Presidents Park 2009 Free President Barack Obama Tour
June 4th 2009 Public viewing at David Adickes SculpturWorx, 2500 Summer Street, Houston Texas
June 5th 2009 Tour leaves 2500 Summer Street arriving at Pearland 14326 Highway 288 South Houston, Texas Home of the 3rd Presidents Park that will open in 2010.
June 6th 2009 the President Obama Statue returns to 2500 Summer Street for an all day Gala, meet the artist and sponsors and learn about the evolution of the Presidents Park Obama project.
June 7th President Obama Statue on Display at SculptuWorx all day.
June 8th AM, a quick trip through down town Houston for some photo ops, East I 10 for a whistle stop at Columbus, North on 71 to La Grange TX.
June 8th Obama Tour north to Austin Texas, arrives at Vino Vino at 4119 Guadalupe St for a 4-10 pm display.
Michelle and Barack you have reached the pinicle that no one has achieved. The way you handled the campaign was superb and not like any I have ever seen in my 34 years. You have God on your side so always remember that. One of my favorite sayings is "without a vision the people perish" we definetely have a vision so I no we will not perish.
God Bless you
Tammy
Help Norienga win a poll and some cash!
Just a moment to vote on a Daily Kos poll.
Chris Frandsen
Okay, while listening to music lately, I've come to a couple conclusions. First, I need a playlist for Election Day. Second, I need your help in building it. While listening to Dr. Horrible, there's part of a song that I think is relevant but the rest of the song (while I really like it) goes too negative. Here are the lyrics that cause me to think of McCain's followers:
Why can’t they see what I see?Why can’t they hear the lies?Maybe the fee’s too pricey for them to realize your disguise is slipping, I think you’re slipping.
Otherwise, here's the playlist I have right now. It's pretty weak. Help me grow it?
What Obama Needs to Say To Become a Transformative Leader and the next President of the United States of America
On War:
While John McCain says he has no problem with troops staying in Iraq for 100 or even 1,000 years, “as long as they are not dying”, James Madison, fourth President and principle author of the Constitution, a man who knew a lot about war, reached a different conclusion,
Continual Warfare is what John McCain has said faces our country. I believe that war is the recognition that we have failed in all of out attempts to find common ground and pragmatic solutions to problems with another country. Going to war, no matter what you call it, Police Action, Temporary Incursion, or, as Russia currently calls it, Peacekeeping, cannot and must not be a viable option while there is any hope that a peaceful solution may be found. When we say, “All options are on the table” we are telling the other country that we will blow them up if necessary, unless they see the issue from our perspective and do, or stop doing, whatever it is we find objectionable or threatening to our National Interest.
The true cost of our military, direct costs, interest on money we have borrowed to fight wars, veterans benefits, etc., consumes over 50% of our annual budget! (http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm).
The US spends almost as much as all other countries combined on defense and yet, we do not seem to be safer today than last year. Military spending, while necessary, when kept at appropriate levels, is currently destroying opportunities for making significant positive changes in the world. We have spent Billions of Dollars destroying Baghdad and will spend Billions of Dollars restoring Baghdad. Does that make us safer? Over 4,000 American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars spent to overthrow an impotent and well-contained despot. Al Qaeda has reconstituted and spread from their outposts in Afghanistan into Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran. This focus on military might to resolve world issues is a dangerous and counter-productive farce.
It is not a coincidence that both North Korea and Iran accelerated their efforts to produce nuclear weapons after President Bush put them on his “Axis of Evil” hit list and after we invaded Iraq. These are corrupt and violent regimes but I believe we scared them so much that they believe they need the bomb for a deterrent.
Now we are looking at an election that includes Senator John McCain; another “War President” who is not afraid to Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran, but has no interest, nor aptitude, to negotiate a peaceful outcome to this world-threatening problem. Do you want to elect another President who, like George Bush, views much of the World as a threat that requires confrontation and military force to protect American interests? We can no more bomb our way out of Iran’s nuclear ambitions than we can drill our way out of our energy problems. Bombing and drilling are both 20th century solutions to 21st century problems.
War is seldom in our National Interest. Unless there is a clear and present danger to the security of our country, and all other options have failed, we should use other means to achieve our objectives. We have to understand that the more threatening our foreign policy becomes, the more fear other countries will have. Fear can cause desperate actions and making decisions based on fear is never a good idea. We need strong, rational, long-term solutions to International conflict. Blowing people up, is never the best option. War should be the decision of last resort. A choice made after all other options have been tried and found inadequate.
