Had to post message about fantastic event I hosted with Moveon.org and THCC last evening at Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, TN, I have recently returned to work with OFA from a family emergency, I asked for a task with leadership, an opportunity to be visual and mingle with our supporters. I was given the mission of the Health Care Reform Vigil " Let's Stand Together" to be coordinated with my cosponsors.
I was fortunate to work with these groups as their experience and knowledge not only supported me in this effort but helped me grow as a volunteeer. We had an awesome turnout especially in Red Chattanooga, TN. We are usually lucky if we have 15-20 at our events.
I came up with the angle of using my students as host and hosteses per a lesson on citizenship I had recently taught, and my partners came up with using that as a media angle. The hook worked, we had tv coverage, not for just a few minutes but for 45 min of our hour vigil. We also had 2 people from the press, I and my cosponsors were interviewed by them and they interviewed and photographed my middle school students. I can't wait to see the Chattanooga Times Free Press today because I hope there is a photo my students We were on Channel 3 11pm news last night.
Oh, did I mention we had a crowd of 75+ people, many who stayed afterwards to chat with me and the other sponsors and registered to volunteer. As soon as I got home there was a wonderful email from a 16 year old who attended the event, he thankied me for hosting and told me how much he enjoyed. What a wonderful feedback for our event! I saw several people taking photos and of course the press will have some. Hopefully I can get those uploaded on this site. But Health Care Reform supporters in Tennessee, listen up , Chattanooga, Tennessee made their voices heard last night!!!!!
Linda Edwards Russell
We salute Ike Thomas for his courage and fortitude as the husband and father of women with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Read his story and help the foundation:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/208168-ike-thomas-former-nfl-player-leads-cancer-foundation
When one thinks about the past year, it is difficult to imagine how much has been accomplished by Barack Obama and his supporters. A year ago we were anticipating the results of the Iowa caucuses. On the night of the Iowa caucuses, I left the TV room for awhile anticipating a long night and I knew I had things to do. Not long after I left I heard my husband and son saying something with raised voices. I went in and of course they said he won! I was surprised and very happy. We'll all remember the Iowa night and the many successes that came after that. From January 3 to November 4, 2008, many worked very hard.
As we all think back to those months we must realize that many working together can indeed accomplish a great deal. Experienced Democratic politicians said that Obama could not win the general election. But the volunteers knew that something was happening. Calling many voters resulted in very positive feedback. With all that support Obama certainly could win, we believed. Let us remember how this all came about. We had an exceptional candidate, one who showed honesty, integrity, strength of character, intelligence, and humility. We had millions of people contributing and many volunteers working. This election will be studied by historians, but we must all use it as a lesson of what can be accomplished when we work together.
Originally I told myself that I was volunteering for my four little granddaughters and for their future. I am very happy that I chose to work for Barack Obama's election and that millions of others did as well. Thank you to all of you who worked for the election of President Barack Obama!
Yes We Can!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/28356011#28356011
Watch and enjoy!
Congrats Joe!
I have previously talked about the statement Michelle Obama made fairly early in this campaign, the one about being proud of this country. In my adult years this country has been plagued by politician's wars and our history of civil rights abuses. These issues have bothered me a great deal. With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States, I can now agree with Michelle. I am today more proud of our country than I have been in a very long time. The American people saw that Barack Obama was the very best candidate and they spoke out in large numbers. I would have been happy with a 5 vote margin. I am blown away by the size of this win!
Hi! We made history. When Barack Obama was elected President today it was because of a trillion small acts from millions of Americans ovet the past 2 years that has brought us to this moment. Every little thing we do has an impact be it big or small. Every little thing can matter a great deal. A little push is all it takes to set off a chain of dominos.
Each of you has contributed to this moment in history. We've each given what we could. Please take a moment to reflect and write down some of the things you did that mattered most to you, or write down everything you did. It doesn't matter. Then, pass this on to everyone you know who contributed time, energy, and/or money to this effort so they can be included.
Please cc meltzer7@charter.net . We'd like to see how the list grows.
