Now that our national obsession with guns is linked to our national love for the great outdoors, with Congress voting to allow loaded and concealed weapons in our national parks, I began thinking what the summer might hold in terms of fun with guns.
Imagine how we could market this new recreational combo.Looking for a summer thrill? We have parks that really kill.Do you need a place to stay? Call your local N.R.A.Pack a pistol in your pack, U.S. law has got your back.
On the trail it’s really fun, scaring strangers with your gun.If the neighbors make a noise, silence them with big boy toys.Go ahead, give all a fright, it’s your constitutional right.
Bring the sutures, bandage rolls, iodine for bullet holes.Bug spray, sunscreen, snakebite kit won’t protect you from a hit.
Okay, campers, you get the idea? Now, let’s consider the possibilities if the all-powerful gun lobby, the Great Horned Shooters of America, given their triumph over common sense, decide to flex their muscle even more and push to make firearms legal in all the other places Americans go to rest and recreate.Do you need one in your car? Would you take one to a bar?Would you reload at the mall? Or in a museum hall?Going to an outdoor theater? Don’t forget to take your heater.
Would you pack one at the pool? How about at summer school?Draw your gun at seventh inning if you hate the team a’winning.
When you’re sunning at the beach, keep an Uzi within reach.Summer dances on the green viewed through cross-hairs can be keen.
Love that holster on your bike. Do they make one for a trike?Stash a sidearm in your basket, bring home Grandpa in a casket.
I know this sounds as sing-song silly as a Dr. Seuss rhyme. But who would have thought that the grown-ups who are leading our country, with our epidemic of murder rampages, would agree to make it legal to take a loaded firearm to Yosemite or the Grand Canyon or your favorite national seashore.
We go to our parks for fun, not so we can scream and run.Outdoor’s made for peace and quiet, not for those who cause a riot.
Mother Nature’s hit the floor since the sniper moved next door.Smokey Bear is worried too. He’d feel safer at the zoo.
Do Our Liberal Gun Laws Make you Feel Safer?
We all see it in the news everyday. We grow numb to the violence that we’ve become accustomed to. With the latest mass shooting in Binghamton NY, mass shootings since the beginning of the year have resulted in 53 dead in 7 separate shootings. And the fear doesn’t stop with some random act of a deranged murderer starting a rampage of revenge. The Mexican drug wars are spilling their violence in the U.S., using guns legally purchased here in America by straw purchasers hard up on their luck. And now Obama is feeling the heat from 62 Congressional Democrats who have told Obama they can't back him on his campaign promise to renew the assault weapons ban. And the Federal Credit Card bill? Be careful on your next trip to a National Park because the tourists may be packing heat!
What do we do about it? There are plenty of places to start. And public officials need to stand up to the powerful gun lobby that keeps meaningful and reasonable policies from reigning in our liberal gun laws that provide no retribution to those selling guns and ammunition to others with no right to bear them. It’s time to get more conservative and preserve the 2nd amendment right for those entitled to exercise it properly. (Note: Although there is still much debate on the interpretation of the Second Amendment, I am working under the assumption that it does exist because of the recent Supreme Court Decision striking down the gun ban in Washington, DC. John Massaro, NY, is coming out with a book this July that further challenges this premise).
And what do our state and federal legislatures propose? Gun-toting everywhere! Guns-on-demand advocates snuck through an amendment to the National Credit Card overhaul bill to allow guns in National Parks, and states like mine (TX) are close to passing legislation allowing guns on college campuses. More proliferation of guns without more responsibility of owners AND sellers will only breed more violence. I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and there’s no doubt that guns are part of our heritage and way of life. My husband and I own guns, both for self defense and sport. Many in the southern states have an inherent mistrust of the federal government, as some of their cities endured Martial Law and other atrocities during the War between the States. The western states have a frontier culture that has relied on vigilante protection for simple justice during the last 2 centuries. Relinquishing some of your and your family’s protection to others isn’t always easy for some people, but there’s got to be a better way to protect legitimate ownership and use of deadly weapons and ensuring to the public that those acquiring the weapons are legally entitled to do so. So here’s my take on the situation and ways that we can make our gun policies more conservative by tightening up on the illegal acquisition of guns many times purchased legally.
