Just a few moments ago, the Senate voted 60-39 to move forward with debate on health reform legislation. OFA Director Mitch Stewart explained:
For the first time ever, the Senate just voted to begin debate on a comprehensive health insurance reform bill. This was the first big hurdle we had to overcome to pass reform through the full Senate. The decision was close -- and insurance company lobbyists were working overtime to defeat us -- but your calls this week made a huge difference. There are more fights ahead, but this is a big victory and I wanted to take a minute to thank you for making it possible.
President Shimon Peres also paid tribute Friday to Obama, saying that his leadership had meant "peace became a real and original agenda."
******************The President******************* Jerusalem, 9th October, 2009 "Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a lord in heaven and believers on earth. "Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction." Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of Israel, Shimon Peres.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasite/images/iht_daily/D091009/peresobamaletter.pdf
What I like about President Obama and His Presidential team is that they stay abreast of all that is going on in America,they have their fingers on the pulse of all cultures and mentalities of the The American People they are not intimidated nor or they shy about dealing with militias, cooks, wingnuts and etc. This kind of mess, being spewed by wolf's in sheep clothing like Anderson and a few others will not be kicked under the carpet, nor ignored and it is unacceptable and unjust to think or do so... Personally to me : S. Anderson is a thug and he needs to be treated as so, and as demented and dangerous as he is, his followers are even more so...for example, the guy with the militia gun had just heard Jim Jones lite(Steve Anderson ) called for the Destruction of Our President the previous day. I really like this Administration because they don't run from problems, they run to them and handle/solve them. GoD Bless President Obama His Entire Presidential Team and may God Continue to Give Him Wisdom and Knowledge/Favor and Solutions to Riddles/Hard Problems and Enigma's that Confounds/Stumps and Stun his enemies and Amazes his Supporters. Definition of Confound:
-verb (used with object)
1.to perplex or amaze, esp. by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him. 2.to throw into confusion or disorder: The revolution confounded the people. 3.to throw into increased confusion or disorder. 4.to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake: truth confounded with error. 5.to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated. 6.to damn (used in mild imprecations): Confound it! 7.to contradict or refute: to confound their arguments. 8.to put to shame; abash. 9.Archaic. a.to defeat or overthrow. b.to bring to ruin or naught. 10.Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.
Definition of confound is Courtesy of Definition.com
From David Plouffe:
Earlier in the week, we asked if you thought we should put the experiences of real American families on the air and online to show why we need heath care reform. The overwhelming answer? Yes.Thanks to your support, we were able to spring into action and share with America the very personal reasons why we cannot afford to miss this one chance to finally reform our health care system. I want you to be the first to see this powerful ad. It features real people telling their true stories of lost coverage, watching loved ones go without care, and making the case for why we need reform. Once you watch this, you'll see what we mean about how powerful these personal stories can be -- and why we need to get them on the air right away. Will you watch the video now, and then donate $25 or more to put it on the air?As we speak, Congress is rapidly hammering out the details of the health care bill, and getting this message out now is crucial. Our representatives must understand how strongly we feel about the need for real reform -- and that we need it now. In the next few days, we must decide how many of these ads we can make, where we can air them, and how many views we can guarantee. The more resources we have, the greater the impact we'll be able to make. So watch this first video, and then please dig deep with a donation of $25 or more so we can get this ad and others like it on the air and online in key areas across the country. https://donate.barackobama.com/healthcaread Thanks for making it happen, David Plouffe P.S. -- Over 99,000 people have already donated to power our campaign for health care reform. This is the perfect time to join them, and help us hit our big goal of 100,000 donors for health care.
Earlier in the week, we asked if you thought we should put the experiences of real American families on the air and online to show why we need heath care reform. The overwhelming answer? Yes.
Thanks to your support, we were able to spring into action and share with America the very personal reasons why we cannot afford to miss this one chance to finally reform our health care system. I want you to be the first to see this powerful ad. It features real people telling their true stories of lost coverage, watching loved ones go without care, and making the case for why we need reform. Once you watch this, you'll see what we mean about how powerful these personal stories can be -- and why we need to get them on the air right away. Will you watch the video now, and then donate $25 or more to put it on the air?