Jess in MA: Phonebanking, postcard writing/organizing, event hosting, and lots of other stuff. Jonathan Meltzer (Berlin MA) Standing in the rain with 700 other volunteers listening to Barack speak before heading out to door knock on the first day of canvassing in NH April 2007.... Convincing a woman in Nashua at 5:30 PM primary day who was not going to vote to go to the polls and vote for Barack.... organizing a massive student outreach in MA, VT, NH, NY and RI to get college students from NH to register and vote absentee in NH....
Emma RUddock (mass HQ) - pulling an all nighter at the Mass Headquarters with some amazing people and entering data, my amazing college dems leaders who's enthusiasm is so incredible and inspiring, realizing after the NH primaries that this was not going to be easy but that we were going to do it anyway, succeeding in convincing my parents to let me take the year off from college to work fulltime on the campaign, meeting some of the most incredible people that I have ever gotten to know, voting in my first presidential election
Since the LA Times has already admitted that they have a video that shows Barack Obama speaking about his friendship with a known terrorist, it should be released!
However, what should also be noted is that John McCain ALSO has ties to the same terrorist, through work HE did for the man in the 1990's!
The longer it takes for this tape to be released, the more likely it is that folks that might have voted for Obama will either stay home, or switch their vote to John McCain. I have no doubt that the McCain campaign waited until less than a week before the election intentially!
Let's not let them win this time!!!
The girls and I spent an hour and a half walking a neighborhood not far from ours here in Pender county, knocking on doors, leaving early voting information. My girls - 21 month old twins - have learned to say 'O-BA-ma', having heard it so much, and they get pretty excited about our walks. Yesterday, the weather turned from t-shirt to the only long-sleeved item I could find in my car - my husband's black logo sweatshirt. I turned it inside-out and threw it on. The hoodie fell to my knees - Chris is a big guy. I didn't want to stop canvassing, so I kept going and just hoped that my adorable toddlers would lend me some cred as I approached strange doors with pamphlets. We called it a day after three streets and many pleasant conversations with neighbors. Hopefully, they'll see my effort and raise it their own!
We all are part of a history lesson. WE ARE ! We are living history right at
this moment and time. This is my second chance at actually doing something for
the good of the country and making history but I failed miserably the first time I
had the chance. Don't look back in regret wishing every single day that you could have
been part of the change that was coming.
To the young people, do not think you can stand still and this will happen. Back in 1964
65, 66, 67, when I was a teenager I could have marched in the Freedom marches, joined the
freedom riders, helped with the women's movement but I was young and figured one person did
not make a difference. I later learned I was wrong. One person did make a difference and
it took me to meet with Vice President Gore and President Clinton in Washington, DC when I
picked up the phone and made some calls regarding the American with Disabilities laws not
being enforced in Nashville. I took pictures. I filled out forms and I made complaints. I made
a difference because there was someone on the other end of that phone that cared about The
American People. All the People. Don't think this election is in the bag. Don't get comfortable
and most of all, think of all the people before you who walked in making history and feel
proud they were part of something bigger than their own comfort zone. No matter how cold,
how rainy, how tired, or even sick, you get those people you worked so hard to register to the polls
to vote. You think about the women who chained themselves together and marched during the
suffrage movement for the right to vote. You think of Freedom riders and people like Rep. Lewis
who now has a plate in his head for marching peacefully so these folks can cast a vote. You think
about all the people who have died in Iraq and how many more can die in whatever war the
McCain administration would take us. Think of your children and your children's children because
this is what this election is about. Our very freedoms are at stake. We are at a historic
crossroads. We can work hard now and know we did everything we could or we can wake up
in the middle of the worst times , yes worse than Bush, known to America.
All of the people who just stood by incuding myself in the 60's knew they had to make a difference
for America to rise above it's imperfections and wrongs. Don't look back in regret and say, "Oh
I should have driven that extra mile, I should have worked those polls, I should have stood in line
as long as it took because I had no idea that things would be so horrible for my future and for
my parents, my grandparents. It will be too late Nov. 5th. The movement is now. The history
is being recorded now. The election is now. Grab your weary imaginary bootstraps and
pull a little harder because America is worth saving. The price of freedom does not belong to
group of people. There is no red America. There is no blue America. There is the United States
of America and good men and women haved died for the vote. This is your time. This is your
history movement. We cannot stop now. The dream lives. It only lives if one person, just one
does everything they are capable of doing to keep us free. Go out today. Get people to the polls.