In my opinion, guns have one of three purposes: 1) Sustenance (hunting our dinner!), 2) Sport (hunting and gun collecting is a way of life for many), and 3) Self-Defense (the right to protect ourselves from harm’s way). But regardless of what I think, the 2nd amendment protects our right to bear arms, but owning street sweepers and AK 47’s crosses the line for an individual purpose. But one thing I do get tired of is that lack of open dialogue regarding gun responsibility and accountability and intolerant opinions that stifle true debate on the many issues confronting our communities to date: such as the proliferation of “mass weapons of destruction” and the pervasive degree of violence plaguing most of our cities. Below you’ll find 5 myths about guns that I’d like to dispel, as I’m sure these are all arguments that you’ve heard over and over again:
1) Myth # 1: Guns have played a large part in American history outside of war, as settlers of the frontier had to rely on them for a rudimentary form of vigilante justice.Reality: That role has been exaggerated. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Political Science, SUNY Cortland, comments in a book review of Alexander DeConde’s “Gun Violence in America,” that ….strict gun laws existed even in colonial America…and….were quickly enacted in newly established frontier towns during the nineteenth century, and they were widely debated in the 1920s and 1930s during Prohibition and the meteoric rise in gangster activity. DeConde notes in his book that the number of guns during colonial times was far less than legend would have it. "English colonists did bring firearms with them for self-defense as well as for offense," but they "also brought the practice of restricting gun keeping, usually to selected upper-class males" (p. 17) The scarcity of firearms in America was attributable to some obvious facts, including that they were expensive (guns were either made by hand in America, or imported from abroad), were made of materials that deteriorated rapidly, meaning that they had to be constantly serviced and maintained; required considerable skill to master; required maintenance after relatively few firings; and required firing materials that were also difficult to come by and that had short shelf lives. During the Revolutionary War, 80 percent of all firearms and 90 percent of the needed powder had to be imported from France and Holland. In the early 1790s, Secretary of War Henry Knox concluded that only about 20 percent of the nation's 450,000 militiamen carried firearms. Of the government-owned stock of 44,000 muskets, half were didn’t even work. The difficulty in affording and obtaining firearms during the 18th and 19th centuries contrasts sharply with the ability to obtain cheap firearms made in China like they were toys.
Myth # 2: We need the 2nd Amendment’s Right to Bear Arms to protect our freedoms and the rest of the Constitution. Reality: Why isn’t it working?Contemporary times have seen many of our constitutional rights erode, and none of our Bill of Rights should individually be upheld in a vacuum. 9-11 has seen a drastic emphasis on National Security, sometimes at the expense of our individual rights. Over half of our Bill of Rights relates to due process, and the following amendments in my opinion are in dire jeopardy of further erosion:
First Amendment – freedom of speech is abridged every day with school censorship, and workers trying to organize unions are denied their constitutional rights to free assembly.
Fourth Amendment – illegal searches and seizures are now commonplace! Congress just overwhelmingly passed the FISA bill allowing for warrant less wiretapping of our phone conversations (yes, “ours”), and the Supreme Court recently ruled that the long-standing “knock and announce” practice by police before searching a home is no longer necessary. I recently had a headlight out on my car that may have been out for weeks, and my husband pointed out to me that a non-working headlight is actually probable cause for a police search of a vehicle without a warrant. Probable cause? How can a missing headlight prompt and invasive search of me and my vehicle?
Sixth Amendment – better hope you’re a US citizen if you end up in Guantanamo Bay, as people rot in jail for years without formal charges being filed! It’s a shame that what applies to us as citizens, like basic human rights, gets denied to those who can’t call themselves an “American.” I hate double standards.