As we speak, Congress is rapidly hammering out the details of the health care bill, and getting this message out now is crucial. Our representatives must understand how strongly we feel about the need for real reform -- and that we need it now. In the next few days, we must decide how many of these ads we can make, where we can air them, and how many views we can guarantee. The more resources we have, the greater the impact we'll be able to make. So watch this first video, and then please dig deep with a donation of $25 or more so we can get this ad and others like it on the air and online in key areas across the country. https://donate.barackobama.com/healthcaread Thanks for making it happen, David Plouffe P.S. -- Over 99,000 people have already donated to power our campaign for health care reform. This is the perfect time to join them, and help us hit our big goal of 100,000 donors for health care.
It is time for us to renew and change our own personal way of thinking!!!!!!!!!
We Need to Find Different and Multiple Ways to increase our personal finances.
President Obama used today, tax day, to speak about the work his administration has done so far to restore fairness to the tax code and provide tax relief to working families. "We start from the simple premise that we should reduce the tax burden on working people," the President explained, "while helping Americans go to college, own a home, raise a family, start a business and save for retirement. Those goals are the foundation of the American Dream, and they are the focus of my tax policy."
President Obama promised to begin work to simply what he described as "a monstrous tax code" that is "far too complicated for most Americans to understand, but just complicated enough for the insiders who know how to game the system." The President also outlined five specific steps that have been taking so far:
In the budget outline that he delivered to Congress last month, President Obama identified three key areas that are critical to our long-term economic health: Health Care, Energy, and Education. This morning, President Obama delivered remarks on education reform at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 19th Annual Legislative Conference at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center. He stressed the importance of education and stressed the connection between education and economic success, saying "let there be no doubt: the future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens."
The President outlined five key areas for reform:
Sent out the following message today to the Baltimore-area groups of which I am a member - feel free to copy and circulate to everyone you know!
“Monday, October 27, 2008
In Pennsylvania, John McCain has pulled back within single digits of Barack Obama.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state shows Obama with 53% of the vote while McCain picks up 46%. That seven-point margin is half the 13-point advantage Obama enjoyed early in October.
Not coincidentally, Obama’s current lead is matched by a seven-point advantage on the question of which candidate is trusted more on the economy.
However, while McCain has closed the gap, virtually all the movement comes from an increase in his support rather than a loss of support for Obama. This is the third straight poll showing Obama’s support at or above the 50% level.
Still, the tightening poll results help explain why the Obama campaign has been paying so much attention to the Keystone State this week. Obama and Biden are both campaigning there along with major campaign surrogates.
Obama is now viewed favorably by 56% of Pennsylvania voters, down three points from earlier in the month.
McCain’s favorability ratings have been moving in the opposite direction, up four points to 54%.”
With 21 Electoral Votes, Pennsylvania is a key state in this election.
And finally:
Click here for information on volunteering between now and Election Day.
Courtesy of MOJO Blog:
An Early Voting Story That Pulls on the Heart Strings
This is kinda magical, I'm not going to lie. It's a story a reader emailed to Ben Smith after voting early in Cincinnati:
Upon arriving at the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Cincinnati to vote early today I happened upon some friends of my mother's — three small, elderly Jewish women. They were quite upset as they were being refused admitance to the polling location due to their Obama T-Shirts, hats and buttons. Apparently you cannot wear Obama/McCain gear into polling locations here in Ohio.... They were practically on the verge of tears.
After a minute or two of this a huge man (6'5", 300 lbs easy) wearing a Dale Earnhardt jacket and Bengal's baseball cap left the voting line, came up to us and introduced himself as Mike. He told us he had overheard our conversation and asked if the ladies would like to borrow his jacket to put over their t-shirts so they could go in and vote. The ladies quickly agreed. As long as I live I will never forget the image of these 80-plus-year-old Jewish ladies walking into the polling location wearing a huge Dale Earnhardt racing jacket that came over their hands and down to their knees!
