Kelly Price, Debra Cox and Tamia Hill talk to Tracy Tluv on RFLTV about Health Care and their new humanitarian project called "The Queen Project". Please support and see how you can help me continue to get many fellow celebrities involved with their voice that can make a difference. Thank You
Despite hot sun and a long wait the Health Forum turned out well - of course, there were the expected disruptions from a diverse population - doubtful that they were all from CD 29
There continues to be confusion about where the Health Reform Effort is right now in C ongress - what is the process that will be followed until final legislation - how does the House work and how does the Senate work etc -
OFA can play a major role in having its members let their opinions known to their Congressmen and Senators as well as continue a respectful dialogue with concerned citizens.
The job ahead seems daunting but won't we all be thrilled when health reform is enacted in 2009!
We are contacting all CD 29 supporters to turn out in strengh next Tuesday nite at Adam Schiff's health forum at 7 pm - ( would suggest getting there early to help and to find parking)
Adam and opponents need to realize how strongly CD29ers support Health Care Reform with the public option.
OFA has plans for all of August and they will be publicized -
The first one is the week of August 10 when voters are requested to stop by Adam's office and display their support for Health Reform - we are hoping for a visit every 2 hours from Monday through Friday at their Pasadena office
Others can send FAXES or deliver petitions! we need to have a strong and unwavering presence.
I just got a letter from the RNC, yes me. The RNC is asking me for money and to fill out a survey, because apparently, they think that I (an erstwhile, but no longer, Republican) support the RNC's agenda. Chairman Steele is either desperate, or very ill informed.
It is long, and filled with emphases (bolds, underlining, and italics) that make it even more insulting. It is also full of the same old GOP childishness that insists on calling the Democratic Party and Democratic action "democrat" like a school bully insisting on calling you Pudface when your name is Steve.
Here is the letter-- warning, reading this may cause nausea, a slight sense of 2004 dejavu, as well as, a feeling of temporary displacement from reality. The parens are from me.
"Dear Friend,
Your immediate action is required. (whole sentence underlined).
Please carefully read and complete the enclosed 2009 Obama Agenda Survey which is REGISTERED in your name and affixed with a tracking code to ensure that it is accounted for in the tabulated results.
As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I am sending out this questionnaire to gauge where you and other grassroots Republicans stand on the critical issues facing our nation -- I need to hear back from you right away.
You know that the liberal media elites and the Obama Democrats are hoping you will put this letter down right now and do nothing....
I'm asking you to please not turn your back on us now. (all bold).
I want you to know that (all underlined) the Republican Party is not dead (end underline) and we are not going away. (All underlined) Our ideals remain sound and our goals remain worthy (end underline).
We have a strong minority in the U.S. House and in the U.S. Senate. We intend to use both to actively oppose and expose the truth about the Obama Democrat agenda.
(all bold) We believe that you and every one of the (all underlined and bold) more than 60 million voters all across our country who did not vote for Barack Obama (end bold) deserve to have a voice in the way this country is governed.
(Note from me again-- well, Chairman Steel, you had better make that 59,999,999 million because I DID vote for President Barack Obama).
The enclosed 2009 Obama AGenda Survey is your opportunity to let Republican leaders in Washington D.C. and all accorss the country know where you stand on the policies and programs being proposed by Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress.
As a REGISTERED participant in this important touchstone survey, your questionnaire answers will be used to represent a broad sampling of Republicans in your area. (italics) So please, no matter what, do not discard or destroy your Survey. (end italics).
(Another note-- too late, already did).
In order for our sampling of Republican opinion from your area to be as exact as possible, you must return your survey -- Even if you leave some of the questions blank.
There is so much about the Obama agenda that most Americans do not know about, thanks to the non-stop swooning coverage of the ulta-biased media.
(Fox-- Swooning? Mr. Dobbs? Even Mr. Olbermann goes after the President, often, about torture prosecutions. Wow, my definition of swooning and Chairman Steele's are radically different).
But with your help, we are going to expose the Obama agenda for all Americans to see so that we create a groundswell of opposition.
And we must act quickly because the Democrats are hoping to carry forward their momentum into the incredibly important 2009 governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey. It is up to you and me to stop them.
(Well, if it is up to me, Mr. Steele-- you are in deeper trouble than you thought).
We need solid proof from the results of this survey to show that regardless of what the left-wing media is saying ...
... There is not overwhelming support for many of the radical proposals being put forward by Obama and the Democrats.
(You mean like letting anybody who wants to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the U.S.? Oh right, that one came from the GOP).
That's why we are asking where you stand on Barack Obama's promise to raise taxes...
(The GOP, today, mostly a party of two ideas, cut taxes no matter what and no regulation)
.... On his plans to give amnesty to illegal immigrants, which could lead to billions of dollars of government handouts and possibly bankrupt Social Security....
