post Obama/Clinton debate conference call from the Clinton campaign

by Youtube link Posted April 16, 2008

[ http://youtube.com/watch?v=mW53IAkbSLU ]

[3] Obama on debate: 'Sen. Clinton looked in her element'

by Ben Smith PoliticoPosted April 17, 2008

[ http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Obama_on_debate_Senator_Clinton_looked_in_her_element.html ]

[4] Obama says debate foreshadows GOP campaign

by Johanna Neuman LA TimesPosted April 17, 2008

[ http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign18apr18,0,4788887.story ]

[5] Mayor Richard Daley (the younger) comes to Barack Obama's defense

by Mike Dorning and Rick Pearson LA TimesPosted April 17, 2008

[ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/mayor-daley-the.html ]

[6] US network faces backlash after Democratic debate

The Guardian, Posted April 17 2008

[ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/17/uselections2008.usa ]

[7] Hillary Clinton tries to corner her rival over link to violent 1960s radical

by Tim Reid in Philadelphia The Times of London Posted April 18, 2008

[ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3768255.ece ]

[8] Yes, yes, yes' Obama can win, Clinton says'

by Beth Fouhy GlobeandMail.com/The Associated PressPosted April 17, 2008

[ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080416.wprimarydebate0416/BNStory/International/home ]

[9] What Does Hillary Think Of Bill's Pardons Of Weather Underground Members?

by Greg SargentTPM Election CentralPosted April 17, 2008

[ http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/reporter_to_wolfson_what_does.php ]

[10] Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em"

by Sam SteinHuffington PostPosted April 16, 2008

[ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/hillary-clinton-on-workin_n_97017.html ]

Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em"

! ! ! ! ! Matthew McGovern !!!!! — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:05:27 EDT

By Sam Stein BIO

The Huffington Post

Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em"

April 16, 2008 02:21 PM

During the past week, Sen. Hillary Clinton has presented herself as a working class populist, the politician in touch with small town sentiments, compared to the elitism of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

But a telling anecdote from her husband's administration shows Hillary Clinton's attitudes about the "lunch-bucket Democrats" are not exactly pristine.

In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.

"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."

The statement -- which author Benjamin Barber witnessed and wrote about in his book, "The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House" -- was prompted by another speaker raising the difficulties of reaching "Reagan Democrats." It stands in stark contrast to the attitude the New York Democrat has recently taken on the campaign trail, in which she has presented herself as the one candidate who understands the working-class needs.

"I don't think [Obama] really gets it that people are looking for a president who stands up for you and not looks down on you," she said this week.

But those who were at the event say the 1995 episode fits into her larger viewpoint. As Harry Boyte, the director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Democracy and Citizenship who was at the retreat, told The Huffington Post: "[Hillary Clinton] sees herself as the champion of the oppressed, but there is always a kind of good guy versus bad guy mentality. The comment before that was that 'the Reagan Democrats are our enemies and they weren't on our side,' and she was agreeing with that comment. She said we should write them off: screw them."

A spokesperson for Clinton said the quote was taken out of context and did not reflect her true political philosophy. "This quote differs from the recollection of others who were in the room at the time this comment was allegedly made," said Jay Carson. "To be clear, that's not how she felt then and it's not how she feels now, and the proof is in how she has lived her life, the work she has done and the policies she has pushed and pursued over the last 35 years."

Asked to produce a witness who would say that Clinton had been misquoted, Carson wrote: "So, you've got two guys we've barely heard of remembering a verbatim quote from 13 years ago?... Sounds totally and completely reliable."

(Carson eventually put me in touch with a source who claimed to not have heard the quote -- see below). Barber's book was published in 2001.

Perhaps even more telling than Hillary Clinton's proclamation, however, were the words from her husband that followed. As reported by Barber, Clinton "stepped in, calm and judicious, not irritated, as if rehearsing an old but honorable debate he had been having with his wife for decades."

I know how you feel. I understand Hillary's sense of outrage. It makes me mad too. Sure, we lost our base in the South; our boys voted for Gingrich. But let me tell you something. I know these boys. I grew up with them. Hardworking, poor, white boys, who feel left out, feel that our reforms always come at their expense. Think about it, every progressive advance our country has made since the Civil War has been on their backs. They're the ones asked to pay the price of progress. Now, we are the party of progress, but let me tell you, until we find a way to include these boys in our programs, until we stop making them pay the whole price of liberty for others, we are never going to unite our party, never really going to have change that sticks.

If the tone and tenor of the above sounds familiar, it's because the message, Boyte says, is remarkably similar to what Obama was trying to convey in his now controversial remarks about small town America.

"Well, yeah, absolutely," said Boyte, when asked if Obama and Bill Clinton were expressing the same political viewpoint (Boyte said he and his organization are neutral in the presidential race). "I think Obama's better-or-worse versions of this have always been that people are complicated. It comes from an organizing perspective. You don't write off people, everyone is complicated. It just depends on the issue. And that's what Bill Clinton was saying. He was a sentimental populist."

Not to be lost in all this, as Boyte notes, is that Hillary Clinton has consistently been a "champion for the people who were helpless and powerless." But there is a political component to the mindset.

"Hillary Clinton has a very strong customer view: the citizen is the customer and the government the vendor," said Boyte. "You can see it in Mark Penn's frame. In fact, last Christmas she had an ad of herself writing checks to different groups."

Update: Jake Tapper, over at ABC, had highlighted the "screw em" quote back in October. His article was in reference to comments Sen. Clinton had made about Mississippi. Considering events this past week, the issue has taken on increased relevance.

Late Update: The Clinton campaign put me in touch with Don Baer, President Clinton's speech writer at the time, who had attended the same meeting. He says: "I don't remember anything along those lines, at all. And I certainly don't remember Senator Clinton saying anything like that... they have their recollections of that, that is their business. The conversation, from my perspective, was moderated in tone."

He did not, it should be noted, directly challenge the interpretations of Barber and Boyte.

Baer's comments came at roughly the same moment that The New Republic published a blog post by Alan Wolfe, a professor of political science at Boston College, who was also at the retreat and says he too heard the quote. Noting Carson's remark -- "So, you've got two guys we've barely heard of remembering a verbatim quote from 13 years ago?... Sounds totally and completely reliable" -- Wolfe writes: "Make that three. I was there. I hope people have heard of me. And Barber and Boyte have it right."