Dear Family,We are 1,000 strong and growing every day. The New Movement in Tampa Bay is gaining strength with the support of each and every one of you. To date our campaign has more supporters than any other in this race. Your trust and support means so much to me. It is by the efforts of all of us that our community will see real improvement to the quality of our lives. And, as your State Representative in District 60, I will always support legislation that will improve the quality of life for everyone in the district. As a taxpayer you face a choice in the coming election. Who do you want to represent you in Tallahassee?Florida faces critical decisions on healthcare, education, and energy reform. With a budget shortfall looming in the billions, who is it that you want making these critical decisions? Someone who has faced the same trials and tribulations you have or someone who has not? The status quo of doing business in Tallahassee is no longer acceptable. We need progressive and fresh ideas to get Florida through the current crisis. We can no longer have leaders representing us that spend irresponsibly, and then give breaks to special interests, while we the taxpayers foot the bill.As a community we will head to the ballot booths in August and November of next year and let it be known that we want progress. We will let it be known that we will not accept business as usual. Business is not good and it is we who are suffering because of the decisions made by a select few. We will stand up, we will organize, and we will let them know there is a New Movement in Tampa Bay. This movement is something special, and each of you has a role to play in it. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Let them know that we have the opportunity to have a leader that represents us.This is our time Tampa Bay. This next election is our chance to lay the strong foundation upon which we will build a better Florida for us all. We will work to support healthcare reform so all will have a right to life. We will work to ensure our children have a world-class education to compete in the global economy. And, we will work to ensure that our environment is preserved for generations to come while our dependence on fossil fuels is changed forever. The opportunity for new revenue streams and an end to special interests gaining a free ride on the taxpayers’ backs is what we will work for to see a more economically stable Florida.These real improvements to our lives will not happen without hard work and dedication. So I ask each and every one of you to do your part. You can start today by inviting 10 friends to join our campaign. This will see an exponential growth in our movement and show those who wish only for the status quo that we want progress. This is your movement Tampa Bay and this is our time. Thank you for your continued to support.-ChrisP.S. Our campaign needs the support of each and every one of you. If each of you could donate $10.00 by September 25, 2009, our campaign will be in the driver’s seat for this election. Visit www.CANO460.com and contribute today!
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© 2009 Christopher Cano Campaign. All rights reserved.Political advertisement paid for and approved by Christopher Cano Democrat for State House District 60
As an American who descends from a long line of proud and hardworking people, I possess a perspective with which many of you can identify. I grew up and was raised in the city of my birth, Tampa, Florida. My home has been a city in flux my entire life. Moving from the Cigar City of America in the first half of the twentieth century to the third largest media market in America has not been an easy transition. Many people in this city have either had to develop new skills or move elsewhere. Some fields have been made obsolete by technology in their entirety. Yet, the small town that once was the City of Tampa has grown exponentially. This is now the world renowned I-4 corridor. The pulse of our nation's politics and trends alike. Just as this country could not retreat back within its borders following World War I without costing the world greatly, we as a people are not afforded the opportunity to retreat back to the small town days of our fair city. Thus, we stand at a precipice. Do we keep things in our city as they are and work to attempt to return to outdated times, or do we progress as a people and push forwarded to reach a greater destiny?
Many of us yearn for a nostalgic era where our streets were not so crowded and everyone knew their neighbors. Where the street cars took you anywhere you needed to get to in town. These are ideas we cannot return to, yet we can build upon. We can progress by engaging in our communities, organizing as citizens, and providing input in the civics of our fair city. We can progress by electing officials who support a mass transit plan which will alleviate traffic and get us across this metropolis we still call home. We can progress by ensuring our officials support the allocation of resources necessary for creating jobs. Progress is not made overnight. It is made by the sweat of our brows and the strength of our backs. We are going to have to work hard and work together to achieve a more prosperous future for us all.
We live in a republic which is based on representative democracy. Therefore our progress as a nation is tied directly to those leaders we elect to represent us. So you must ask yourself what you wish...do you want world peace? Do you want a long and healthy life? Do you want economic prosperity in the hands of all or a few? Do you want a world class education for you and your children? Do you want the taxes you pay to support special interests or social services?
We have an opportunity to engage our leaders everyday by writing, calling, and using the internet’s social media tools to let them know how we want to be represented. What’s more, we can engage our leaders every two years when election time comes around. We can engage our leaders by electing candidates that represent us. We can show our elected officials that we want our values and goals represented in the legislation they support. We can ensure we are represented by each citizen doing their part in the community at large. In the end our future is dependent upon no one but each other.
America was founded by blacksmiths and farmers, by lawyers and doctors, by laborers and scientists. This nation was founded by teachers and statesmen, by natives and immigrants alike. If three million can band together to rise up against the largest colonial power in the world to found a free nation, then what can 300 million do to overcome a world in economic, social, and environmental crisis?
We, the people, face a time and era where we must come together to overcome the challenges before us. Our nation is at war with an enemy many of us have only seen on television. Our economy has been weakened by the greed and irresponsibility of a few. Our healthcare is too costly due to the failure to regulate favorably in the interest of the American people and rather in the interest of insurance giants. American lives now hang in the balance of whether people can afford healthcare, not whether doctors can save them. Our education we provide the American school child is subpar due to insufficient funding on the part of legislators. And, we are having a division over whether it is ethical for the American President to call on our children to be better students.
