Fellow President Obama Supporters and Former Ones"
AS the founder of the Obama Group named YESWECANSOLVEIT...
I have taken the liberty of forming still another group called
AmericaNOchange. I doubt this one gets approved.
Thought I'd better hurry and write this and send it to all groups that
I am still a member of before I am banned here forever. Why would
that happen? you ask. Because I just formed a new group with a little
kid yelling "Hey You" while flipping off the viewer. Hope the president
and his staff gets the message.
The esculation of the war in Aftganistan is the last straw. Three strikes
your out!
First, he keeps the same people on the payroll that got us into this
financial disaster. He let's Bush and Cheney walk scot-free. He continues
to bail out the banks, "all too big to fail" why they screw us in every way.
And tonight on national tv he will try to convience us all that the way to
end the war in Aftganistan is to exculate it. This did not work in Vietnam,
I know, because I volunteered to go there, and it will not work in Aftganistan.
To add insult to injury. The powers that be, the ones backing McCain in
my city in Northern California, are all meeting to determine what the same
good ole boys get to do with local stimulus funds...So my question is?
WHAT THE HELL HAS CHANGED IN AMERICAN PRESIDENT OBAMA?
I am so damned mad right now, I swear, if I could afford it, I'd trade in
my next presidential ballot for a passport.
Al Boek, Ex-Supporter of a One-Term President
earlallenboek@yahoo.com
530-549-4315
Redding, California
All I can say is THANK GOD we have a real LEADER in the White House. Thank God we have someone who cares about the BEST INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE and who can think LONG TERM. Everyday President Obama reminds us that We The People sent him to the White House to do The People's work...when President Obama said he was going to put government back to work, I didn't expect it to be this soon and this much. We have a man of his word in office, and that was long overdue. Please take a few minutes out of your day to read my latest BLOG entry regarding the President's budget:
Now as for the President's budget...wow! A President who sticks to campaign promises...who would have thunk it? This is what we voted for in November, what we celebrated in January, and what we (hopefully) will have for the next 8 years...jutice and equality for all. And I tuned in to FAUXnews this morning, and to my shock some commentator said something to the effect of "health care is not a right"...umm excuse me? Are these people serious? You mean to tell me that young men and women dying overseas is more of a birthright to American citizens and residents then basic health care?
My daughter, Monique, is an amazing person. She refers to herself as her mother’s favorite daughter, leaving out the fact that I have only one daughter (our inside joke:0)). She is a LEAP profession and assistant director of a creative learning project in a school in the Bronx, NY. Monique works with students and their teachers in a multitude of creative expression, including, journalism and creative writing through art, newsletters, poetry slams and more. We often do not get to see Monique at holidays because her students take up most of her time – this is her passion.
Recently, on one of her visits home, Monique arrived, wearing a pair of black jeans that were hand-painted in bright pinks, metallic golds, moody purples, sunlit yellows and pure reds. When I asked about her jeans, she explained that while working on a project at school that day, some paint splatter accidently got on her jeans. Well, that lead to the students using Monique’s black jeans as if they were an empty canvass. The students did not stop there. Her shoes had similar splatters of paint in varying colors to match her jeans – Ms. Moe at her finest!
At that time, Monique had also just hired a “Reconstructionist.” Okay, what is that! Unfortunately, I do not know the woman’s name so we will just have to call her the Reconstructionist because that is what she called herself. At their first meeting, the Reconstructionist explained that she takes old jeans and turns them into something new and in the process, creates art with fabric. She showed Monique a beautiful jacket made from old jeans, lined in an array of silks, and expertly tailored. The jeans were reconstructed into the latest style with a flowing back panel – a real showstopper. The Reconstructionist is now working with a class to turn their old jeans into beautiful, one of a kind handbags.
In the process of learning how to make the bags, the students are learning so much more, including math, teamwork, positive self-expression through art, creating art with fabric, the list is endless. This is the kind of ingenuity that we need right now. This is the kind of learning that our youth need, where the purpose of learning is to become happy and create value.
As I listened to Monique, she reminded me of my mother who was a Reconstructionist in her own way. Each year at Christmas, the three younger sisters (there were seven sisters in all) received beautiful “new” dolls with the most exquisite clothes. In fact, our doll clothes were the envy of our block (Harlem, NY). One of my favorite doll dresses was a beautiful purple chiffon evening gown that came with a matching shawl with a few sequins on it.