Seventh Amendment – the right to a trial by jury by your peers in civil matters is almost non-existent in some states, thanks to “conservative” efforts commonly known as “tort reform.” The saying “he’ll have is day in court” is becoming a euphemism, as more and more people are being shoved into “binding arbitration” as a way of settling disputes, with little recourse if you’ve been wronged. The courts were meant to be an avenue to seek justice, but our access to the courts is being denied every day by those who see “litigation” as a nuisance. The threat of a lawsuit has long been a deterrent to keep individuals and corporations from doing the wrong thing, which they can now do with impunity.Yes, we’ve all heard that the Second Amendment protects “freedom” and our “way of life,” but where is the Second Amendment in protecting these rights disappearing before our eyes? During the 2000 elections in Florida when thousands of Floridians were denied the right to vote, can you imagine if they had whipped out guns to protect their right to vote? Riots could have gotten pretty bloody, especially with racial tensions at an all-time high during this large-scale voting rights controversy.
Myth # 3: We already have enough gun laws, we just need to enforce the ones on the books. Reality: Illegal “possession” is meaningless without illegal “acquisition.” It’s kind of ironic to me that guns-on-demand advocates use as a defense existing gun laws, when they fought what laws we have every step of the way! But aside from that hypocrisy, let’s look at what’s wrong with it being perfectly legal for you to sale your gun to someone without the legal right to carry a firearm, namely the mentally ill, a convicted felon, or a minor. Some people in our society don’t possess the right to bear arms if they meet one of these 3 conditions, and our liberal gun laws allow them to access guns on a daily basis through perfectly legal means. For every 10 people in this country, there is a gun for 9 of them. Maybe I’m just traveling in the wrong circles, but it seems to me that more than 10 % of the people in this country are under 18, mentally ill, or a convicted felon. In fact, one out of 5 Texans possesses a criminal record, but that’s a story for another debate. More conservative gun laws would attach a level of financial and/or criminal responsibility to those who sold their guns to someone without the legal right to bear them. The NRA has studies that show the average homicide is committed with a gun that is 6 years old. Registration at point of purchase is meaningless, since most guns are sold in the secondary market. Back to the illegal “possession” and the fourth amendment. Now, for law enforcement to get someone on an illegal weapons charge, they sometimes have to “bend” the fourth amendment right against illegal searches and seizures to find “probable cause” for a warrantless search. It’s even happened to a family member of mine (who had a chain in the back of his pickup truck characterized as a “weapon”). I’d rather keep my fourth amendment and tighten up on people legally purchasing a gun if they don’t have the legal right to bear it.
Myth # 4: The Government will confiscate your guns if you register them. Reality: Watch out for the politicians undermining your 4th Amendment, NOT your 2nd Amendment!It seems ironic to me that, the politicians that ostensibly claim to want to protect your 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms give such little regard for this OTHER Bill of Right to so critical guard against exactly what most gun rights advocates fear about registration: Confiscation. Yes, Hitler confiscated guns that were registered in Germany, and no, they didn’t have a Bill of Rights. But pick the right one to protect here! If we want to instill true responsibility with gun ownership and ensure that guns aren’t sold to those with no legal right to carry them, then transferring legal “title” to the gun upon transfer, much like transferring title to your car, which can also be a deadly weapon, will help protect you from liability upon sale as well as the public. Sure registration carries risks. But so does sex. Does that stop people from risky behavior?
