This is it!
We're coming down to the final stretch and Barack Obama needs your help now, more than ever before!
Please bring your cell phone, a charger and a few fun friends who care about change and join with thousands of your neighbors in the largest ever-attempted phone bank effort in New York state history. The Obama campaign is hosting several of these "mega call centers" all over New York, so invite your friends and family to make calls to voters in key battleground states and change America for years to come.
Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nylastcall to find a location near you.
http://ny.barackobama.com/NYlastcall
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Reuters) - A senior adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Tuesday that he was stepping down to keep a commitment he made not to campaign against Democrat Barack Obama.
Mark McKinnon, who was in charge of the McCain campaign's advertising message, said he was still backing the Arizona senator, but that he was simply moving from active campaign participant to cheerleader.
"I'll still be around occasionally in my lucky hat," said McKinnon, who often wears a distinctive hat.
McKinnon, who was a key aide in President George W. Bush's two election victories, has expressed admiration for Obama and pledged not to campaign against the Democratic front-runner if he became the party's presidential nominee.
A McCain campaign official said McKinnon had notified the campaign of his decision to leave but declined further comment. The McCain campaign had been expecting McKinnon's move for some months and was not surprised at his decision.
Obama, an Illinois senator, remains locked in a battle with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination and the right to face McCain in the November general election.
Projections showed him losing the Kentucky primary to Clinton on Tuesday, but he was favored to win the later Oregon contest. His showing on Tuesday was expected to give him a majority of the elected delegates to the party's nominating convention in August.
Neither of the Democratic candidates have enough elected delegates to win the nomination, leaving the race to be decided by so-called superdelegates -- party leaders and elected officials who can vote for the candidate of their choosing.
The Cox News Service reported that McKinnon told McCain last summer that he would not work for him in the general election if Barack Obama became the Democratic nominee, saying
"I just don't want to work against an Obama candidacy."
At the time, Obama and McCain each looked like long shots for nomination.
On Sunday, McKinnon told the news service that he will continue to support McCain.
"I will still show up from time to time (and) talk to the candidate still, but not about Obama."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080521/pl_nm/usa_politics_mccain_aide_dc
I am behind those who stand against China and Sudan and I understand that the Olympics provide a global stage to put the spotlight on these issues. However, as with many protests, I do not always agree with the methods. The Olympics is one of the few things that we share worldwide where people everywhere stand equally putting aside our differences. Its just not fair to the atheletes nor fans involved that attempts be made to interrupt the ceremonies or take away from its focus.
Hillary is now saying Bush should not attend to show where America stands even though she was singing a different tune last month. Hillary seems to change her mind more often than her pantsuits.
Barack on the other hand is not taking a stand either way which is really not good for him.
" I'm of two minds about this," said the Illinois senator in a CBS interview last week. "On the one hand, I think that what's happened in Tibet, [and] China's support of the Sudanese government in Darfur, is a real problem."
But, he added, "I'm hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest because I think it's partly about bringing the world together"
I would venture to guess that Hillary purposely took a tough stand on this issue just so she could then throw it in Obama's face to try and demonstrate that Obama is not strong enough to take a stand even on a relatively simple matter. A potential President should never say he is in two minds about something because even though it shows he's human its not something that should be said publically. Now, if he commits to saying he thinks we should not boycott the opening cermonies it will seem he is just trying to differentiate himself from Hillary.
My personal take is some of the methods used such as trying to snuff out the torch were in poor taste. I have to admit though I thought the banner in San Francisco was pretty classy. Trying to get the message out is great but anything that takes away tradition and symbolism of the Olympics is unfair to its history, the atheletes and the spectators.
P.S. I don't know if Bush skipping the opening cermonies would really do accomplish anything since he really is not a popular figure in the world and not very inspirational.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/07/clinton.olympics/index.html
I am seriously thinking that Obama needs to stop letting his spokespeople speak for him. Not only did one of his advisers call Hillary a "moster" but whenever his official spokespeople say something it never is spoken very well. I understand that in someways they have these spokespeople as a buffer for accountability in the event a position they take goes terribly wrong but nothing I have heard from the Obama Camp that hasn't come straight from Obama's mouth has been very good.
I absolutely do not think it was a good idea for them to call Hillary dishonest and a liar this soon after Obama's credibility has been questioned. Perhaps, they thought using such strong terms would be a sure fire way to get it in the headlines. However, its obvious that the Clinton camp and supporters are going to cry foul and as one commenter stated "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Some are also saying that Obama is finally showing he is like every other politician by mudslinging.
I spoke in an earlier blog about how Obama should not be baited by Clinton's campaign and go on the defensive. Yes, he had to show he is strong and not just a dreamer but this was not the right time and certainly not the right words. On top of it its disintergrating the Democratic party even further and gives Clinton the green light to get even nastier.
