I do not like the terms liberal or conservative, but they are simply handles that give us a basic place to start when trying to figure out where someone is coming from. In addition, the "party" system of government isn't the greatest - it was not created by the constitution, but simply a way people have chosen/invented in order to organize themselves for the electoral process. I choose the Democratic Party because it politically exposes values such as caring for people who can't care for themselves and racial equality.
Unfortunately, along with such values are side-effects which turn me off such as equating sexual orientation with biological ethnicity or "race" -and- fighting for a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy. These are things that I strongly disagree with for biological reasons as well as reasons of personal fait... but I digress.
So Yes, I am both a conservative and a democrat. Here are three areas that explain why:
So, this is who I am; a conservative Democrat. I feel strongly about social justice, while also accepting that right and wrong, good and evil exists. I am not a pacifist – I’m still working on my views regarding war but physical force is a necessity if evil exists and justice is remotely possible. The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes is not the moral high-ground and so I’m not sure it is right - I mean this pejoratively, although I have nothing personally against the former President.
Finally, I am interested in others thoughts on such things. Feel free to comment or just send me a note.
Putting Obama in office was just the beginning. We’ve won a major battle but not the whole war. Now we have the equally daunting and critical challenge of making sure that Obama is able to fulfill the promise that he represents. We need to keep working to take back our democracy and advance Obama’s progressive agenda.
That’s why I’m working with a network of progressive people throughout Maryland to get communities across the state organized and mobilized to in support of building a new clean green, inclusive energy economy and bold federal climate action – two major priorities for president Obama. We’ve teamed up with an amazing national grassroots climate campaign called 1Sky whose goal is to build volunteer climate action teams in every community that will push our congressional leaders to be champions of bold federal climate and clean energy policy. For more info go to http://local.1sky.org/en/.
As you may know, Maryland Congresspeople including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Chris Van Hollen, and John Sarbanes are extremely influential and will have a big impact on the type of climate policy that congress passes. By influencing them we can have a huge influence on the climate fight, but we need to act now because Congress is working on climate legislation as we speak.
2009 is going to be the pivotal year for climate action! If you care about the issue this is the year to act. You can make a difference in just a few hours a month. Help us make history. Please contact me today to let me know if your interested in joining our local 1Sky climate precinct team!
Keith Harrington
MD 1Sky Field Organizer
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
240-396-1985
keith@chesapeakeclimate.org
I. Change Ignited
Change ignited knows few rules;
Invites the sparks to flame.
Change ignited purples the blues,
Transforms reds to confused hues.
Change ignited burns untamed
Fueled by hope and tenacity
Change ignited a healing flame,
Burns with unfamiliar name.
Maybe I was like so many are today, without clarity on what Change would look like. It ceratinly burns with unfamiliar name. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, HR.1 sounded familiar until you read it. Wow. I'm actually impressed that it will provide an investment in the America that voted for President Obama. Imagine that. Nothing is trickling down this time.
Dear Friends of Barack Obama,
Please join the AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS MOVEMENT FOR OBAMA at the prestigious NATIONAL PRESS CLUB in Washington DC to celebrate our victory. We all work so hard for the last 22 months to earn the election of Barack H. Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.
This is an historic moment of our country that we all should be proud of celebrating. January 20, 2009 should a date to remember. Each one of us who strongly beleive on Barack Obama and work hard to make this happen should find a way to keep the Presidential inauguration date alive. The African Immigrants Movement for Obama is therefore inviting you to the "All Africa Inauguration Ball" to celebrate with the African immigrants communities in the united States of America. Our Presidential Inaugural Ball theme is "Renewing the spirit of the Community" which is so fundamental to the African immigrants in the United states, and so dear to President Barack Obama.
The event's location address is: The NATIONAL PRESS CLUB - 52914TH sTREET, NW, 13th floor, Washington DC, 20045. Time: 7:00PM to 1:00 AM
For additional information, please visit our website at: www.aim4obama.org
Contact: Mr. Etienne Takougang - Event Chair - etakougang@hotmail.com, and MS. Fatima Wahab - Coordinating Committee - fatimawahab@yahoo.com
Thanks
Etienne Takougang
Coordinator of African Immigrants Movement for Obama
Obama for America
For Immediate Release Contact: PIC Communications Office December 10, 2008 202-203-1700
PIC Announces Theme and Preliminary Information about Schedule of Official Inaugural Events
Monday night, we drove three hours to see Barack in Manassas, Virginia. We had fasted all day and prayed the beautiful prayers written and shared by our prayer group! My cousin, who voted early, saw Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina just a few hours before. Traffic was heavier than usual - Redskins' game, breakdowns, and 90,000+ people headed to the fairgrounds! We took three of our children with us [the others were working or away]. Barack was fabulous. My husband almost cried he was so touched by Barack's words and the courage he displayed as the news of his dear grandmother's passing was still fresh. We were both close to our grandmothers so we really have compasssion for him. Barack told the story of the woman in South Carolina who turned a dreary rainy day into something special when she kept saying to him "Fired Up - Ready to Go!" That's how we felt in Manassas, the night before the election of the century! We felt an urgent sense of purpose - and Fired Up! Ready to Go!
