Many of us secrectly wondered, “If we help you will you forget?”
We wondered what we were getting into because you came out of no where like a shooting star. We were inspired by your willingness to admit you didn’t have all the answers and that you may make mistakes. Some of us have forgotten you said you would work hard to correct them as they came to light. Many have also forgotten you are not a dictator and there are several people with whom you consult, who have a say in the decisions you make and that you just can’t go off on some tangent “all willy-nilly.”
No Mr President, you have to be careful with every step you take and every word you say. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, and still had time to be a father to this nation.
Sasha and Malia are the luckiest girls in the world, because with everything already on his plate their Daddy took time out of his day to give words of encouragement to millions of kids who may not have had anyone to do that for them. I live in one of the districts where it was decided your message wasn’t important enough to interrupt the school day. Some were given an excused absence so they could be taken out of school and view it off campus, but you had to give them prior notice and I was concerned as to what they would miss.
Our economy is a mess, and taxpayers are being expected to foot the bill. I have no problem paying may fair share, business or personal, but how do we know they won’t squander those funds too?
I don’t know about you, but I’m thouroughly disgusted with how things are turning out. Companies like Enron, WorldCom and others have been allowed to walk away from the havoc, some have not even got a slap on the wrist.
Why can’t the government require these individuals to payback all the money above their regular income? I don’t advocate taking from the rich and giving to the poor, but as a business owner I don’t get a bonus if the company is in financial trouble.
Hello everyone,
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,
Michael Novak
Site Administrator
History made
A country saved
Scream it out loud
I am so damn proud
We are sorry to hear that you have lost your grandmother. Please know that our hearts go out to you and your family. Tomorrow may be the biggest day in history. You have surpassed anything she could have ever dreamed for you! No one could have imagined when you introduced yourself to the national stage, that you would become the symbol for change.
Senator you hold within you all of America, from the darkest to the lightest, the poorest to the richest, and you bring hope to each and every one of us. I am proud to say my entire family finished voting over two weeks ago! We have spoken your name every where we go. You and Michelle told a funny story about Maia the other night and I have my own to share.
Anytime my four year old sees your picture he goes crazy! He even knows the sound of your voice and will come running from the other room, "Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Mommy that's Barack Obama! He's the President of the United States!"
A family of Supporters from Texas!
Yikes! It is not easy to sign on to this account. I just came in to look at some news and my activity makes it look like I am doing virtually nothing, but hey not all of us are doing it in ways documented by this site. I have volunteered at the Obama-Biden office in Media, Pennsylvania. I have a blog (http://texbird.blogspot.com/) where I am pushing for voter protection and discussing some issues. I am lobbying with peers, such as Deaf Americans.
As an older, disabled citizen I have no money to contribute so I give in every other way that I can and plan to be out Tuesday waving signs trying to excite people to vote. I hope millions others will be joining me.
Visit my bog: http://texbird.blogspot.com/
I got a message from Alan Banov, Esq. an attorney is specializing in electron protection in Montgomery County of Maryland. Read last paragraph said that polls allow voters wearing campaign paraphernalia (buttons, t-shirts, cap, etc.) into the polling place but you do not talk to voters about campaigning canvass. Mary M. Barovian, Deaf Obama supporter and volunteer
Alan Banov's message:
OK. here is what we are telling Democratic precinct officials and volunteers: 1. May I wear Democratic Party regalia on Election Day?
· Precinct officials and party volunteers may wear buttons, caps, or shirts which identify themselves as precinct officials and as supporting a particular candidate or ballot measure.· We encourage precinct officials and party volunteers to show their support for our candidates and positions. However, precinct officials and or party volunteers must not enter the polling place wearing campaign gear. This could get you in trouble. The same law that prohibits campaigning within 100 feet of the entrance to the polls also makes it a criminal misdemeanor to "canvass, electioneer, or post any campaign material in the polling place or beyond a line established by signs posted in accordance with [the law]." Md. Code, Election Law, Sec. 16-206(b). (Surprisingly, the Code does not define "electioneer," but one dictionary defines it thus: "to work for the success of a particular candidate, party, ticket, etc., in an election.")· Therefore, if you do wear political buttons or clothing, you need to turn your shirt inside out, put on a jacket, take off your political buttons, or otherwise conceal your campaign gear before entering the polling place.
