Here’s a great idea to spread the holiday spirit! When doing your Holiday/Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to the following address.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much would get.
Please remember to help support Jim Martin in Georgia for this very important Senate seat. Not only is Jim Martin the best man for the job, his election to the Senate will help the President-elect, Barack Obama, to enact the positive, pragmatic change that America needs at this crucial time. Please help me in contributing to Jim Martin's campaign by spreading the word and by making whatever modest donation you can to his fundraising effort.
http://www.martinforsenate.com/home.html
Thank you,
Julia of Irish Musicians for Obama
I am immensely proud to be a part of this great community, and with you all I was a part of the most historic election in history.
We did it. We spent many hours in N. California on phone banks, sometimes landing on pretty hostile anti-Obama folks, but it was all worth it. The undecideds we spoke to from the DNC offices, asking them to vote for Barack, were the most encouraging part of this journey for me.
Now, it's time for us to show resolve and to be disciplined, focused and unrelentant in our drive to change this country.
It will be impossible for one man to reverse the global economic downturn we're experiencing. He will be a positive catalyst, without doubt. But let's not expect overnight solutions to a complex, global problem.
The power of unions in America's automakers and other troubled sectors must be balanced with the need to allow some weaker players to fail. We can't afford artificial prop-ups - not for Wall Street, not for Detroit either.
And it's time for divisive politics to be put to sleep. Part of Obama's gift is his refusal to answer a wrong with another wrong. We must all follow this example and refrain from GOP-bashing, Joe the plumber bashing, Palin-bashing. This behavior feeds the fire and is divisive, not constructive.
America is already in rebuilding mode. Almost like a post-war nation, we are in convalescence and nursing our injuries. This takes hard work, courage and grit. It isn't about handouts - it's about opportunity.
We did it!
Yes, yesterday was a good day for hope in America. Power to the people! We can find many reasons to celebrate that Barack Obama, a precious sage, won this Presidential election. But, we would be naïve not to acknowledge the historical significance it has for America. Many people died for the hope of this day, the day that finally happened yesterday. The hope for the day that we all would be judged by our character. My prayers go out for all of those that died for this hope. This includes all those that died in the Civil War as well as the seven whites that were killed for participating in the Freedom Movement: William Moore, Rev. Bruce Klunder, Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, Rev. James Reeb, Viola Luizzo, and Johnathan Daniels. Yes, hope is alive for all of the 40 lives for freedom that died.
It took forty one years for justice to emerge over the evil of 1964. On June 21, 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, a Baptist preacher and sawmill operator, was sentenced to 60 years in jail on manslaughter charges for ordering the deaths of Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, both white, and James Chaney, an African-American. A window at the Sage Chapel, was a gift of the Cornell University Class of 1961, it was installed in 1991 to honor these three civil rights workers that died.
Yesterday, a new window was installed that spans all across America, a clear window of opportunity. A window that the entire world can look through and see American children envisioning their dreams… and hope.
The events in the Middle East over the next few days are no coincidence: there is every reason for us to suspect a coordinated diversion from McCain's awful mess in the polls with just days to the election.
We must be ready to discredit this subversive diversion tactic!
What McCain needs to win: a dramatic military event that can be turned into a national security argument for an intensified state of war, with a new "enemy", flaring up in the last week of October.
Is he capable of trying it? Absolutely yes, he is. Does he have the connections to make it happen?
Yes, he does. The Pentagon is largely anti-Bush these days, making it harder to manufacture evidence of Syrian malevolence. However, the military itself maintains very strong ties to McCain and his cronies.
Let's not stand around saying "this isn't really happening".
It looks more and more like a reality. By 31-October we will know for sure.
Dear Syria, please have patience - we have an idiot for a president. We're working to elect a sane, educated and even-tempered man we can trust. If we ail, we will elect Idiot 2.0 and you will be justified in your mistrust of America. Please hold your anger for two more weeks.
Sincerely,
America
Show your support for Obama/Biden at McCain/Palin Rally
in Quakertown on Tuesday October 28 at 10:15At Memorial Park Stadium600 West Mill StreetQuakertown, PA
My dear Republican and Undecided friends,
It is on the strength of the assumption of your hypothetical amusement at the political passions of your pal, the newly minted American, that I presume to beg a few minutes of your time. It goes completely contrary to my personality to do anything might possibly generate negative feelings towards me, but I feel that you, and the cause, are worth the effort. It may take a couple glasses of wine for me to grow the balls to hit the send button, but even as I type the phrase “courage of your convictions” is running in a ticker across my mind, and I know for sure that I won’t believe for a minute that I have a single hair on my ass (figuratively speaking of course), if I don’t at least try! So here goes . . .