When the event was over - 90,000+ slowly left the fairgrounds, encouraged and determined to vote - no matter the lines, the rain, the wait, no matter what. We got home at 2 am in the morning. On the news, they said as late as one in the morning, people were still inching slowly off the fairground where the last rally before today's election was held. Wow. We had just left Virginia after canvassing all day in Winchester on Saturday and canvassing in Pennsylvania two weeks before. What a week! What a month! What a year!!!
6 am Tuesday morning, I was back in the car, picking up our daughter in DC, checking on my 85 year old father, checking in with my sister, my cousins, my aunts and uncles in Virginia and North Carolina . All was set. We all went to vote. In DC, we stood in a line this morning that wrapped around the block for two hours - it didn't feel like it. Cars honked as people drove by on their way to work. People waved, people screamed "OBAMA. " It was festive. It was emotional. It was transcendent. We were all so happy to be in line for THIS VOTE. I took pictures of my neighbors. We took pictures of the line. We took pictures placing the ballot in the box. My daughter did the electronic thing - this is her very first Presidential Election! She said, "Mommy, I'm so glad this election is my first time." My niece told her mom 'thank you.' She said she finally understood why we had rallied, and argued, and protested, and knocked on doors, and fought so hard all these years. She said we did it so that she, my daughters, our children, all of us could see this day. It was an amazing day.
My father was dressed as if he were going to work. At 85. and a veteran, he's in great shape. He walked briskly to the car and drove himself to vote with great pride and determination [he's at a different precinct than me]. Daddy was so proud of what he had to do today! I know he was proud watching his daughters and his granddaughters going to vote, too. Isn't that what he fought for? Thank you GOD. I witnessed three generations voting all together on this most historic day! It was amazing. Thank you GOD for blessing this process.
Our hearts are filled with PRAISE!! Thank you GOD for the Victory of Barack Obama as the new President-elect of the United States of America - the Whole United States of America. One Nation, under GOD!! We Thank You GOD! Peace to All - Rita
So here we are.
History has already been made, though the votes are only now being cast. This has been a pivotal journey. A defining event for America. This nation stands upon the world stage, and it is my hope that sometime during the late hours of the night, a tumultuous roar will erupt from every corner of the globe. The curtain call will be followed by an ovation. America will have lived up to its bluster; not as a super military power, not as the financial heart, but as the premier democracy with a credo to which its people can pledge their full faith.
I've waited until today to cast my vote. I wanted to be part of the day...the way I felt in Denver when the "wave" circled the stadium time after time. I welcome the rain. I expect to wait in line. It couldn't be better. I'll enjoy this. Tonight, I will clap or cry...perhaps both.
~Donkhote
MARYLAND VOTER CHECKLIST...Vote As If Your Life Depends On It!
(Feel free to pass this checklist to other States and customize it for that State!)
1. VERIFY YOUR REGISTRATION AND POLLING LOCATION.
2. REVIEW THE 2008 BALLOT QUESTIONS. There are 2 Statewide Constitutional Amendments that will appear on the November 4th, 2008 General Election ballot. Local ballot questions may appear on the ballot in certain counties.
3. REVIEW AND FILL OUT YOUR SPECIMEN BALLOT. Every registered voter should have received a specimen ballot in the mail approximately five to ten days before the general election. In addition, a sample ballot is available online through the polling place locator (http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/where.html ).
4. REVIEW THE FREQUENTLY ASKED ELECTION DAY QUESTIONS AREA. It covers everything you should know from identification needed to accessibility.
5. REVIEW THE DEMO FOR MARYLAND'S VOTING SYSTEM ONLINE. Make sure you know how to use the machine.
6. CALL/E-MAIL FAMILY MEMBERS! Make sure they know where to vote and have a way to get there.
TO VOLUNTEER IN PERSON or MAKE CALLS for OBAMA:
Here is another page just for making calls:
7. TAKE THE DAY OFF. If you cannot let your boss know that, you may be in late or have to leave early.
DO YOU GET TIME OFF TO VOTE? Below is a link to a partial list of states that mandate time off from work to vote. Know your rights and don’t be afraid to exercise them.