Have we lost perspective on what it means to lead? A majority of this nation elected a man named Barack Hussein Obama II to lead us in our affairs. We entrusted him with the reigns of our nation in order to lead us out of the state we are facing. Do we have so little faith in each other that when we disagree we must divide rather than come together?
I had a president once address me as a student. President George H.W. Bush asked me as an American student to take an interest in math and science. It shaped me as student to understand the issues that I would one day face as a future legislator. I understand that we can no longer support an energy policy which damages our planet and strengthens our enemies. I understand that we cannot continue to cut revenue and not spending. I understand that when a special interest is advanced in contrast to the best interest of the people, it is the people who lose out. And, I understand that Americans cannot afford to continue to elect officials who wish to keep these issues status quo.
Many may wonder how the President addressing the nation’s young people relates to the current state of affairs we face. The fact is that American Presidents are role models that show kids what they can and cannot be. You can be someone who creates a dialogue with your opposition rather than ignore them. You can be someone who asks the hard questions some of us fear to answer. You cannot be someone who chooses to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. You cannot be someone who chooses to do business as normal when business is bad. Therefore I put it to the nation to hear our President out on his address to our nation’s youth. To engage him in healthy debate, rather than ignore what he is saying.
Progress is preferable to stagnation. Nature favors those who can evolve rather than remain stuck in their ways. Knowledge is gained by those who learn from mistakes. But, one must make mistakes to learn. We as a nation have evolved over the last 233 years by learning from our mistakes, by progressing rather than remaining status quo. We must choose to build on our better history and learn from our mistakes. So I ask you, is it a mistake to ignore what a President has to say because it does not fall in line with your ideology?
Ask your children what they think of what the President is saying and asking of them. In the end, it will be them who carry the future of our nation and not us. Let us hope they will be better than us. Let us hope they will accept that many of our current ways are folly. And, that many of our ideas will one day bear the fruit of prosperity. This nation has not advanced to its current status because we chose to do things the easy way or chose leisure over hard work. We have been at the forefront of human innovation since Reconstruction. Let us work together to progress, to be better than what we are. That is the essence of what it means to be human, to rise above what you are to be something greater. That spark of divinity in man, regardless of your individual faith or lack thereof, is universal. Each of us possesses it, and we must nurture it. We must nurture it in ourselves and our children.
To motivate through conversation and engagement, rather than ignorance and cynicism is a lesson that this nation can take from this address. I hope that it does. I hope we as a people come together in solidarity with the essence of the American Experiment in Democracy. Many say that American Republicanism and Biblical Traditions are being stifled by socialists. I would put to you that our Republican and Biblical values are being trampled by our Individualism. Selfishness, greed, and the defense of them as being a freedom are destroying our values. Let us hope we can re-examine what it means to be a good American and a good human being. Perhaps then we might come to the consensus that it is a right to life at the core of the American healthcare reform debate. Perhaps then we will see that cutting funding for education serves to only hinder progress and endanger our children. Perhaps then we will see that hearing the message, rather than crucifying someone because we disagree it is the more rational course. We have too much history from which we can choose to learn. We do not have to remain in our current state, but rather than build for a better one.
Therefore I challenge us all to progress as a nation rather than choose to cling to outdated ideas. I challenge us to choose to be better than remain status quo. Our city, our state, and our nation must be better if we are to have a future worth living on our planet. And, if you do not care for your future then I beseech you to look deep within your own humanity. The future of us all is at stake. So are you going to choose progress or remain status quo?
By Christopher C. Cano
Candidate for State Representative District 60
First I admit I'm a smoker. I made that choice many years ago to smoke. I made that choice like many people make unhealthy choices such as drinking or eating fatty foods, etc. There are lots of unhealthy things and in fact the world is just an unhealthy place in general. I don't personally care what people do since I am pro-choice when it comes to an individual deciding what they can live with, what they choose to live with. I don't and wouldn't walk up to a person eating McDonalds fatty food and telling them, "That's going to kill you." but I have had people feel that it is their right to walk up and tell me that about cigarettes (as if I didn't know that information and it isn't telecasted and plastered on the side of my cigarette pack). Maybe we should just put a warning lable on everything because everything is a hazard? Or maybe people should tend to their own nasty affairs and not give free advice as if it was their privilaged place and job. If everyone told everybody what they thought, what they should and shouldn't do there would be a world of offended people. Somehow society has planted the notion that it's okay to offend people who chose to smoke.
Now aside from that I am just going to throw this out as well. I do want and hope for universal health care BUT I have a bone to pick concerning the cigarette tax going to pay for other people's offsprings health care. What about people who NEVER have children, who make a conscious choice to not have them? Why should those people pay for someone elses choice or lack of choice in having children that they can't afford health care for? What about older adults who have grown adult children? Should they have to pay for someone elses childs health care? What bother's me is the inequity in the cigarette tax paying for someone elses child. What do smoker's get out of it. Forget social conscious since people are rude to smokers and lack the conscious to mind their business. Forget that everyone actually cares for every child because they don't.