Tuesday...wake up early and stay out till you make sure the people vote. As Sen. Obama said,
"Look to the inner strength and better angels within you ". Be strong, be determined and don't
wait on the other person to bring change and hope. It is up to you ! It is up to me ! This is
History.
As this election comes to a close, I want to thank the young voters for energizing this country! You have worked very hard and truly seem to understand that we need some major changes. Your support of Barack Obama has energized the rest of us. In February I attended an Obama Rally at the University of Maryland, and was thrilled with the 17,000 people attending. We were all ages. We spent a long time waiting in cold weather to get in, but we all related to one another, because we want the same things for this country. We had looked ahead to the future and realized that we needed change.
I do believe that without young voters with their interest and energy the Obama campaign would not be as successful as it is. Years ago some of us worked to stop a war and we felt that the end of that war reflected our hard work. Today's younger generation will feel this same success on November 4! Thank you all!!!!
The United States is battered and drifting after eight years of President Bush’s failed leadership. He is saddling his successor with two wars, a scarred global image and a government systematically stripped of its ability to protect and help its citizens — whether they are fleeing a hurricane’s floodwaters, searching for affordable health care or struggling to hold on to their homes, jobs, savings and pensions in the midst of a financial crisis that was foretold and preventable.
As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.
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Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation’s problems.
In the same time, Senator John McCain of Arizona has retreated farther and farther to the fringe of American politics, running a campaign on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism. His policies and worldview are mired in the past. His choice of a running mate so evidently unfit for the office was a final act of opportunism and bad judgment that eclipsed the accomplishments of 26 years in Congress.
Given the particularly ugly nature of Mr. McCain’s campaign, the urge to choose on the basis of raw emotion is strong. But there is a greater value in looking closely at the facts of life in America today and at the prescriptions the candidates offer. The differences are profound.
Mr. McCain offers more of the Republican every-man-for-himself ideology, now lying in shards on Wall Street and in Americans’ bank accounts. Mr. Obama has another vision of government’s role and responsibilities.
In his convention speech in Denver, Mr. Obama said, “Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.”
Since the financial crisis, he has correctly identified the abject failure of government regulation that has brought the markets to the brink of collapse.
The Economy
The American financial system is the victim of decades of Republican deregulatory and anti-tax policies. Those ideas have been proved wrong at an unfathomable price, but Mr. McCain — a self-proclaimed “foot soldier in the Reagan revolution” — is still a believer.
Mr. Obama sees that far-reaching reforms will be needed to protect Americans and American business.
Mr. McCain talks about reform a lot, but his vision is pinched. His answer to any economic question is to eliminate pork-barrel spending — about $18 billion in a $3 trillion budget — cut taxes and wait for unfettered markets to solve the problem.
Mr. Obama is clear that the nation’s tax structure must be changed to make it fairer. That means the well-off Americans who have benefited disproportionately from Mr. Bush’s tax cuts will have to pay some more. Working Americans, who have seen their standard of living fall and their children’s options narrow, will benefit. Mr. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation, restore a climate in which workers are able to organize unions if they wish and expand educational opportunities.
Mr. McCain, who once opposed President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy as fiscally irresponsible, now wants to make them permanent. And while he talks about keeping taxes low for everyone, his proposed cuts would overwhelmingly benefit the top 1 percent of Americans while digging the country into a deeper fiscal hole.
National Security
The American military — its people and equipment — is dangerously overstretched. Mr. Bush has neglected the necessary war in Afghanistan, which now threatens to spiral into defeat. The unnecessary and staggeringly costly war in Iraq must be ended as quickly and responsibly as possible.
While Iraq’s leaders insist on a swift drawdown of American troops and a deadline for the end of the occupation, Mr. McCain is still talking about some ill-defined “victory.” As a result, he has offered no real plan for extracting American troops and limiting any further damage to Iraq and its neighbors.