Myth # 5: Only criminals will possess guns of you require registration and law abiding citizens won’t have access!Reality: Criminals legally acquire guns now, and why is that? Criminals SHOULD only get guns through criminal means if they’re going to get them at all! Franklin D. Roosevelt's attorney general, Homer Cummings, said in 1937, "Show me the man who does not want his gun registered, and I will show you a man who should not have a gun." Being from the South, I do understand an inherent distrust with an autocratic, overreaching government. Southern cities were put under Marshall Law, and we in the South value states rights to avoid an overzealous Federal Government. But we don’t have anywhere close to a balance. If a criminal gets a gun, it SHOULD be done illegally and not through legal channels as they do now. The status quo is anarchy, and yes transferring title might seem bureaucratic, but I want the assurance that those acquiring guns have the legal right to do so. That’s NOT too much to expect, and counties could charge an at-cost fee of $ 15 or so to cover the background check when transferring title. Besides helping assure the public that only law-abiding citizens are acquiring guns, gun title will attach a level of financial responsibility as well as the criminal responsibility to gun ownership that to date has been lacking. If a gun you own is used in the commission of a crime whether you pulled the trigger or not, then taxpayers can seek restitution from irresponsible gun owners who can’t keep track of their possessions that are dangerous in the wrong hands. Gun violence costs taxpayers billions of dollars in the form of police costs, court costs, and incarceration costs. Taxpayers should be able to place a lien on property to reimburse taxpayers for irresponsible gun ownership (any relatives living in a homestead could be protected as long as they’re living in the house). If your gun(s) is/are stolen, you can be given a window to report your weapons missing for protection from liability. Also, without legal title to the guns, burglars and drug addicts won’t be able to sell the weapons to pawn shops, etc. Will taxpayers recoup that much money? Probably not, but John Hinckley, attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan, comes from a family perfectly capable of footing at least part of the taxpayers’ bill incarcerating him. It can be a feature exercised in instances such as these to at least recoup part of the billions we spend each year incarcerating the guilty, insane, and irresponsibles in our midst. Gun title will also attach a level of responsibility to the seller, who to date has been able to skirt out of any culpability in selling to ill-fit individuals.This leads us to a discussion about the mentally ill, a serious problem with their ready access to firearms and ammunition. States should send data of the mentally ill to the federal database to keep them from passing background checks on purchases. States such as Texas are flat-out wrong to not participate in providing that data, even after we’ve seen our own university massacre resulting from a deranged individual’s legal access to weapons.
Myth No. 6: The threat of a lifetime in jail or the electric chair will deter enraged individuals from committing mass murder.Reality: These deranged individuals usually commit suicide when they’re done with their rampage anyway, so there’s no deterrent incentive.This takes us back to carrying gun title and the taxpayer’s right to attach liens on any existing assets the murderer may own to reimburse the public for the tremendous societal costs. Maybe there’s nothing we can do about a dead gunman. But the public CAN do something about the person or store equipping an ill-fit individual with the instruments that can cause so much damage in the wrong hands.
No one has all the answers to help us address these serious questions of public safety and their relation to balancing our individual rights, but thoughtful dialogue free from rote, rehearsed responses is the only way for us to come together and tackle this serious issue. Gun violence in this country does NOT have to be tolerated to the level it’s at, and we can still give people their guns if they want them. Just make them criminally AND financially responsible when they’re used irresponsibly and/or criminally, even when they cross the border, and we’ll see serious changes that save thousands of lives and millions of taxpayers’ dollars.
HELP STOP ELDER ABUSE AND GUARDIANSHIP SYSTEM ABUSE - CALLING FOR NATIONAL EFFORTS TO CONFRONT THE ABUSE AND FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF OUR ELDERLY AND VULNERABLE CITIZENS."It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped." - Hubert H. Humphrey - PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION FOR CHANGE
ELDER ABUSE IS ON THE RISE AND THE GUARDIANSHIP SYSTEMS IN OUR STATE COURTS INTENDED TO PROTECT THE VULNERABLE, ALL TOO OFTEN, FAIL TO DO SO. CASES CAN ULTIMATELY COST A VULNERABLE PERSON, AND THEIR FAMILY, TENS, IF NOT HUNDREDS, OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS; SOMETIMES, FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN GREED. THERE SEEMS TO BE TOO LITTLE CONCERN ABOUT THE COST TO THE WARD. AFTER ALL, WHEN THE MONEY RUNS OUT, YOU AND I (THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS) WILL JUST PICK UP THE TAB IN MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY DOLLARS.THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET RICH QUICK IS TEMPTING FOR PERPETRATORS WHO KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE GAME. PROFESSIONALS AND PETITIONERS WHO ABUSE THE SYSTEM GIVE A BAD NAME TO THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING. STRANGERS ARE OFTEN APPOINTED TO TAKE OVER THE PERSON'S LIFE AND FAMILY MEMBERS, WHO END UP SEPARATED FROM THEIR OWN LOVED ONES, DARE NOT SPEAK OUT FOR FEAR OF LOSING THE RIGHT TO EVEN VISIT THEM AT A TIME WHEN THEY ARE MOST VULNERABLE. IN THE MEANTIME THESE DEAR CITIZENS CAN LOSE ALL OF THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS AND COULD END UP WITH FEWER RIGHTS THAN A PRISONER ON DEATH ROW.THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR THE OUTRAGEOUSLY HIGH COST THAT CAN FLEECE THE ESTATES OF OUR VULNERABLE CITIZENS AND THERE IS SIMPLY NO EXCUSE FOR THE ABUSE THAT CAN BE DOLED OUT - BY UNSCRUPULOUS ATTORNEYS, UNPROFESSIONAL GUARDIANS AND DYSFUNCTIONAL UNDERFUNDED COURTS - TO FAMILY MEMBERS WHO TRULY CARE AND ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO HELP SOMEONE DEAR TO THEM WHO IS IN NEED. WE NEED CHANGE AND TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN !YES WE CAN !PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION FOR CHANGE ! TOGETHER WE CAN !