There are plenty of unwanted children that people have spawned for multitudes of reasons. Plenty of churches support pro-life but NEVER support the unwed mothers financially over the years as they struggle financially to take care of the child. Society has no rules concerning how many babies people can randomly spawn and have the system pay out for them and believe me I have seen plenty of women in my area who know full well that by having that extra child they can raise their income through programs. You wanna talk about irresponsible behavior vs cigarette smoking. How is it that it's okay for people who cannot afford children to demand that society take care of their children rather than use BIRTH CONTROL. Every health department will hand out bag fulls of free condoms to those who can't afford them. I am offended that people can make the unhealthy choice of spawning babies like rabbits, who take no responsibility as to how they intend to pay for those children and it falls upon society to figure it out. I suggest that there should be a limit on how many children people can have based upon income and if they are currently recieving any type of government assistance for the current children they have they should be told that if they have more than those children that they will not recieve assistance for any further pregnancies.
I've heard the idea that raising cigarette tax may make people quit smoking. Well maybe if people knew that they weren't going to get further assistance for having extra babies they'd quit having them. I'm not so socially concerned that I am just dying to take care of other people's choice to have children that they cannot afford medical care for. Frankly I am offended when I made the personal choice to have ONE and only one child because I knew I couldn't afford more than that one but there were no rewards for that choice. Have you ever noticed that the right choices never reap reward? No one is paying for my bad habit, and I'm not asking for help to pay for it. I chose to smoke, I pay for those cigarettes and I know that I can die. In truth, there are moments that I am content to chose my poison I'm fine dying since I am going to die anyway. Even the job I have being a convenience store clerk puts me in danger of death from robbers who could shoot me down in a heartbeat. If I get in a car I could die. Realistically I'm headed that way and I personally don't care about the last ten years of my life since they will likely be a burden on society and my family since those years lack quality and generally demand a lot of health care.
Here's my question - What do I get out of paying that tax? As a person who no longer has any small children and won't have any small children, what is my gain? Don't give me the social goody two shoes talk because I frankly don't care about other people's children that they chose to have and chose to support. Oh and the notion that it will make people quit smoking is kind of inane because think about this, if they all quit smoking then where will the money come from to pay for all those children's health care. People should be thanking smokers for doing their part as American citizens and smoking their lungs out for all the little kiddies who don't have health care. We smokers should be recieving some kind of reward for doing our part and giving back or maybe when all the smokers quit the government will pick on your habit and make you pay out the ass to take care of someone elses problem child.
Last night when I was working in the store this belligerent jerk came in to purchase cigarettes. Thing was that what he asked for and what he demanded I give him were two different items. I tried to clarify what he was asking for and he just escilated and got more demanding. I didn't cow down to him because although my job requires that I serve customers etc. I do not have to take abusive behavior from customers and be treated like human refuse. So anyway, then the man tries to infer that because he looks latin american that I am being prejudicial. WHAT??? I was dumbfounded because first of all he didn't look latin american at all, in fact he looked like a very rednecky white guy with a tan from doing outdoor labor. Second, I was insulted by the fact that this moron would make a sweeping generalization that because I was white that I was prejudice at all. I was never raised to be prejudice and in truth have latin american family members. My integrity is important to me so because I have the value and ethical sense to not be prejudice I was highly bothered that he was smearing me with that lable. I really try to be nice to customers but there are times when I have after they left just wanted to scream and/or have raised an eyebrow of contempt for the person. I felt a little of both toward the man because it was obvious that he was the person with prejudicial behavior and he was also a person who appeared to be used to women cowing down to him. Maybe he was just what I called him once he walked out of my store and out of earshot which was a belligerent jerk. Beyond that my night was extremely busy but productive.
I am so enamored with President Obama and the strides he is making already. I have been watching CNN this afternoon and caught his recently broadcasted speech. He mentioned the new website that has been instituted to keep transparancy http://transparency.gov/ as a means to let the american public know what is happening in the government as well as states that have linked to the site. Honestly, he is such an intellegent man and a man of integrity! I'm bothered by the fact that people seem to forget that Bush dropped this whole thing of the bailout bomb right at the end of his term as though he was going to leave a hellish place for the next president elect. I know that what has been happening with AIG has a lot of people angry at the current governmental decisions but don't forget that the Bush administration knew far ahead that these companies were spiraling out of control. They knew a lot more than they admitted and they did nothing to stop the economic meltdown but actually spent more of americas money. So for those who want to point fingers at the new Obama administration turn the finger back around at the Bush admin because this stuff didn't just happen in a couple of months, it took all the years that Bush was in the whitehouse for our economy to fall apart and though he knew it was he and his admin did nothing about it while Bush consistantly veto'd many things that people tried to do to shore up our economy. I know though that President Obama, the admin working under him, the reps in washington will not let american's down. I believe that these historic steps that Obama is taking will change things for the best!
I just got off shift and ate a hot dog with everything. I was feeling especially after working all night but it's unusual for me to eat like this in the early morning hours. I caught a small clip on tv when I got home of President Obama saying something like, "American's don't have time to worry about AIG executives" and how we are so inundated with life that it isn't necessarily taking priority in our list of worries. How true! Though I strongly dislike what the higher ups in AIG did I have to say that most of the time my mind is on living and earning enough to live. In truth there are so many things that I am responsible for that I have to leave the problems with AIG up to the Government to deal with so I don't lose sight of my own efforts in my job. Tonight when I got on shift there was another strong note from the manager with tones of anger and I felt depressed. I know that my manager is under the strain of running the store and since the economy is bad that makes her job even harder and the pressure is on her. At the same time there is a part of me that has a desire to hear positive things, a word here or there praising the effort I put into the job rather than pointing out the one thing that was left unaccomplished. Too much negativity doesn't really get people motivated to do their job better or well. It just crushes a person and they may do things out of fear or whatever but they feel no pride in what they do and their energy drops due to the strain of aggressive pressures and a job centered on negativity. Studies have shown that negative feedback actually decreases productivity.