8. GET READY FOR VOTE DAY! Set your alarm clock, charge and take your cell phone, pack some snacks/water, medicine, a small amount of cash and a portable chair to sit in. The lines will be long, so please be prepared and dressed for the weather.
9. GET UP, GET OUT AND VOTE!
“Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!” –Bob Marley
10. ANY ISSUES! Let the poll workers do their job. Any issues that you feel are not correct or illegal...here are some voter hotline numbers. (Print and take with you!)
11. LAST MINUTE HUMOR! Humor my be the best medicine, so here are some hot ones to watch!
Again, feel free to add to this list and pass it on.
Obama08!
Reggie Smith III, Policy
Administrator
Maryland for Obama Group
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/MarylandforObama
The Day Before, should we call it Super Monday or how about "The Last Day of Forever". Whatever it is, it's going to be great to see what comes next.
My hat goes off to everyone that helped this campaign in every conceivable way. Now as long as we all go vote, it should be a FANTASTIC Tuesday!
Here's a little something to start Monday off right.
http://www.theobamaexperiment.com/Videos.html
Here's looking to a Bright BLUE Tuesday Voting Day!
:Lilly
Huffington Post | Nicholas Graham | November 1, 2008 10:09 PM
Kids in this suburban Detroit neighborhood cried foul after a McCain supporter refused to give them candy because they were the children of Obama supporters. Whatever your politics, I think we can all agree it's beyond the pale to deny children candy on Halloween.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/01/mccain-supporter-denies-c_n_140075.html
Registrars are open across Virginia today, click here to find out where and when your registrar is open for absentee voting.
After you vote, you should make sure that others get out and vote by signing up here. And if you do not have time today, you can still vote on TUESDAY NOVEMBER 4th!
Enjoy these pictures of people voting absentee in Richmond!
Maryland Office Locations
Visit our state headquarters at: 1101 Mercantile Lane, 2nd Floor Largo, Maryland 20774 Phone: 240.345.5839 VIEW MAP (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1101+Mercantile+Lane,+Largo,+Maryland+20774&sll=42.384637,-71.079955&sspn=0.015374,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=38.906213,-76.838164&spn=0.008098,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=addr )
Baltimore Field Office 429 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 Phone: 443.610.2250 VIEW MAP
(http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=429+North+Eutaw+Street+Baltimore+MD&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.977057,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=39.295998,-76.620991&spn=0.007622,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=addr )
Bethesda Field Office 7832 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Phone: 240.396.6739 VIEW MAP
(http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=7832+Wisconsin+Ave,+Bethesda,+Montgomery,+Maryland+20814,+United+States&sll=39.295998,-76.620991&sspn=0.007622,0.019312&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FXHsUgIdkp5n-w&ll=38.99022,-77.09527&spn=0.007655,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=addr )
Towson Field Office 40 West Chesapeake Avenue Towson, Maryland 21204 Phone: 443.386.8515
VIEW MAP
A good read and a must know! Reggie
Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST (Rollingstone.com)
Posted Oct 30, 2008 11:10 AM
These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort to deter fraudulent voting. For Maez, the shock was especially acute: He is the supervisor of elections in Las Vegas.
[Cut out 9 paragraphs to take you down to the points to know. To read the entire articel visit: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote/print )
The recently enacted barriers thrown up to deter voters include:
1. Obstructing Voter-Registration Drives
Since 2004, the Bush administration and more than a dozen states have taken steps to impede voter registration. Among the worst offenders is Florida, where the Republican-dominated legislature created hefty fines — up to $5,000 per violation — for groups that fail to meet deadlines for turning in voter-application forms. Facing potentially huge penalties for trivial administrative errors, the League of Women Voters abandoned its voter-registration drives in Florida. A court order eventually forced the legislature to reduce the maximum penalty to $1,000. But even so, said former League president Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti, the reduced fines "create an unfair tax on democracy." The state has also failed to uphold a federal law requiring that low-income voters be offered an opportunity to register when they apply for food stamps or other public assistance. As a result, the annual number of such registrations has plummeted from more than 120,000 in the Clinton years to barely 10,000 today.
2. Demanding "Perfect Matches"
Under the Help America Vote Act, some states now reject first-time registrants whose data does not correspond to information in other government databases. Spurred by HAVA, almost every state must now attempt to make some kind of match — and four states, including the swing states of Iowa and Florida, require what is known as a "perfect match." Under this rigid framework, new registrants can lose the right to vote if the information on their voter-registration forms — Social Security number, street address and precisely spelled name, right down to a hyphen — fails to exactly match data listed in other government records.