I don't watch FOX news or listen to Rush Limbaugh, so I am glad that Jon Stewart keeps and eyes on them for us. My blood pressure goes up everytime I hear anything come out of their hateful mouths and the other day I went looking for some facts and want to post them somewhere I can get a hold of them when I need to! and spread them around too!
Under the Bush Administration:
The Obama budget increases defense spending but all you hear about is the cuts to projects that have been wasting billions of dollars every year.
Please feel free to add more important facts to this blog - we need ammunition!
Organizing for America Pledge Project
President Obama needs our support and help to prove to Washington DC that we are still supporting his "Change" campaign.
If you still believe he has the right ideas and plans, and want to be part of our own recovery please fill out this pledge note and sign it. You can return to me or send directly to the Pledge Project.
Pledge Project Page:http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pledgeprojectcanvassguide/This site has all the information and forms you need to be clear about the issues.
Pledge Card:http://obama.3cdn.net/f33182f2a60434cfcf_olm6b1dtc.pdf
We are all busy with our families, businesses, and local campaigns, and to support this project is easy. You do not have to knock on doors or make phone calls if you do not have the time. Just send the card in!
Standing for our President Obama!
Maria Isabel713.542.0721713.547.0681 Fax
Welcome to your Community Action Network: Rules of the Virtual Highway
written by: Paul Currier
Welcome to Government 2.0. This is my gift to my country. I am a large scale systems architect, and I saw a need and did something about filling it. The Community Action Network is yours to use to make all our dreams come true. Our election of President Obama was only a beginning. Lets go to work. Government 2.0 is our participatory citizens "real time" responsibility. The Internet makes this new phase of our American Expierment (Benjamin Franklin's words) at Self Government possible. Politics changed. Welcome to the future.The Community Action Network is a Post Partisan Cooperative of Individuals and Groups Assembled as Protected by the Second Ammendment. Out primary tool of community defense is our vote. We are not to arm into Militia, rather assemble, and vote as we see fit to protect the health and welfare of our Communities. Residency within a Legal County is required, as is voter registration.At this time the Membership, Events, Blog posts, and all List Servers are moderated until further notice. We have construction to do before we open up for Community Action. This is a National Network of State Networks of County Networks of All MyBO Groups within every County of our United States. Our .CAN organization is not any political party. We are the change we have been waiting for. Stop waiting. Fire it up. Let me address three points: I.) Rules of Participation; II.) Communications and Administrative Structure; and III.) Processes and proceedures.I.) Rules of Participation:Barack Obama asked his initial campaign staff to make three commitments, and then welcomed them all to try what appeared impossible at the time. I repeat these now as you must commit to these in your heart now, before you begin your work, individually and collectively.1.) Honesty.2.) No Drama.3.) Have Fun.Marshall Ganz tought us the three rules of Community Organizing at Camp Obama. The Obama for America Presidential Campaign graduated over 20,000 of us at those events. If you have not run thru the training please take the time and set up your own County Events. You can find the complete training here: http://campobama.blogspot.com/We hope to repeatedly deliver a new Camp to your groups over the Internet. Our plan is to deliver this training to all twice a year forward. Grassroots Camp 2.0 will be tooled to Government 2.0, where as the original expierence was focused on Community Organizing around an Election. Stay tuned as this is true grasstroots triaining for your local teams. There are many policy aspects of your Governments, which you may want to change, which are not election based activites. Regardless, Marshall gave us the three Rules of Efective Community Organizing.4.) Respect.5.) Empower.6.) Include.Barack Obama asked us to study, to work at, and become the Change we were waiting for. Core to all Barack's teaching and leadership is a concept of Empathy. When you read and re-read his books, this theme is a thread that is woven throughout his writing. So we require your best attempt at:7.) Empathy.Membership in the .CAN Network is a privilage and not a right. Name calling, foul language, and hurtful conduct, speech and written words are good cause for two warnings by any Administrator and then removal upon any third violation. This is not a joke.Appeal to your local .CAN group at any monthly group meeting as a "Housekeeping Item" is the only point of appeal to your group. And all groups are to allow group re-entry upon apology. Sometimes a few weeks or months off, is all anyone needs to repair their attitude.Some good video on Empathy is here: Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112> - Rough Cut 1(1 hr 15 