PA Women for Obama Invite You to CHANGE ROCKS A Very Special Acoustic Appearance By: Bruce Springsteen Saturday October 4th, 2008 Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 20th and 22nd Streets Philadelphia, PA Gates open: 2:00 p.m. Program starts: 3:30 p.m. FREE AND OPEN TO PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENTS & STUDENTS For ticket info, visit: http://PA.barackobama.com/Springsteen
First, even if you do not read the rest of this message you have to check this out! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO SARAH PALIN? by Ezra Klein The American Prospect
Would it be rescheduled to a later date? That would give Palin more time to prepare.If the McCain campaign has come to the conclusion that Palin is never going to be able to spend an evening answering questions, no matter how much preparation they give her, they may now argue that time is running short so perhaps it would be patriotic to cancel the VP debate altogether so as to concentrate on the three presidential debates. Note: At this time (early Friday morning, 9/26) it remains to be seen if Senator McCain in fact will appear at the debate tonight. Either way, what's important is to consider why he chose this gambit to begin with.
QUESTIONS:Recently Senator McCain was asked if he really thought Governor Palin would be ready on day one to assume the duties of the Vice President and to take over as President if some calamity were to befall McCain. He repeated his one-word answer for emphasis, "Absolutely! Absolutely!"Now that you have viewed the Palin-Couric exchange, what is your opinion about Senator McCain's judgment? What do you think about the thoroughness of his vetting process for the Vice President? Is the whole Republican Vice Presidential selection process an example of "Country First" or "Campaign First"?
[*2] While many are generally uneasy with the several proposed variations on a theme of "let Paulson buy junk securities with tax-payer money", it is the House Republicans who are most outside the fence. For example, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, suggested that a better approach might include a two-year suspension of the capital gains tax."Hensarling said Congress should lower capital gains taxes to 'take capital off the sidelines and into the economy.' " GOP Steps Up Criticism of White House as Pelosi Opens Door to Action This Year on Financial Crisis By Benton Ives, CQ Staff Thu Sep 18, 12:55 PM ET
I am a Democrat and I've never been prouder.
This week, I watched as Hillary Clinton was officially entered into the books as the woman who has come closest to the American presidency, the first serious woman candidate of a major political party. If you think we haven't come that far where sexism is concerned, you might remember the tone of the dialogue years ago, when Geraldine Ferraro was selected as the VP pick for Mondale. (Comments like "I don't want someone with PMS to be second in line to the nuclear button" -- and worse -- were commonplace.) But Senator Clinton was taken seriously as a candidate because she had the credentials. And I am proud of that and I am proud that my party was able to smash that glass ceiling. Or at least bash a very large crack in it.
I also watched last night as Barack Obama was officially named the Democratic nominee for president. I've made no secret of my admiration for Obama, but even if he's not your first choice, please celebrate with me that our country, or at least one major political party, has nominated a person of color for president. Less than two centuries ago, people of color were officially considered less than human (3/5 of a human, to be precise), pieces of property, disposable things rather than human beings with rights and dignity. (By the way, women were also considered chattel, without equal rights to men and they had to wait fifty more years to get the vote and an extra ten years for their civil rights movement. But I digress.) Last night, we saw a barrier break open and I will tell you that it brought tears to my eyes.
There's still a lot of nastyness out there -- racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on -- but today I'm basking in the glow of a dream at least partially realized:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
For easy reference, I thought I'd post the upcoming debate schedule here, as it is hard to find anywhere else in the Obama site.
First presidential debate:Friday, September 26University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
Vice presidential debate:Thursday, October 2Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Second presidential debate:Tuesday, October 7Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Third presidential debate:Wednesday, October 15Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Remember what it’s like when you first fall in love with someone? Everything they do is cute or charming or endearing. You are struck, over and over again, by how alike you are: “When Harry Met Sally” is your favorite movie, too? You like margaritas but hate gin-and-tonics? You’re liberal on social issues but want a balanced budget and a strong defense, just like me?