2. What if a voter wears something (e.g., button, cap, or shirt) identifying that person as a supporter of a particular candidate or ballot measure? · Voters are allowed to wear anything they want in a polling place, AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT CAMPAIGNING. According to the State Board of Elections' website, a voter may wear campaign paraphernalia (buttons, t-shirts, or stickers) into the polling place when there to vote.· However, we advise voters not to talk loudly in the polling area about a candidate or a ballot measure. See No. 1 above. So you can wear buttons or shirts when you vote, but no campaigning by trying to persuade anyone to vote a certain way.The law may be different in DC. The above applies to Maryland. The Constitution does generally protect free speech, but we need to be careful to follow the state law, too. Hope this helps,
Alan Banov
Written by Frank Schaeffer, author of CRAZY FOR GOD
Great presidents are made great by horrible circumstances combined with character, temperament and intelligence. Like firemen, cops, doctors or soldiers, presidents need a crisis to shine.
Obama is one of the most intelligent presidential aspirants to ever step forward in American history. The likes of his intellectual capabilities have not been surpassed in public life since the Founding Fathers put pen to paper. His personal character is also solid gold. Take heart, America: we have the leader for our times.
I say this as a white, former life-long Republican. I say this as the proud father of a Marine. I say this as just another American watching his pension evaporate along with the stock market! I speak as someone who knows it's time to forget party loyalty, ideology and pride and put the country first. I say this as someone happy to be called a fool for going out on a limb and declaring that, 1) Obama will win, and 2) he is going to be amongst the greatest of American presidents.
Obama is our last best chance. He's worth laying it all on the line for.
This is a man who in the age of greed took the high road of community service. This is the good father and husband. This is the humble servant. This is the patient teacher. This is the scholar statesman. This is the man of deep Christian faith.
Good stories about Obama abound; from his personal relationship with his Secret Service agents (he invites them into his home to watch sports, and shoots hoops with them) to the story about how, more than twenty years ago, while standing in the check-in line at an airport, Obama paid a $100 baggage surcharge for a stranger who was broke and stuck. (Obama was virtually penniless himself in those days.) Years later after he became a senator, that stranger recognized Obama's picture and wrote to him to thank him. She received a kindly note back from the senator. (The story only surfaced because the person, who lives in Norway, told a local newspaper after Obama ran for the presidency. The paper published a photograph of this lady proudly displaying Senator Obama's letter.)
Where many leaders are two-faced; publicly kindly but privately feared and/or hated by people closest to them, Obama is consistent in the way he treats people, consistently kind and personally humble. He lives by the code that those who lead must serve. He believes that. He lives it. He lived it long before he was in the public eye.
Obama puts service ahead of ideology. He also knows that to win politically you need to be tough. He can be. He has been. This is a man who does what works, rather than scoring ideological points. In other words he is the quintessential non-ideological pragmatic American. He will (thank God!) disappoint ideologues and purists of the left and the right.
Obama has a reservoir of personal physical courage that is unmatched in presidential history. Why unmatched? Because as the first black contender for the presidency who will win, Obama, and all the rest of us, know that he is in great physical danger from the seemingly unlimited reserve of unhinged racial hatred, and just plain unhinged ignorant hatred, that swirls in the bowels of our wounded and sinful country. By stepping forward to lead, Obama has literally put his life on the line for all of us in a way no white candidate ever has had to do. (And we all know how dangerous the presidency has been even for white presidents.)
Nice stories or even unparalleled courage isn't the only point. The greater point about Obama is that the midst of our worldwide financial meltdown, an expanding (and losing) war in Afghanistan, trying to extricate our country from a wrong and stupidly mistaken ruinously expensive war in Iraq, our mounting and crushing national debt, awaiting the next (and inevitable) al Qaeda attack on our homeland, watching our schools decline to Third World levels of incompetence, facing a general loss of confidence in the government that has been exacerbated by the Republicans doing all they can to undermine our government's capabilities and programs... President Obama will take on the leadership of our country at a make or break time of historic proportions. He faces not one but dozens of crisis, each big enough to define any presidency in better times.