Many of you may not know, but when I arrived in Florida in 1993, suitcases in hand, I was already a Republican. My mother’s second husband had made sure of that. He was a total conservative and for years, during my stays with he and Mum, I listened to Rush Limbaugh in a loop, and was able to incorporate the term “bleeding heart liberal” (with sufficient amounts of contempt) into as many sentences as possible.
When George Bush was elected the first time around in 2000 I felt just great about it. Gore had seemed a little wishy-washy to me. But by 2002 I had filed my citizenship papers specifically to be in a position to vote against George Bush in 2004. You see, in the interim I had really come to love America. Not just as an alternative to the lousy economy and weather I had left behind in Ireland, but the very idea of America. I had read the Constitution, learned about the founding fathers, seen America first hand, and I felt that I was an integral part of the American story. I was able to recite the pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem, as well as “America the Beautiful” (I’m just showing off now) with an accuracy and vehemence that caused the very amusement I now beg to draw on, on the part of my native born counterparts. I took the oath of citizenship in the middle of a string of hurricanes that hit Florida. My husband, a fire-fighter was on overtime that day and our van had been crushed by a tree, so I drove alone to the ceremony in an ancient, borrowed Chevy pick-up truck and stood there, in the UCF Arena, heart on hand, meaning every word I said, as I became a citizen. I would defend our country.
So this is my attempt at just that – short of picking up the wooden spoon and heading off to the Middle East, this is my, very heartfelt attempt, at just that. I love this country, and I want to see it on the right path. I am voting for Barack Obama, and I think you should too. I don’t want to just call strangers, I want to reach out to you, who I already know to be thinking, and intelligent people. Here is my case.
I don’t want to go all negative on McCain. I used to like him. But before I tell you why I like Obama so much I want to tell you why I think McCain is not the president we need right now.
1. Consistency: He’s not consistent. If we ever needed a steady hand on the tiller it is now. With just the past few months as a window into how he might operate as President, I have cause for great concern. Both our domestic and international situations demand someone who is balanced and thoughtful. The very last thing we need is someone who reacts with knee-jerks. I speak of the postponement of the RNC convention, the appointment of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate, and his suspension of his campaign to “run” back to Washington when financial crisis loomed. None of these actions were necessary. They were all bad judgment calls. Let me elaborate on one specifically I my next point.
2. Judgment: The appointment of Sarah Palin as Vice-President. This point alone has caused many of the most conservative of Republicans to decide to vote for Obama. For me the number one issue with this is judgment. What does this move say about McCain? That he will take any port in a storm? That he is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face? That he will act spontaneously and without thought? That’s not good enough for my President. My President had better sit down and think about the ramifications of every move before he makes it, and if he has to make a knee-jerk reaction he will certainly do better than McCain did in his selection of Sarah Palin. Now I know there are many people who like her, but likability is not enough to put her in the position of being head of this great country. McCain is an old guy. We don’t like to bring that up, but he is. He is not in the best of health, and more than any Presidential ticket in recent history there is a very good chance that McCain’s VP WILL be called upon to fill his role. Do you really think Sarah Palin can run this country? She did fine in Alaska, but the population there is less than 700,000 (in the entire State) and they, pretty much, pay their residents to be happy there! I could go on at length about her, but I won’t. The point is that it was McCain’s first and most important executive decision as the head of the Republican party, and it was a bad, bad choice. It was the kind of choice that you might refer back to, should he become President, and complete the total destruction of our economy and foreign relations, and think “Well, I guess we should have known back then. . . .” Don’t let that happen.
3. Temperament: There are hundreds of stories flying around about McCain’s bad temper. He is known for flying off the handle, absolutely losing his cool, and using very bad language. I am not adverse to a bit of bad language, believe me, and I’m sure there are instances when it serves a purpose to get all riled up, but NOT when you are the head of a country of 300 million men, women and children. It might work to your advantage in the Senate, but it is a recipe for disaster on the International stage. There is too much at stake right now. With Russia and Iran on the simmer, the last thing we need is a hot head, with a penchant for war, in charge of the destinies of you, me and our children. There aren’t enough people in this country to voluntarily supply the military needs of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia. I don’t think I’m overstating here. If you value your son or daughter’s ability to choose whether or not to be in the armed forces, I would be very slow to cast a vote for John McCain.