During the last twenty years of mostly Republican rule, our laws, and regulations, intended to support honesty, transparency, and the common good, have been corrupted, and subverted to support an assault on the basic concepts of Free Enterprise and the Democratic process. Economic advantage has become the benchmark by which all of our ethics, moral codes, ideals, and political decisions have been measured. Economic advantage has been the excuse for our failure to sign the Kyoto Treaty, allowing corporations to pollute our environment and eviscerate our labor laws. It is the primary reason that we have allowed families to borrow much more than they can repay, and turned a blind eye as Wall Street demigods corrupted and almost destroyed our economy.
Americans are consistently among the most productive workers in the world. We have one of the highest standards of living among all countries, yet too many of us are enslaved by a culture of consumption and overwhelming debt and are just a few paychecks away from losing everything. The current crisis in the housing and the credit market are not flukes or cyclical corrections. They are the fruit of a culture of self-indulgence and greed, self-indulgence on the part of consumers, and greed on the part of the moneylenders. It was not by accident that Jesus, when he arrived at the temple in Jerusalem, first expelled the moneychangers. We must do the same thing and insure that we no longer worship at the alter of money.
I will replace the current tax system with a simplified and progressive system that does not favor the rich and reward unproductive policies. I will create a tax system that rewards conservation, alternative energy, and green living, and that lets dirty industries pay their own way.
I will hold corporations accountable for all the costs of doing business, environmental, employee, and consumer protection. If they want to hire workers in other countries to do their work, they must pay them a living wage, enforce worker protection, and protect the environment in that country. If a foreign company wants to do business here, they will be held to the same standards. Instead of trying to compete with businesses that use slave or prison labor, and create havoc on local environments, by lowering our standards, we will demand that they raise their standards.
Our position as Americans must always elevate the common good. This is the key to our success. America must regain the moral authority that has been squandered by this administration
ENERGY: I will spend whatever it takes to end our dependence on foreign and domestic oil. Oil is an eighteenth century technology and the pollution and the wars fought to maintain the flow of this toxic black substance, is destroying our economy, enriching our enemies, and poisoning our environment.
EDUCATION:
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” To maintain our leadership position and fulfill our obligation to future Americans, we must have the premiere education system in the world. My commitment to quality public education is unshakable and my administration will make funding and accountability a high priority. We must have highly qualified and motivated teachers if we are to compete in the global economy, global leadership, and global issues that effect all of us. Highly educated and motivated citizens are critical to the future of this great country. We must equip our children to continue the leadership role that is their birthright. It is clear that current policies need drastic changes in order to achieve this goal.
On abortion:
I hate abortion almost as much as I hate war. Despite my personal feelings and beliefs, I will never support the government’s attempts to dictate personal healthcare decisions, to any American. We have a fundamental right to privacy and freedom from governmental interference, and we must stand vigilant against attempts to restrict those freedoms. Abortion is a medical, moral, family, and religious issue, and we must rely on those institutions to change this damaging practice.
My Administration will work tirelessly to reform the economic and social conditions that lead many women to make this very difficult choice. We will encourage abstinence but we also recognize that abstinence, as a stand-alone policy does not work and will encourage intelligent and sensitive discussions and education to help our citizens understand their responsibility in the choices they make.
President McCain, and his running mate, Governor Palin, will appoint Supreme Court Judges, and other Jurists who will, force governmental oversight and authority into our most sensitive and private decisions. This is contrary to true conservative principles as well as the Constitution of the United States. If Governor Palin has the authority, she will ban abortion even in the case of rape, incest, and the health of the woman. This, we cannot allow.
John McCain and the rest of our elected representatives have postponed making vital decisions on funding Social Security and Medicare for too long. The problems are complex and daunting but we must and will find solutions. If you give me the opportunity to serve, and a congress that will support my agenda, I will stop the looting of Social Security Trust Funds, by both parties, and create policies and regulations that will guarantee benefits into the 22nd Century.
The regulations governing Social Security and Medicare are based on old models of employment and retirement and I will update them to reflect the new, more dynamic economy of America today. Social Security can work and it will be among my highest priorities.
HEALTHCARE:
The American people must examine our healthcare system in an objective and democratic way. Many of us have excellent healthcare and are afraid that if the system is changed, we will lose services or choice. In the richest country in the world, we can no longer justify a healthcare system based on profit and denial of services to people with pre-existing and chronic disease or disability.