Not too long before Christmas, my mother and older sisters would wait until the younger girls were either busy doing something or in bed. Like elves in a toyshop, they would quietly gather up our old dolls and wash them, shampoo their hair and re-curl the hair with a hot comb. They repainted new faces, using red paint for lipstick, brown and black for eyebrows, and just a gentle smudge of pink on the cheeks for rouge. My mother always kept scraps of material, old dresses, etc., and she and my sisters would set about hand-sewing beautiful new dresses for our dolls. Christmas morning, the dolls would be lined up beneath the Christmas tree. We would awake Christmas mooring to find the most beautiful array of colors and fantasy awaiting us. We thought the dolls were new until we grew older and realized what our mother and older sisters had done.
Like Mom, like Monique, I am sure there is a little reconstructionist in all of us – pass it on!
YES WE DID! YES WE MUST:
Þ Protect him from harm both verbal & phyiscal
Þ Stay "FIRED UP" by staying active
Þ Work Bi-Partisan to bring "Change" together
Þ Don't just bitch, get active and stay engaged
Þ Start and join a local "Change" group
Þ Be philanthropic, serve your community, state and nation
Þ Stick by Obama, STOP smears on the Right & the Left!!!! Hold yourself responsible as you hold Barack!
Join the future of this movement!!
http://change.gov/joinus
http://www.communityorganize.com
http://www.ourpresidency.com
http://www.usaservice.org
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Barack's DNC 2004 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0&feature=PlayList&p=B1939005B8A4D4ED&index=188
Barack's DNC 2008 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ato7BtisXzE&feature=channel
Barack’s Election Acceptance Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-2Zu_Iic&feature=channel
Barack’s Inauguration Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4
I know many of us are focused on celebrating our grand victory in placing the right man in the White House, and some even to blindly exalting President Obama to greatness before he's been able to deserve those merits in his own right. Now while I support this administration and am positively certain that he will continue to implement new policies to keep campaign promises to us, I feel that the economy is by far the most important mountian which is ours to climb. I hope that most of us have listened with intent at the first Presidential Address, and try to understand what it is that is being asked of us.
Please examine the proposed stimulus, download the dpf file and weigh the options of not going through with this, the detrimental effect on our already struggling economy and take it upon yourselves to email, call, and make known to our congressmen that we are in fact behind the president for the long-haul stating key reasons why...even quoting parts of the plan. To sit back idle and claim that "Obama is the man" isn't enough, whether we have reservations or not, it is our duty to read through the proposal or at least seek infomation about it. I have read through most of it, and have watched nonbiased (NOT FAUX NEWS) networks (CNN, MSNBC) and can say that I am on board to support this stimulus, especially knowing there is far more accountability in this administration then the previous one.
I can not help but watch with shocked skepticism as the same party whom allowed Bush free reign in our governement is now attempting to pretend concern over President Obama's proposals, when he is in fact the very same individual who came up with these new unprecedented policies to safeguard the ethics and intergrity of the government. How ironic is it that it was alright for the previous administration to take power on and stifle those who sought knowledge, but now that we have a president who is open, THEY now are crying for more transperancy! Just some food for thought.
President-Elect Obama recently revealed that Pastor Rick Warren would take part in his inauguration, and it has since led to backlash from the homosexual community. While I see where some might feel hurt, I don't think "alienation" is the right term here. Some have even written letters stating dismay and feelings of betrayal by the incoming administration. And I believe every citizen has the right to address their government when feeling slighted, but I also think we are sometimes too quick to react. To everything there is a season, and while I admit it is a bold move by Barack Obama, I also feel as though there is more to this then meets the eye. If we are to change, first we must understand the problem before us in order to create a plan to promote such change. I feel that by including Rick Warren, President-Elect Obama is asserting his right to govern as he see's fit, while keeping in mind that he has to serve all of America.
I would like to pose a question; do you hear African American's crying out because PEBO didn't select a Jesse Jackson or T.D. Jakes even though 95% voted in his favor? Of course not...similarly, I don't hear femenists revolting because a female wasn't chosen to lead the nation into prayer. Nor are the liberals coming out of the woodwork in mass numbers because of the choice. Rather I think that many homosexuals as a whole are hurt because Warren was very successful in campaigning for the passage of Prop. 8 (which I have mixed feelings about), and in selecting him, President-Elect Obama has opened up a few wounds which haven't begun to fully heal. Was it a callus decision or a cunning one? Time is the only one which will tell...but I do know and believe that Obama has many challenges ahead and having the support of everyone is important in achieving the goals he's set before him.