4. Character: I think John McCain used to have one, but he has sold his soul to the devil in order to become President. I do honestly think that in the days following the election, when he takes some time to reflect, he will regret how he has operated and how he has allowed himself to be manipulated in pursuit of this goal. The John McCain of 2000 would not like the John McCain of 2008. He has become a testy, bitter and low hitting candidate. The amount of misinformation he has leveled at Obama is beyond belief. Any of you who haven’t done so already can quickly check the veracity of the negative attacks on www.factcheck.org (owned by a Republican coincidentally). He knows that stuff isn’t true, but he continues to level it. His politics have become one of division and inequity, and that is not how I see America. We need to be united, not divided. McCain courts the least intelligent members of our society with his, “Obama’s a terrorist, a Muslim, an unknown” rhetoric. We are smarter than that. We need a President who appeals to our highest natural instincts, not our lowest.
5. Intelligence: I think we need someone intelligent in the White House. OK, not just intelligent, a whole lot smarter than you and I. It could be argued that you and I are a bunch smarter than George Bush, and look how that worked out for us. I do not want Joe Six-Pack anywhere near the White House (and you know I have an affection for six-packs). Shouldn’t an evolved society wish for it’s brightest star on the top of the tree? John McCain came 894th out of a class of 899 in Annapolis. You have to work “extra hard” to get that low a ranking. Is this who we want running our country? Compare that to Barack Obama who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and was president of the Law Review. Don’t I deserve a smart President? Don’t you?
6. The Economy. McCain’s economics are basically the same as George Bush’s economics. The trickle-down effect has not worked, and anyone who persists in something that doesn’t work, deserves to have his intelligence questioned. Now for those of you earning less than $250,000 a year (I happen to be in that category a few times over!) there is no excuse for you to think that a McCain presidency makes good financial sense for you. It doesn’t (check it out here: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNyNv_UfFUo&eurl=http://barackobama.multiply.com/journal/item/670/Tax_Plans-_Here_Are_The_Numbers. But for those of you in the upper earning category, here’s the deal. When the economy thrives so does business. Obama is not initiating new taxes, simply repealing the Bush Tax Cuts. His tax code doesn’t represent a huge difference in your taxation, but it will make a huge difference to the spending power of the public. Warren Buffet, the world’s richest man, stands to pay a lot more in taxes than anyone in my email address book, but he supports Obama. I know McCain and the Republicans like to go on about the tax and spend liberals but here’s the real truth: Under the fiscal conservative Ronald Reagan, we had a $200+ billion deficit. Under the fiscal conservative George H W Bush, we had a $300 billion budget deficit. Under the tax and spend liberal Bill Clinton we had a $200+ billion surplus. Under the fiscal conservative George W Bush we have a $482 billion budget deficit. Do you really think we can afford another fiscal conservative? The Republican way of managing the economy has failed, and I think we deserve to try something better. How many times do you have to fall into the hole before you suddenly understand you can walk around it?
So those are some of my reasons not to vote for McCain. My reasons to vote for Obama are even lengthier, but given that you are not pre-disposed to liking him I won’t waffle on. Suffice it to say that in voting for him I am looking at the measure of the man. He has a superb intellect, and taught Constitutional Law at Chicago Law School. He has actually read the Federalist papers! He is a product of our country at its best. He was born to a single mother, raised in large part by his grandparents and went to school on scholarships. He had to work very hard to get where he is today. He understands struggle. He understands hard graft, making ends meet, college tuition, and a plethora of things John McCain will never understand. I have no doubt, none, that Barack Obama’s goals for America are the highest goals a man can have. If you doubt this, look at his daughters. They are his life. He wants America to be better for them, and for my children, and for yours. He wants us to be a country where diplomacy always comes before war-mongering. He wants everyone to have access to healthcare and feels we can afford it because if we put money into preventative care we will save on the treatment end of things. He wants teachers to be paid their worth and for all Americans to receive a world class education and to be able to afford college. As a teacher with three children that is important to me. His ideals are lofty, but I want a President who aims high. I deserve that, my children deserve that. Don’t yours? Don’t the children in your life?
Honestly, I’m not even scratching the surface of why I think Obama is the best choice for us. Have you seen his ability to organize, to motivate, to stay positive, to press an agenda without drama? I’m not alone in my beliefs. Many conservatives have come out in support of Barack Obama. Even Christopher Buckley, whose father founded The National Review, has come out in support of Obama (http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-10/the-conservative-case-for-obama).