We have been duped by health-care and their lavishly funded lobbyists to believe that converting to a single payer system would mean disaster. Yet, the healthcare we provide to our returning soldiers and to our elderly is in fact, “government run” healthcare. Every other advanced industrialized nation in the world offers healthcare to all of their citizens, regardless of pre-condition, or ability to pay. These countries enjoy better health, longer lives, and lower health care costs, than Americans do. They also spend much more on preventive healthcare or wellness programs.
As your President, I will make sure you know the facts about healthcare, not the myth that insurance companies want to peddle, and after presenting the facts, together, we will build a healthcare system that will be the envy of the world.
THE FUTURE OF AMERICA:
America is the leader of the free world. We have this extraordinary power and responsibility because of our wealth, our military might, and our history of responsible and moral choices. We have made many mistakes, yet we continue to strive for equality, dignity, and freedom, for all people. As long as we maintain this moral compass, we may stray, but we will never be lost.
Something is happening to that leadership. Greed is replacing our moral compass with an economic compass. George Bush, John McCain, and many of their supporters have traded their ethics and betrayed their better selves, for the promise of power and riches. Public Service has become attractive, not as a moral and patriotic calling, part of giving back for all we are given, but as a gateway to high paying jobs, and self-serving influence.
As your President, I will demand ethical and responsible behavior from the government, our public servants, and our business leaders. I will change our laws so that the swinging door from politics to big business is closed. We cannot make enough laws to prevent unethical and self-serving behavior. We must hold others and ourselves to a higher standard.
We must open our eyes to the conditions of all our citizens. We must rewrite our welfare, healthcare, education, economic, and legal codes, so that they work in concert to create opportunity for all Americans. We cannot allow large segments of our population to be left out of the promise and birthright that makes America the envy of the world.
I will form a national service corps that will allow all of our citizens to work toward a brighter America. When our young people reach eighteen years of age, they will have a two-year commitment of service to their country. These young men and women may volunteer for the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, the military, reconstruction of our infrastructure, or service to non-profit and governmental agencies. This will create a pool of millions of workers to tutor our students, maintain our roads, bridges, parks, and wilderness, while instilling them with patriotism and a sense of self-sufficiency. This service will allow the unemployed to perform meaningful work, the uneducated to complete their education, the unskilled to learn a trade, the lost, and forgotten, to find their place in the world.
Great things are ahead; unlimited possibilities call to us with the promise of better lives, more involved citizenship, and significant changes for all. America’s role in the worldwide community is to stand as a shining example of what can be, not a guardian of what was. We are the standard-bearer for goodness, justice, and decency. That is our responsibility and our legacy.
Abraham Lincoln eloquently said, “My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.” Come be a part of his dream. Become his dream: Together we can do it: Yes, we can.
Google has a webpage up where you can search the Internet as it existed in 2001:
http://www.google.com/search2001.html
Some interesting searches:
Barack Obama – 766 hits
Barack Obama Illinois – 608 hits
Barack Obama Chicago – 576 hits
Sarah Palin – 2,610 hits (mostly other Palins with someone else named Sarah on the page)
Sarah Palin Alaska – 209 hits
Sarah Palin Wasilla – 71 hits
Now try those searches in today’s Google.
Josh
After Mcsame and Palin have tolerateed and incitement of fear mongering,it has come back to bite them. Now Mcsame is trying to calm his crowd down at a rally today and gets booed by his on supporters. I don't know who's bright idea it was anyway to start saying untrue and irrelevant things about Obama. Now he is saying Obama is a decent man. I don't see how he can fire up his base now that they have turned on him. I don't know how he can sleep at night with these unethical attacks. Americans care about who is going to fix the economy. Palin was just proven to have abused her power. It is all hitting the fan for Mccain-Palin.
We want substance, talk about the issues!!!
I don't remember where I got these from, but they are profound beyond words. I also believe that they describe Barack Obama's principles to a T.
Please read and share with others.
Thanks,
Jim
Okay, here are my results. I'm pretty sure they're close...
A couple words had no mentions so I added a couple that bother me, Nukular and I-ran. The letters represent who said the words (B: Biden, S: sarah palin, G: Gwen Ifill), with the commas separating questions. I added I-ran about half-way through so I may have misplaced some commas.
Now, let's see where the pundits and polls line up as to where the money goes...
The article Placed in the OPINION column of the Wall Street Journal by CHARLES W. CALOMIRIS and PETER J. WALLISON entitled "OPINION SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 Blame Fannie Mae and Congress For the Credit Mess (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212948811465427.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)" is a very slanted article, but of course it is only OPINION... it has numerous errors and at times is postured to act as McCain was right there trying to pass this bill and the Republicans were helpless against the Democrats. Especially in the following statement:
:::READ ON IN THE EXTENDED POST TEXT:::
Nicholas Nix for Rockwall Co. Commissioner Pct. 4 in 2010 www.nix4rockwall.com
(My apologies: the site won't let me apply my own styles and they've messed with the spacing for unordered lists so I had to make the last three lists ordered.)
