I get tired of hearing myself bitch and moan, but...
I am one of the most non-religious people I know, but I have a family that isn't and they engage in the little yearly affair Christians like to put on called CHRISTMAS. This means family flying in to visit, spending time with family, cooking meals, decorating your elderly parents' house for Christmas the way they like it (and can no longer do themselves), and a general increase in activity in one's personal life.
Even before the election took place and we knew the joyous outcome, I felt strongly about capitalizing on the grassroots movement we've all created. I want nothing more than to continue to be the change, but does it have to be right now? Can't we wait until after the holidays are over?
I want to participate in community meetings but now is just not a good time, and it probably isn't for a lot of people. Will we have similar community organizing meetings after the first of the year? Will people who jump back in at that point be disregarded or left out?
I'm taking a powder. The holidays are upon us and for me that means a lot of cooking and helping my parents decorate their house. I see that many of you are still busy busy busy, but I think Barack would be ok with me taking some time to just be. Honestly, and if any of you read this too bad, I don't think too many ColoradoANS or Adams County folks give a rat's arse about whether or not I'm participating in the e-mails or any plans of any sort. I guess I never did enough volunteering to suit anyone.
As I said around the time of the acceptance speech--I'll volunteer on my own terms and in my own way.
Everyone, have a wonderful and safe holiday season and I'll check back in January to see what's crack-a-lackin.
Beth
Now begins the work that must be done to turn our nation around.
I've met so many different people on here, and although our connection to each other was primary internet correspondence, we spent several months going through a process together. It was delightful, agonizing, frightening, frustrating, rewarding...but most of all, it was successful.
For any of you who read this before the site is dismantled and we go our separate ways...it was an honor to be part of this process with you. Millions of us working together, contributing what we could in terms of talent, money, and volunteer work. We built our "community" in less than two years. Imagine what we can do for President-elect Barack Hussein Obama in the next four. And imagine what we can do for our nation.
Beth McKinley~~~bigmacsmama@hotmail.com
It is a beautiful moment for African Americans tonight. It's a moment to cherish in US history.
Just came from the gas pump. Good news is gas is $1.99 in Missouri. Bad news is that there was a "power outage" and the pump became frozen at twenty three cents into my fill. Within 30 minues, the Owner/Manager reset the pump and all was well.
Began to wonder... what if a power outage happened at any one of the polling places; are they all on battery back-up? Is the software equipped to handle an outage? Will it lose the votes cast or other error? DO WE GET A MULLIGAN? Be sure someone from the democratic party in your area has this base covered. We can not take any chances of missing one single vote secondary to a glitch in the system.
I am still getting calls (robo and person-to-person) from the McCain campaign, even after I've called their main HQ and told them I have already voted, OBAMA-BIDEN! They must be desperate, as my landline has been ringing non-stop.
Many will come out in force tomorrow to VOTE FOR OBAMA-BIDEN. The lines will be long; patience will be tested. Be safe!
History has already been made... now let's get Senators Obama and Biden, over the finish line.
OBAMA-BIDEN '08
Colorado, I have just two words for you: three days. Three days. After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George W. Bush, 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky shores of Maine to sunshine of California, we are three days away from bringing fundamental change to the United States of America.
Don't believe for a second that this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power will concede anything without a fight, we're going to have to work like our future depends on it these last few days, because it does. But I know this Colorado, the time for change has come, we have a righteous wind at our backs. And these last few days, if you will knock on some doors for me, if you will make some phone calls for me, if you will stand with me and fight by my side, then I promise you we will not just win Pueblo, we will not just win Colorado, but you and I together we are going to win this election and we are going to change the country and we are going to change the world.
Denver, CO -- U.S. Senator Barack Obama will join with Michelle Obama to host a 'Change We Need Rally' on Saturday, November 1st, at the intersection of S. Union Avenue and D Street in Pueblo.