I just feel like this is all falling apart and McCain will be the only one left standing. If that happens Wrights statement may come true and we will all be damned.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am very strong proponent for freedom of speech. Sometimes, I think that Americans take it for granted because its been around as long as our country. The problem is that throughout our history it was more in theory than practice.
Do you think someone like Jimmy Kimmel or Jon Stewart would have been allowed to be on the radio in the 1920's?
I think four things helped open the path to fully realizing our freedom of speech.
1) The Civil Rights Movement
2) George Carlin
3) All In the Family
4) The Hippie Generation
I know at least two of these items may draw either laughs or criticism but I am being serious. Of course, there are many more but these are if nothing else key milesones. There were generations of built up do's and don'ts that sat in a pressure cooker until finally the lid blew off. I think that for the most part the 1970's was probably the only decade that we as Americans really believed in freedom of speech.
Yes, there was a lot of tension at home and abroad but we were able to talk about it. We Laughed. We Cried. We Shared. Keep in mind, I was not even born until 1972 but I still feel connected to it in some way and often think to myself how great would it have been to have had the Internet then as it is today. People were actually talking and actually listening. There was no fear and we overcame boundaries that had been built up over centuries.
Just as quickly as we overcame those boundaries we seem to be building them back up. Yes, we have reached a major accomplishment as a nation by even entertaining the idea of a female or African-American President but instead of celebrating together we are criticizing each other.
There are many reasons why I support Obama but one was that in the beginning he had this "I don't care what you call me just don't call me late for dinner" attitude. He knew he represented the melting pot of what America is known for and seemed to be proud of it. Yes, he is African-American but he is also a mixture of other ethnic backgrounds stating himself that his family get togethers was like a mini United Nations.
Maybe he is trying to be too many things to too many people but I just don't see the Obama that started this campaign even seriously acknowledging Geraldine Ferraro's opinion. The old Obama probably would have just come up with a smart remark and moved on but the Obama of late seems to be letting things in and getting defensive.
I think the Old Obama would have said something like "As an American, Ms. Ferraro is entitled to her opinion, but its my belief and the belief of those who stand behind me that this isn't a race about race. If anything this race is about change."
He has so much more going for him than the color of his skin and anyone who has given him any real consideration realizes this. The Clinton campaign is baiting him and unfortunately it seems that after much restraint he is finally giving into the temptation. That's exactly what they want and Barack shouldn't let them get it. The bottom line is that everyone should be able to speak their opinion as long as its not hateful and not be railroaded into an apology.
Yeah! Barack Obama.....
I'm not from USA, I'm from Poland.........
Since George Bush is a President of USA......the status of America go down......everybody thinks that he ruin the myth of beautiful Country...calls AMERICA! His decisions are very unconsidered.
Everybody knows that USA goes bad way....
At last there is people like Barack Obama......with good program....good heart opened for all of nation......
Barack Obama have faith that USA can again stand on highest position on the world.
I wish him all the best! and if he want I can tell everybody in Poland that he is the right man!
WISH YOU GOOD LUCK!
Not sure if you have heard but Rockstar games had a similar incident occur like they did with Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and the Hot Coffe Mod. This time it was their game Manhunt 2 (which was not very good by the way).
When Manhunt 2 got an initial rating of Adults Only, Rockstar used special effects to blur out the most violent killings as well as edit some of the most offensive material. They disclosed their changes in full detail to the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and were able to get a Mature rating. Well not long after release, some hackers found ways to disable the special effects. Fortunately, the ESRB is standing by Rockstar this time saying that neither Rockstar nor the ESRB can be held responsible for others who willfully alter the software. This obviously has gotten less attention than the Hot Coffe mod but who knows for how long.
Do you think the ESRB or developer should be held responsible for hackers modifying and distributing altered versions of a game?
RIP Benezir Butto
I don’t know why I didn’t hear about it from David Plouffe first, but it is great.
http://factcheck.barackobama.com/
Enjoy,
Michael Rupp
aka:WNYmathGuy
The documents subsequently linked below should be redistributed to any Obama Supporter you know. The documents are the official rules for delegate selection and petitioning in New York State. This is vital to getting our favorite on the ticket for the primary race.
“The Guide to Becoming a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention is at
http://www.geocities.com/wnymathguy/GuideToDelegate08DNC.pdf
“Overview of Becoming a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention is at
and “A Fact Sheet about the 2008 Delegate Selection Plan” is at
http://www.geocities.com/wnymathguy/2008delegateFactSheet.pdf
I noticed this final version of the rules isn’t so long and lawyerly as the proposal was.
Enjoy and good luck to you.
Sincerely,
a.k.a. WNYmathGuy
If you are not a New York Group, or a group with New York residents, I sent this to you in error.