There are many legitimate reasons, of course, why a voter's information might vary. Indeed, a recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that as many as 20 percent of discrepancies between voter records and driver's licenses in New York City are simply typing mistakes made by government clerks when they transcribe data. But under the new rules, those mistakes are costing citizens the right to vote. In California, a Republican secretary of state blocked 43 percent of all new voters in Los Angeles from registering in early 2006 — many because of the state's failure to produce a tight match. In Florida, GOP officials created "match" rules that rejected more than 15,000 new registrants in 2006 and 2007 — nearly three-fourths of them Hispanic and black voters. Given the big registration drives this year, the number could be five times higher by November. 3. Purging Legitimate Voters From the Rolls
The Help America Vote Act doesn't just disenfranchise new registrants; it also targets veteran voters. In the past, bipartisan county election boards maintained voter records. But HAVA requires that records be centralized, computerized and maintained by secretaries of state — partisan officials — who are empowered to purge the rolls of any voter they deem ineligible. Ironically, the new rules imitate the centralized system in Florida — the same corrupt operation that inspired passage of HAVA in the first place. Prior to the 2000 election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and her predecessor, both Republicans, tried to purge 57,000 voters, most of them African-Americans, because their names resembled those of persons convicted of a crime. The state eventually acknowledged that the purges were improper — two years after the election.
Rather than end Florida-style purges, however, HAVA has nationalized them. Maez, the elections supervisor in New Mexico, says he was the victim of faulty list management by a private contractor hired by the state. Hector Balderas, the state auditor, was also purged from the voter list. The nation's youngest elected Hispanic official, Balderas hails from Mora County, one of the poorest in the state, which had the highest rate of voters forced to cast provisional ballots. "As a strategic consideration," he notes, "there are those that benefit from chaos" at the ballot box.
All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on "list maintenance" methods.
4. Requiring Unnecessary Voter ID's
Even if voters run the gauntlet of the new registration laws, they can still be blocked at the polling station. In an incident last May, an election official in Indiana denied ballots to 10 nuns seeking to vote in the Democratic primary because their driver's licenses or passports had expired. Even though Indiana has never recorded a single case of voter-ID fraud, it is one of two dozen states that have enacted stringent new voter-ID statutes.
On its face, the requirement to show a government-issued ID doesn't seem unreasonable. "I want to cash a check to pay for my groceries, I've got to show a little bit of ID," Karl Rove told the Republican National Lawyers Association in 2006. But many Americans lack easy access to official identification. According to a recent study for the Election Law Journal, young people, senior citizens and minorities — groups that traditionally vote Democratic — often have no driver's licenses or state ID cards. According to the study, one in 10 likely white voters do not possess the necessary identification. For African-Americans, the number lacking such ID is twice as high.
5. Rejecting "Spoiled" Ballots
Even intrepid voters who manage to cast a ballot may still find their vote discounted. In 2004, election officials discarded at least 1 million votes nationwide after classifying them as "spoiled" because blank spaces, stray marks or tears made them indecipherable to voting machines. The losses hit hardest among minorities in low-income precincts, who are often forced to vote on antiquated machines. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, in its investigation of the 2000 returns from Florida, found that African-Americans were nearly 10 times more likely than whites to have their ballots rejected, a ratio that holds nationwide.
Proponents of HAVA claimed the law would correct the spoilage problem by promoting computerized balloting. Yet touch-screen systems have proved highly unreliable — especially in minority and low-income precincts. A statistical analysis of New Mexico ballots by a voting-rights group called VotersUnite found that Hispanics who voted by computer in 2004 were nearly five times more likely to have their votes unrecorded than those who used paper ballots. In a close election, such small discrepancies can make a big difference: In 2004, the number of spoiled ballots in New Mexico — 19,000 — was three times George Bush's margin of victory.
6. Challenging "Provisional" Ballots
In 2004, an estimated 3 million voters who showed up at the polls were refused regular ballots because their registration was challenged on a technicality. Instead, these voters were handed "provisional" ballots, a fail-safe measure mandated by HAVA to enable officials to review disputed votes. But for many officials, resolving disputes means tossing ballots in the trash. In 2004, a third of all provisional ballots — as many as 1 million votes — were simply thrown away at the discretion of election officials.
Many voters are given provisional ballots under an insidious tactic known as "vote caging," which uses targeted mailings to disenfranchise black voters whose addresses have changed. In 2004, despite a federal consent order forbidding Republicans from engaging in the practice, the GOP sent out tens of thousands of letters to "confirm" the addresses of voters in minority precincts. If a letter was returned for any reason — because the voter was away at school or serving in the military — the GOP challenged the voter for giving a false address. One caging operation was exposed when an RNC official mistakenly sent the list to a parody site called GeorgeWBush.org — instead of to the official campaign site GeorgeWBush.com.
In the century following the Civil War, millions of black Americans in the Deep South lost their constitutional right to vote, thanks to literacy tests, poll taxes and other Jim Crow restrictions imposed by white officials. Add up all the modern-day barriers to voting erected since the 2004 election — the new registrations thrown out, the existing registrations scrubbed, the spoiled ballots, the provisional ballots that were never counted — and what you have is millions of voters, more than enough to swing the presidential election, quietly being detached from the electorate by subterfuge.
"Jim Crow was laid to rest, but his cousins were not," says Donna Brazile. "We got rid of poll taxes and literacy tests but now have a second generation of schemes to deny our citizens their franchise." Come November, the most crucial demographic may prove to be Americans who have been denied the right to vote. If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat John McCain at the polls — they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering.
We just sent out this e-mail:
Dear Scott,This is it. Get out the vote -- the final stage of a historic campaign here in Virginia -- has begun. This is when we prove that what we've built is real and can deliver the change America needs.We've talked to thousands of undecided Virginians and formed neighborhood teams to spread our message of change throughout our communities. But all of this work means nothing if we don't get people out to vote.Watch this short video about our strategy to win the commonwealth and sign up for a volunteer shift to get out the vote:We have the chance to make history here in Virginia. This is your chance to be a part of it.This plan won't work without you. What you do or don't do in the next two weeks will decide the outcome of this race.We can't risk waking up on November 5th to four more years of the same failed policies and the same cynical politics.Sign up for a shift and do your part in bringing this campaign across the finish line:http://va.barackobama.com/GOTVThis is our moment. We've worked too hard to let this slip through our hands now.Thanks,MitchMitch StewartVirginia State DirectorObama for AmericaP.S. -- If you will be gone from your locality on Election Day, or will be commuting to work 11 out of the 13 hours on November 4th, you can vote right now. Find out how:http://va.barackobama.com/voteearly
Dear Scott,This is it. Get out the vote -- the final stage of a historic campaign here in Virginia -- has begun. This is when we prove that what we've built is real and can deliver the change America needs.We've talked to thousands of undecided Virginians and formed neighborhood teams to spread our message of change throughout our communities. But all of this work means nothing if we don't get people out to vote.Watch this short video about our strategy to win the commonwealth and sign up for a volunteer shift to get out the vote:
Virginia, we have 13 days. Can you believe it? At the Richmond rally today Senator Obama reminded us that a lot can happen in 13 days and we need all the help we can get!
Thank you Ian Graham for some of these great pictures.
Sign up for Get Out the Vote! Some pictures from today . . .
Exclusive! Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) endorses Sen. Barack Obama, D-Il. – only on "Meet the Press." Powell, who had been courted by both Obama and John McCain, breaks his recent silence and shares his reasons for crossing party lines to endorse Sen. Obama. Then, a look at the 2008 battleground & new state polls with NBC's Chuck Todd. Plus, insights & analysis on Decision 2008 with David Brooks, Jon Meacham, Andrea Mitchell & Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608
ABSENTEE AND PROVISIONAL VOTING IN YOUR STATE
Passing this around for Maryland...check your State and make sure folks get the "official info."
1. ABSENTEE VOTING IN MARYLAND
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections
http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/absentee.html
Absentee Voting - A voter who will be absent or unable to vote in person in the election may request an absentee ballot. The deadline for a voter to submit a request for an absentee ballot by mail or fax is October 28, 2008. Absentee ballots are typically available for mailing approximately three weeks before an election.
2. PROVISIONAL VOTING IN MARYLAND
http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/provisional_voting.html
Overview
The provisional ballot is a safeguard to ensure that an individual who asserts that he or she is registered and eligible to vote will not be prevented from casting a ballot on election day. The provisional ballot will only be counted after the local board has reviewed the provisional ballot application and made a determination that the individual meets all of the criteria to vote the provisional ballot. The key criteria are:
• You must be a registered voter; and
• You must cast the provisional ballot in the election district or ward in which you reside.
If you are not registered or you cast your provisional ballot outside your election district or ward your provisional ballot will not be counted.
Check your State for details and pass the word.