Inwardly I KNOW that I am doing an excellent job. I know that I have a very strong work ethic and that I take great care to complete my tasks and to do the well. Sometimes I do things that are not even in the list of things that are on my worksheet as tasks. If I see a need I take care of it without being told. So I guess this is why the negative environment and anger shunted on the people/shift I work is really making me frustrated. I can't make those I work with have the same ethic that I have. I can't make them work harder or faster. I can't make them do the things on the worksheet. Last night I actually ended up doing my tasks and then completing some of the other persons tasks because they weren't getting it done and it reflects back upon me anyway and the manager gets angry with everyone. I do love working and I do love my job but I don't love the negativity that is being generated of late. Although there have been a few other times and not to me personally but to a couple of other people the manager has said things bordering on abusive. I try to understand the pressure she is under but at the same time I want to say to her to please at least occasionally try to complement people when they do a job well. It would carry people a lot farther and I believe that productivity would increase.
As it stands now I hear many complaints from other employees and I see/hear of a massive amount of resentment and anger building. People aren't like work animals such as oxen. People need a certain amount of dignity, a certain amount of loyalty and comradery, they need to know that their efforts aren't in vain. When I got to work I got in and read the very pointed note to the two night shifts and literally felt squelched and in some ways as though nothing I do has worth or value, nothing I do is appreciated, etc. That's a bad way to start the shift. It really stunk and I just had to let it roll off my back and put my mind to the tasks that I had to do and just do my best regardless of the current environmental attitudes floating around the store. Work is kind of like a marriage. It can be a really good union when everyone is working together, when there is respect and mutual concern. It can be really bad when one person is dominating, controlling and angry a lot. Eventually the relation will fall out of love and someone will seek another love or they stay in the relationship miserable for the duration. Yeah, Obama is right. I really don't have time or energy to focus on a lot of things when my own life is complicated with work, family, bills, lack of money, lack of a car to drive and not enough income to get a car and worries about future things. I wondered recently after a family member died how I would afford my own funeral when I have no savings at all. There are no easy answers in life and if I do have anger at the executives of AIG I suppose it is knowing that they are gliding by with money to fix a multitude of issues while I can't even figure out how to make every end meet in my own life.
I should try and sleep now so I can't go back to work tonight with a fresh sense of purpose.
So I just got home from working overnight and thought I'd post since I'm trying to gear down before I go to sleep. I've been watching how angry people are over prices. Granted people never like pricing but they are especially touchy in the last months as the economy has taken it's downward spiral. I've been on food stamps before and can attest that they don't always go as far as anyone would like so I'm keenly aware how hard it is for people who come to the store and want their ebt cards to go farther than they generally do. It seems even more difficult for those few who had previously had good lives and good incomes to use them without some shame attached. I've lived simply for a long time so even though the economy effects me in some ways I'm already used to never quite having enough so in other ways it's just more of the same only a little harder to spread it out thinner. Everyone's hours have been cut back due to the economy but I am grateful anyway just to have my job and I appreciate that I do have it. Not too many months back I was bordering on homelessness as I looked frantically for a job and when I found it I have thrown myself fully into it and pray that my manager finds my efforts worth keeping me.
I don't complain about the hours I'm given and I don't demand specific days off. I may grouse privately when I'm away and sometimes at work the stress shows (my co-workers can see the visible shift from happy and relaxed to tense and sometimes worried). I worry about keeping my job, about making myself as necessary as possible, about whether my manager is pleased or displeased with my work. I stress sometimes when the workload is especially heavy and I'm tired and wonder if I can complete every task and if I don't complete them what it means. Work is work but right now most employers have the advantage because people are so desperate and I do know that some employers take advantage of their employees knowing that they are desperate enough to do anything to keep a job. Not saying my manager does this, but it is an observation in general. I do it to myself at times knowing that there are that many people standing in line that would gladly take my job. I'm stiff and sore and somewhat tired. I'm competing against people who are mostly younger than I am (almost fifty two). I mean, I still am in good enough shape and can do a lot, but I wish I were younger because the ware from physical labor takes its toll. How much does six gallons weigh anyway? My back is telling me that lifting boxes of six gallons feels like sixty this morning.
Anyway, I still do believe that Obama will succeed in turning things given time. Everything takes time but many American's don't have much patience and willingness to wait for anything. American's have been spoiled and have gotten to not knowing their wants from their needs. So I've drank my little glass of milk, snacked on a few goldfish crackers, and now I'm off to bed so I can get up and do it again tomorrow. Life seems endless some days, just endless and circular like I'm running in a little wheel like a hampster.
In the process of raising taxes on Cigarettes the government has likely single handedly put even more people out of work. The tobacco farmers, the truckers who ship it, the manufacturers, the reps who go to retail stores to set the displays, the retailers who rely upon the sales of cigarettes. All these people will find themselves displaced with nowhere to go if this stupid make up the loss by once again taxing cigarettes persists as the mode of fixing money problems in Washington. I'm somewhat amazed at the stupidity and well if they are going to start taxing unhealthy products there are plenty of them. Over and over it's been noted that Americans are among the fattests people worldwide and that obesity brings a myriad of health issues with it, but I don't see them raising taxes on fast foods and other unhealthy food products that will lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues and health care costs. I don't see them raising the taxes on alcohol which causes health problems as well as multiple car accidents causing injury or death as well as alcoholism which means health care costs. I don't see a lot of healthy looking representatives in Washington D.C. who look fit and lean. They look fat and as though their publicly paid for lunches at expensive restaruants that use highly fatty food products has worked a little too well. I don't think that American's should have to pay for any of their lunches by them pulling resources for "business meetings". They should have to pay their own way for their own lunches because why should I as an American have to pay for a Senator or Congressman to eat with unhealthy habits as they often do.