Oh, those days of infatuation are fun. You keep finding things that you have in common, shared interests, ways in which you see eye-to-eye on the big issues. You want to learn more and more about the other person, and as you do, you’re even more amazed at how much you like them. It’s exciting, exhilarating, affirming. Even things that might otherwise irk you (say, snoring) are turned on their head, into something charming (his snoring is so cute! It’s like a reminder that he’s next to me in bed!)
But then one day, reality strikes. You discover something about that person that is different from you. Maybe it’s something little: he is passionate about golf and you think it’s a waste of a perfectly good park. Or something big: she goes to church every Sunday morning without fail, and you’re an atheist who likes to sleep ‘til noon on Sunday. That endearing little habit of snoring suddenly starts keeping you awake at night.
I used to share a beach house with a bunch of single professionals, and a great many of them only stuck around in a relationship while it was in the exciting, exhilarating, infatuation phase. “What ever happened to Kathy?” we’d ask. “I found out she had a nose job when she was younger, and now she just seems so fake to me.“ Or “How are things with Ryan going?” “We broke up. He was really into camping, and who wants to sleep in a tent when you can stay in a perfectly nice hotel?”
But real life isn’t like that. Anybody who’s been in a relationship measured in years instead of weeks can tell you that with every couple, there comes a time when you stop seeing all the similarities and start seeing all the differences. And consciously or unconsciously, at some point after that, you make a decision whether to keep going or call it quits. She likes going to church every morning but you’re an atheist; you can either call the whole thing off, or try to figure out if that different approach to religion is really a dealbreaker. Maybe you have a long conversation, or several long conversations, about religion or the lack thereof. Maybe you discover that she has her doubts, too, but she finds it comforting to keep going to church each week, as a form of stress release. Maybe you discover that she is firmly committed to her religious views, but doesn’t care if you aren’t; the next thing you know, she goes to church, you sleep in, and you start a lovely tradition of having breakfast at a local diner when you’re up and she’s done. But if you bail before exploring it any further, you’ll never know, will you?
Lately I’ve heard a lot of muttering from progressives about their waning enthusiasm for Barack Obama. “But he voted for FISA immunity, and I think he shouldn’t have.” “I hate his latest commercial with the celebrity theme!” “He shouldn’t put offshore oil drilling on the table, even as part of a larger energy package.”
I agree with some of these points of dispute (e.g. FISA immunity) and disagree with others (I like the McCain-as-celebrity commercial). But you know what? I’m not breaking up with Obama just yet. I’m willing to learn more about him, to hear what he has to say about why he’s done things I disagree with. I’m willing to stay in this relationship and see how it works out. I’ve been married for almost thirteen years and I know that it’s entirely possible to disagree with someone on some things, maybe even some important things, but also to realize that agreeing to disagree on some issues is worth the many tremendous things about the relationship. I can put up with the obsessive-compulsive cleaning thing (You want to clean the bathroom instead of going out to dinner?!) because my husband is so patient and sweet with the kids. He can put up with my irrational anxiety (No, honey, I don’t think the babysitter looks like a serial killer) because I can always make him laugh.
I don’t think it’s possible to find a life partner – or a political candidate – with whom I agree on every issue, big and small, 100 percent of the time. I think it’s possible to forge a relationship that’s good – pretty damn great, in fact – even if there’s times when the other person disappoints me, or hurts my feelings, or surprises me by changing his mind or expressing a different opinion than I thought he would.
That approach has worked well for the last twelve-plus years of my marriage. I’m willing to see how it works when it comes to a political candidate. And not just any political candidate, but a political candidate who I still think has the potential to be The One.
I've created a blog -- a website that takes the form of an on-line journal -- to allow us to centralize information about the Main Line campaign. Please drop me an email at mainlineoATyahooDOTcom if you have an event you want to publicize, need volunteers or supplies, and so on. Thank you!
The link is here.
Carol Sulcoski has created a Main Line Obama blog that has the potential to be a great resource for our work.
Send Carol your feedback and input for the blog.
STAND WITH BARACK! FRIDAY -- April 18
BE THERE!
BARACK OBAMA IN PERSON!
INDEPENDENCE MALL GATES OPEN AT 6 P.M.
