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Wolf Blitzer's 2 hour Special This Morning

By Candace N. - V.O.B - Jul 27th, 2008 at 7:26 pm EDT

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Wolf Blitzer did a good job of being fair this morning when he interviewed John McCain and then aired Barack's Q&A with minority reporters. His commentators were also fair. Being fair and balanced has been a rare occurrence in coverage of Barack especially on FOX News (as we all know). So this program was a breath of fresh air. I liked Barack's statement about the criticism that he received from McCain for his successful trip. He remarked that he and his people did a good job and that he would have been criticized no matter how the trip went. I can't recall the exact way that he worded his comment, but the way in which he did was funny yet true.

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Welcome Home Barack Obama

By David Berry - Jul 26th, 2008 at 3:18 pm EDT

Also listed in: Action Wire | Americans for Prison Reform | Canadians for change

Barack Obama is in the air as I write this, flying back to the USA after very good meetings in Afganistan, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. His trip has dominated the news and Amercans have witnessed that he has what it takes to build relationships abroad and rebuild the role and reputation of our country. We are on our way to changes for the better. Welcome home!

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World standing as one.

By Irami Osei-Frimpong - Jul 24th, 2008 at 2:03 pm EDT

Also listed in: Americans for Prison Reform | Humanitarians for Obama

I get nervous when I hear Obama speak like this. The world is a profoundly diverse place, and it's really easy to supress this diversity of opinion and thought by calling for unity. We aren't one world, at best, we are many worlds that can try to get along with each other without violently scraping one another.

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Why not vote for Nader

By Irami Osei-Frimpong - Jul 22nd, 2008 at 1:35 pm EDT

Also listed in: Americans for Prison Reform | Humanitarians for Obama

Here is Nader's position on education.

quote:
The federal government must not impose an overemphasis on high-stakes standardized tests. Such testing has a negative impact on student learning, curriculum, and teaching by resulting in excessive time devoted to narrow test participation, de-enrichment of the curriculum, false accountability, equity and cultural bias, and excessive use of financial resources for testing, among other problems. Federal law should be transformed to one that supports teachers and students -- from one that relies primarily on standardized tests and punishment. The government should encourage schools to infuse their curriculum with civic experiences that teaches students both how to connect classroom learning to the outside world and how to practice democracy.

Obama's

quote: Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. He will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.

There are a lot of bells and whistles in Obama's plan, but I think it's still fundamentally wrong.

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The New Compton Ca. Obama Headquarters

By ALEAH - Jul 7th, 2008 at 3:41 am EDT

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I am very excited that we will have a headquarters for Obama in Compton. Special thanks to Sister Emily Hart-Holifield for helping to make this happen. I look forward to working with all of you soon. Please see the information below.

address correction
Saturday, July 19 at 3:00 PM
Location: Obama 08 Headquarters
1100 W. Compton Blvd.
Compton, CA 90220

Thanks

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When in the course of human events . . .

By Susan B. - Jul 5th, 2008 at 12:28 am EDT

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My ex-husband had a number of reading rituals. For many holidays and seasons, he had certain books or documents that he felt compelled to re-read. During December, he re-read Dicken's A Christmas Carol. During the summers, he re-read Thoreau's Walden. He regularly re-read T.S. Eliot's classic poem The Waste Land.

One reading ritual I've come to appreciate above all others is the re-reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. I remember one summer in particular, when we were partying with friends and floating in a pool on inflatable pool chairs. He had a damp copy of the document, stapled in the corner, and he was reading it aloud for all of us to hear.

What I remember most about that particular re-reading is that it was the first time I really heard the radicality of the document, the astonishing audacity and subversiveness of it. My friends and I started up a conversation about how such a document would sound to us if someone made similar declarations in the late 20th century.

Our hindsight tames the document for us, we decided. Imagine American territories making such declarations against our government and you begin to get the sheer courage of the thing. I thought of this again this year, watching the primary coverage of Puerto Rico; they can't vote in our elections, they are more like an 18th century colony than we want to recognize.

Over at Huffington Post, Steve Anderson has made similar observations about the radicality of the document as he encouraged all Americans to read it today. He writes,

"Compared to most politicians today, the guys who wrote this, which started our whole experiment in democracy, were fire-breathing radicals.

Today, it would be a good idea for all Americans to read this. It only takes about 5 minutes, and it contains some revolutionary ideas. Some of you may even find some of the thoughts herein make you uncomfortable. If so, then think on them."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-anderson/when-in-the-course-of-hum_b_110927.html

For this reason, I created an Obama Event for this holiday weekend. I asked folks to read and discuss the Declaration with at least one other person over the long weekend. I hope some of them blog about it and let me know.

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

By ALEAH - Jul 4th, 2008 at 1:10 pm EDT

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WHAT A GREAT COUNTRY WE LEAVE IN!!! LETS TAKE A MOMENT TO COUNT OUR BLESSINGS TODAY. AND THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE PREVILLIAGES WE HAVE LIKE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. THINK GOOD THOUGHTS ALL DAY.

ALEAH

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