Oh come on, when does this kind of thing end and where does it end. We all know that the prohibition era didn't succeed but actually increased the volume of crime. I can tell you that the elevated cost in cigarettes will actually cause more crime in lower income areas as people will seek to obtain money to keep their habits. So this whole thing of how the Government planning to fix taxes for medical by raising the taxes on Cigarettes again has and will actually make more problems in the process. Stupidity seems to run rampant in D.C. once again. People will do their bad habits regardless but once you pick on one eventually someone will point out your bad habits as well and so the great game of equalizing will begin again. Which while we're on the subject of equality lets put religion in there as well. If one wants to be separated from the State then why try to envoke your beliefs upon those who do not believe, i.e. alcohol being sold later on Sunday's or not at all in some places on Sunday. There is no legal justification what so ever as to why Sunday morning is any different or has more potential for harm by purchasing alcohol at the same time as any other day. What happens on Sunday that doesn't happen any other day? Church! So the rest of the community that doesn't believe in Church or God are living under the inforced alcohol sales time that basically religious people have pushed for. Those same Churches that pay no taxes! Hey, how about we start getting a little back from the Churches who scream and shout for equal rights but don't pay into the system like every other community or individual or group.
What about the millions that go into paying for women with children. Women who don't and haven't used protection to keep from getting pregnant multiple times but will get money for their irresponsible behavioral habits. Why not limit the amount paid into these programs? Why not limit the amount of children that will be covered by programs such as these? Any responsible parent won't have more children than they can afford so why is society allowing women to have multiple pregnancies that they can't afford and paying for it? If people knew that they wouldn't get help they would likely use protection in order not to feel the burden of responsibility in paying for what they can't afford but if people think they are covered they will continue to perpetuate the same habit. I knew of a girl in my apartment complex who was a druggie that kept having children in order to get money and it happens a lot that way. I knew of some women who were working and on food stamps but they used all their excess money to go out with their boy friends to gamble on dog fights. Why is it that they seem to afford food but have money to pay in on an illegal dog fight? So when the Government charges working people more and more with taxes and yet lets people slide who abuse the system it makes me livid with hateful anger.
Okay, I know that there are valid situations where people do really need supplemental help but there should be limits set especially where some situations could be helped such as multiple pregnancies. Birth control is free at any clinic for the lower income groups, and the health department gives out free condoms to those who cannot afford them so there really isn't an excuse. See how it goes? There is no end to these kinds of thing and the Government needs to find better ways to fix the financial problems we have because it hasn't worked and it's not working. People in Washington D.C. is out of touch and they need to get out there and research. Not in the wealthy communities but in the middle and lower income communities to find out what problems are there and where they could be fixed. Wait, visit the wealthy communities too and find out what excess needs to be cut and tax them for once in their greedy lives like the rest of America. I'm working hard long hours and I resent more tax hikes seeing as my income is not more than about a thousand fifty monthly.
I've been watching the unemployment happening in Florida and I am excessively concerned for the people who have lost jobs. What bothers me is how much the republican party is willing to stall on things that can help people. Maybe it's just me but one would wonder how they can try not to help people and believe that anyone would elect them as officials when their term is up and they want to do it again. I can't understand how they can not want to help people who are suffering terribly losing their life long homes or jobs that they've had for years. I've been holding my own and continuing to work and I feel blessed to have my job. I think there are things that could have less focus placed on them such as taxing cigarettes. That kind of issue is not priority in my opinion when there are things that are much more needful. Taxing cigarettes won't really make the economy that much more stable. Getting people working will, taxing the rich that have been not putting into the system will, things like this etc. I dunno but it seems that there are things that could be done which haven't been addressed yet, but the republican party is stalling and it makes me really angry considering that the eight years they held office is what put America in the position where it is today. *shakes head* This country is a sad country and if I were young I wouldn't want to bring a child into being right now seeing how bad things are.
I have been working on educating minority populations on the workings of local politics. We have a day planned in Tallahasse on March 10th (THIS TUESDAY) for Muslim Capitol Day. We have encountered resistance from certain people who think that Floridians who happen to be of the Muslim faith should have less acess to their elected officials than the rest of Florida voters.
Please read the alrticle in the St. Petersburg Times & the Miami Herald for the reasons why this is so important:http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/922186.htm
We have aranged for sponsorships for College Students to join us. We will be speaking to our legislaors on issues important to us as Floridians, and Education comes up as a number one issue time and time agan.
So, please join us on Tuesday, for FREE, just follow the instructions for registration below:
College students:
ALL EXPENSES PAID TO TALLY!!!
You know all about the first Florida Muslim Capitol Day, your schedule is open, you want to attend but the cost of the trip
LIMITED COLLEGESTUDENT SPONSORSHIPSAPPLY NOW
is preventing you from registering. If this is you then don't give up just yet. There are a number of sponsorships available for Florida College students.