I for one find the behaviors of "Blago" and his croonies to be disgusting and an embarassment to the US Government at large. Unfortunately the few extremists who've had nothing but harsh words since before the election are for some reason delighted by the news! I as myself why? The corruption in Illinois can only serve to discredit the government as a whole and isn't in favor of any party. Yet if you search the web, that "branch" (if you will) are dead set on linking President-Elect Obama to this scandal...even though he is as uninvolved as you and I. This says it all, President-Elect Obama was not interested in playing those games...the following quote was taken from an actual conversation Blago had which was tapped:
Nothing in the criminal complaint suggests that Obama ever discussed any deal with Blagojevich. And in some places, Blagojevich is quoted by prosecutors as being frustrated with Obama's transition team.
"Blagojevich said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat," the complaint states, "but 'they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.' "
This statement alone not only absolves the Obama administration of any involvement, but I believe also vindicates President-Elect Obama himself as it clearly demonstrates the unwillingness to involved himself with the process aside from expressing simple gratitude towards Blago for having govern Illinois and fulfilling his duty in selecting a replacement for President-Elect Obama's senate seat. Unfortunately Blago saw the situation as a means to steal from the taxpayers and appoint a puppet. In withdrawing from consideration and refusing to "bid" on the seat, the Obama administration has only further displayed their determination toward achieving the change we all desperately long for.
Where oh where do I begin? By now I'm pretty sure we've all heard the highly suspicious accusations coming from some who have yet to accept the will of the American people as it is conflicting to their personal sense of righteousness. While I am not one to bemoan the state of those who seek ignorance as a calling, it truly saddens me to see how far this has gone. At first I'd laughed it off, even dusted my shoulders off as President-Elect Obama did not too long ago when facing personal attack from his retractors...and yet here I am responding to these alligations. Why? Because I have a vested interest in the well-being of this country, because my children will be raised in this country. As I've followed the race and election it has become a matter of extreme importance for me to vocalize my thoughts on the government. We finally have a voice, I'll be damned if it's silence because spiteful-vengeful-obsessed detractors want to take the best thing that's happened to this country in too many years from us, and label us as fanatics for believing in something greater then what we've know so far, in hope. So now I ask you Friends, Americans, Countrymen, LEND ME YOUR EAR as I go off on a tangent:
Basically these people refuse to concede to the fact that the BEST MAN for OUR TIME won...THE AMERICAN PEOPLE chose him by a VAST MAJORITY. And unless they've been on a spacecraft (hopefully scouting for their native planet) they'd have noted that the WHOLE WORLD has celebrated this victory against empirialism and oppression. If anyone out there thinks the US public or the worlds for that matter will allow PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA to be robbed of his birth-right as a US CITIZEN to govern and lead this country out of the zestpool of despair and corruption which has too long overshadowed the good of this nation then they are just as culpable for the CIVIL WAR which whill most likely ensue, but I am confident that it will never come to that. These alligations will be laughed out of court if they ever make it that far.
The greatest statement by Kevin Phillips on Bill Moyers Journal was that, and I paraphrase, the taxpayers 700 billion bailout was that socialism is alive and well in the bailout; the only problem is that the rich get the benefits and the taxpayers have to pay when things go wrong. How ironic is that people? The bailout was frightening to me. It shocked me that we could actually vote for anything that Hank Paulson, with a fortune of 700 million dollars amassed on Wall Street. I honestly don't think many of us realize just how different the lives of the super rich really are. Socialism? Hmm We really do have to get are ducks in order when it comes to our priorities and I have a funny feeling that the deepest believers in this movement for change, those of us who heard and felt in Barack possibilities for an engaged citizenship in the United States, are going to hit the streets and start working to make sure change occurs.
How many of us have been checking our email and waiting to hear what we should do next only to realize cooing a meal at the homeless shelter, or getting a fundraising campaign for a new after school program in the neighborhood is what must happen. One thing I do know about economics is that there is a benefit to this kind of engaged citizenship, it is called the personal external benefit. It also helps you sleep well at night. Socialism of the rich does the opposite; as teh bank account grows and the knowledge that it has come at the expense of the health care for the poor, putting the head down on the pillow requires at least one dose of a sleep aid. I guess it should be Ambien CR, or at least investments in that pharmceuical are up fifteen points.....
