Mike George's Blog

So Glad We Won - Now the Work Begins

Mike — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:28:19 EST

I had a kind of archetypal prophetic dream a few days before the election. I was in the upstairs of an empty massive non-descript building in a downtown area, could have been a city hall or an office building, and I was listening to KPOJ, our great liberal Am talk radio station here in the Portland/Vancouver Metro area. The broadcast was interrupted by the Federal Emergency Broadcast and jus then I looked up through the windows to see waves of a tsunami crashing through the streets, and then I looked to the south and west to see even bigger waves about to engulf the building. I wanted to get to a safe place, but I realized there was no safe place to be found, that this dream was about to be swept away by the reality of a tsunami of mega proportions.

I'm not too sure as to how to interpret my dream. I've had a few of these in times past, they don't come very often. But this one, seemed to me to be all about the election and that a new wave of democracy was about to sweep away the old, the outdated, the empty vessel that government had become under the Bush Administration. Wake up Time!

Then came election night, the outpouring of emotion and the jubilation from around the entire globe; not just here at home but from all corners of the earth.

And so now the last couple of days after that wonderful Tuesday night, I've found myself tearing up at the drop of a dime, tear of joy and amazement--on listening in on a news report about this thing or that, watching Barack deliver his first press conference, seeing the pride in people's eyes in restaurants and along the streets and byways. It's as if a huge weight has been lifted off the shoulders of our nation even now, just days into it. Who could have expected these feelings of grace and lightness? Of hope and joy and wonderment?

I remember the talk after 9/11, about how nothing would ever be the same again. Well, in a way I feel that way now after this election, but good, real good. Nothing will ever be the same ever again. Our single combat warrior has arrived in one Barack Obama, Camelot returned and the best first family ever.

And . . . now the real work begins.

For what is this really all about if not about building community, higher purpose and commitment to excellence for a more perfect union? For what’s about to be turned upside down come January 20th, is this government of ours, and from the bottom up, not the other way around.

Rest assured there will be little time for laurels, and as a wise old friend of mine once said; either we are part of the problem or part of the solution, and there's no in between. And only one question is left to ask ourselves: Now which is it going to be?

Tomorrow we take back our Country!

Mike — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:24:27 EST

Tomorrow we take back our country!

An Obama Administration in Support of the Arts

Mike — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:17:24 EDT

One of the many benefits of an Obama win, if we should be fortunate enough to prevail in this election, will be an administration in support of the arts again. It's been so long, that we've endured the dismal existence of the last eight years of Bush and Cheeney that I can hardly remember what it was like to actually have a president who valued the arts and the meaning they bring to our society; one that proactively supports and promotes them in impactful ways.

Over the lat eight years, an integral part of our national character then we have allowed to languish. And it’s affected everything we do and everything we bear witness to.

So let’s work together in these final days, keeping in mind all of the blessings that will flow from a big win Tuesday, in action each in our own ways to get out the vote. Nothing happens by accident and every action taken over this next few days will contribute to our success in ways we can't begin to imagine. I'm convinced of that.

What we do know however, is that our lives and those of our children and grandchildren for seven generations depend on it.

YES WE CAN

Health insurance business- the next melt down

Mike — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:15:45 EDT

We need better regulation of health insurance companies.

In my opinion, the Health Insurance business will be the next to financially melt down and then demand to be bailed out by tax payers. There is no shortage of evidence to draw analogies between the current Wall Street mess and the looming Health Insurance crisis in this country; gazillion dollar CEO salaries, unethical business practices, profiting off people's misery.

Barack Obama's plan is the best for our nation for the interim period, a kind of pathfinder.

But in the long term? as far as I can see, there's not much of a future for insurance companies providing for the health care needs of our people. These companies are nothing more than high dollar middle men (paid to gamble on your wellness, and then find ways of depriving you of health care when you need it the most--all to promote exorbitant shareholder profits and CEO mega-bonuses) profiting off the backs of the people, their doctors and hospitals.

All health care should be non-profit. It's a no brainer. We the people should pool our resources, then what would otherwise be skimmed off as insurance company profits would be put to much better use: like paying for health care for people.