61 Nobel laureates have come out in support of Barack Obama. Colin Powell has come out in support of Obama. Did I mention Warren Buffet?!! Christians have come out in support of Obama (http://www.matthew25.org/). Obama is the bridge we need right now. He may not be your perfect candidate but he is the perfect candidate for our country in this moment, and for the world as it is, in this moment.
Thank you indulging me. I love this country and America needs our voices right now. Please get out and vote for Barack Obama.
Love to you,
Cathy
P.S. Some additional information on other Republicans who have endorsed Barack Obama:
Elected Officials: Jim Leach, Former Congressman from Iowa "For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally. We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that." Lincoln Chafee, Former United States Senator from Rhode Island "As I look at the candidates in order who to vote for, certainly my kind of conservatism was reflected with Senator Obama, and those points are that we're fiscally conservative, we care about revenues matching expenditures, we also care about the environment, I think it's a traditional conservative value to care about clean air and clean water." Wayne Gilchrest, Congressman from Maryland "We can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness." Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles "I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job." Lowell Weicker, Former Governor and Senator from Connecticut "At issue is not the partisan politics of two parties, rather the image we have of ourselves as Americans. Senator Obama brings wisdom, kindness, and common sense to what is both his and our quest for a better America." Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska Mayor "If we are as a nation concerned with energy, then our consideration should be a national energy policy that is not predicated on crude oil 50 years into the future. We need to get to it, and I think Barack Obama is very clear in that regard." Linwood Holton, Former Governor of Virginia "Obama has a brain, and he isn't afraid to use it." Government Officials: Colin Powell, Secretary of State under Bush 43 "...he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world state, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." Douglas Kmiec, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan & Bush 41 "I was first attracted to government by Ronald Reagan, who lives in our national memory as a great leader and an inspiring communicator. Senator Obama has these gifts as well, but of course, more rhetorical flourish without substance would be worth little. Is there more to Senator Obama? I believe there is." Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the U.S. Senate "Barack Obama is a thoughtful visionary leader who as President will end the decline of American law, liberty, and fiscal responsibility that are the hallmarks of the extremist policies of the current Administration, now adopted by John McCain." Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower & President of the Eisenhower Group "Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole." Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan "...Obama probably has the greatest promise of delivering a different kind of politics." Rita Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor under George W. Bush "McCain will continue the wrong-headed foreign policy decisions of Bush, while Obama will take us in a new direction." Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor "I suspect Obama is more free-market friendly than he lets on. He taught at the University of Chicago, a hotbed of right-of-center thought. His economic advisers, notably Austan Goolsbee, recognize that ordinary citizens stand to gain more from open markets than from government meddling." Bill Ruckelshaus, served in the Nixon and Reagan administrations "I'm not against McCain, I'm for Obama." Ken Adelman, served in the Ford administration "The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate. That decision showed appalling lack of judgment... that selection contradicted McCain's main two, and best two, themes for his campaign-- Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick." Lilibet Hagel, Wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel "This election is not about fighting phantom issues churned out by a top-notch slander machine. Most important, it is not about distracting the public-- you and me-- with whatever slurs someone thinks will stick." Columnists and Academics: Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor "It turns out that these political parties are not always either liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. The Democrat, under certain conditions, can be the conservative." Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University "For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one." David Friedman, Economist and son of Milton and Rose Friedman "I hope Obama wins. President Bush has clearly been a disaster from the standpoint of libertarians and conservatives because he has presided over an astonishing rise in government spending." Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review founder William F. Buckley & former NR columnist "Obama has in him-- I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy 'We are the people we have been waiting for' silly rehtoric-- the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for." Andrew Sullivan, Columnist for the Atlantic Monthly "Obama's legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him." Wick Alison, Former publisher of the National Review "I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses. But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history." Michael Smerconish, Columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer "...an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe." http://www.republicansforobama.org/?q=node/3341
The endorsement, which is not yet being used, extols the Democratic presidential candidate's record on 'policing issues,' the LAPD chief says.
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton waded into the contentious U.S. presidential campaign Thursday, recording an automated telephone message on behalf of Democrat Barack Obama.The message challenged Republican John McCain's "record on policing issues and extolled Obama's," Bratton said in an interview. It comes, he said, in response to a telephone message recently made by former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani in support of McCain and critical of Obama's law enforcement bona fides.