Mr. Obama was an early and thoughtful opponent of the war in Iraq, and he has presented a military and diplomatic plan for withdrawing American forces. Mr. Obama also has correctly warned that until the Pentagon starts pulling troops out of Iraq, there will not be enough troops to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Mr. McCain, like Mr. Bush, has only belatedly focused on Afghanistan’s dangerous unraveling and the threat that neighboring Pakistan may quickly follow.
Mr. Obama would have a learning curve on foreign affairs, but he has already showed sounder judgment than his opponent on these critical issues. His choice of Senator Joseph Biden — who has deep foreign-policy expertise — as his running mate is another sign of that sound judgment. Mr. McCain’s long interest in foreign policy and the many dangers this country now faces make his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska more irresponsible.
Both presidential candidates talk about strengthening alliances in Europe and Asia, including NATO, and strongly support Israel. Both candidates talk about repairing America’s image in the world. But it seems clear to us that Mr. Obama is far more likely to do that — and not just because the first black president would present a new American face to the world.
Mr. Obama wants to reform the United Nations, while Mr. McCain wants to create a new entity, the League of Democracies — a move that would incite even fiercer anti-American furies around the world.
Unfortunately, Mr. McCain, like Mr. Bush, sees the world as divided into friends (like Georgia) and adversaries (like Russia). He proposed kicking Russia out of the Group of 8 industrialized nations even before the invasion of Georgia. We have no sympathy for Moscow’s bullying, but we also have no desire to replay the cold war. The United States must find a way to constrain the Russians’ worst impulses, while preserving the ability to work with them on arms control and other vital initiatives.
Both candidates talk tough on terrorism, and neither has ruled out military action to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But Mr. Obama has called for a serious effort to try to wean Tehran from its nuclear ambitions with more credible diplomatic overtures and tougher sanctions. Mr. McCain’s willingness to joke about bombing Iran was frightening.
The Constitution and the Rule of Law
Under Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the justice system and the separation of powers have come under relentless attack. Mr. Bush chose to exploit the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the moment in which he looked like the president of a unified nation, to try to place himself above the law.
Mr. Bush has arrogated the power to imprison men without charges and browbeat Congress into granting an unfettered authority to spy on Americans. He has created untold numbers of “black” programs, including secret prisons and outsourced torture. The president has issued hundreds, if not thousands, of secret orders. We fear it will take years of forensic research to discover how many basic rights have been violated.
Both candidates have renounced torture and are committed to closing the prison camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
But Mr. Obama has gone beyond that, promising to identify and correct Mr. Bush’s attacks on the democratic system. Mr. McCain has been silent on the subject.
Mr. McCain improved protections for detainees. But then he helped the White House push through the appalling Military Commissions Act of 2006, which denied detainees the right to a hearing in a real court and put Washington in conflict with the Geneva Conventions, greatly increasing the risk to American troops.
The next president will have the chance to appoint one or more justices to a Supreme Court that is on the brink of being dominated by a radical right wing. Mr. Obama may appoint less liberal judges than some of his followers might like, but Mr. McCain is certain to pick rigid ideologues. He has said he would never appoint a judge who believes in women’s reproductive rights.
The Candidates
It will be an enormous challenge just to get the nation back to where it was before Mr. Bush, to begin to mend its image in the world and to restore its self-confidence and its self-respect. Doing all of that, and leading America forward, will require strength of will, character and intellect, sober judgment and a cool, steady hand.
Mr. Obama has those qualities in abundance. Watching him being tested in the campaign has long since erased the reservations that led us to endorse Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He has drawn in legions of new voters with powerful messages of hope and possibility and calls for shared sacrifice and social responsibility.
Mr. McCain, whom we chose as the best Republican nominee in the primaries, has spent the last coins of his reputation for principle and sound judgment to placate the limitless demands and narrow vision of the far-right wing. His righteous fury at being driven out of the 2000 primaries on a racist tide aimed at his adopted daughter has been replaced by a zealous embrace of those same win-at-all-costs tactics and tacticians.