Financial Services Industry & Bush 2004 Campaign

Mike — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:19:45 EDT

In 2004, the numero uno Bush backer was the financial services industry, i.e., Wall Street and the banking industry if you can call a derivatives market manipulation scheme an industry at all. Directly Bush tried then to "privatize" Social Security as we remember all too well and thank God every day he failed at that endeavor.

Now only four years later we see the worst financial catastrophe since the Great Depression laid upon our national doorsteps. . . or so we are to believe if we take secretary Paulson at his "words."

Yet one is left wondering if might not this somehow all been planned in advance by the Bush Crime Family, like so many of their previous scams? Well, today we were told as much by his press secretary, Dana Perino, who to paraphrase said something like, yes, the President had been working on this 3 page bail out lanuage for weeks, even a month!

Is that right, well, then how so? if the "derivatives market melt down" all just happened less than one week ago?

These people are CROOKS, that would make the likes of Richard M. Nixon roll over in his grave!!!!!!!!!!!

And John Bushboy McCain, who can't decide which side he is on from one day to the next is no better. These Republicans are "free market" crooks in mumbo jumbo, and let there be no mistake, they are totally OUT OF TOUCH with the collective financially astute American people who refuse to be fooled again!!

NEVER FORGET WE WERE TOLD? YES, WE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW MANIPULATED WE HAVE BEEN!

NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT NO BAIL OUT

Sarah Palin - A Gift From On High

Mike — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:02:17 EDT

Seems to me Sarah Palin is probably about the most unvetted VP pick in American History. Troopergate and Abuse of Power? Book censorship and Abuse of Power on Librarians? Alaskan Independence Party member, a group wo would destroy the Federal Government, and she tells them at thier convention last year (2007), Good Work? Give me a break, this is a gift from on high, like cosmic payback for the Rev Right smears.

And McCain is trying to sell himself as some kind of a Republican moderate? If Dwight D. Eisenhower could see his party today what would he think? And more imporantly who would he vote for? I have a feeling his grandaughter would assure us it would be Barack Obama hands down.

I'm so proud to be an Obama Democrat

Mike — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:28:22 EDT

Once upon a decade, I belonged to an organization committed to transforming people's lives and the world. In my capacity as a team coordinator I was on an important phone call with another team leader in a far away city, exactly twenty years ago today.

As it happened, in the background, Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a Dream" speach was being broadcast across the PA system at the shopping center from where I made the call, that day being the 25th anniversary of his historic speach.

And hearing Dr. King's impassioned words ring out over the public address system, my friend on the other end of the phone line said, Wow, where are you, anyway? I told him I was in Pasadena California, in a shopping center, ten minutes walk from work, this being my mid week lunch hour. Those are some powerful words that I'm hearing in the background, he said. It's Martin Luther King blasting across the loud speakers, and isn't it great? I said, letting the words speak for themselves.

And as the speach carried across the phone lines into that far away city, we both listened in amazement for a good several minutes That's the real thing, that is what this life is all about, that feeling, that commitment, that sense of common purpose.

Today Dr. King's predictions are about to come to fruition. And what better place? than at the Democratic Party national convention in Colorado, a mile high, near the geographic center of our beloved country!

This is no ordinary day, not just any political rally. Today is a celebration of brotherhood, sisterhood and of the family of humankind! A celebration of love, human rights, freedom, and of our destiny as Americans. LET FREEDOM RING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud to be an Obama Democrat today of all days! God Bless America!

YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

best,

Mike George

Lucia Falls, Washington State

http://luciafalls.com

Uncertain Future

Mike — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:52:38 EDT

How we treat our soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan should be a major issue for us all. Honor thier service and treat them with kindness, respect, and understanding. There's alot to be done, alot of pain and suffering to be healed.

And as a society, no matter what you think of the war, we owe these men and women bigtime. Medical care to those in need, psychological care to many, a good education and decent good paying jobs.

But all too often, these heros may fall through the cracks that society has left for them, you see a homeless man with a sign at a freeway entrance, chances are he may well have been a Nam or Gulf War vet.