As luck, fate or divine grace would have it (depending on one's personal theology) Obama is blessedly, dare I say uniquely, well-suited to our dire circumstances. Obama is a person with hands-on community service experience, deep connections to top economic advisers from the renowned University of Chicago where he taught law, and a middle-class background that gives him an abiding knowledgeable empathy with the rest of us. As the son of a single mother, who has worked his way up with merit and brains, recipient of top-notch academic scholarships, the peer-selected editor of the Harvard Law Review and, in three giant political steps to state office, national office and now the presidency, Obama clearly has the wit and drive to lead.
Obama is the sober voice of reason at a time of unreason. He is the fellow keeping his head while all around him are panicking. He is the healing presence at a time of national division and strife. He is also new enough to the political process so that he doesn't suffer from the terminally jaded cynicism, the seen-it-all-before syndrome afflicting most politicians in Washington. In that regard we Americans lucked out. It's as if having despaired of our political process we picked a name from the phone book to lead us and that person turned out to be a very man we needed.
Obama brings a healing and uplifting spiritual quality to our politics at the very time when our worst enemy is fear. For eight years we've been ruled by a stunted fear-filled mediocrity of a little liar who has expanded his power on the basis of creating fear in others. Fearless Obama is the cure. He speaks a litany of hope rather than a litany of terror.
As we have watched Obama respond in a quiet reasoned manner to crisis after crisis, in both the way he has responded after being attacked and lied about in the 2008 campaign season, to his reasoned response to our multiplying national crises, what we see is the spirit of a trusted family doctor with a great bedside manner. Obama is perfectly suited to hold our hand and lead us through some very tough times. The word panic is not in the Obama dictionary.
America is fighting its 'Armageddon' in one fearful heart at a time. A brilliant leader with the mild manner of an old-time matter-of-fact country doctor soothing a frightened child is just what we need. The fact that our 'doctor' is a black man leading a hitherto white-ruled nation out of the mess of its own making is all the sweeter and raises the Obama story to that of moral allegory.
Obama brings a moral clarity to his leadership reserved for those who have had to work for everything they've gotten and had to do twice as well as the person standing next to them because of the color of their skin. His experience of succeeding in spite of his color, social background and prejudice could have been embittering or one that fostered a spiritual rebirth of forgiveness and enlightenment. Obama radiates the calm inner peace of the spirit of forgiveness.
Speaking as a believing Christian I see the hand of a merciful God in Obama's candidacy. The biblical metaphors abound. The stone the builder rejected is become the cornerstone... the last shall be first... he that would gain his life must first lose it... the meek shall inherit the earth...
For my secular friends I'll allow that we may have just been extraordinarily lucky! Either way America wins.
Only a brilliant man, with the spirit of a preacher and the humble heart of a kindly family doctor can lead us now. We are afraid, out of ideas, and worst of all out of hope. Obama is the cure. And we Americans have it in us to rise to the occasion. We will. We're about to enter one of the most frightening periods of American history. Our country has rarely faced more uncertainty. This is the time for greatness. We have a great leader. We must be a great people backing him, fighting for him, sacrificing for a cause greater than ourselves.
A hundred years from now Obama's portrait will be placed next to that of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. Long before that we'll be telling our children and grandchildren that we stepped out in faith and voted for a young black man who stood up and led our country back from the brink of an abyss. We'll tell them about the power of love, faith and hope. We'll tell them about the power of creativity combined with humility and intellectual brilliance. We'll tell them that President Obama gave us the gift of regaining our faith in our country. We'll tell them that we all stood up and pitched in and won the day. We'll tell them that President Obama restored our standing in the world. We'll tell them that by the time he left office our schools were on the mend, our economy booming, that we'd become a nation filled with green energy alternatives and were leading the world away from dependence on carbon-based destruction. We'll tell them that because of Pres ident Obama's example and leadership the integrity of the family was restored, divorce rates went down, more fathers took responsibility for their children, and abortion rates fell dramatically as women, families and children were cared for through compassionate social programs that worked. We'll tell them about how the gap closed between the middle class and the super rich, how we won health care for all, how crime rates fell, how bad wars were brought to an honorable conclusion. We'll tell them that when we were attacked again by al Qaeda, how reason prevailed and the response was smart, tough, measured and effective, and our civil rights were protected even in times of crisis...