Mike patiently waited for each woman to cast their vote, accepted their many thanks and then got back in line (I saved him a place while he was helping out the ladies). When Mike got back in line I asked him if he was an Obama supporter. He said that he was not, but that he couldn't stand to see those ladies so upset. I thanked him for being a gentleman in a time of bitter partisanship and wished him well.
After I voted I walked out to the street to find my mother's friends surrouding our new friend Mike — they were laughing and having a great time. I joined them and soon learned that Mike had changed his mind in the polling booth and ended up voting for Obama. When I asked him why he changed his mind at the last minute, he explained that while he was waiting for his jacket he got into a conversation with one of the ladies who had explained how the Jewish community, and she, had worked side by side with the black community during the civil rights movements of the '60s, and that this vote was the culmination of those personal and community efforts so many years ago. That this election for her was more than just a vote ... but a chance at history.
Mike looked at me and said, "Obama's going to win, and I didn't want to tell my grandchildren some day that I had an opportunity to vote for the first black president, but I missed my chance at history and voted for the other guy."
I have been listening to John McCain give his stump speech, pushing on the statement Joe Biden made over the weekend at the Fundraiser. He kept saying, "I've been tested and I know what to do." I kept wondering, when was this test.
John McCain uses his military experience and being a POW as his Foreign Policy experience. So, let's take a look. John McCain entered the Naval Academy with the help of his family connections. He became an officer, just for having graduated, even though he ranked fifth from the bottom. He was not judged a good pilot, rather a reckless pilot. He was captured and held as a POW for 5-1/2 years. So, he obviously did not do well on school tests. He was not great at pilot training, since he crashed several planes prior to being captured. Although we are very happy he survived, being held prisoner is not a test of leadership. So when was this test?
His next point was how Barack responded during the Georgian crisis. It was thoughtful and measured. But, so was that of Secretary Rice and President Bush. Because, what they did not want, nor could we afford, to be drawn into a military conflict. But, "We are all Georgians," would lead one to believe we were willing and able to join the fight. Besides Putin, the bully in the room was John McCain. What would he have done, after all the bluster, if Secretary Rice and the EU had not gotten Putin to pull back? What John McCain showed was how easily he could be drawn into a conflict, IF one of his "friends" were in trouble. Look at it this way, how many people are in jail today because they backed up their "friend" in doing something stupid.
Tests come in many ways. We look at a young Senator from Illinois who decided he would run for President. His opposition had many more years in Washington, political connections, their "machine" already in place. He started on this journey, surrounding himself with the best and brightest. He reached out to America to take this journey with him. He planned and executed his strategy.
On the other side we have a distinguished Senator from Arizona. In his mind, like most everything else in his life, he thought he was due the Presidency. After all, his family made him an officer. Circumstances beyond his control made him a hero. His wife's family name, money and connections won him a political career. He ran a poor primary campaign, which almost derailed before it began, and again, his wife's money and connections brought him back. He has run a tactical general campaign, and like his Iraq view, fights from battle to battle, with no plan. In his mind, this is the last in a long line of things he is owed, but not earned. After all, you too could be a politician and earn a big fat check if someone gave it to you.
John McCain likes to say he is a Maverick and crosses party lines. To me, it also says you have little allegiance. Perhaps that is why he is so close to Joe Lieberman, as he too has shown little loyalty to those who have voted for him in the belief he shares their views. Sometimes being a Maverick is a good thing. But for John McCain it put him in the unenviable position of being odd man out within his own Party. So, in comes Sarah Palin, conservative darling, and the GOP came alive.
The Grand Plan of John McCain was we owed him the Presidency. He has learned we do not. Now, it is do anything and say anything to win. The man who says "Country First" should change it to "Me First." For in addition to fighting two wars, a war on terror, and AN economic meltdown, the divisiveness of John McCain's campaign may also leave a nation with possible deep wounds to heal within.