min)<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112&ei=SHZ_Sez1Kqq6qAOy8ayQDg&q=obama+empathy&hl=en> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112 <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112> II.) Communications and Administrative Structure:We have a Network, of Networks (50 States), of Networks, (3,071 Counties), of Networks (All MyBO Group Members of All MyBO Groups in that County.We also will open a Network of all Colleges and Universities as stand alone .CAN Groups, which are welcome to participate as stand alone groups and elect delegates to our State Assemblies and National .CAN Congress. The Students have asked us for this, so be it.We also will open a Spanish Language set of .CAN Groups, where that language will be used.As needed - all other Language .CAN Groups are welcome to set up their own Groups and join in the Quarterly Countywide MyBO Membership Assemblies.Each MyBO County.State.CAN Group will host an all inclusive Quarterly Assembly of all MyBO Members in there County. Our Charter to set up this network required we not compete with existing groups, and include all who wanted to join us.All MyBO Groups are welcome to elect two Delegates to our Bi-Annual State MyBO Group Assemblies, and those same delegates are welcome to our Annual National MyBO Citizens Congress. Our State Umbrella Groups will meet in our various State Capitols. Our National Congress will meet in Washington DC. Each set of Delegates will include one voting Delegate and one Alternate.Each Group is Autonomous and Self Supporting. We are Volunteers. Any service compensation for expenses is up to each group. The State Groups are welcome to sponsor any Delegate who may not have the resources to participate. We are inclusive and not exclusive.To be a member, any person must agree to abide to the best of their ability and capacity, to our seven core principles stated above.Each Group will maintain two or more Group Administrators and one or more Communications Directors. The Group Administrators will oversee the interface to MyBO and the other .CAN Groups. Group Administrators will admit and remove members and are empowered to make thier indepentant decisions. The local Group Membership can override and change any arbitrary decison made between meetings.The Communications Directors will moderate the List Servers as quickly as possible.Where Groups grow to large - they may further sub devide their counties as they see fit.All Groups will meet once a month as we suggest the use of our Standardized Meeting Format.This is not a legal organizational entity at this point. Agreements as to legal form are left to the membership for future decisions. All I have done is design the structure to give to you. What you do with it is up to you.
III.) Processes and proceedures:In Each Group Blog, you will find three postings which we require you keep posted on your Community Blog for all to reference: 1.) The Suggested Meeting Format for Monthly Meetings. You can archive meeting notes and records on Google Docs as shared files for all to see.We recommend Setting up a Group Membership Spread sheet on Google Docs as well, as we share our Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers, Email Addresses, and other public data and notes with all members in each Group.The State Group Data and Membership Directory of Elected Delegates and Officers will be maintained on Google Docs as as shared file - open to Delegates only.The National Registry of all State Delegates will be also open to all Elected Delegates - as a shared file. Transparency is critical and we lead by example.No Delegate shall share the group data.There shall be no solicitation of contributions or commerce on any Group List Server.2.) The Two Year Schedule, created by the founding .CAN Group in San Francisco, California on December 13, 2008. We are all to synch to this schedule for all our use. You can set up your List of Officers - terms and when you have your group elections on a shared Google Doc as well for the reference of your group.3.) The Link List of All MyBO Groups in your County.State.CAN Group shall be created, posted and maintained by your County Group Adminsitrators. We promised Chicago MyBO HQ we would create and maintain an Umbrella Protection and inclusion of all MyBO Groups with clear inter-group level of respect, empowerment, and inclusion.The Link List of All MyBO County Groups in your State shall be created, posted and maintainted by your State.CAN State Group Administrators. The Groups are open to do as they see fit within this structure and may advocate as the see fit. This is post partisan politics.The Link List of All MyBO State.CAN, and Colleges.CAN and Language.City or State.CAN Groups will be created and maintained by the USA.CAN Group Administrators.Thank you for allowing me to be of service.Paul Talcott CurrierInternet Community Organizer.Co-Founder of your Community Action Network, November 8th, 2008Founding Mission Statement: Organize America to Perfect Our UnionHome Group: SanFrancisco.California.CANState Group: California.CANCell - 415.571.1583
Texas.CAN
Please join us at:
TexasCAN@groups.barackobama.com
If you are planning to be in DC Jan 15th please come to my party. Just received a note from Susannah Perlman, my first celebrity to RSVP.
