We should all write our local papers. This is a letter I sent to the Hartford Courant in August. It was published on the 17th.
Government Health Plans Can Work
In response to the Aug. 13 article "Health Insurance Rates Targeted" [Page 1]:
I agree that the costs of health care in the U.S. have gotten totally out of hand. Because of this, and the failure of many insurance companies to pay for necessary procedures and medications, the quality of care we receive is getting worse by the moment.
Keeping insurance rate hikes in check is a good start, but what we really need is a good public option. I have lived in Japan off and on for many years and I know that a government-run health care program can be simple and effective.
Everyone in Japan is required to enroll and everyone is covered. When I take my mother-in-law to her doctor in Japan (and this is often), the most she ever pays for a routine visit is $5. Other costs are similarly reasonable. There's no paperwork, no bills, no referrals and no need to ask the insurance company if they will cover a certain procedure. If the doctor says you need it, you get it quickly.
The proof is in the pudding: The Japanese live longer.
We should now call our Senators and Representatives to express our support for the public option. I just called Sen Leiberman, Sen Dodd and Representative Larson.
Hello everyone,
This is to let you know that CaptionedMediaforObama.com has launched multilingual support for President Obama's weekly addresses! We worked with the Office of New Media during the transition and first few weeks of the administration, and will be providing expanded language support from here on for his weekly addresses.
Our first two spots are as follows:
So, enjoy our unique karaoke captioning for President Obama's weekly addresses, through either YouTube or your GSM phone. More news to come.
Michael Novak
CaptionedMediaforObama.com
POWWOW aeaa Earth Kids Project 7Nature-UsagiThe North Face x Oak-to-all-relations What is Powwow-aeaa Earth Kids Movement
SPIRIT / NATURE / TECHNOLOGYEarth is one big family, made up of 6.8 billion human beings and 30 million kinds of living species. What can we do to save the beautiful earth for our kids in the future? Spirit, Nature and Technology, the three in harmony is what we need as we dive into the mid-21st century. To obtain this balance, we need to go beyond the differences in religion, race and ideaology, and get out of the materialistic way of living. Each of us needs to start relating directly to the world in our own way and remember to dream. Powwow is a Native American ceremony of dance and music. aeaa stands for Asia, Europe, Africa, and America. It is an important message that kids from around the world hand in hand, start to act together to save the earth for children yet to be born. The seven nature Usagi reck, hiki, ras, yang, divan, song, and haman are fighting for our earth, to shift our way of living to a more sustainable way. Powwow-aeaa Earth Kids Project is an art movement, children and grown-ups - by thinking and expressing ideas about the earth - get connected to the earth through art, creating a movement. 7 nature usagi collection is made with the idea of Reuse-Reduce-Recycleand five percent of its profit will be donated to the KIDS EARTH FUND.
Powwow aeaa Earth Kids Project 7 Nature-Usagi Official Site
http://www.goldwin.co.jp/tnf/powwow/
image movie
http://www.oak-to-all-relations.com/overview/40year_prom.html
Piloting by Oak-to-all-relations /Natalija Ribovic &Toru Fujita music by Live Bacon Support Unit-Iceland
more infohttp://www.oak-to-all-relations.com
Parag Mehta put together a great video showing the Asian American and Pacific Islander groups participating during the transition team phase. We've captioned the video because, as Parag points out in the video,
We at Captioned Media for Obama do our best to enhance key videos for this group, and deliver them to you as quickly as possible. Go to www.captionedmediaforobama.com/inauguration to see the videos, and stay tuned to that page over the next few days to see coverage of this video, and the Keynote Address in many Asian languages! We have some surprises in store for you between now and Tuesday night, so stay tuned!
Best Regards,
Michael Novak Founder,
CaptionedMediaForObama.com
Just an update. Mr. Obama's Christmas/New Year's address is now available in our bilingual format in Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, and Japanese at these addresses:
We're moving to providing one Quicktime file with all languages available as a subtitle. Then with an iPhone/iPod you can select the language appropriate to the situation. Or just two files on YouTube, where you select the language you want. Stay tuned for news on his inaugural address as well, now in your language, in his voice.
Best,
Captionedmediaforobama.com
mnovak@tertia.us
As we look to see how to support the Obama administration, we have enhanced his weekly address with our unique karaoke captioning. We plan to expand our support of his administration as we go along as we explore how best to do that.
Also, if there are volunteers that would like to translate the weekly address into other languages, let us know. We'll produce his message in both languages so provide increased comprehension.