For actual debates and seeing the event's its best to watch on C-SPAN
For HD- CNN.
For good commentary- MSNBC.
For slightly more right-wing bias- FOX.
For even handedness- PBS.
For the locals- NBC news (don't care too much for ABC news).
Bill Clinton on McCain - Bill Clinton can't help himself: He praised McCain again Thursday, telling Good Morning America that he understands why McCain's wants to delay Friday's debate. ""We know he didn't do it because he's afraid, because Sen. McCain wanted more debates," Clinton said."I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted -- I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country and so I don't think we ought to overly parse that."
Bill Clinton on Palin - On Tuesday, Clinton had kind words for the Palin family. “I come from Arkansas. I get why she’s hot out there, why she's doing well,” he told reporters. (He added that voters would think, “I'm glad she loves her daughter and she's not ashamed of her. … I like that little Down syndrome kid.”) On Larry King Live, he called Palin “gutsy, spirited, and real.” As for Obama vs. McCain, “I genuinely like both of them. … We make a terrible mistake believing we have to find something wrong with the people we won’t vote for.” And calling Obama a “good candidate” and a “smart man” sounds pretty weak.
Bill Clinton on Obama - Why is Bill playing the pundit? - explaining why he thinks Obama will win instead of why people should vote for him. On the Late Show, he predicted the election would “break Obama’s way.” Not because of Obama’s message of hope and change and the American dream, but because of election fundamentals. As he said on The View: “Obama will win for the following reasons: Two-thirds of American people are having trouble paying their bills. … America is growing more diverse,” racially and demographically. And “registration is up for Democrats, flat for Republicans in 20 of the most important states.” WTF? Well isn’t that inspiring!
What is with Bill?
1. Does he feel he's lost the black vote/support, so he's like, “What the hell, F' em, then!”?
2. Is it that "good ole' boy" (GOB) political comradely thing? And McCain, Palin, and Bush1, 2 are part of the GOB network and Obama is not?
3. Is he still salty that Hillary didn’t win? She came close. (as he keeps reminding us in every interview) But, as Chris Rock so duly noted, she lost. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsep_xcWOQ8
4. Is it his ego? Does he feel his legacy will be lost once Barack Obama is president? He had a lot success while in office, and this country thrived, but does he feel he can’t compete with the legacy that an Obama presidency will leave on the world?
Bill Clinton is one of the best orators and political talents of his generation. So why is he such a lousy surrogate?
In light of the recent reports that the McCain/Palin campaign is being sued by the band Heart for using the song "Barracuda" at campaign events, I have been thinking about whether there might be other possible songs that would serve as a good theme for the GOP campaign. Right now I am leaning toward Radiohead's "Electioneering" as a good possibility. The first verse seems particularly appropriate in light of the recent attacks on Senator Obama:
"I will stopI will stop at nothingSay the right thingsWhen electioneeringI trust I can rely on your vote."
Anyone have a better suggestion?
And how would postponing the debate help the economy?
Hasty McCain!!!
Why would you say and do these things before you had the full details of the situation? Talk about bad timing. This is typical of what the American people have seen during the last eight (8) years of the current Rep. Administration; i.e. Iraq and Katrina response.
This is a drastic miscalculation of the part of Mr. McCain.
So McCain do you mean to tell me you can't do more than one thing at a time? You can't run your campaign, debate and focus on solutions for our economy while you are a candidate for President?
Then why should we, the American people trust you to handle the business of this nation. Good leaders are able to handle several things at a time and for you to ask that the debate be move back with a little over a month to Election Day is CRAZY.
Sounds like you're playing politics with this financial crisis. I don't think you can be President if you can't handle several great tasks at a time.
I know that many people have been lamenting lately about when or if camp Obama/Biden will use the Keating Five S & L crisis that McCain was involved in. I for one think it will happen by next Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Talk about a blast from the past.
For the campaign to bring this type of thing up before the debate would short change the efforts of the campaign to stay on one message. The economic efforts being carried out at this time need to move forward and full focus needs to be paid to what is being done as well. These occurrences cannot happen again; our market could not take it as well as the American people.
Keating will indeed come up and then America will be reminded of how McCain would (not) stop an economic disaster from happening; more deregulation... not so good is it McCain.