The man who truly put "Country First" is the man who included the whole country in his quest for "Change".
THANK YOU BARACK OBAMA!
I just received an email from my son in Iraq. He said that no one has received their Absentee Ballot yet. Due to the time it takes for mail to travel, they doubt their votes will be counted in the election. He wondered why deployed military personnel cannot vote absentee, electronically.
We have over 150,000 deployed in Iraq, not to mention Afghanistan and other deployments around the World. That amounts to A LOT of voters who will not have their voices heard.
Please check with your local Registrar of Voters to learn if Absentee Ballots have been sent to military personnel and follow-up with any deployed person you know. If they have not, then it may already be too late.
I know friends received their Absentee Ballots in California at the beginning of the month. But that still would probably not have been enough time for a ballot to be mailed to Iraq and get back by Nov. 4. In some cases, deployed units can make up a major part of a community
Please, Please! We are in the home stretch. All the work of registering voters will mean nothing if they DO NOT translate into VOTES. Our Service People are risking their lives and still cared enough to request the Absentee Ballot. We need to make sure their vote counts.
With each new poll released, Barack's lead increases. I'm beginning to think it's a rouse to lull us into complacency. If the youth think he's a shoe-in, they won't show up. Some soft "white" voters could not show up thinking the Youth and African-American vote will put him over the top.
DON'T BE FOOLED.
If Barack is leading 99-1 on election day, WE NEED TO VOTE! That way, if the polls were right, this will be a historic election in more ways than one. If they're wrong, we will need every single vote. Either way, don't you want to say you were a part of this.
The McCain Campaign keeps saying the Obama Campaign is playing the race card. But, I have to question why the only rebuttals to accusations of McCain/Palin inciting fear, that could lead to violence, are to Barack Obama and John Lewis. The Baltimore Sun admonished him, many conservative columnist have written, most liberal columnist and bloggers have done the same.
John McCain says he is a man of honor. Honor is not something you tell people, it's something you show people. They make up their minds if you are a person of honor. We say NO.
I will admit I am very curios about Sarah Palin and have been since she was picked. In reading the many articles, blogs and my own snooping, I kept wondering how Sarah Palin graduated from the University of Idaho in 1987 with a degree in Journalism. When I tracked her various colleges and the amount of time spent at each, there is a one in ten chance she could have graduated in 1987. From my own experience as a mom of someone who changed schools four times, I know some credits do not transfer, especially going from JC to a University. Add that to schools in three different states. I add in the time she was handling her beauty pageant duties, in Alaska, while attending school in Idaho.
Shortly after she was picked I found an article in the University of Idaho magazine. It was in the Winter 2008. A few things did not make sense in the article, but at the time the McCain Campaign was labeling anyone who said anything negative about her as sexist or worse, so I let it go. Her constant lying made this article stick out even more since things in the article are inconsistent with what we think we know about Sarah Palin. These quotes are from "Here We Have Idaho."
1. Sarah and Todd were high school sweethearts?
"After graduation, Palin moved back to Alaska. She began her career as a TV reporter for Anchorage’s NBC affiliate, KTUU. Reporting on Alaska’s politics sparked her interest in government. A few years later, she met her husband, Todd Palin, whom she now refers to as “Alaska’s first dude.” Palin left journalism to fish commercially with her husband and start a family."
2. She was a "Journalism" major, yet never worked on school publications. Her first job after graduation was an TV intern in Sports.
"Combining her curiosity with her love of writing, she decided to pursue a degree in journalism. “I was always asking everyone the questions, and I still am today,” Palin said."
3. She was a Sports Reporter, yet leads them to believe she was a Political Reporter.
"After graduation, Palin moved back to Alaska. She began her career as a TV reporter for Anchorage’s NBC affiliate, KTUU. Reporting on Alaska’s politics sparked her interest in government."