We'll tell them that we were part of the inexplicably blessed miracle that happened to our country those many years ago in 2008 when a young black man was sent by God, fate or luck to save our country. We'll tell them that it's good to live in America where anything is possible. Yes we will.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back. Now in paperback.
After the last debate I was disappointed and a little miffed Sen. McCain refused to acknowldge Sen. Obama. I know the man is disabled and stiff but it isn't that difficult to make eye contact and shake someone's hand.
The past week we've heard them accuse Sen. Obama of paling around with terrorists and incite people with hatred and fear. Some people are even shouting for the senator's head as if we have gone back in time,
Tonight's debate was the last straw. There is no denying McCain is convinced he will lose in November, and is consistantly oblvious to the cultral divide that still plagues this country. You can't say such things and expect us to believe you are for equality!
Did anyone else see him finally put on the sheet? Right there for the whole world to see, John McCain just maybe a cross burning member of the KKK!
Hi all Deaf support Obama members,
I created YouTube is
DeafObama, Welcome and subscribe:
www.YouTube.com/DeafObama
any Chat, Message, Social, Obama Party, vlog about Obama,..etc
//Rocky
Deaf for Obama (S. CA)
We need volunteer sign interpreters for Sept 20th at Metro Park in Jacksonville FLA for an Obama rally! Thanks!
contact me for contact person
Spread the word!
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.
I must be a psychic! It looks as though I may have been correct in Republicans trying to steal royalties from Alaska. I don't want to call her a sellout, but why else would you accept the nomination? See the letter below from an Alaskaian Senator who is opposed to drilling.
The Honorable Samuel W. Bodman
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Bodman,
On June 3, 2008 and July 30, 2008 respectively, your Department issued and affirmed an order pursuant to Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act that will allow two major integrated oil companies – ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil – to export 98.1 billion cubic feet of Alaskan natural gas to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. This order, which will allow the export of as much natural gas as is used by 1.4 million American families in a year, comes at a time when the President had demanded that the moratoria on oil and gas drilling along our environmentally-sensitive coastal areas be lifted and Americans are being warned that their winter heating bills are going to be dramatically higher. The Administration is trying to have it both ways – arguing that we need to drill everywhere because we don't have adequate energy supplies, while finding that we have so much energy that big oil companies can export it overseas and keep prices here at home higher than they would otherwise be. On its face, the order that Department has issued to allow the continued export of Alaskan natural gas does not meet the public interest test required by the Natural Gas Act and I respectfully request that you review and revoke it.
As you know, the United States has been exporting natural gas from Alaska to Japan since 1969. Historically, these exports were deemed in the public interest because there were no pipelines to the lower-48 states and no West Coast LNG terminals to bring this gas to market. Indeed, even in this most recent order, which would allow ConocoPhillips and Marathon to continue to export Alaskan natural gas when their current long-term authorization expires next April, the Department dismissed the possibility of supplying this gas to the lower-48 and only considered the local need for this natural gas within Alaska in its determination that the proposed export met the statute's public interest test.
What the Department should have fully considered, but did not, was the need for this natural gas in the lower-48 and the fact that the capability to import LNG to the West Coast has been commercially available as of May 15, 2008 – the date Sempra LNG, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, announced that its Energía Costa Azul LNG terminal in Baja California was ready for commercial operation. In fact, the Department appears to have relied upon inaccurate and out of date information submitted by ConocoPhillips and Marathon on this point. For example, the Department's June 3rd order cites arguments by these companies that, "(w)ith respect to national need, CPANGC [ConocoPhillips Alaska Natural Gas Corporation] and Marathon state shipment of LNG from the Applicants' Kenai LNG facilities to the lower 48 states does not appear to be a viable option due to certain regulatory and economic hurdles."