I wrote a song about this a while back:

http://luciafalls.com/songs/track2.html

No war for oil

Mike — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:42:01 EDT

When the troops took Baghdad during the first two weeks of the war, and let the looting begin at Rumsfeld's direction, the only ministry building protected from the looters was the Iraq Ministry of Oil. I saw it with my own eyes on CNN.

And at that moment, I turned to my friend and said, its for the oil, it was all for the oil. That was back in what? 2003. Well, if I could see it was true, same as I knew it to my core that when Bush asked Congress to provide war powers as a "last resort," that he had no intentions of holding back in the least, then there were alot of other people that knew it as well. Take Cheeney for example, who probably planned the oil take over at his secret energy summit.

So lets see, what were all their excuses? Immanent threat, WMD, Saddam, greeted as liberators, blue finger spead of democracy throughout the middle east, get Al Quada, but never once did they say it was for the oil. The one reason, that to these two oil men, Bush and Cheeney, and thier cronies made the most sense of all.

Here is a link a Bill Moyers article on the subject at truth out.

http://www.truthout.org/article/it-was-oil-all-along

We need Barack in the Whitehouse more than ever to, bring and end to the madness, bring our troops home once and for all, and begin a new era of energy independence, and the freedom and prosperity that will result at home.

The Devil made me do it excuse seems to have worked, at least for now.

Mike — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:23:49 EDT

Negotiation is a good thing, but there is also something known as selling out. And that part of the FISA bill that gives immunity to telecoms smells like a sell out to me. Why are we letting these mega corporations off the hook? for breaking the law and trampling on the Constitution? The devil made me do it excuse seems to have worked. But the bigger question is why are we letting Bush and Cheeney off the hook for putting them up to it? This whole mess is one big sell out, and I agree with Thom Hartmann who says that any Democrat who voted for this FISA mess should be held accountable. Barack has said that things are going to be different in DC when he gets elected and I believe him. But we need him now. The Senate version needs to strip them of thier immunity, and not just to be looking good for the election, it really needs to be stripped out, period. This is a big deal and its going to get bigger. He's already backed the bill today, so he can't backtrack now. But his rationale needs to be much more fully explained. It looks very bad, espacially given Barack's constitutional law background. I'm as big a supporter of the Senator as they come, but this has really set me on my heels.

War on Heart Disease

Mike — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:17:11 EDT

Tim Russert's death last friday was really sad. I was bummed for days and still feel the effects. I felt like I knew Tim, a relationship of one hour each Sunday morning--year in year out--for decades. Fact is heart disease is a number one killer of Americans. Imagine if we would have spent what we have on Iraq on fighting heart disease here at home? The number of Americans that die each year of heart disease is orders of magnitude more than any terrorist bombings. We need to rethink our national priorities big time in this country, and with Barack Obama as president I have no doubts that we will! YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

452,327: the number of deaths due to heart attacks in the United States in the year 2004.

20% of all deaths were due to heart attacks in the United States in the year 2004.

1.2 million heart attacks occur each year.

233,000 women died from cardiovascular disease each year.

14 million Americans afflicted with some form of heart disease or angina.

Every 20 seconds a new heart attack occurs somewhere in America.

Every minute another heart attack death occurs.

Check the stats out for yourself:

Reference web site

Change we can put our trust in is at hand!

Bush Hell Bent on Attacking Iran!

Mike — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:37:06 EDT

In my view, the people of our country, and the world, will be best served when the US proposes a multilateral demilitarization of all nuclear weapons on earth and in space. And to give it some teeth, we should lead by example; Do as I do, not as I say. This should be a bold and innovative effort, verifiable and enforced by the UN’s international bodies that govern such weapons and technologies (IAEA, etc). My hopes are that this would be a major international goal of an Obama administration.

The president of Iran, Amadenajed (sp?) on his CBS 60 minutes interview; to paraphrase, said that nuclear weapons are a thing of the past and should never be pursued but should rather be banned. The man has also said many other disturbing and reprehensible comments with regards to Israel with which any reasonable person would strongly abhor and reject.