(the same plan that Senator McCain supported).
... and how do you feel about Obama's efforts to nationalize health care and have it run by bureaucrats in Washington D.C.?
(funny thing is, I have watched a lot of the hearings, and read some legislation and I just cannot find this anywhere but coming out of certain Republican mouths)
These are Obama's top priorities!
He intends to immediately bring about "change" that will stifle our fragile economy, undermine our nation's sovereignty and create a massive new government bureaucracy.
(sounds like our last President to me....)
We don't have a moment to waste.
Republican leaders in Congress and all across the country are scrambling to regroup and rebuild to make sure that folks like you have a voice in Washington, D.C. to look out for your interests and address your concerns.
(Somehow, I really don't think that is true).
I know we aren't going to win every battle, but we must fight for our principles, values and beliefs on every issue.
(And other than tax cuts, what are those exactly? crickets).
The RNC will make sure the Democrats OWN their record now that they are in total control of the federal government.
(I thought he claimed the GOP has a "strong minority?")
You and I know that Obama and the Democrats ran away from their own liberal agenda during the 2008 elections -- Obscuring their plans for massive tax increases and the largest, most expensive expansion of our federal government in history.
(I know no such thing, and neither do you, Chairman Steele).
But they have nowhere to hide now.
Unfortunately, one thing Obama and the Democrats have is lots of money.
(a few paragraphs omitted here about what President Obama raised as then candidate Senator Obama)
In order to compete with the Democrats in your state and all across the country, our Party must immediately start building our campaign war chest, even now as we assess our future, focus our attention, and rebuild our infrastructure.
(a paragraph omitted in which I am asked for money)
The Republican National Committee will use your contribution to rally Republicans, independents and disaffected Democrats who do not support the radical left-wing Obama agenda to come together and speak with a single, loud, clear voice.
(Because the last 8 years under President Bush were so darn good and so radically right leaning....)
We cannot afford to wait...
... Or the Obama Democrtas will dig in, using their massive fundraising network to mount an all-out propaganda campaign to obscure their actions in Washington and hide the fact that their agenda is dictated by, and benefits, the special interests that bankroll their election campaigns.
(I'm a special interest now.... wow....)
If you don't like the direction that Obama and the Democrats are taking our country, then the single most important action you can take is to come forward and support the Republican National Committee today.
Even though the media acts as though the outcome of the past election was a unanimous 100% vote in favor of Barack Obama and his liberal agenda...
(I haven 't heard that anywhere, you?)
.... Over 60 million Americans did not support Obama and the Democrats....
.... Republicans are not going to give up or go away....
(or do anything else, according to Chairman Steele, but delay, obstruct and destroy)
We are going to get back to basics, rebuild from the grassroots up, and come back with renewed energy and a strong commitment to the conserative principles of low taxes, small government, personal responsibility, and a strong national defense.
(none of which we have seen in the main-- there are exceptions, like Senator Lugar, and others --- in decades, now).
I am asking you to pay a very important role in our resurgent effort to move our Party forward. The Republican Party truly needs your support and advice today.
(Here is some small advice-- perhaps you should capitalize Country, rather than Party, and give the President his proper title. You may not respect the man, but if you truly are a conservative, you can at least show a modicum of respect to the Office).
Of course, we realize that as we most forward, our Party cannot simply oppose the Obama agenda, we need to offer substantive alternatives based on our conservative principles and free market ideals.
(Here I am at page 4 and I still don't have a clue for what the RNC stands).
That's why we are already working in your area and across the nation to recruit the next wave of Republican leaders to run for office and offer innovative new solutions to meet the real, pressing problems we are confronting in Washington, in state capitals, and in town halls.
(No mention of what those might be-- does he have a clue, I wonder?)
We have been on the defensive as the Democrats in Congress put partisan politics in front of the best interests of the nation, attacked our leaders with personal smears, and saturated the media with propaganda.
(The only one I have seen attacked is Rush Limbaugh, a self-admitted "entertainer", not a journalist, or party leader--- is this an admission?)
In 2009 that all changes. The Democrats will have to offer the nation more than just pessimism and attacks on Republicans. (Sounds like what this letter does in the inverse...) And we have already heard their calls for the largest tax increases and the most massive expansion of government ever (that is if you cannot read a history book to find out the truth).
So please, help the Republican Party refocus and rebuild so that we are ready to expose the Obama Democrat agenda of special interest handouts and ultra-liberal big government policies.
(Paragraph omitted again seeking money)
The future of the Republican Party is in your hands. Act now.
(If that were true, things would be very different-- and All of the relevant Republican Senators would be in those rooms negotiating in good faith).