By Monday night, my voice was dry and hoarse from making phone calls in battleground states. My fingers numb from punching in the numbers on my phone. “Go to sleep!” I commanded myself, tomorrow is E Day and that meant one final day of canvassing, one final day of visibility, on final day of reminding folks to go vote. Unfortunately, I did not listen to myself and woke up every hour.
Finally, the darkness began to show signs of dawn. It’s November 4th. I got up and chanted (prayed) from the depths of my life – today, Victory.
After voting, we headed off to New Hampshire for one last canvass, for one last call. After canvassing, we did visibility on a prominent corner near the Claremont NH field office until it started to turn dark and then we drove back to Connecticut.
When I reached home, exhaustion was beginning to take hold. Then the polls began to close and the results – as well as projections – began to come in. A burst of energy renewed my senses and we went to a result watch party with friends, neighbors and family.
As I walked around, greeting familiar faces, sharing hugs and war stories, and cheering as the commentator would announce another state for Senator Obama, a sense of awe and history began to build in all of us.
I looked at my hands but not my feet. If I looked down, I might fall. This is happening. This is real. We came to the mountain and we did not walk around it or avoid it. Lead by a man who inspired us and rekindled within our hearts the natural element of self-empowerment, we moved through that mountain with clear, determined and purposeful steps until we reached the other side in complete triumph! A great sea of people, many in body, one in mind is the secret to our success. As we emerged, our battle scars transformed into golden memory jewels, expanding our lives to the far corners of 3,000 universes.
The numbers got higher – there were several ways to reach 270 and beyond. The noise level grew. We were watching several big screen TV’s in the atrium at Union Station in downtown Hartford. A vast station suddenly seemed small as the crowd filled every nook and cranny. The gap was closing, and now it was down to either of two states that would bring victory for Senator Obama. Then it happened.
High into the air, our arms raised, our voices one grand roar of eternal delight, and our feet lifted like feathers, dancing to victory’s song. This is real. Together, we changed history. We are ground warriors all and change is our right of passage!
Yes We Can. Yes We Can. Yes We Can.
"May God bless whoever wins tonight," President Bush told dinner guests at the White House, according to spokeswoman Dana Perino.
We have been through a lot together.
From the primaries, where we were tested to the bone. To the run up to the general election, now only 4 days away, where we have seen the worst of the worst.
This campaign has been the most inspiring experience I have ever had. From my childhood, living in Florida, where I saw the 'difference' between how one color lived from another, to the world I've traveled since, it is clear to me that on November 4, we have a chance to realize a dream. The choice is ours.
We have become a new family, formed for a common purpose. And through this journey, we have connected deeper than many of us may have ever thought. I've made friends with people in every state. (I've even eaten the foods of every state during my primary phonebanking.) What we have achieved thus far has never been seen before.
Not only have we reached out to each other, we have reached out to Americans all around the nation. We have been like mini-Barack's, calling and canvassing in multiple states - meeting people who have told us their stories. And, in that experience, we have been humbled.
This truly is a great nation.
For the last eight years, something went terribly wrong. The people were ignored. Our President and Vice President and their crew decided to put their own interests ahead of ours. And look where that has gotten us. Lives lost for nothing. Homes lost for nothing. Jobs lost for nothing. Billions of dollars wasted - for nothing. An economy driven by greed. Greed which spread like a cancer - and nearly killed us.
In 4 days, we can change all that.
In 4 days, we can begin the healing. We can restore the trust. We, the people, can once again feel we have a say in our country's future - which, is OUR future.
If we fail. If we do not do what we have to do over the next 4 days, then we will only have ourselves to blame. Our dreams, our hopes, our time and money spent, will have been wasted.
In these last 4 days, let's not leave anything to chance.
The choice for change is clear. And now we must make sure everyone makes that choice a reality on November 4.
-Kevin Michael Winterfield Going Positive, Staying Positive
I wonder if Toni Morrison believed she would live in a time when an African American man that defined the ultimate "look" for young boys. As my son looks forlornly at his thin straight blonde hair and Slavic looks, he longs for African ancestors.