Thanks to the group I belong to I was given the website to check my registration.My husband is there but not me! It's been 2 months. I am calling the Bronx Voting office tommorow, This is upsetting, see article below and check your status!! Up to their old tricks again?
Have you been purged from New York State’s database?
As I wrote about in my last blog, HAVA required substantial changes to the way voter registration lists are managed, requiring that all states maintain a single statewide database, and that voter registration records be purged of incorrect records. But depending on how database name matching is done, this can result in many legally registered voters being removed from the rolls or set to “Inactive” status, which means on Election Day their names will not be in the poll book, and they will not be able to vote.
But a question has remained, how many voter records have been purged from New York State’s voter rolls? Now we have an answer. I submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for all records in New York’s NYSVOTER voter registration database. Early in October, I received a copy of NYSVOTER records from September 23, 2008. I wrote a program to analyze the 12,010,045 voter records and can now report the number of voters who have had their status set to “Purged” or “Inactive” in the Empire state, and the reasons given for the change.
The data reveals that New York State has moved 1,661,244, or almost 14% of the voter records, from “Active” status to “Purged” or “Inactive”, meaning they will not be in the poll books on Election Day. Whether or not these changes are valid is anybody’s guess, and there’s no way to know for sure how many of these have been incorrectly removed from “Active” status. But I’ll wager that a significant number of these records are actually legally registered voters who should be allowed to vote on Election Day, but won’t be.
I’ve provided two spreadsheets which break out the analysis by individual New York State counties, totals for New York City(which includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island), and the state as a whole. The first sheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) shows the total number of records, the number of “Active” status voters, and the number set to “Purged” and “Inactive”, and the percentages these represent of the total. The second spreadsheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) breaks out the reasons given for each record set to “Purged” and “Inactive”.
This second spreadsheet reveals some interesting patterns. For instance we can see that the New York City Board of Elections has set over a half a million voter records to “Inactive” status because they did not respond to a letter from the Board saying they intended to cancel their registration (NYSVOTER lists this reason as “MAIL CHECK”). I guarantee that some percentage, likely very large, of these New York City voters are legally registered who never saw the Board’s letter. They’re going to show up on Election Day and be turned away from the polls.
We also find the top counties which have been removing voters from the rolls – Sullivan County (30%), Allegany County(24%), Tompkins County (23%), Westchester County (21%), Rensselaer (19%) and Erie (19%). We find that Erie, Cortland, Seneca, Sullivan and Lewis counties have all “Purged” over 7% of voter records. And Sullivan, Allegany, Tompkins, Westchester, Manhattan, Rensselaer and the Bronx have each set over 13% of their voter records to “Inactive” status.
My analysis program can only work the data that’s in the records, so I can’t determine how many of these voter records have been legitimately changed, and how many are legally registered voters whose status should be “Active” but is no longer. There’s only one way to know for sure – call your County Board of Elections and ask if you are registered to vote, if your status is “Active”, and if your name will appear in the poll books on Election Day. If it is not, there is still time, although not much, to correct the error.
By the way, if you find that you are not in the poll books on Election Day, you have the right to demand and receive a “provisional” ballot (called an ‘affidavit’ ballot in NYS), which you can vote on. Provisional ballots do not guarantee that your vote will be counted however, as the county must first conduct an investigation to see if you were indeed legally registered. Only then will the provisional ballot be counted. While this is better than not being able to vote at all, it’s a stop gap measure, and I urge you to call your county Board and check that you are registered and can vote on Election Day.
From the Los Angeles Times
Reported from Washington and Bensalem, Pa. -- John McCain's efforts to snare Pennsylvania appear to be faltering despite a substantial commitment of his time, leaving him with a narrower path to the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. McCain is targeting Pennsylvania in hopes of winning at least one state that voted for Democrat John F. Kerry in 2004. With 21 electoral votes, a victory in Pennsylvania could offset possible losses in smaller states captured by President Bush in the last contest.
Yet by any number of measures, McCain's prospects are dimming. An aggregate of public polls shows Barack Obama with a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 1.1 million, about twice the gap in 2004, state figures show. What's more, prominent Republicans worry that McCain's message is flawed or is being drowned out by waves of Obama ads. McCain aides insist that they can still win Pennsylvania. Recognizing the stakes, McCain is spending much of the dwindling amount of time left on the campaign trail traversing the Keystone State.