(Salutation omitted).
(And there is post-script again seeking money)
And that is the end of that extremely lengthy request for funds from a long-since defunct Republican (me)--- and I'm certain you noticed how completely lacking in any real solutions that lengthy missive is.
We had a very successful event yesterday at Marilee and Bruce's house, in Pasadena, thanks to all the wonderful people that made it possible. The idea was to collect food to be delivered to a local food bank, the Friends In Deed Pantry. Approximately 70 were present at the actual event and others just dropped off food. People brought enough food to fill a whole room of the house and then after we enjoyed some wine and good company, they loaded it into three SUV’s to be delivered to the food pantry. What a wonderful sight. ! Thanks to all who participated in this very satisfying and enjoyable event. Hope to see you all soon at future events. Marilee
We had a reunion at the coffee shop where we first started meeting, the week Barack Obama announced he was running for office.
It was a great night, lots of stories and laughs were exchanged. We had a reporter from a local paper there, and got a chance to talk about our current and future endevours at Rose City Obamaworks
On December 14, along with my husband Bruce, I hosted a Change is Coming House Meeting at our home in Pasadena. 62 people attended and the house was filled with positive energy. As the hosts were requested to do, the event had a dual agenda the most immediate being to plan a community service event prior to January 20 when OUR new President takes office. The second purpose was to give people the opportunity to come together and discuss the issues that were most important to them. The break out groups formed for purposes of discussion included economy, education and healthcare. Many good ideas were generated. I am encouraging everyone who attended the meeting to sign up at change.gov which is the official site of the Obama Biden transition team. You ideas and input are welcome there. You just need to sign in with an email address. With respect to planning a community service event, one of my guests just finished contacting various groups and made a list of organizations that need our help. In the next few days, I will be posting a group event on my barackobama.com to which people will bring food to be delivered to one of these local organizations on MLK day. Of course I will send everyone of you an email as well. Happy New Year.! Marilee
We met in Pasadena at the home of Lonnee. About 20 people showed up (there were many events around town including the 500 event in Los Angeles about 15 miles away). Many of the people were old friends, some were new to the campaign/movement.
We introduced ourselves, watched the video, decided on 2 upcoming events.
We decided to do to service events, one for this Saturday (food banking and clothes banking) and another on January 19th (the campaign asked everyone to do service on the 19th, which is MLK day and a traditional service day). We have a few things lined up for that day including helping out a foster kid organization (that one of the people was involved in). We also discussed some long term goals like helping local schools build gardens. There were about 20 of us there, most of us worked hard on the campaign but there was at least one new person getting involved.
What was really impressive was how quick we got going, because we all knew each other, and knew our skills, etc. We had the mailing list in place, and even had someone volunteer to be secretary and take notes and summarize our action plan. We decided to rotate locations (houses and coffeshops) and rotate who will lead the meetings, and we chose a date for the next meeting, and a leader and place. And we assigned our communication officer (same guy as on the campaign) and the person who will coordinate where the meetings are, and a secretary.
And we got great food and wine and finished early (took an hour and a half). It was, by far, the best first organization meeting I’ve ever been involved with.
Check out this great Diary on DailyKos by LaAbogada -- and please vote in the poll at the end!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/13/21368/202
We weren't a battleground state, but we're a state of warriors ready for battle...scratch that, a state of community organizers ready to organize. I didn't take a head count but I would be reasonable/fair in saying 400 people showed up on a rainy Saturday morning in Downtown Los Angeles to brainstorm how to keep the movement moving. Needless to say, Californians are ready to continue working towards change.
Change is Coming to California - 400+ Listening to Obama for America California Field Director Mary Jane Stevenson
Possibly the most perfect antidote to an Obama volunteer going through campaign withdrawals, hundreds of volunteers and previous staff members came together to learn, discuss, and organize. Keeping with the California congressional district structure, attendees sat at table with fellow members who shared the same elected representatives (who will be hearing from us soon ;)). It was a practical beginning, sitting with our neighbors; like President-Elect Obama frequently stated: block by block, city by city, state by state, we will change this country.
What made me feel most inspired was that I, a 25 year old, was the youngest person at my table. For two years we've heard about how Obama has inspired the young and hopeful, but this morning I witnessed people who have seen far more in their lifetimes who possibly feel the historic context of this election to a greater extent than I possibly can. It gave me the promise of inter-generational coalition building, that progressive no-longer means college-age liberal, but progressive means: I see a wrong, and I want to make it right, no matter what my background.
We heard stories from California State Field Director Mary Jane Stevenson, Western Region Field Director Matt Rodriguez, LA Community Organizer Solomon Rivera, and LGBT Activist Torie Osborn. Then we were called to act by a man named Bruce Rosen, involved with the Los Angeles Food Bank community...each congressional district left the event with a plan to collect food for the hungry within the next week.