By sponsorship we mean all travel, lodging, and even meals*! Regardless of which Florida College you attend, just make it to Tampa (A charter bus for Tallahassee will depart from and return to Tampa) and we can take care of the rest. If you don't need a ride and just need a place to stay, then we can take care of that too.
All you have to do is click here to apply by 11:59pm on Friday, March 6. Act fast because quantities are limited. It is time to become involved in the political process. This is your chance to take action and promote change. Don't miss out on this great opportunity.
Note: The charter bus will depart from Tampa on Monday, March 9 at 4:00PM and will return to Tampa on Tuesday, March 10 at 9:00PM. For a program of the event click here
HELP FUND THIS PROGRAMIf you would like to help send more college students on this historic trip to Tallahassee, please DO YOUR PART and make a donation to sponsor a delegate.CLICK HERE TO DONATE $25, 50, $150 or any amount. Safe & Secure.
Sincerely,
Ramey HitoUnited Voices For America
Requirements: must be a currently enrolled Florida College student with valid student ID and student e-mail address. Must be 18 & up. Hotel rooms will be shared but will not be co-ed. Limited sponsorships available, act now.http://muslimcapitolday.org/fullride.html
Hello and Happy New Year to All -
First I want to express my gratitude to you for being an active part of Change here at home. It is through the efforts of individuals, on a grassroots level, that a Nation dedicated to helping one another will come to fruition. It is for that reason alone that the focus for our National Day of Service challenge changed. We have been tasked, each of us, to create a small project (involving 5 or more people) culminating in the Inauguration of President Obama on January 20th.
I am sharing with you a message from Kevin Wren, a former Obama Field Organizer who continues his service to Change as a Regional Leader for the Weekend of Change. He has taken responsibility for coordinating projects in 10 counties! I am humbled by the energy and dedication of this young man! So, take a little time (but not too much time ) & take a look at the projects already posted on USAService.org and get inspired!
A FULL WEEK FOR ONLY $600!! This Villa sleeps a max of 6 people
You can rent this unit for 6 nights and 7 Days, and just travel to DC on Inauguration day and enjoy this historic event! Travel distance is 153 miles! Check in Sunday, Jan 18th @ 4pm (maybe a little earlier) Check out Sunday, Jan 25th @ 10am
101 St. Andrews Drive Williamsburg, Virginia 23188 USA
This hotel has a smoke-free policy
Pets are not allowed
Complimentary on-site parking
*Availability for these dates is SOLD OUT through the actual hotel - (Marriott-timeshare)
Upon agreement of payment, we can place your name on a reservation and e-mail a confirmation within one to three business days.
Preferred payment is via PayPal
Please see ad on Craigslist
<http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/vac/970238108.html>
Tonight I attended a very special house party. It wasn't a typical house party, it wasn't held in a house, nor was it a party. More than 25 people came to Cafe Kili in Temple Terrace. For team members who worked with Field Organizer's Genora Reed, Sheila Cherizard Donovan Nwokeji and Jill Stracko, Cafe Kili was our satellite North Tampa Field Office, our outpost, our home. Special, because Patrick and Rose, the owners, are Kenyans; they opened their shop to us, even opening for us on their one day off; they sacrificed their only day of rest to help the Obama Campaign, they gave more than any of us had been asked to give. You see, their son died in Iraq - the first Kenyan-American to die in service to our country. They knew the importance of our mission, they knew we needed the Change Barack Obama would bring; a man whose Kenyan heritage was part of their family and their countries, Kenya and America.
We listened to the message from the incoming Administration; we listened to our Field Organizers, Sheila Cherizard and Ryan Metcalf and from Jerid Fox, Biji Anchery and others who attested to the resolve of every individual who contributed their precious time canvassing, phone banking and registering voters. People who worked the Early Vote, Vote by Mail and finally the Get Out The Vote campaigns, the local candidate literature drops and even on Election Day were canvassing or driving people to the polls. We shared stories of the recent past while at the same time looked forward to, and planned for the future.
The Obama Administration has developed Obama 2.0, tech speak for the next phase. This Presidency is like no other in our generation. They built a network of communities, of neighborhoods; they spent countless hours and many millions of dollars to wake the sleeping giant of Democrats and Progressives in America. Scores of volunteers and organizers, who maybe until now had not realized their potential, who rose to the challenge, who now are recognized in their own towns as citizens engaged in the process of government; who found their voice. We can and we will Change the face of politics in America.
There will be one more house party, this one in a house and it is a party. Dr. Alayne Unterberger is a proud community organizer, who as one of the founders of the Florida Institute for Community Studies, was chosen to introduce Senator Hillary Clinton during the Florida campaign effort. She has worked to educate a community who others have ignored, her organization teaches English, conducts AIDS education and testing, provides health assessments for those at risk of Diabetes and offers after school child care. Her center is even a "Safe Place" chartered by the State of Florida is so committed to being the "Change We have been Waiting For" that she has opened her home to the campaign once again, this time not as a staging location for canvassers, but to continue to Change America has been waiting for effort.
If you can, please join us Monday, December 15th at 7pm to be a part of the Change which has come to America, to continue your service to your neighborhood, or to begin your journey of civic engagement.
Whether you are a Democrat, an Independent, an informed Republican, a Green Party member, or any associated with any other affiliation, you can bring Change to America, you can make a difference. Your community needs you. Tampa needs you, Temple Terrace needs you, and your neighbor needs you. Come to find out how you can make a difference.