At the end of this past Spring I made a Yahoo!Group for New York Obama supporters.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYforObama/
Perhaps you ask, "WHY ANOTHER GROUP!"
If you did ask that... The reason is because we have no place on any Obama group or page to store files for redistribution. I have created a PDF of the Delegate rules for New York State and stored it in the files section. Also their is no semi-static place to store important links to outside resources. This group has a links section that is very organize-able. When we post a link in a blog, it gets lost over time as new blogs post. It also has a database, and polls section which could be used to store the name and number of the senior organizer in your district, or the named and accepted delegate for each district.
All these features will make us more effective. The rest of the many features on that group will not. If you are a serious volunteer I urge you to try the group. I tried to make as many features available as I could without you needing a Yahoo! ID, but some may require you to sign in on Yahoo. If you do not have a Yahoo! account, they will let you have one for free, but you don't need to make a new email address to do that. You can just tell them during account creation that you already have an email account.
That's all for now
Ooh-Rah! for Barack!
Michael Ruppa.k.a WNYmathGuy
P.S. also see http://www.geocities.com/wnymathguy/DelegateSelection/DelegateSelection.htmfor a web version of the Delegate rules.
Hello to all,
Quite some time ago I thought I would be a better Obama volunteer if I knew how Barack's position on the issues compared to the other candidates. I was swimming in information trying to do an objective comparison of our position compared to other candidates. They name their positions different so you can't line them up easily for side by side comparisons. I realized after reading some of the posts before the "Walk For Change" that I wasn't the only one with the desire to study the issues.
I completed this website about 1 day before the walk for change, but chose not to mention it because I felt the sense of urgency was leaving us. I feel the timing is right now to announce the "Issue Browser" that I made. It is a free Geocities page, I built it with information from each candidates website, but mistakes may have accidentially been introduced. Please, please feel free to tell me about any improvements or repairs that I should make to it.
I organized the issues by comparing the US Constitution as it relates to powers of the President and then SUBJECTIVELY slotted each candidates individual issue into one or more of the constitutional powers. Any input from Political Science type people would be really appreciated; I'm a math, finance, mechanical type of thinker, and I am aware their is a LOT that I don't know. I invite help from Communications type people too, as I sometimes don't get my message across clearly.
Please note that free Geocities pages are not allowed to link to anything else on the internet; links only point to files in the pages own directory. I forced in text strings of web sites so you could read them and type them in an address bar if intrested, but I can't make them linkable. I did before and Yahoo! closed down my site and deleted all the files.
Michael E. Ruppa.k.a WNYmathGuy
I know its been way to long since I posted so I hope to do so more now that my schedule is back under control. Anyway, not to jump on the bandwagon but you probably have heard about the apparent use of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance:Fall of Man. It seems a lot of people think that this issue is just around the church trying to get more money but its really not. The fact is that most games either get permission when using a location or landmark or change something about it so as to avoid the issue. For example, Rainbow Six: Vegas uses buidlings similar to famous casinos such as Ballys and Paris but they do not use the names. R:FOM uses both likeness and the name while apparently not getting permission. I think its pretty obvious they did not get permission because I really don't think the Church of England would have knowlingly permitted it.
However, there is basis in the argument that other forms of media seem to get a free pass in this area. Dan Brown's books take place in the Louvre and even the Vatican. The movie End of Days had a huge gun battle in a New York cathedral and its star went on to be Govenor of California.
Why should games be held to this seperate standard? Just because a game is interactive does not mean that it is any more conducive to acts of violence than what the imagination can achieve through movies, books, or even music.
The game that put the con in controversy just released the trailer for Grand Theft Auti IV. Whether you like GTA or not there is no denying the impact that it has had on the way people perceive video games and how they are played. So many games have tried to copy it but never really managed to capture it. Yes, Saints Row was a good game and added its own elements but it lacked GTA's uncanny way of combining humor and drama while being fun.
There are a lot of fans doubting how good GTA IV will be based on the trailer. First, the alleged main character is not middle eastern. He is Russian or Eastern European. We don't even know really if he is the main character based on the very short trailer. Rockstar could really surprise us. Secondly, for those who did not like his physical appearance (a lot of people thought he looks like Bin Laden gone wrong even though he looks more like Jean Reno) there is probably a good chance you can customize your characters physical features since Rockstar probably wants to one up Saints Row anyway they can.
Rockstar may be mostly known for their controversial games but they are also well known for being one of the most talented developer out there. They really do put quality in most of their work. GTA IV may not change the front of gaming as GTA III did but I would be surprised if it still was not amazing in its own right.
Let me know what you think of the trailer or GTA in general.
Good article on GamePolitics.com about Take Two petioning the U.S. Distric Court for Southern Florida against Thompson to try and stifle him before Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2 are released this year. You can read it at Link