4. University of Idaho does not list Sarah Palin or Sarah Heath on the "Famous Alumni." Since she was a Mayor before she was a Governor, I find it odd professors do not remember her, sororities were asking if she had a Greek affiliation, as a Journalism Major she did not work on school publications or broadcasts. One would assume either might be a requirement in the Journalism Degree Curriculum.
http://www.students.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=86938http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/university-of-idaho/famous-alumni.html
Some may think this is irrelevant given the economy, so let me put it in context. There have been two movies I can remember, one with Tony Curtis and one with Leonardo DiCaprio. Both were ordinary people who posed as professionals, doctors, pilots, etc. We've had movies like "Dave" and "Head of State," where imposters were put in the White House. Never in our wildest dreams would we think "Life would imitate Art." Sarah Palin is a remarkable politician, but is she real?
On a personal note, I had an Ex, who lied about his degree, his profession, and many now believe he was in the military, which he was not. Unless you are investigated by the FBI or seek a government job, which makes you provide transcripts and documentation, seldom will anyone question your degree. That is a mistake. Not that there are not brilliant people who never received a degree or even went to college. But, if you lie about it, there's usually more to the story.
I found this on Salon.com and it lightened my day.
“John likes to do all his communicating via carrier pigeon”God, I love Betty White. Via Ben Smith, here’s a video of her recent appearance on the “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson,” where she cracked wise about the election.Clearly, Cloris Leachman needs to step up her game. http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/10/10/betty_white/index.html
I found this posted on SF/Bay Area Craigslist. The posting was surprising, the link even moreso.
What does Treason look like?.........................."Hi, my name is John McCain, and i'm a prisoner of war",....."hi, John." The Enemy called John McCain a nickname they had for John. They called him 'SONGBIRD' .... suppose that fit his character.... he'll he even fronted off the four of the Keating 5 criminals that were arrested, and as for John "the Maverick" McCain.... he didn't get prosecuted because he turned on his friends in crime so he could get off any criminal prosecution AND HOW ANYONE WANTS THIS TURN COAT IN THE SAME FOX HOLE IS OF THE GRAVEST CONCERN ALL U.S. PATRIOTS NEED TO ASK!! http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com
This was an open letter to the Editor of the New York Times on Bill Ayers. Of course we know, since John McCain's campaign really has no use for the truth, it won't make any difference to them.
In Letter to 'NYT,' Man Who Prosecuted Weather Underground Hits Linking Ayers to Obama By Greg Mitchell Published: October 10, 2008 9:00 AM ET NEW YORK In a surprising a letter to the editor published in The New York Times today, the chief prosecutor of the Weather Underground in the 1970s expressed outrage over the linking of Barack Obama to Bill Ayers by the McCain campaign, adding, "Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased to learn that he has become a responsible citizen." William C. Ibershof also corrects a charge in the Times: "I do take issue with the statement in your news article that the Weathermen indictment was dismissed because of 'prosecutorial misconduct.' It was dismissed because of illegal activities, including wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions, initiated by John N. Mitchell, attorney general at that time, and W. Mark Felt, an F.B.I. assistant director." Felt, of course (you may have already forgotten), was also known as a guy called "Deep Throat." The full letter follows. For constant coverage of the media and the campaign go to our new blog at: The E&P Pub *As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers’s terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child.Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased to learn that he has become a responsible citizen.Because Senator Obama recently served on a board of a charitable organization with Mr. Ayers cannot possibly link the senator to acts perpetrated by Mr. Ayers so many years ago.I do take issue with the statement in your news article that the Weathermen indictment was dismissed because of “prosecutorial misconduct.” It was dismissed because of illegal activities, including wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions, initiated by John N. Mitchell, attorney general at that time, and W. Mark Felt, an F.B.I. assistant director.William C. IbershofMill Valley, Calif., Oct. 8, 2008
Taken from: Editor and Publisher
It is always so comforting and invigorating when Republicans reinforce what many of us have heard. Check this out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/09/report-mccain-exploded-wi_n_133242.html