Visit BarackObama.com search events for your zip code on a regular basis. We are out here, waiting for you, welcoming you, engaged in service to our community.
Wishing you Peace,
Lisa Montelione
Tampa Bay Obama Volunteers Holiday / Victory Party
An Obama-rific way to kick off the holidays!
WHEN: Friday, December 5th 7pm
WHERE: American Legion Post 248
2105 W Jamaica St
Tampa, FL 33607
$5 per person - donation BYOB (Set ups Available & Keg on site)
Live DJ - TBA Bring POT LUCK DISHES to Share! Organized by members of: www.MobilizeForChange.com
RSVP: jen@mobilizeforchange.com
If you would like to help for the party – let Jen know :)
**Please send a photo of yourself involved with the campaign (for slideshow)
For more information on Mobilize for Change: edwin@mobilizeforchange.com
Barack Obama will win.
This is the day that Barack Obama wins!
Well just got done doing my post at the voting place. sent my emails.put up more signs,
So lets hope for a big win have a great night everybody.
…A ray of hope flickers in the sky.
A tiny star lights up way up high.
All across the land dawns a brand new morn’.
This comes to pass when a child is born…
Lyrics from a song
We now know that Madelyn Durham, Obama’s beloved grandmother, has died. How cruel it seems that she dies just hours before what we’re waiting for. But we must believe that she knows.
Wow, Ms.Durham, look what the child you helped raise has done. RIP.
…A silent wish sails the seven seas.
The winds of change whisper in the trees.
And the walls of doubt tumble, tossed and torn.
This comes to pass when a child is born.…
(Or a new president is elected:>)
"Pole" for Obama to Get Voters to Polls
On Saturday November 1, for a final push to get out the vote I decided to use an empty flag pole at Lakeland Farmer's and Flea Market in Lakeland Florida to encourage shoppers to vote early.
Some of the photos in the links below demontstrate how I temporarily transformed the empty pole in a high visibility location at the market to an early vote pole - to remind folks to vote after they left the market.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/africreations/2994175232
SlideShow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/africreations/show
The election is only a few days away! Please do whatever you can to get out the vote and/or make a donation to help raise funds for Obama for America.
Delores
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/Afri
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/BlackDesignersCraftersandArtistsforObama
As most of you may know, the TT Library has had a record number of early voters, we've been in the top 4 of all 13 locations. Yesterday nearly 1400 people early voted in TT. I've been onsite every day and have had several fabulous volunteers, but the schedule is nearly empty for Friday 10/31 and Saturday 11/1. Please calll me at 309-2558 if you can help, or just show up if you can't get me on the phone.
It is vital that we have a number of volunteers there. If you have read the St. Pete Times piece on the email sent out by the Chair of the Republican Party, David Storck and written by Republican TT volunteer Ron Whitley, you'll know how important it is! For those who haven't seen it...here it is:
Volunteer's e-mail hypes Obama threat
This e-mail was sent to me from one of our Volunteers in the Temple Terrace office. If you think it can help us win this election please pass it on. This election is now in our hands everyone can make a difference. Thanks, Dave
The threat: Here in Temple Terrace, FL our Republican HQ is one block away from our library, which is an early voting site.
I see carloads of black Obama supporters coming from the inner city to cast their votes for Obama. This is their chance to get a black president and they seem to care little that he is at minimum, socialist, and probably Marxist in his core beliefs. After all, he is black — no experience or accomplishments — but he is black. I also see young college students and their professors from USF parking their cars with the prominent 'Obama' bumper stickers. The students are enthusiastic to be voting in a historic election where there may be the first black president.
The college professors, particularly in the social sciences, for the most part have little or no experience in the work-a-day world.
Their life experience has been mostly academic under the tutelage of liberal college professors. For them, a little socialism and anti-Americanism is a good thing. After all, if terrorists attack us, we must have done something to provoke them.
You and I understand the dangers the potential Obama presidency presents to our way of life. The suppression of free speech, introducing union intimidation in the workplace, increased dangers to our nation by terrorists, cutting our defense budget by 25%, turning our tax system into a national welfare system and economic policies that could drive us into a depression.
There is only one way to stop Obama: Vote!!!
(And get everyone you know to vote)
Only you and I can stop Obama now!!
Seven days to go and we must act immediately.
A plan of action for you and I:
VOTE
Obama is advertising on TV asking all his supporters to take a day off work or class to vote. Contact personally everyone you know reminding them to vote and how important it is. Parents, voting-age children, in-laws, co-workers, church contacts, school contacts, business contacts. Make a list and contact them.
Send this message to everyone on your email list that wants to defeat Obama. Your email is an effective tool if you use it wisely and promptly. You can reach 10,000,000 people in the next seven days if as few as ten people on your list take prompt action and ten people on their list and ten people on their list … you get the idea.
Let's all pray and work and we will surely celebrate our victory on 11/5/08.
Early Voting for the entire state of Florida has just been extended.
Every Early Vote location in Florida will now be every day from 7am-7pm up through November 2.
Please pass along this great news to everyone you know who will be voting in Florida. Click here to find your nearest early vote location.
