my name is john mistretta and i am a member of l.w. for obama. i am the c.e.o. of stellar kids, a non profitorg. that operates after school programs, mentoring programs, summer camps and music programs in the local schools.i am an independent contractor and volunteer with the sheriffs dept and a recreation and sports consultant with the school board and parks and rec. i have 2 or 3 ideas for creating between 3 and 5 million jobs from the PRIVATE sector that i feel are so simple, workable and doable that they keep me up at night trying to find a way to get these ideas to the right people. i would like to hold a meeting to present these ideas for input and to get help on how to get them looked at....even if it means going to washington myself! i have a knack for problem solving and inventing and implementing programs. I have invented and implemented sports programs, music programs, middle school sports tournaments for the county commisioners, after school mentoring programs and summer camps that are used as start up models. about 40 years ago i worked for a music company as a chauffer for the owner. after telling him about my ideas to put together an album with different performing artists (never done at the time) and a book of sheet music with songs from DIFFERENT artists (also never done at the time), he transferred me to promotions. 17 years ago i had an idea concerning amusement parks. you know how you play games of skill and you get redeemable coupons to save up for a prize...like a 3 foot comb or rubber snake? well 20 years ago i went to the owners of BOOMERS (amusement park chain) with my idea to give autographed baseballs, boxes of sports cards and other GOOD prizes instead of the trick combs and rubbersnakes. they liked the idea and sent me to their subsidiary EAGLE SNACKS. EAGLE liked the idea and sent me to their bosses, ANHEUSER BUSCH. BUSCH said " we will pass on the idea ". six months later they took my idea and ran with it. incidently: i was asked by ed rollins, senior white house correspondent for cnn, to present my idea to 2 economists that appeared on eds radio talk show 5 sundays ago. ed kept me on hold for 45 minutes so i could be the last caller of the day to get the lions share of call in time. when i got a chance to present my ideas to the 2 economists they listened and both were pleasantly surprised and both gave me a thumbs up! phone- 561 577 3399 561 577 3399e mail- misty9spyder@hotmail.com respectfully yours, john mistretta
Today I took the kids and we did four pages of door to door canvassing. Only one McCain supporter in the whole group! Noah (3yrs) had a great time - he kept asking me why John McCain doesn't want Barack to win! Lots of people we came upon had already voted. One guy was so nice, (registered republican no less), he gave us a bag full of starfruit from his tree! It was so delicious, I think it really helped us to finish the neighborhood!
One house stands out in my mind - a young black man came to the door, and said he was supporting Obama, then he was followed by 4 children all under 10, and they all said "we are too, we're all voting for Obama." What a grand election to have a houseful of young kids with ownership in this campaign. It is theirs isn't it?
I VOTED 22 Oct 2008 at the Main Supervisor of Elections Office!
I havd to wait
Dr. Duane Elihu Xavier
John McCain just made a speech in Miami Florida misrepresenting the Obama Campaigne! McCain also raised up the rhetoric of FEAR! McCain also stated Obama will be raising taxes on the middle class and specifying SPREADING the Wealth! McCain also said there was NO DANGER with Nulear WASTE!
Palin also spoke about ENERGY at a ENErGY group! The same old drill to lower oil prices!
Surfer's Unite. View web site http://barackthebeach08.com for updates.
Join us, surf with us.
Ride the tide to Victory!
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
Today the U.S.Supreme Court ruled against the Ohio GOP which attempted to hijack Ohio's election by removing more than 200,000 newly registered voters from the voter rolls.
Hats off to the Ohio Supervisor of Elections who took the case all the way to the Supreme Court
YES WE CAN!
Gordon
How nice to be interviewed by the Huffington Post.
Even better to get published! Here is the link...
A blog posting from Deepak ChopraObama and the Palin EffectSometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin’s pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper.She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and turning negativity into a cause for pride. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of “the other.” For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don’t want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.) I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin’s message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher visionLook at what she stands for: * Small town values — a nostaligic return to simpler times disguises a denial of America’s global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism. * Ignorance of world affairs — a repudiation of the need to repair America’s image abroad. * Family values — a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don’t need to be needed. * Rigid stands on guns and abortion — a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree. * Patriotism — the usual fallback in a failed war. * ”Reform” — an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn’t fit your ideology.Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from “us” pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of “I’m all right, Jack,” and “Why change? Everything’s OK as it is.” The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindednessObama’s call for higher ideals in politics can’t be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow — we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise.
This blog was entered this week on Deepak's Chopra Center website. ghb
Feel free to forward...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jASl6AQTVUw
Today I read a great short essay about how damaging it can and will be to Barack Obama for us to focus all our time and energy on Sarah Palin. I am posting it here just to memorialize it:
