I've been in a financial hardship for the past several months due to a major job loss. In this time, I have consistently put in resumes, conducted follow-up calls, and made in-person visits hoping to land a stable position. Unfortunately, the economy is not cooperating with me; nor are prospective employers, who can't afford to take on more workers. So here I am...I'm hanging on by a thread but I still believe that our President, for whom I voted, is still going to turn this country around in a positive way.
That's why it's so critical that even if you're not in the best financial shape, healthy constitution, or otherwise, we must ALL do our part by participating in EVENTS that make a statement and create a buzz to generate REAL support for the issues in which we believe. My primary goal is to get a universal health care program installed in our governmental system -- if all else fails, I'll opt for the public option -- meanwhile, some politicians and media talking heads are trying to say that it can't be done.
They're trying to say that we "can't" have it.
They're trying to say that they don't care about us.
They're trying to say that we don't matter.
Well, we DO MATTER. And God willing, if we put our hearts, minds, and spirits together, we CAN get this thing off the ground. Sittting at home yelling at the news channel is not going to accomplish anything. Sitting at our desks, keying rants and raves about how we feel is not going to get it done.
The ONLY WAY we CAN GET REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM is if we PUT OUR THOUGHTS and WORDS to ACTION. Participate in events, organize events, help orchestrate a candlelight vigil, a rally, a sit-in, a march...DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to MAKE THEM LISTEN.
We will not go gently into the night. We will not fade into the sunset...TODAY IS OUR TIME. WE ARE THE ONES WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!! LET'S GET GOING!!!
Peace!!!
From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:
Last week, Republican Senator Jim DeMint tried to rally our opposition by declaring that stopping reform would "break" President Obama. Instead, hundreds of thousands of you rushed forward to stand up for enacting health insurance reform this year. Then last night, the President delivered a powerful prime-time address about why further delay is simply not an option, and even more support came pouring in. (Watch the highlights here). Now, we're on the brink of a major milestone in building this campaign: One million Americans publicly declaring their support for the President's three core principles for health insurance reform this year. Our goal is to reach the one million mark before Congress casts the first crucial votes as early as next week. This is just a first step of many we'll take together. But it will send a clear message that the American people will not stand for playing partisan politics with our lives and livelihoods -- and that we won't settle for anything less than the real health insurance reform America so desperately needs this year. Add your name to stand up for the President's three principles for real health insurance reform in 2009.
Adding your name right now will have real impact. Not only will you help us hit this key milestone, but we'll run the signatures we collect in local and national newspaper ads and present them in powerful displays at high-profile local events across the country in the crucial days and weeks to come. We're so close to a million because volunteers all over the country are reaching out online, door-to-door, on the phone and at public events in their community. And every time a new supporter stands up with the President, they in turn reach out to others and the movement grows. Less than three months ago, OFA launched our campaign for health insurance reform. In that short time, hundreds of thousands of Americans have joined in by:
This afternoon, President Obama will lay out a comprehensive regulatory reform plan to modernize and protect the integrity of our financial system. While the current financial crisis has had many causes, it is clear that the government could have done more to prevent these problems from growing out of control and threatening our overall economy.The President is scheduled to deliver remarks at 12:50 PM Eastern, and will be joined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, representatives from the regulatory community, consumer groups, the financial industry and members of Congress. We'll have more coverage of the announcement later in the day.
The President placed what was happening in Iowa in the context of two centuries of energy innovation in America, but noted America’s leadership in innovation had always been coupled with an alarming rise consumption. The President ran down the all-too-familiar list of problems our energy consumption and oil dependence brings, from those people face every day like prices at the gas pump, to those that have a broader but equally serious impact like the trade deficit, constraints on foreign policy, and the prospect of irrevocable climate change left as a burden for out children. As the President has stated again and again, these problems also represent a fundamental weakness in our economy which will prevent long term stability as long as we refuse to address them. And while those interests who have profited off of this weakness have aligned to defend the status quo and paint change as a danger, the President forcefully framed what this choice is all about: "We can't afford that approach anymore -- not when the cost for our economy, for our country, and for our planet is so high. So on this Earth Day, it is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration in America. That's why I'm here. Now, the choice we face is not between saving our environment and saving our economy. The choice we face is between prosperity and decline. We can remain the world's leading importer of oil, or we can become the world's leading exporter of clean energy. We can allow climate change to wreak unnatural havoc across the landscape, or we can create jobs working to prevent its worst effects. We can hand over the jobs of the 21st century to our competitors, or we can confront what countries in Europe and Asia have already recognized as both a challenge and an opportunity: The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st-century global economy. America can be that nation. America must be that nation."