The hurdles cited by the companies, according to the Department, are the Jones Act which restricts shipments between U.S. ports to U.S. flagged vessels, the argument "that there are no existing U.S. west coast LNG receiving terminals," and the cost of shipping LNG to the East and Gulf coasts would be prohibitive. The Costa Azul facility was specifically designed to provide natural gas to U.S. markets, as well as Mexican customers. It is connected by a cross-border pipeline system capable of delivering natural gas to the U.S. market today, and that system is being expanded to provide even more capability. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, there are no additional duties or tariffs on natural gas trade between the two countries. And because your Department already approves all exports and imports of natural gas between the U.S. and Mexico, it (and you) should be well aware of these capabilities. Since the facility is located in Mexico, the Jones Act does not apply.
Coming as it does, at a time when the Energy Information Administration (EIA), an agency within your own Department, is projecting that American consumers will be facing these high natural gas prices, it is inconceivable that the Department would accept, and apparently base its own decision upon, such flawed and out of date information. As described by the EIA in its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook, Americans are facing dramatically higher natural gas costs this year, and especially this winter. According to EIA, the average price of natural gas consumers are expected to pay this winter will increase by more than 22% nationwide, and by more than 24% in the Western U.S. where the Alaskan gas would add to supply. EIA projects that natural gas prices will continue to remain high in future years with the spot price in 2009 averaging 25% more than 2007.
A hockey mom?
I'm beginning to dread turning on coverage of this election, because I am sick of the accusations of sexism. Governor Palin and her Bush-Cheney Republicans have invited these insults upon herself and in true republican fashion they are like vampires in the mirror!
"You know they say the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick!" Ha! She even had jokes. No disrespect Governor Palin, but when you stand in front of millions (38 or whatever the figure) and you read a speech filled with sexist jokes what do you expect? The Sarah Palin I read about in the Alaskaian newspapers is not the Sarah Palin introduced to the world at the Republican National Convention.
Sarah Palin, small town girl, had a few bumps in the road when she started, but smoothed them out enough to put a small town on the map for change. She's accused of leaving a small town in debt to the tune of $20 million, but what they didn't say is that she was instrumental in establishing the commerce from which the city could recover.
Sarah Palin, small town girl, is accused of firing people for not supporting her administration. How else was she going to get everyone to get along? She's accused of trying to get her brother in law fired, but the truth is she was asked if there were in security concerns her family had after she became governor. It was her administration and staff that proceeded with the unethical behavior that resulted in the firing of the public official.
Did we hear any of this from Governor Sarah Palin? I'm curious if she was even there! All I heard was 34 minutes of barking from the little Republican Pomerianian with the pink bow!
I found something very interesting article about Sen. McCain....
[video part not captioned--sorry :-( ] good article though
http://keating5.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/what-every-american-voter-should-know-about-john-mccain/
if he was trying to take care of his wife's money....and just what does this make the lovely Gov. Palin?
Michelle was as poised and eloquent as any First Lady in history. Kennedy made the scene resonate. There was more than enough emotion (and doubt) on the floor and in the press to lead me to one conclusion: in many ways we are just beginning this campaign. We have to sell and resell the candidate that captured our hearts a year or more ago. The Republicans will try to restart the race everyday and we have to match them step by step. Complacency is the enemy. We should allow celebration for hard won achievements thus far, but, the real battle has only just begun. And it really is good against evil. The Republicans will stop at nothing, inside and outsid the law, to take down our candidate. The only recourse is unflinching determination in pursuit of our goals of CHANGE: re-empowering the middle class and re-establishing the American dream--at the expense of the Republican pirates. This is one of those rare moments in American histiory when people really do have to take a stand or suffer the consequences. Perhaps one of the most formidable battles in American political history began tonight. Are we ready? Hearts of wrought steel!