But fact is he’s no more a loose cannon or nut case, and certainly no more presently dangerous than Kim Jung Ill. North Korea, who to this day considers itself at war the US, HAS nuclear weapons, not just a program, have a means to deliver them to the west coast of the US, and with whom the US is currently engaged in talks--which by the way makes the Bush administration tant amount to Nazi appeasers in Bush's own recent remarks.

Over the weekend, there appeared a supposed AP news story--and that you may have heard referenced on the ABC news blurb on KPOJ this Saturday afternoon in Portland Oregon. My Republican nephiew emailed me the text of the story with the headline:

"TEHRAN, Iran — Iran warned Sunday it may limit cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, expressing disappointment over the agency's recent report that was critical of Tehran." and so forth . . . .

When conducting a Google search on its contents however, there was no Associated Press links what-so-ever. The story text contained no sources, and the quotes were two and three word approximations. The origin was questionable. Interestingly, the number one reference was FOX NEWS, which as we all know is the official propaganda machine for the Bush administration, and which at this point has ZERO creditability for anything even slightly resembling the truth.

Arguably Fox Noise has much more in common with the old TASS news agency, than with any other of the mainstream US news outlets. As I’ve heard my wife advise her best professional journalists friends and associates at times, check your sources first. I suppose Scott McClellan would probably have about the same advise.

I myself tend to align my views on this with the research of Seymour Hirsch who believes Bush is hell bent on attacking Iran before he leaves office. Stories like this one from Fox News are highly suspect--as we now know others were regarding the dangers posed by Iraq in 2002.

God help us if the US Congress does not put a stop to this madness.

McClellan timing could provent Bush from attacking Iran

Mike — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:35:29 EDT

The cable talking heads are all postulating why Scott McClellan published his "scathing tell all book" What Happened, at this precise point in time? Of course the Bushies raised all kinds of possible motives . . .except the most obvious: that Scott's timing may well have effectively tossed a monkey wrench into Bush's immanent plans for attacking Iran. Any thoughts?

Woodstock West

Mike — Sun, 18 May 2008 23:37:40 EDT

I came upon a child of god
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me

Im going on down to yasgurs farm
Im going to join in a rock n roll band
Im going to camp out on the land
Im going to try an get my soul free

We are stardust
We are golden
And weve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe its the time of man
I dont know who l am
But you know life is for learning

We are stardust

We are golden

And weve got to get ourselves

Back to the garden

(The bowl at the waterfront today

Barack put me in the mind of

All these familiar lyrics)

By the time we got to woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation

We are stardust

Billion year old carbon

We are golden

Caught in the devils bargain

And weve got to get ourselves

ack to the garden

Joni Mitchell

Canvasing for Obama

Mike — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:46:09 EDT

Greetings to my fellow Obama supporters and delegates.

My wife and I trekked over to Portland on Sunday afternoon and volunteered at the Obama headquarters, which is located over on the Eastside. We were given a couple of streets in the Mt. Tabor area of Portland to canvass for Barack, meeting face to face with all the wonderful registered Democrats there.

A great sunny spring day, we had so much fun walking the fabulous neighborhood, talking with folks living there about Obama and the future of our country. The Obama organizers, supplied us with a contact list that included spaces for data they wanted us to collect along our trek. It was our job to find out if they had received their ballots in the mail (they were mailed late last week), to share our own personal experience about why we support Barack for President, and to gain some additional support for our candidate.

It was really a highly positive experience I have to say. We met many really cool and interesting people (and only a few jerks) Overall, I’d highly recommend doing the experience. I was really surprised to see how many Democrats lived on just the couple of streets that we covered. Many were already in favor of Barack, and we made some headway with the undecided and Hillary fans. This one lady was a Hillary supporter when we arrived, but after talking over the election for about then minutes, she had changed her own mind and convinced herself otherwise before we left.

Sometimes people just need a good discussion to see the truth. We connected with people asking them about the issues they were most concerned with in their own lives. Most people seemed really happy to see us, and thanked us for our efforts. Anyway, if you feel like getting in some easy walking exercise, it’s great fun, and with the Oregon Primary now under way—people are mailing in their ballots as I write this! This is a wonderful way to support our candidate.