Here's the release:
GOVERNOR CRIST EXTENDS EARLY VOTING HOURS ~~ ~Ensures maximum number of Floridians can exercise right to vote~ ~~October 28, 2008Contact:GOVERNOR'S PRESS OFFICE(850) 488-5394TALLAHASSEE - Governor Charlie Crist today signed Executive Order 08-217, extending the hours for early voting during the current General Election. Effective immediately, early voting sites will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., through Friday, October 31, 2008, and for a total of 12 hours between 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2, 2008. "I have spoken with the Secretary of State and members of the Florida Legislature and have concluded that it is always the right thing to do to give voters every opportunity to cast a ballot," Governor Crist said. "I have a responsibility to the voters of our state to ensure that the maximum number of citizens can participate in the electoral process, and that every person can exercise the right to vote." Prior to the 2008 General Election, Florida has seen historic numbers of Floridians registering to vote for the first time. In addition, record numbers of voters have chosen to cast a ballot during early voting. Early voting began on October 20 and runs through November 2. Current Florida law allows for early voting to be conducted eight hours per day on each weekday, and for a total of eight hours during both weekends during the early voting period. Floridians can contact their county's Supervisor of Elections for dates, times and locations of early voting. Florida voters can also request absentee ballots to be mailed to them until October 29. Please see the attached Executive Order 08-217. STATE OF FLORIDA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 08-217 WHEREAS, early voting is scheduled to end November 2, 2008; and WHEREAS, early voting turnout has already reached record levels and is forecast to continue with record turnout. There are only 267 early voting sites throughout the state and long lines have formed at many of the early voting sites; and WHEREAS, a historic number of Floridians have registered to vote for the first time in this election; and WHEREAS, new voting equipment is being used in 15 Florida counties; WHEREAS, as a result of this unique combination of circumstances resulting from the historic voter turnout in this election, there is a possibility that election officials will be unable to conduct an orderly election, and thus residents in our state could be deprived of a meaningful opportunity to vote; andWHEREAS, because of the existing and continuing possibility of an emergency occurring before or during the regularly scheduled election, and in order to ensure maximum citizen participation in the electoral process, and provide a safe and orderly procedure for persons seeking to exercise their right to vote;NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHARLIE CRIST, as Governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution, by the Florida Elections Emergency Act, and by all other applicable laws, issue the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:I hereby declare that, based on the above-described conditions, a state of emergency exists. It is hereby found and declared to be necessary to extend the voting hours during early voting. Accordingly, I order the Supervisors of Elections to open early voting sites from 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. through October 31, 2008 and open early voting sites for a total of twelve (12) hours between 7 a.m. November 1, 2008 and 7 p.m. November 2, 2008.IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed, at Tallahassee, the Capitol, this 28th day of October, 2008. GOVERNORATTEST:SECRETARY OF STATE
GOVERNOR CRIST EXTENDS EARLY VOTING HOURS
~~ ~Ensures maximum number of Floridians can exercise right to vote~ ~~
October 28, 2008
Contact:
GOVERNOR'S PRESS OFFICE(850) 488-5394
TALLAHASSEE - Governor Charlie Crist today signed Executive Order 08-217, extending the hours for early voting during the current General Election. Effective immediately, early voting sites will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., through Friday, October 31, 2008, and for a total of 12 hours between 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2, 2008.
"I have spoken with the Secretary of State and members of the Florida Legislature and have concluded that it is always the right thing to do to give voters every opportunity to cast a ballot," Governor Crist said. "I have a responsibility to the voters of our state to ensure that the maximum number of citizens can participate in the electoral process, and that every person can exercise the right to vote."
Prior to the 2008 General Election, Florida has seen historic numbers of Floridians registering to vote for the first time. In addition, record numbers of voters have chosen to cast a ballot during early voting.
Early voting began on October 20 and runs through November 2. Current Florida law allows for early voting to be conducted eight hours per day on each weekday, and for a total of eight hours during both weekends during the early voting period. Floridians can contact their county's Supervisor of Elections for dates, times and locations of early voting.
Florida voters can also request absentee ballots to be mailed to them until October 29.
Please see the attached Executive Order 08-217.
STATE OF FLORIDA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 08-217
WHEREAS, early voting is scheduled to end November 2, 2008; and
WHEREAS, early voting turnout has already reached record levels and is forecast to continue with record turnout. There are only 267 early voting sites throughout the state and long lines have formed at many of the early voting sites; and
WHEREAS, a historic number of Floridians have registered to vote for the first time in this election; and
WHEREAS, new voting equipment is being used in 15 Florida counties;
WHEREAS, as a result of this unique combination of circumstances resulting from the historic voter turnout in this election, there is a possibility that election officials will be unable to conduct an orderly election, and thus residents in our state could be deprived of a meaningful opportunity to vote; and
WHEREAS, because of the existing and continuing possibility of an emergency occurring before or during the regularly scheduled election, and in order to ensure maximum citizen participation in the electoral process, and provide a safe and orderly procedure for persons seeking to exercise their right to vote;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHARLIE CRIST, as Governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution, by the Florida Elections Emergency Act, and by all other applicable laws, issue the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:
I hereby declare that, based on the above-described conditions, a state of emergency exists. It is hereby found and declared to be necessary to extend the voting hours during early voting. Accordingly, I order the Supervisors of Elections to open early voting sites from 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. through October 31, 2008 and open early voting sites for a total of twelve (12) hours between 7 a.m. November 1, 2008 and 7 p.m. November 2, 2008.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed, at Tallahassee, the Capitol, this 28th day of October, 2008.
GOVERNOR
ATTEST:
SECRETARY OF STATE