Here is what you can do this week:
Clip of the Day:
Volunteer:
To find your closest field office, visit: http://my.barackobama.com/page /s/volunteerinpa3
Find Out Where Senator Obama Stands:
If you find your self with questions about Senator Obama's policies you can always refer to the website: http://my.barackobama.com/page /content/paresources
Submit a Letters to the Editor of Your Local Paper:
With your help, we will make history in Pennsylvania!
Yes, we can!
Barbara Daly Danko, Meredith Lilly & Margaret Richardson
The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Obama's lead in the Philly suburbs is GROWING! The hard work is paying off.
Obama leads 55 - 37 percent among Philadelphia voters and 53 - 42 percent in the Philadelphia suburbs, widening a 49 - 44 percent April 2 lead in this critical area.
Click here to read details
I would encourage everyone to stop by the Wynnewood office at 312 E. Lancaster Avenue and sign up for phone banking, canvassing, GOTV or anything else that needs to be done. We have two weeks left. If we can win this area, and win the state, the primary will be over. This is our opportunity to be a part of history!
And please check out the many events for undecideds this week. Call up those fence-sitters you know and see if you can't persuade them to attend one!
Hi everyone,My name is Sumi, and I am a volunteer supporter of Barack Obama for President. I am helping to spread the word about Senator Obama's policies to help working families in these difficult economic times.This is the first post featuring Senator Obama’s policies. These issues are incredibly important as Pennsylvania gets ready for its big primary on April 22, and there will be many posts to come.But I need your help! Simply, we can't reach every Democrat in Pennsylvania without your help. This is a grass-roots campaign that relies on person-to-person contact for its success, so your involvement is critically important.Please send the attached Raising Wages document to EVERYONE you know in Pennsylvania. Share them with friends, family, co-workers, union brothers and sisters, and anyone else you may know in the state. Then, ask your contacts to pass them along to their contacts in Pennsylvania. Ask them to send them to their email distribution lists, post them on the bulletin board at the union hall, school, place of worship, and workplace, and otherwise distribute them as widely as they can. We want these documents spread as widely across Pennsylvania as possible.We hope you will read this information and put it in the hands of as many people as you can. You can make the difference — you can help Barack Obama win the Democratic nomination for President!Thank you, and please email me with any questions.-Sumi
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BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO RAISE WORKERS’ INCOMES Background: America’s Workers and Pennsylvania’s Workers Deserve a Raise Most Americans haven’t gotten a meaningful pay increase since President George W. Bush entered the White House. Since 2000, men’s real wages have increased only about 1 percent. Women’s wages have increased barely 5 percent over the past eight years, but their wages declined slightly during the last four years. In fact, the last four years have been grim for the large majority of workers who live from paycheck to paycheck. Real wages have gone down for middle and low-wage workers, while only the very highest paid workers — the top 5 percent — have seen significant pay raises. As a result, working families’ incomes are falling.1 Working families in Pennsylvania also need a raise. Since 2001, Pennsylvania’s workers at every wage level — except the very highest paid — have seen their real wages go down.2 Workers are doing their share, but they aren’t getting a fair share in return. Workers’ productivity has increased almost 20 percent since 2000 and 5 percent over the last four years. Meanwhile, the economy has been growing until recently, and employers have reported record profits. American workers are getting paid less even though they are producing more. Without a raise, working families have been forced to go deeper into debt by borrowing against their homes and their credit cards. But credit is getting tighter and personal bankruptcies and foreclosures have skyrocketed. It’s not just a personal tragedy for the families that are falling out of the middle class. Consumer spending is two-thirds of the American economy. Without money coming in, working families can’t spend and keep our economy growing. America’s wage stagnation is a serious threat to family economics, but it is an equally serious threat to our nation’s economic well-being. That’s why we need to elect Barack Obama. We need a president who is committed to restoring the American Dream by expanding and securing the middle class. We need Barack Obama’s leadership to enact a plan to raise workers’ incomes.
BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO RAISE WORKERS’ INCOME Invest in Creating High-Paying Manufacturing Jobs: Obama will invest in America’s highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world. Obama will also provide tax assistance and loan guarantees to the domestic auto industry to ensure that new fuel-efficient cars and trucks are build in the U.S. with American workers. Create More High-Paying Construction and Green Energy Jobs: Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, invest in low emissions coal plants, and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. Obama will also invest in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure by creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank with an infusion of $60 billion in federal funds over 10 years to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. Together, these investments will create millions of new jobs and stimulate economic growth. Fight for Fair Trade: Obama’s trade policy will open up foreign markets to support good American jobs and negotiate trade agreements that benefit Americans workers and spread strong and enforceable labor and environmental standards around the world. In particular, Obama will work with the leaders of Mexico and Canada to amend NAFTA. Obama will take trade enforcement seriously by making enforcement the top priority of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Office and increasing resources for USTR to carry out its responsibility to protect American interests. He will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports. Obama will fight for stronger protections for U.S. intellectual property, and – in the case of China in particular – an end to an artificially devalued currency that puts U.S. companies at a perpetual disadvantage. Change the Tax Code to Create High-Paying American Jobs: Obama will close tax loopholes that give companies billions of dollars in tax deductions for moving their operations overseas. Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to reward companies that create good jobs with good benefits for American workers. The legislation would provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military. Support Worker Organizing: Unionized workers earn more and are more likely to have pensions and health insurance than non-union workers. Obama supports and, as president will sign, the Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can exercise their right to organize and secure initial agreements with their employers. He will also fight to restore collective bargaining rights to nurses and other workers excluded as “supervisors,” and to ban employers’ practice of permanently replacing striking workers. Obama also supports, and as president will sign, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act to assure public safety workers who put their lives on the line every day their right to bargain collectively. Raise the Minimum Wage: Obama will fight to further increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011 and index it to inflation. Provide Universal Health Care: Obama is committed to signing universal health legislation by the end of his first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care. His plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 a year on medical expenditures. Expand and Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit: Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits, increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments, increasing the benefit for families with three or more children and reducing the EITC marriage penalty. Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Barack Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they deserve. Obama will create a new “Making Work Pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The “Making Work Pay” tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans. Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses. Increase Investments in Job Training: Obama will increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and weatherization training, to prepare Americans for the stable, high-paying green energy jobs of the future. Obama will also expand and fund apprenticeship programs to help workers get credentials and skills in crafts with middle-class incomes and benefits. Make College Affordable for All Americans: Obama’s American Opportunity Tax Credit, a fully refundable credit, will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans and will cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition at the average public college or university. Students claiming this credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of public service a year, either during the school year or over the summer months. Help Dislocated Workers to Stay in the Middle Class: Obama will modernize and expand trade adjustment assistance to include all affected workers — including those in the service sector and those losing jobs going to countries with which we do not have trade agreements such as China and India. Obama also supports unemployment insurance reform that assured benefits for more unemployed workers and provides extended benefits for those who need them. Obama will create flexible education accounts that workers can use to retrain, provide retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs, and provide additional assistance for workers to afford health care. As president, he will sign an updated WARN Act that requires large employers to notify employees of a layoff 90 days before a plant closing – an increase of 30 days from today's standard. 1 Jared Bernstein & Lawrence Mishel, Economy’s Gains Fail to Reach Most Workers’ Paychecks, EPI Briefing Paper #195 (Sept. 3, 2007).
2 Keystone Research Center, The State of Working Pennsylvania 2007, www.stateofworkingpa.com.
Paid for by Obama for America
Barack gave a great interview on Angelo's Cataldi's very popular morning show on WIP.
Listen to it here.
They loved him and I'm sure he won some new fans!
"Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
"My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain.
"I don't oppose all wars. After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such tragedy from happening again. I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism.
"What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
"What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
"Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity. He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
"But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda.
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
"So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the President today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil. Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.
"The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not -- we will not -- travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain."
"Currently [Obama] leads in Philly and will likely win the city decisively, making the suburbs a major battleground," they wrote. "The Democratic voters there largely mirror the upscale, affluent voters Obama has been attracting nationally: They are the most liberal in the state, strongly oppose the Iraq war, and have a low regard for President Bush."
Hope this group page serves as a great resource.