So if you’re interested in making a difference in this way please contact: Corrie Keegan, Oregon for Obama ckeegan@barackobama.com

Best,

Mike George

Lucia Falls Democrat

To Restore Balance

Mike — Sun, 04 May 2008 03:30:56 EDT

We've held this thought for some time and it goes something like this: That these years have been so terrible in so many ways--that as a Hopi Indian might think of it--these Bush years have rendered our Nation out of balance with nature.

And so in this dream that's been nagging our psyche, in the midst of the chaos, an archetypal leader emerges from among us to defend the people, make things right again, restore peace and prosperity across the land.

Let's face it, to right this ship of state, we must go as far to the good, the right and the just, as it's been for so long wrong.

It's our future that calls to us.

YES WE CAN

Open Letter to Uncommitted Super Delegates

Mike — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:32:39 EDT

According to the US Census Bureau the population of the US (18 and over) was 216 million in 2004. 197 million were citizens. 142 million were registered to vote. 55 million voters were registered Republican and 79 million were registered to the Democratic Party. That’s a ratio of about 7 Republicans for every 10 Democrats. 8 million or so were registered as other parties, about 1 in 18 voters.

Invocation to Pennsylvania

Mike — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:32:19 EDT

In 2004 out of the 169 million registered voters in the red states and the blue, there were 55 million registered Republicans, and nearly 80 million registered Democrats! I've heard that this year more Democrats voted in the primaries than all of the voters combined, D & R, that voted in both 2000 and 2004 combined. If that's true, the election of 2008 is being decided right here and now in the Democratic Primaries. The General Election will be but a formality.

The numbers of registrations we've had so far this election season bodes well, and especially for our candidate Barack Obama. Because of who he is; a man of his word and a Patriot, who will defend the Constitution of the United States, and for what he stands; change we can believe in; of, by, and for the people. Having mobilized the youth and the disenchanted-with-Washington, we continue to register new voters in record numbers, with the momentum fully engaged for the success of the Obama campaign.

And yet the focus on Pennsylvania remains of utmost importance. To strengthen our numbers in the House and the Senate for an empowered Obama Presidency, the sooner we can begin to confront the Republican politicans and John McSame, the better might our resources and our time be allocated, across the spectrums of political activity this year.

(And please, may Hillary get--and may her most fervant supporters get--that where she'll be needed most next year: is in the Senate as majority leader--in full support of the policies and the agenda of a President Barack Obama administration.) So that we the people, red states and blue states together, may return our country to her destined path of truth and justice for all, well on our way to a more perfect union.

So Pennsylvania: YES YOU CAN!

ABC News ganging up on Barack

Mike — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:58:10 EDT

Watching the Pensylvania debate here on the West Coast, I don't know about ABC news any more. Did it seem like Charles Gibson and his buddy George Stephanopolis (sp?) were ganging up on Barack while throwing Hillary slowpitch? Barack is great when he gets into his groove and then rifs. But when he is interupted repeatedly, like they were doing to him tonight, it seemed like it threw him off his game just a little. I thought he repsonded very well though to the Gossip Column questions they came up with. It just seemed like they were as busy tossing Hillary the easies and the funnies, as they were being disrespectful of Barack.

Meanwhile no questions on FREE TRADE or NAFTA . . .that the Unions in that Union State really care about. ABC NEWS sucks if you ask me.

Best.

Mike George

Lucia Falls Democrat

A few more thoughts on delegate elections

Mike — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 02:36:43 EDT

Well, our new 18th Legislative District (LD), Clark County Washginton for Obama Delegates is up and running! I christen it here with it's first blog entry.

Thanks to Carl Dugger for stepping up as Obama Campaign Captain. Any delegates who've not done so yet, can contact Carl with your info at blue.baron@comcast.net

Thanks to all who responded to my blog post on the Vancouver Obama Group blog on Delegate Election criteria. The ideas struck a cord with many it appears, and I was amazed at the thoughtful inspiring and moving responses to the post.