Go to these addresses to stay current:
So, look at these spots each week to see his short message. The main site provide iphone-compatible videos.
All the best,
Site Administrator
Hi everyone,
We just posted two videos that you might want to use. They are available both on our website at www.captionedmediaforobama.com, and also on Youtube Channel captionedforobama.
We are getting out the vote in this part of the world! Please pass this on .
http://www.americansinnorthasiaforobama.com
Marc Wathen
Hong Kong
Here is an archive chronology of the story regarding the insensitive mobile phone ad in Japan and the related fallout and analysis which depicted Obama as a monkey. The head of communications at J Walter Thompson in New York called to assure me that the ad was conceived and created exclusively in the Tokyo domestic office of the firm and that there was no western involvement at all. Let me know your thoughts.
The commercial that started the controversy:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=si-lSLv9b4E&feature=related
The CNN report:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=82J-TDASyY0&NR=1
1. Mal`s Japan Journal Interview with company president-part 1:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YXgk-cjfbqQ
2. Mal`s Japan Journal Interview Part 2
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uUl15JgNjRs
3. Mal`s Japan Journal Interview Part 3
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAx6AaDJus
4. Here`s a fun piece on our visit to the expat polling place in Nagoya by yours truly in our support for Obama in Japan. This is pretty funny in places (especially my singing and playing-LOL) but the movement is quite real and serious. We Obama supporters got him a win in Japan`s Democrats Abroad primary balloting. This story is really what`s behind the above stories in that our purpose was, to a large extent, to protect the image of Obama in Japan and globally as well as African-Americans. Yes We Did! Enjoy!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MsYVis61PAw
I`ll be heading to the Democratic convention on August 27th and 28th to cover the acceptance speech. Watch for more coverage on our online cybercast, Japan Journal at: www.totown.net/journal.htm
Hello Fellow Expats,
I am hoping to enlist all of you in a challenge. I know that with schedules, and other activities at all corners of the Earth it is hard to coordinate things. This one, I hope will be relatively easy. It will require a little time though, but here goes. We are still, the largest, and I hope fairly active, group of expats on the Obama website. I brought this subject up once before and it never really got off the ground. There are several smaller and VERY small expat groups scattered around the globe. While they may be quite beneficial in their respective local areas, the success of the Obama campaign has shown us that the NUMBERS WORK!
Having said that, here is the challenge. I would like to enlist ALL the other expat group members to join our Expats for Obama '08 group, in order to maximize the voice of expats supporting the campaign, around the world, as a whole. I don't expect that people will abandon their respective localized groups, as they have their own very distinct purposes. Please log onto barackobama.com/groups and search for expat groups. Send an e-mail to a few of the groups, or post to their blogs and encourage them to join us.
If we can increase the size of our group, we can increase our voice as well. There are 6 million expats in around the world. Let's see how many of them we can get to join Expats for Obama '08.
Thanks,
Josh
Admin. Expats for Obama '08
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ExpatsforObama08
Meant to write this last week.
Wish I had because in the light of the Friday comments re: RFK this becomes almost unimportant, but I think it still matters a bit.
A word of preparation/qualification - I am a human communications expert with a focus on conflict and intercultural communications...so this is right in my roundhouse.
Hillary and her flying-monkeys never figured out the were campaigning against a more feminine presence then their own. While Obama has a superb male voice, his words, his reliance on context, his openness to alternative views, and his respectful manner of disagreeing, are FEMININE COMMUNICATION TRAITS. While HRC was trying to dupe us into thinking she was the poor victim (being out spent etc.) each time she poked at him she made his distinction more prominent and endearing. Barack Obama as a communicator is more feminine and therefore more broad and complete than HRC. They never figured that out and it hurt them Badly.
JMac May not figure it out either. Or as we have been promised, Obama may pivot and more sharply, in a more Masculine manner, engage with McCain. Not sure which would work better. I know part of what attracts many of us to Obama is his willingness to engage, to listen, to embrace that which is different. If he were to become "a fighter" not sure it would serve his personal base. That is among the reasons that an Obama/hrc ticket is not a dream ticket but a nightmare compromise.
So what to do? Well think on it first...do you agree or not.
Second, see if you can find it in you to commuincate as he does with those who are not on board, whether they support hrc or JMac.
Third, think good and supportive thoughts for this Saturday's events in DC. I am hopeful the committee will get it right and the hrc demonstrators and protesters will at best not materialize, and at worst not embarrass the party. I fear FLA 2000 like scenarios like those so well captured in HBO's Recount. If her people storm the committee it would be awful for the party and I would have to hope the end for her as super afteer super punishes bad behavior and declares for Obama. I honestly believe she would be committing a form of Political Suicide if she allows that to happen.