As anyone with young children and particularly adolescent males can tell you, this Hollween everyone wants to be Barack. The masks are sold out in every Party City and Holoween store and even online. Now, having worked in costumes Off Broadway for several years after college I was able to convince my son that if he really wanted to be Barack Obama for his Holloween dance at school he should, it's an easy sostume. Hmmm he said wanting to be poolite but not knowing how to tell me that I just didn't get it. We were treading around a landmine: or were we?
I said the costume is pretty easy;Barack wears almost a uniform on the campaign trail; white shirt, blue tie, dark pants or kakhis, dress shoes, slightly battered from galavanting cross country. "But, ..." Long silence. "Mom, my hair, my eyes...." "Oh ." I replied. Okay your eyes, well I can't do anything about pale blue eyes, but the blonde hair, you have a point, you'll just look like a little prep dressed for boarding school. We need a wig." "A wig?! Obama shaves his hair so short. I'll just shave my head.""NO." I replied. "our love had to be infused with reason. Okay. I have an idea. We got dressed and went to a wig store I knew was frequented by African American women. Having made my son feel awkward enough I thought I might as well go all the way. I explained the situation,"what do you have in a short man's Afro. My son wants to be Barack Obama for Holloween? The women laughed in a friendly and loving way. "What a good idea child. Forget those silly masks, they don't do him justice." She went on a search. All we could dome up with was a sixties Afro. When we put it on my son mutually we thought, "Obama at Harvard law school.Yes." Now if it hadn't been a sixth grade dance we might have gone with that. A nice brown leather jacket, the Jermaine Jackson look with some books. We've all seen the picture of the law school years. No, sixth graders won't get it. I asked her, what do you think if I cut it? He has a long fro, now we cut it to Obama's length. Awesome idea. Wait....Awkward pause, then she asked.."What are you going to do about his skin?.....Pause.
Now picture this .."My son attends about the most racially integrated public school in America. Who knows, maybe it is. There are children from thirty natoins speaking a multitude of languages. This has to do with both the influence of Yale University graduate housing, New Haven's immigrant population, and the typical urban population mixed into one pot. I speculated what would students who have heard their parents battling the stain and oppression of racism think when a child comes inn with an Afro and his face darkened? Not a good idea. So I thought, "How many times have I see beautiful African American children dressed as Cinderella, or Belle or Ariel? Hundred...that's how many. What do they do? Wear the costume, approximate the hair vila. You don't change the skin tone for a lot of reasons....think about it. So we cut the wig which was a laborious process. When my adorable son put in his new dark hair closely cropped, there was no doubt who he was impersonating....no emulating Perfect. Sure a few kids tried to make fun of him, but really what's there to make fun of with Barack. By the way, my son's ears stick out. It was the first time he was happy at about that.
I recently wrote about Said Hyder Akbar's book "Come Back to Afghanistan," in rereading this nineteen year old's life at the center of the events that led to the re-emergence of Al Queda in Afghanistan, it makes our Middle Eastern foreign policy of the last eight years look like a poorly played game of Risk. You know, when you play with someone with no strategy whatsoever. Mind you, this is a current Yale undergraduate writing from the ground with access to the top "good guys," who would eventually be on Karzai's team, including his father. Akbar recounts precisely ow the US turned to Pakistan and for protection and distribution of funds and military supplies. We used the corrupt ISI under Musharaff to aid visionaries who wanted to rebuild Afghanistan and return Kabul to its cosmopolitan lifestyle. After Sept. 11, 2001, all of the refugees who had been major policy makers, writers and thinkers were hopeful that the United States was ready to help rebuild what the Soviets and then the warlords had destroyed.
My first week canvassing in Keene New Hampshire back in january, I had he privilege of going door to door with Susan Rice and her handsome son. Our boys were about the same age and we thought it would help them from getting too bored. Ms. Rice is one of Obama's top foreign policy experts. I got to hear, first hand her explanation to volunteers that Obama had believed a venture into Iraq was misguided when the culprits of 9/11 were in Afghanistan. We needed to focus on preventing the increasing power vacume that Afghanistan was experiencing. Said Akbar recounts from the Afghani perspective precisely how that is wat occurred. A high school graduate from suburban California had a more valid grasp on world events than our President and the advisors he chose to implement. We can never make up to the Aghan people our aquiescence to Pakistan's corrupt military to distribute aide to their country, but we can begin to listen to the best and the brightest minds in foreign policy, as well as eager Afghan allies who have always been willing to share the events of their coutry with the US government.
The situation is desperate. It has been for years but better late than never.