As these things go, reading the responses will prompt further thoughts. And so adding to the other criteria mentioned, one desirable trait in my view, is the candidate want to be a delegate for the right reasons. This might seem self evident, but people do things for all sorts of reasons, and not always the right ones. Not that there is any one particular right reason, but that whatever the reason is: that it's the right one.

Some thoughts on electing our National Obama Delegates

Mike — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:19:36 EDT

Ralph Schmidt has suggested the a criteria in order of importance for electing our Obama Delegates to send to State and National. I’ve added some thoughts on what that might look like. What do you think?

1) The delegate should have demonstrated his or her loyalty to the Obama Candidacy, meaning that the person has worked for, demonstrated some longevity of commitment, and etc. It’s important to have established some outward signs of loyalty. This makes sense as a minimum criteria. But I believe we should be looking for the very best we can send to represent our community before the Nation.

2) Has some experience at conventions, caucuses, political activity. On the surface this would be a good thing, someone who knows the process. And I’m glad this one is second, for it would seem that being new and inexperienced to the political process should not prevent the right candidate from being elected a delegate. If we were to follow the latter line of thinking to its natural conclusion—that political experience is a necessary ingredient for the position—then we’d be for John McSame for president. In fractal geometry, you have a concept that the elemental parts of a thing act a lot like that thing itself. For example, water molecules act a lot like oceans. In this way our might not our delegates represent the essence or the epitome of the campaign itself? where hope, commitment, courage and action outweigh experience and process every time?

Highlights from the Obama Delegate Training

Mike — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:42:49 EDT

Someone asked the question, so for those delegates unable to make it to the training Saturday, here are some highlights. If anyone has anything to add, please do so!

1)Find out your Legistlative District, and who's leading your group and contact them. (Those in the 18th Legislative District send an email to blue.baron@comcast.net to let the team leader Carl Dugger know your on board.)

2) You should receive or have received an invitation to the LD Caucus/Convention on the 19th of April. That's important, if you don't get one, you should contact the head of credentials: nbanks@comcast.net to make sure your name is on the list.

Determine your Legistlative District

Mike — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:28:12 EDT

It was evident on Saturday at the Obama Delegate Training that many of us in attendence there-- being new to Democratic Party activism--were unsure of our Legislative Districts--which is important to know, as we learned from Ralph Schmidt. Turns out we need to be sitting in the right LD group at the upcoming convention/caucus, to have our votes count. In fact, it seems that's about the only way you can get disqualified, if your sitting in the wrong place.

So fo those who were not in attendence Saturday, and who found your way to this blog site, and don't know what your LD is, here is a link where you can find out. Of course, the easy way is to look on the back of your voter registration card if you have it handy, which someone pointed out to me on Saturday. :-)

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

Best,

Mike George

Lucia Falls Democrat

Thoughts on Obama Delegate Training: Shake up from the Ground Up!

Mike — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:52:11 EDT

My thoughts on the today’s training:

To me, one of the most impactful statement was when Ralph Schmidt remarked about the uneasiness of the Washington State Democratic Party leaders; in that given our numbers it may be possible for us to take control of the party. (Revolution!) The implication being that if we were to truly organize into a cohesive and effective political unit, we could indeed bring about the kind of change in the Party that many of us believe is so direly needed from the ground up.

GO OBAMA VANCOUVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Email as an Organizing Principle

Mike — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:43:17 EDT

Regarding the use of this email forum . . . in my view, it's just what it is: a revealing snap shot at any given point in time of where we are at as a grass roots organization here in Clark County and Vancouver for Obama. From my experience, an essential step getting organized--no matter the size or type of group--in the beginning generally involves some unseemly interaction i.e., power plays, some grumbling, disagreements, etc. And it's okay, even necessary, in our evolution as an effective bottom-up grass roots organization. Soon, someone shall get us pointed, as we evolve into one cohesive team that's on purpose with the greater objectives established by the folks at Obama central, whatever that looks like.