Maria Isabel has sent you an invitation to 'HOLTInauguration Party - DC' -- click here to view theinvitation and submit your response: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsx22m
About Susannah Perlman:
http://www.nicejewishgirlsgonebad.com/newsite/girls.html
"We are one people, and our time for change has come!"
~ Barack Obama
Hi ~ Barry and I just got back from a moveon.org gathering aimed at keeping the momentum of the campaign moving.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25714894@N08/
We have accomplished so much by getting Obama elected, but like Barack told us, the job is not done. We need to continue to pressure our elected representatives to support the changes that we aspire to. MoveOn is organizing a campaign to send 100's of thousands of photos of real Americans holding signs declaring "I Stand with Obama for" ... (Clean Energy, Health Care, Ending the War in Iraq, Diplomacy, or your own issue). The plan is to send thousands of photos to Congress, etc. and to plaster DC with select photos to let people know that this movement is not going to lay down. Let me know if you want to get involved in this effort.
Maria Isabel
mariaobama@gmail.com
To whom much is given, much is expected
-Luke 12:48
Fellow Democrats,
When we started out with this election cycle, we all knew that Democrats were well on their way to making real gains, from the White House to the county courthouse.
Well, can you say "President-elect Barack Obama"?
And I know you were as energized and excited as I was about our extraordinary success here in Texas on Election Day. Texas Democrats made sweeping countywide gains in Harris County, held our ground in Dallas County, elected Wendy Davis to the State Senate in Tarrant County, and won six seats in the State House.
But we're not done yet: we have one more Democrat to elect to the State Senate.
My friend Chris Bell is running in a special election for the State Senate in District 17 in Harris County. Chris was the top vote getter on Election Day, but will have very little time to organize before the run-off election. And that's why I'm writing you today: we need your help now to elect Chris to the State Senate.
Click here to make a contribution of $100, $50, $25, or $10 to Chris Bell's campaign. Your contribution right now will help Chris turn out each and every one of his supporters for the run-off.
Many of you have already given generously of your time and resources during this election cycle, and I wouldn't be asking you again if the stakes for Democrats weren't so high.
With the election of Wendy Davis on November 4th, Democrats will hold 12 of 31 seats in the State Senate. With Chris as our lucky number 13, Senate Democrats will be able to make a real difference for Texas families by fighting for high-quality public schools, affordable utility rates, and accessible health insurance.
This special election will resonate far beyond Harris County, so it's up to each of us to help Chris get over the finish line. Click here to make an immediate contribution of $100, $50, $25, or $10 to Chris's campaign.
Working together, we can finish this historic election with one more big win, and a victory for our families.
Thank you for all that you have already done, and for standing up with me one last time to take back our state.
Sincerely,
Kirk Watson
Texas State Senator
Chris Bell for Texas Senate District 17
***If you cannot attend the meeting at Pappas BBQ on Friday evening, you can still contact the campaign DIRECTLY to help.(713) 667-8990, 4019 S. Braeswood @ Stella Link, 77025, 9:AM - 9:PMEven if you do not live in Senate 17, you can help.***
So look forward to the Texas Black Tie and Boots Ball........Hope to see you all there!