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/campaign08/newsletter/la-na-campaign22-2008oct22,0,7679217.story
Obama Clear Winner in 1st, 2nd, and now 3rd Presidential Debate
http://virginiadem.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/obama-clear-winner-in-1st-2nd-and-now-3rd-presidential-debate/
By Scott Helman, Boston Globe Staff
SHAWNEE, Ohio - "It ain't gonna change nothing."
Robert Peyton, 62, was perched in a worn purple chair in his garage, on a hill overlooking what's left of Shawnee, a once-bustling coal town in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. He dragged on his cigarette and explained why he saw no point in voting in the presidential election.
"The poor man's getting poorer," Peyton said, his old Ford pickup parked behind him with the hood open. "And the rich man's getting richer."
Once, there were jobs in these hills, not just in the coal mines, but at steel companies in nearby New Lexington. At the brickyard in New Straitsville, the next town over. At a local fiberglass plant, which employed more than 100 in its heyday. Peyton, born and raised here, used to work in area oil fields, back when those jobs were plentiful.
"Hell, there's nothing here anymore," he said yesterday. "Welfare and Social Security, and that's about it."
He went on, "Nothing's coming back. You live in China or Mexico, you got a job."
Peyton's already retired; his 22-year-old son, who lives with him, has it worse. He had been doing concrete work, Peyton said, but hasn't had a job in a year, because the construction industry is slow.
"This country is pretty much shot," Peyton said.
A lot of folks in the Shawnee area seem to feel the same way. It's a mixture of fatalism about their station in life and cynicism that a new president will make any meaningful difference in their lives. Things are pretty bad, and they have no hope that Barack Obama or John McCain will do a darn thing about it.
Shawnee and its fellow coal towns are known as the Little Cities of Black Diamonds. Fires are said to still burn in the old underground mines, but above ground the cities' spark has long been extinguished. There's still a mine or two operating in the area, but what's left largely are the industry's remnants, both human and environmental. A milky, acidic substance flows out of an old mine entrance near New Straitsville; the signs warn not to touch it.
Shawnee's Main Street is dotted with empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings, save for the Shawnee Village Restaurant, the Desperado bar, and a few other scattered businesses. We caught up with Debbie Manring and Amy Ellis, who both live in town. Manring, 50, used to work as a nursing assistant at a nursing home, but is now on disability. Ellis runs the local video store.
"I don't think I'd vote for either one of them," Manring said of Obama and McCain.
"That's exactly what I would say," added Ellis, as her 4-year-old son, Justin, rode a pink bicycle up and down the empty sidewalk.
They are both Democrats, feeling like they have two bad choices, wishing Hillary Clinton were still in the race. McCain, to them, would be an extension of President Bush. "He's going to make things worse," Ellis said.
When we asked about Obama, they made clear they felt a cultural disconnect. They do not trust him, do not see him as one of their own. Manring worries he is a Muslim (he is not); Ellis said she believes Obama would put other countries before the United States, and was bothered by his decision in the past to not always affix a flag pin to his lapel. (He does now.)
"He wouldn't even wear it," she said.
They say all this even though their views on helping the middle class and on the war in Iraq align more closely with Obama's. Manring said her nephew had served in Iraq, and returned with stories about "kids over there who are doing without."
"And you know what?" Manring said. "We've got that here."
Obama might have put it that way himself, but these are precisely the kinds of white, rural voters he has not won over. He likely won't before Nov. 4.
Not everyone around here expressed such apathy about the election. As we explored an old mine entrance yesterday, Cory Six pulled up in his red Ford Mustang. He is 20 years old, from New Straitsville, and training to drive heavy equipment. A year ago, he helped haul 300 tons of gravel to fill an old mine on the other side of the hill where we were standing.
"I haven't figured out who I'm going to vote for yet," Six said when we asked him about the election. "Do I want a black guy or a Republican?"
But to Six, Obama's race is merely an unremarkable fact. It is not a factor.
"Everyone should have the equal opportunity to run for president," he said. "It don't matter what color you are."