He surrendered his standing as an independent thinker in his rush to embrace Mr. Bush’s misbegotten tax policies and to abandon his leadership position on climate change and immigration reform.
Mr. McCain could have seized the high ground on energy and the environment. Earlier in his career, he offered the first plausible bill to control America’s emissions of greenhouse gases. Now his positions are a caricature of that record: think Ms. Palin leading chants of “drill, baby, drill.”
Mr. Obama has endorsed some offshore drilling, but as part of a comprehensive strategy including big investments in new, clean technologies.
Mr. Obama has withstood some of the toughest campaign attacks ever mounted against a candidate. He’s been called un-American and accused of hiding a secret Islamic faith. The Republicans have linked him to domestic terrorists and questioned his wife’s love of her country. Ms. Palin has also questioned millions of Americans’ patriotism, calling Republican-leaning states “pro-America.”
This politics of fear, division and character assassination helped Mr. Bush drive Mr. McCain from the 2000 Republican primaries and defeat Senator John Kerry in 2004. It has been the dominant theme of his failed presidency.
The nation’s problems are simply too grave to be reduced to slashing “robo-calls” and negative ads. This country needs sensible leadership, compassionate leadership, honest leadership and strong leadership. Barack Obama has shown that he has all of those qualities.
I'm tired of the double standard that exists in this political system and the MSM. John Edwards gets a $400 hair cut and we hear about it for weeks. The Republicans pay for a $150,000 wardrobe and yes it gets attention but certainly not in proportion to the excesses shown.
John McCain uses lies in his ads ("Barack Obama will raise your taxes") and slimey innuendoes, while Obama does not, but does point out truths (McCain will lower the income tax significantly of those making over $250,000). John McCain has flip flopped on the this tax situation! These ads are all referred to as negative, even through some are the truth and some outright lies.
Joe the Plumber asks Barack Obama a question and gets an answer. John McCain uses that exchange (acting like it's a gotcha moment) and the name of the plumber 20+ times in the third debate. Joe the plumber gets a lot of attention and we learn that Joe the plumber was somewhat untruthful in his question to Obama (who cares?) and he owes back taxes. McCain then says how awful it was that Obama subjected this man to so much public scrutiny. Was he kidding? Who brought the public attention to Joe??
Republicans own most of the MSM, but why do the rest of us not complain more? Are we so use to the Republican lies and double standards that we don't demand that John McCain take responsibility for focusing attention on Joe the plumber???
Some may think of this as being a bit early, but I do want to volunteer to do whatever work is needed at the Obama White House! There are always phones to answer, letters to read and emails to respond to plus any number of other tasks.
Today I was putting together yard signs in the local Democratic Central Committee Office and asked if anyone knew how I could work as a volunteer for the Obama White House. No one knew, but there were several others who were interested in doing the same thing!
I am excited about the new administration coming to town. If anyone out there knows who I should contact about this, please let me know. I live in the Washington DC area so the commute is not a problem! We need to start planning!
Well I'm off to call voters in Virginia.
My Grandmother and I were watching the news tonight when the story broke that Senator Obama's grandmother's health has taken a turn for the worse. My heart goes out to Obama tonight. As I was sitting with my grandmother and taking in this news, we both got teary eyed. We have been working together on the 85andchange.com blog, as we have worked on so many projects together, and this news hit home. My grandmother was imagining what must be going through the heart and mind of Barack's grandmother, while I was thinking of the fear and love that Barack must be feeling.
I sincerely hope that her health is strong enough to get her through the next few weeks. Win or lose, she has accompanied Barack through his amazing life, and I'm sure it will be so satisfying for her to see this journey through to election day. And I am sure it is his hope to be able to call her, or see her the moment after he is elected the next president of the United States!
On behalf of my grandmother and myself, our thoughts and prayers go out to his whole family tonight, and we pledge to do whatever we can to get her wonderful grandson elected.
If anyone cares to share a story of a bond between grandparent and grandchild, or just would like to share their hopes for Obama's grandmother - I encourage you to visit my grandmother's blog at 85andchange.com.