Sweet victory for Harris County TX!!!
Thanks everyone...and you know who you are.....
Barry and I just had a breakdown with our attentive stay reservation in DC. Any diehard democrats want to share their room? We are small people, just need a spot for our sleeping bags...
Obama Love!!!
713.542.0721
http://flickr.com/photos/25714894@N08/
Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball corporate sponsorships are available. Details on securing sponsor tickets and benefits, including sponsorship forms, can be found at the TSS web site, www.texasstatesociety.org in our special BT&B section. Find out how you can become a corporate sponsor to "The Hottest Ticket in Town" during Presidential Inauguration Week. Interested corporate sponsors can also contact Jackie Alafoginis at 202-237-0099, ext. 20 or by email at jackie@websterconsulting.com
Thank you OFA fellow community organizers....we are almost there!
But today there is still a few more things you can do to help finish the job until the polls close.
Your "Precinct Chair" has a list of folks in your precinct that have not yet come to the polls, this is a great opportunity.
If you do not know who your precinct chair is, here is how to find him or her in Houston: http://www.hcdp.org/precinctchairs.php
Contact your precinct chair and see what you can do to help.
Our neighborhood last night only had a list of about 100 folks that had not voted yet. Split the list with other community organizers in your area and call these folks or put a reminder to vote today on their door!
Ken from the DNC has vote reminder lit at our OFA Headquarters - 4300 Lyons Houston 77020, we must GOTV!!!
Another option if you would like to volunteer today, you can be an Obama Precinct Captain by standing outside your polling location wearing your Obama gear ready to greet voters.
Remember, these are your neighbors and if lines are long tonight they may be encouraged to stay if they see you there.
During the Primary some of the folks that came to vote stayed with us for part of the day.
If standing and greeting is not your thing, MyBO will be updating the battleground state calling list throughout the day.
The campaing is planning to post the names and numbers of specific pockets of voters in strategic battleground areas that have not made it to the polls.
This you can do in the comfort of your own home.Also there are busy call banking locations all over town, you may want to find one near you and bring snacks or drink to the volunteers.
The Harris County Democratic Party is phonebanking today, and also OFA has several locations, here is how to find an OFA call banking location near you in Houston: http://gotv.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpvvv4
In a few hours we will know who the next president will be, Obama and his campaing strategists had a plan for this election, they did a great job mobilizing folks, and you did the rest.
My heartfelt thanks for all you have done so far and will do today.
Feel free to email me or call anytime today.
With Obama Love,
Hi every one.
A McCain supporter sent me the link below, claiming that we Obama supporters are also writing hateful things about McCain. This is a person who happen to be a christian who really is into Palin/McCain, and happen to be the guy who was a best man on our wedding.
I checked the link, and the feeling I got is, this may not be one of Obama supporter, blogging on Obama's site.
Please check this link, and let us stop this blogger if he is just here to smear Obama and his supporters.
from Obama's site: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/group/MarxistsSocialistsCommunistsforObama
This video has popped up on the internets exposing that McCain palls around with terrorists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ9wy2MI1NI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_y2KwbhBJo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Z2t7DTVKA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFTO_2RcgQ&feature=related
http://www.drudgereport.com/
{{{{DRUDGE POLL}}}} WHO WON THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE?...MCCAIN
This is an invitation to a final presidential debate watch Party Wed Oct 15th.
At the OFA Houston Office
4300 Lyons Ave, Suite 200 - Houston TX 77020
The debate starts at 8:00 PM, but you are welcome to come early, socialize with fellow Obama volunteers, and help us phonebank.
We are serving Chicago Style Hot Dogs with the trimmings, sponsored by Super Volunteer Gretchen Lindquist.
Please RSVP on MyBo: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs5bc7
Display Your Obama Gear!
Decorate your life in this presidential election season, stop by the office anytime and pick up an "Obama Supporter Bundle".
We have six different styles of Obama shirts including an awesome full color Andy Warhol inspired T, 10 different Obama button designs, 6 different Obama bumper stickers, lapel stickers, yard signs, and aprons.
Obama '08 America Can't Wait!
Thank for all you are doing,
Maria