I'll Take Prosperity Mr. President!!!!!!
Thank You Very Much!!!!!
Together and united for one cause is how this election was won. We must not forget that and we must not forget the people we have met along the way. For me this journey began May 1, 2007 during a volunteer meeting at the SC OFA main office. It lead to being a Volunteer Leader and directing the work of Runners and Poll Checkers during the SC Primary and it ended working in the SC Boiler Room Field Desk ensuring ground work was going smoothly.
My campaigning included canvassing in North Carolina, visitng National HQ, and working in the main IL HQ office. My journey was higlighted with the opportunity to meet top National Staff and drive in a Secret Service motorcade. It also included meeting and talking to Senator Obama on a few occassions and laughing with a fellow Chicagoian now future First Lady Michelle Obama. And even though meeting powerful people was exciting making connections and friends from around the world has been an additional reward.
But outside of the glory it meant hard work to get to this point. It meant looking inside myself to find strength that I didn't realize I had. Long hours were spent ensuring citizens were registered to vote and that they actually voted. And for me it included standing exactly 7 hours in line to vote for Barack H. Obama.
And finally it meant realizing that different people from different backgrounds had the same common goal. We all wanted to change Washington, DC and the politics of today. And now it means that children who once thought themselves invisible can truly see themselves living in the White House.
God Bless to everyone that worked so hard for this change. The winds have shifted in a better direction and we must continue to keep progress moving.
Joyce Rose-Harris
And I just can't help but SHOUT IT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NmmLvfzMuE
ENJOY! and have your music cranked UP!
Fired UP!!
"The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America." (BHO 2004)
There's nothing false about HOPE;
Keep hope ALIVE!!
Fired UP!
You betcha!!
At this point, I can't imagine anything that could happen internally to either campaign or externally in the world that would cause me to reconsider voting for Barack Obama at the top of the ticket.
John McCain has run (or allowed to be run) an erratic campaign fraught with changing tactics and lacking principles and a strategy. That bodes poorly for his ability to lead. He has pandered to the extreme right wing of the Republican Party and fallen in line by voting 90% with Bush #43 the last 7 years. He is clearly no 'maverick'. He tried unsuccessfully to pander to the evangelicals by making up with Falwell, then Hagee and Parsely- he couldn't even get these superficial relationships straight.
John McCain is old and sick. I am not sure he will survive 4 years. He has foisted Sarah Palin onto the national stage. This Governor of a sparsely populated and resources wealthy state has never met the challenges of an Illinois, New York, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Its residents pay no state income or sales tax. She lacks intellectual curiosity and is less familiar with the world than the average American.
In pandering to the right, McCain insufficiently vetted this VP candidate. There is nothing wrong with her putting herself and her family first . However, using her public office for personal gain and influence is wrong. Taking public monies to sleep at home is wrong in any state - just because you're taking less than your predecessor is a poor defense.
She professes to be a mainstream "hockey mom" - but she's way off from the middle of our society.
I grew up in the "red" section of Cook County IL during the elder Mayor Daley's patronage machine. Ever since I could vote, I have been registered as a Republican; I have been active in local and state committees.
The Republican Party has lost its way. It no longer stands for fiscal responsibility, can no longer claim moral authority domestically or internationally, has breached Constitutional rights of freedom and privacy.
This is the first quadrennial election in which all 3 of my children will be able to vote. The 4 of us were fortunate enough to be able to meet Senator Obama during the holidays and prior to our caucuses here in Iowa. Along the rope line, he answered my questions about his relationships with the likes of Tony Rezko, George Haywood, the Strogers and others in today's Chicago machine; he described the types of advisers with whom he would surround himself if elected. He actually listened to and responded to my children's policy questions. I changed my registration and was proud to STAND UP for Barack Obama on caucus night.
I don't know who I will support "down ballot", but it is clear who we need at the top. Barack Obama offers intelligent, insightful, inspirational leadership at a critical time in the journey toward 'a more perfect union'. For me, that's 'the fierce urgency of now'.
Is this 'Obamacan' fired up?
'There's nothing false about HOPE;
Keep hope ALIVE!!"