So lets us be positive, principled and open and make good things happen that way.
Best-
JWZ
Once you catch your breath, write him here:
KOLBERMANN@MSNBC.COM
Thanks.
--------------
Keith-
While I do not know you well enough to call you Keith, I feel you know
me that well for almost nightly I hear you speak my heart.
Never more so than on Friday May 23, 2008.
Your special comment was compelling, masterful, and unfortunately
absolutely necessary.
It was also heart wrenching. Your efforts to support the Clintons in
the past are well documented. The obvious and painful disappointment
you feel in her massive, repeated, and inconscionable actions creates
in your delivery a different tone and cadence than when you more
gleefully rail against President Bush.
Thank you for both what you do and how. Please keep it up. This
nation, this world, and this individual are in desperate need of your
reasoned and empassioned voice.
Thank you
John W. Zinsser
All -
I have been quiet for a while.
Chalk it up to personal and professional demands, not a loss of interest and desire.
The good news is I have a bunch of things I want to write about and look forward to your thoughts and responses on.
But first this unbelievably surreal piece of politics.
Yesterday the WSJ carried a piece by Karl Rove entitled "Obama's troubling instincts."
If it was not so painfully partisan and attack driven, it could be the opening to a SNL skit this week.
I wrote a comment to the WSJ website and it follows. Encourage you all to do the same.
Do it nicely. Be like Obama - respectful, thoughtful, maybe a little funny, but courteous.
But do act.
We all know this is but the tip of the iceberg. But this bad dog needs to be shown that we, the master, will not accept this form of bad behavior. So roll up that newspaper and please take a respectful discplining swing at Rove and the WSJ.
John
My Response -
_______________________________
Wait... Karl Rove is titling a piece "(anyone else's) troubling instincts?" Karl Rove who is under supboena from Congress for his troubling ACTIONS not instincts - but ACTIONS? Karl Rove (and others associated with him) who either instinctually or with great personal fore thought continue to choose to thumb their collective noses at the legislative branch of government in hereto fore unseen ways making a mockery of our form of government and balance of power? Karl Rove has no right to question any one else's instincts these days. Something about those in glass houses seems right here. I laughed so hard at the headline, had to wait for the tears to clear from my eyes before I went on to the article. Troubling Actions Karl...how about you write us a meaningful piece about your very troubling, offensive, and possibly illegal actions. That, or show up on July 10, and tell us all about it. Someone will be there to write it all down for you in the congressional record. SIDE BAR - The WSJ's editorial slant has so declined and shifted since the purchase of the paper and realignment of leadership there, that I can almost not read it anymore. It is quite sad to me. Like watching a good, trusted friend, one who was smart and intelligent and helpful, loose that capacity to some insipid brainwashing or disease. A real loss to the business community and America as a whole. Thanks. John
"Only he who have the heart to failure on a big scale, is able to succes in proper style"
Robert F. Kennedy
There is an article today in the Washington Post at
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/14/obams_international_following.html
talking about our "www.captionedmediaforobama.com" site. It refers to the mention of us at www.theworldwantsobama.org/.
Check out both URL's about how everyone wants Obama as President!
Regards,
Barack's speech given after the North Carolina primary has been captioned, and is now on Youtube, and later today will also be on our main website.
You can see them
On to the Convention and November!
... Michael Novak
Captioned Media for Obama
Just in from www.huffingtonpost.com:
THE PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE
This is extremely important, everyone. Please digg this, so the media will give it attention.
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/NY_Times_calls_for_the_Media_hit_job_on_Obama_to_stop
Does anyone know what this "voter suppression" crap is, and how it's supposedly works? I just read somewhere that this is what's going on.
There is something very, very diabolical and sinister about this, and I can't wait for someone to come out of the woodworks with a tell-all!!!! It's almost like it's been scripted. I don't think any one of us can put our fingers on it, but it stinks to the bottomless pits of hell!
Barack Obama is the only candidate who is for the people of America, and I believe that scares the "say anything, do anything," Washington insiders to death, for fear of loosing control of their own personal fortunes built on the backs of the American people. Barack is one man, campaigning as a single individual, while Hillary has dozens campaigning for her. To top this off, he's received death threats. Hillary will never know the anguish of that.
Somebody PLEASE make some sense of this mess!