I've been impressed with what's been happening on the Oregon side of the border these days, and also regarding the Obama Fellows Program. I myself have committed to housing two fellows in my area should the need arise. But anyway, everything, everything, everything! So I'm really looking forward to the delegate training on Saturday, which I believe should get the ball rolling here on our side of the river.

Cheers,

Mike George

Lucia Falls

Dear Governor Dean

Mike — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:49:02 EDT

Dear Governor Dean,

The Obama team has elicited a people powered, electrified and persistent momentum in this campaign. Supported by millions of ordinary Americans (at fifty bucks a pop), from my experience and as noted in the March 20 2008 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, the bottom-up campaign strategy--that you yourself pioneered in 2004--has now both spawned and revitalized grass roots activism in the party and virtually revolutionized campaign financing in 2008. I need not tell you the Senator has energized a generation of young voters and enrolled an electorate in number the likes of which the Democratic Party has never before seen. His compelling message of change that we can trust reflects an innovative agenda that similarly accentuates the pragmatic, the positive and the hopeful.

Because of this, the Obama team has expertly garnered a lead over Hillary Clinton in the primaries by number of states won, number of delegates committed, and by the popular vote. In May, when the last primary ballot is cast, by current estimates, Barack will have increased his lead and garnered by every count the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

Superdelegates: I urge you to commit your Super-delegate vote today for Barack Obama.

Mike — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:34:21 EDT

Fyi, here's my letter to the undecided superdelegates and to the Clinton superdelegates.

Dear Superdelegate,

Senator Barack Obama is a gifted writer, grass roots organizer, a constitutional law professor, and has served the people of Illinois as a State Legislator and a United States Senator. To paraphrase Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, “Not only that, Barack is a good guy. He has something special, and I want to be a part of it.” Obama is honest, ethical, highly intelligent, and it’s precisely because of his eloquence, and his specific experience and expertise that he is best equipped to deal with the mess left by the Bush Administration.

The Obama campaign has elicited a people powered electrified persistent momentum. Supported by millions of ordinary Americans, as noted in the March 20 2008 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, and from personal experience, his bottom-up campaign strategy has both spawned and revitalized grass roots activism in the party and virtually revolutionized campaign financing. The Senator has energized a generation of young voters and enrolled an electorate in numbers the likes of which the Democratic Party has never before seen. His compelling message of change reflects an innovative agenda that similarly accentuates the pragmatic positive and the hopeful.

It's Good Friday and There is No Stopping Us Now!

Mike — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 03:09:09 EDT

We awoke today at 3:30 and made it south to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland by 5 am. We weathered the cold for couple hours, and when the doors opened at 7:30, soon somehow we found ourselves miraculously seated in the front row directly behind the stage. Wow! The energy in the room became electrified as the stadium filled with people. Glad to be where it was warm, we prepared to make ourselves at home for the next few hours. We heard rumors of a security breach narrowly averted at the gates, which delayed things a little. There were a few empty seats in the rafters but the room was full after about an hour, and the floor overflowed with smiling faces crowded to edges around the stage.

While waiting for Senator Obama and Governor Bill Richardson to take appear, we marveled at how fortunate we were just being there to begin with, the mixture of luck and intentionality that had brought us to our seats. We were thankful to be inside out of the cold, and about to see Obama, the next President of the United States. I thanked a watchful secret service agent standing nearby for taking good care of our candidate. He nodded, and said that the closer we got to the election, the more power they would have to protect him.

I conversed with a young man who had come down to the front to view the crowd. I like to look at everyone’s faces, he said, a great deal of hope and wonderment evident in his own. As we spoke of the campaign’s progress, he told me that he felt something of a predestined nature in Barack’s path, as if, he said, the footsteps leading to this stage where Senator Obama would deliver his speech this morning, were steps that had somehow been cast long ago; that nothing would, nothing could stand between Barack and taking his place in history as the next President’s of the United States. That this thing we’ve all been about in this campaign had come too far, that in essence the die had been cast, there was no turning back. His eyes watered some at those words, as did my own. I looked around. There was a lot of soul in this room, a lot of heart, and alot of higher purpose.