THESE are the worst of times. A recession verging on depression, an unpopular war, huge deficits and a deeply unpopular president have all combined to make Americans restless for dramatic change as successive surveys have found.At such a time we need to put aside many of the issues that we as a community believe dearly in when it comes to choosing a president. It is simply too fraught a time to play the ethnic see-saw game between two candidates. Indeed,were we to play that game it would have ended up pretty equal. John McCain has been eloquent and supportive on immigration and helpful on Northern Ireland.After a brief stumble on the issue of the special envoy Barack Obama's campaign has clearly become far more responsive to the Irish American community, as last week's answers to the AOH questionnaire on issues such as immigration and Northern Ireland proved. Both men, it must be said, would be friends of Irish America and Ireland if elected. Both are proud of their Irish heritage.But on the much broader issue of who can take this country out of the slough of despondency it has sunk into and create new leadership that the world is desperately seeking, there is no doubt that there is a crystal clear choice. Indeed, it is abundantly clear that one candidate far outstrips the other when it comes to the need to effect the change we desperately need.Barack Obama is that man. He would send an extraordinary message to the world if he is elected that America is prepared to turn a chapter, first of all by electing an African American to the highest position in the land. He is no ordinary African American either, the grandson of a Kenyan goat herder, born to a single mother, a man who hardly knew his father. Now, in a retelling of the classic immigrant family success story, unique to America he stands on the threshold of the White House.We Irish can relate to that extraordinary moment in time, that up from the bootstraps moment where nothing is ever the same again. Whether it was John F.Kennedy smashing the anti-Catholic bigotry in 1960 or Ronald Reagan overcoming his own desperately humble beginnings as the son of an alcoholic salesman to win the presidency in 1980, the die was irretrievably cast and a new direction pointed for ever more. It is perhaps no coincidence that both men are probably the most popular figures in their respective parties today.Obama's election would also immediately restore confidence in American leadership worldwide that has sadly been badly lacking in the Bush years. Unilateralism as a system of governance has clearly not worked. In the aftermath of 9/11 we were the most admired and respected country on earth. "We are all Americans now" Le Monde editorialized on September 12, 2001.Ireland declared a day of national mourning in solidarity with America. A new era beckoned in international cooperation, and yet we frittered all that away by rushing to war in Iraq and insisting that whatever the crisis wherever in the world we had the only legitimate world view on how to solve it.It is painful to travel overseas and see how far our star has sunk. This country cannot separate itself from the western and indeed eastern world as isolationists would wish us to. The latest financial crisis definitively proves that.We are all connected and just one e-mail away.Barack Obama has the ability to transform the current view of America with his election. He would send an eloquent signal to the world that America has made a fresh start, that the tried and stale policies of the recent past have been banished for good and that a vibrant new era has arrived. He should be our next president.
THESE are the worst of times. A recession verging on depression, an unpopular war, huge deficits and a deeply unpopular president have all combined to make Americans restless for dramatic change as successive surveys have found.
At such a time we need to put aside many of the issues that we as a community believe dearly in when it comes to choosing a president. It is simply too fraught a time to play the ethnic see-saw game between two candidates. Indeed,were we to play that game it would have ended up pretty equal. John McCain has been eloquent and supportive on immigration and helpful on Northern Ireland.
After a brief stumble on the issue of the special envoy Barack Obama's campaign has clearly become far more responsive to the Irish American community, as last week's answers to the AOH questionnaire on issues such as immigration and Northern Ireland proved. Both men, it must be said, would be friends of Irish America and Ireland if elected. Both are proud of their Irish heritage.
But on the much broader issue of who can take this country out of the slough of despondency it has sunk into and create new leadership that the world is desperately seeking, there is no doubt that there is a crystal clear choice. Indeed, it is abundantly clear that one candidate far outstrips the other when it comes to the need to effect the change we desperately need.
Barack Obama is that man. He would send an extraordinary message to the world if he is elected that America is prepared to turn a chapter, first of all by electing an African American to the highest position in the land. He is no ordinary African American either, the grandson of a Kenyan goat herder, born to a single mother, a man who hardly knew his father. Now, in a retelling of the classic immigrant family success story, unique to America he stands on the threshold of the White House.
We Irish can relate to that extraordinary moment in time, that up from the bootstraps moment where nothing is ever the same again. Whether it was John F.Kennedy smashing the anti-Catholic bigotry in 1960 or Ronald Reagan overcoming his own desperately humble beginnings as the son of an alcoholic salesman to win the presidency in 1980, the die was irretrievably cast and a new direction pointed for ever more. It is perhaps no coincidence that both men are probably the most popular figures in their respective parties today.
Obama's election would also immediately restore confidence in American leadership worldwide that has sadly been badly lacking in the Bush years. Unilateralism as a system of governance has clearly not worked. In the aftermath of 9/11 we were the most admired and respected country on earth. "We are all Americans now" Le Monde editorialized on September 12, 2001.