Quite possibly the most important part of the day, albeit cut short due to time constraints, was the introduction to our neigbhors. Meeting, other individuals, who even if not like-minded, like-age, like-socio-economic status, like-gender, like-race, like-religion felt compelled to wake up, far too early on a rainy Saturday morning, to go meet and hear from others who feel that November 4th was the first victory of a movement that for years will follow.
Three and a half hours in a college cafeteria obviously was not enough time. But, the organizers launched CommunityOrganize.com a website that will enable us to communicate with each other, much in the like of other social networking sites, however with a community organizing focus, particularly within in our CD groups, to keep the ball moving with our neighbors.
It was a simple introduction to what will be what we in California make it. As President-Elect Obama states frequently via Gandhi: we are the ones we've been waiting for. It'll be up to us to see how much we answer our own call to create a new America.
Yes We Can, continue on the road to change.
Learning how connected we really are. Each district had a ball of yarn that traveled to other attendees that they knew in other districts to show the power of our network in the room.
Will you continue to organize in your community now that the election is over?
| 56 votes | Results
Tags: California, Obama, Field, community organizing, Los Angeles (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first. We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change. I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing... All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack
Find a polling place near you at Last Call for Change.
The first blog I posted had to do with McCain's choice of Sarah "I Kill for Fun" Palin. It was written the day of the announcement, well before Palin was vetted -- something McCain clearly didn't do. Now, we've all seen what poor judgment McCain exercised in the most important decision he could make in his campaign.
Now, he has propelled this guy, "Bob the Builder" as I'll call him, into the national spotlight to attack Obama. You all know who I'm talking about, but I can't bring myself to use the generally accepted nickname -- which lies about his occupation.
I briefly thought that this guy must have been a McCain plant to trap Obama with his now proven false claims (not a licensed plumber, not intending to buy a business as he claimed). Then, I thought he couldn't be a McCain plant because he's turned out to be such an embarrasment. Yet, McCain's campaign is still using that guy -- and multiple variations -- on the stump.
But then I come back to Palin. McCain chose her, and look at what she has shown herself to be under that pretty face of hers. "Bob the Builder" is no better. He is now using his 15 minutes of infamy to try to land book and record deals. Watch for a TV movie now that "Bob" has hired a publicist.
These two things should give everyone great pause. Why? McCain chose these two people. Who would he choose for cabinet posts? Supreme Court seats? Advisors? Will it be new, unvetted people, or the old RNC guard -- if any remain? Neither is an acceptable choice to me.
McCain does not have what it takes to be president. He has shown himself to be:
The prospect of a McCain / Palin administration terrifies me. If by some act of evil they should win, I will seriously consider returning to the land of my ancestors: Holland!
VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE* VOTE * VOTE
Complacency is the EnemyThe challenges ahead are just as profound as those that faced Lincoln and Roosevelt. After a disastrous presidency that delivered the exact opposite of what was promised in the last two presidential campaigns, it would seem that the fall from power of the political/corporate complex that brought us to the brink of collapse would be inevitable. How can they possibly hold onto power in a democracy? The answer is hate and even more subterfuge, and worst of all, lulling the opposition to sleep by constantly drumming the inevitability of an election sweep by Barrack and his hordes. Well....., my friends....., (to use two well coined phrases), it’s come down to this.
More people vote for the American Idol winner than vote in the Presidential election. The folks in power have stripped the education process and let the corporate media take over mind control of the poorly educated. This election is coming down to a new kind of class warfare - those who hope and think for themselves against those who are filled with fear and hate and let others do their thinking for them. My hope is that there are more people who think, love and hope than people who hate and fear with closed minds. The worst thing that could happen is that people will believe that an Obama victory is inevitable and they won’t make the effort to go to the polls. It would be a tragic mistake. This may be the most important election in American history. There has been and will be attempts at voter suppression and outright fraud. Obstacles are being plotted in the courts, the waters will be treacherous. The only way that this election will be legitimized is if voters cast their ballots in unprecedented numbers. Young people have never voted in the same percentages as older people, that simply has to change in this election. We need fundamental change.Barrack Obama needs to win in a landslide and carry enough candidates of his party along with him in order to have a filibuster proof majority in Congress. Legislative gridlock needs to come to an end. One needs only to observe the management of the two major presidential campaigns to realize who will be measured, consistent, and pragmatic in regards to managing our country’s direction. We need a person with intellect and a cool demeanor, someone who graduated at the top of his Harvard class, not a hotheaded gambler who graduated near the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. We’ve endured the last eight years with a bottom dweller. We deserve better.Please America........VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!Jennifer LeithamOctober 27, 2008