Ireland declared a day of national mourning in solidarity with America. A new era beckoned in international cooperation, and yet we frittered all that away by rushing to war in Iraq and insisting that whatever the crisis wherever in the world we had the only legitimate world view on how to solve it.
It is painful to travel overseas and see how far our star has sunk. This country cannot separate itself from the western and indeed eastern world as isolationists would wish us to. The latest financial crisis definitively proves that.We are all connected and just one e-mail away.
Barack Obama has the ability to transform the current view of America with his election. He would send an eloquent signal to the world that America has made a fresh start, that the tried and stale policies of the recent past have been banished for good and that a vibrant new era has arrived. He should be our next president.
From Alternet.org
By Scott Novakowski, Demos.org. Posted October 7, 2008
As North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia and Missouri ask public aid recipients if they want to register to vote, thousands of new voters are added.
Elections officials are already anticipating record turnout in states across the country. Much media attention has been paid to the massive numbers of new voters – many from historically underrepresented communities – that have been registered to vote this election cycle. To that end, several states have made significant improvements in their effort to comply with a federal law meant specifically to boost participation, and representation, of low-income Americans.
U.S. citizens on the bottom end of the income scale have historically been underrepresented in our electorate. Just looking at the numbers from 2006 tells us how far we haven’t come: only 60 percent of citizens in households making less than $25,000 were registered to vote compared to 80 percent of those in households making $100,000 or more. The National Voter Registration Act, passed in 1993, sought to close this gap by, among other things, requiring public assistance agencies to offer voter registration services to their clients. Research by Demos and our partners reveals that, even 15 years after the law was passed, many states are failing in their responsibility to adequately implement the NVRA’s agency-based registration requirement. While the law’s “motor voter” provision is widely implemented and well-known, this other -- known as Section 7 of the law -- has been long ignored.
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/101990/voter_rolls_grow_as_states_help_poor_people_register/
Reuters Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:01pm
By Anna Ringstrom, Sven Nordenstam and Jon Hurdle
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. economist Paul Krugman, a fierce critic of the Bush administration for policies that he argues led to the current financial crisis, won the 2008 Nobel prize for economics on Monday.
The Nobel committee said the award was for Krugman's work that helps explain why some countries dominate international trade, starting with research published nearly 30 years ago.
While the research for which he won the prize was not obviously partisan, Krugman is best known as the author of columns and a blog called "The Conscience of a Liberal" for the New York Times. He has long been tipped as a likely winner.
A professor at Princeton University, the 55-year-old Krugman argues that President George W. Bush's zeal for deregulation and loose fiscal policies helped spark the current banking meltdown.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49C37520081013?rpc=64
AlterNet. Posted October 13, 2008.
Jesse Jackson Jr, Steven Rosenfeld, Digby and Marc Ambinder on the GOP's race-baiting and smear job against ACORN's massive registration efforts.
Jesse Jackson Jr. from the Huffington Post: What the Republicans are Really Afraid of
The Republicans tried to make fun of Barack Obama as a community organizer at their national convention in Minnesota, which I guess just goes to show how little Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have to fear from right-wing "humor."
Now they've gone further: Now they're attacking ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), one of the strongest, hardest-working, most dedicated community organizations in both Chicago and in 40 states across the U.S.
Why are they after ACORN? Well, I'm sure they're going to come up with a lot of "reasons" in the coming days. But the real reason is obvious: Because ACORN, along with Project Vote, just announced that they had successfully registered 1.3 million poor people this year.
Get that? 1.3 million, including 148,000 in Pennsylvania, 152,000 in Florida, 217,000 in Michigan, and 238,000 in Ohio. No wonder the GOP is up in arms. They're scared of too many poor people preparing to vote this year.
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/102685/
From the Chicago Sun Times
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters
John McCain is hammering Barack Obama about his ties to Chicago educator Bill Ayers, co-founder of the Weather Underground, a group that used violence in the 1960s and 1970s to try to end the Vietnam War.
For a week now, the McCain-Palin ticket has been making Ayers an issue. And the attacks continued Friday, with an ad that calls Ayers the "leader of a terrorist group that bombed the U.S. Capitol." The ad also says "Obama's first campaign was launched at a gathering at Mr. Ayers' home."
But is everything the Republicans are saying true? Here's a look at the Obama-Ayers relationship.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1215925,CST-NWS-ayers12.article