This will be Sen. Obama's fourth trip to Colorado since the Democratic National Convention in August. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1st CHANGE WE NEED RALLY WITH BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA Union Avenue Historic District Intersection of S. Union Avenue and D Street Pueblo, CO 81003 Public Entrance: Corner of C Street and S. Main Street, located in the heart of the Union Avenue Historic District Gates Open: 1:00 PM Program Begins: 3:00 PM The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP here. Space is available on a first come, first serve basis.
Many of the people I talk to express concerns about Barack's position on the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear firearms.
I have found these links on barackobama.com that help to explain Barack's position in his own words. In short:
Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. - Barack Obama Urban Policy Statement
Sportsmen for Obama
Response to deceptive NRA flyer
Greg
Wendy and I dropped off our mail-in ballots at the Teller County Clerk's office in Cripple Creek on Tuesday. One reason is we wanted to be sure they got there. Another reason was to save $1.18 in postage.
That's right - each mail-in ballot requires 59 cents postage. I had the people at the post office weigh my ballot before I took it in - 1.1 oz, just over the limit for one stamp.
Tell all your friends, tell all phone bankers and canvassers to be sure to tell our voters that the ballots require 59 cents postage. Two stamps required!
Other counties with longer ballots may require three stamps - be sure to check.
Be sure your vote gets there to be counted - use two stamps
Barack Morning Buzz-10-14-08 On to Victory on November 4th (1) Obama Widens Lead in Four Key States-Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Colorado Chris Cillizza-Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/14/ST2008101400530.html (2) Obama Leads in Latest Polls in Michigan and Wisconsin Associated Press http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hiLSpkIoVEXCAKmafB3VTwWEFqJwD93Q89VO0 (3) Obama's Immediate Measures to Help Economy Associated Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxz-efsFcUQ&eurl=http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Barack+Obama&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=6&ctiurl=http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/Rxz-efsFcUQ/default.jpg (4) Obama Going from Calm to Aggressive on Crisis Carolyn Lochhead-San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/14/MNJ213G6O7.DTL (5) Obama Proposes New Recovery Package Seema Mehta and Janet Hook-Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-campaign14-2008oct14,0,3107959.story (6) Community Gathering with Obama in Londonderry, New Hampshire Mack's Apples-230 Mammouth Road-Gates open at 10:00 AM Event is free and open to public-Free tickets available No bags, signs or banners permitted for security reasons http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nhbolondonderry/ (7) "Committee for Change"-Obama's Third Fundraising Arm Lynn Sweet-Chicago Sun-Times http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/obamas_third_fundraising_arm.html (8) Surviving Members of Grateful Dead Rock for Obama Genaro C. Armas-Associated Press http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_en_ot/obama_grateful_dead_2 (9) North Carolina Republicans Feel Obama Heat Adam Brookes-BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7668572.stm (10) Obama Gaining among Rural Voters-Southeast Ohio Communities Economically Hit May be a Bellwether Alexandra Marks-Christian Science Monitor http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/10/13/obama-gaining-among-rural-voters/ (11) Obama for President Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/10/13/obama_for_president/ (12) Presidential Campaign-Back to the Issues Seattle Post-Intelligencer-Editorial Board http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/383118_invectived.html (13) The Jonah Goldberg Theorem-Dow Sky Rockets due to Likely Obama Victory Glenn Greenwald-Salon-Unclaimed Territory http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/13/obama/ (14) Biden, the Happy Warrior, Woos Places that Obama Can't Reach Toby Harnden-Telegraph-UK http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/3191966/Joe-Biden-the-happy-warrior-woos-places-that-Barack-Obama-cannot-reach.html (15) Dwindling Savings Make Attacks on Obama Less Salient Gloria Borger-CNNPolitics-Senior Political Analyst http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/13/borger.column/ (16) For Michelle Obama, "This is Not Just Politics. It's Personal." Bob Von Sternberg-Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/30885104.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUvDE7aL_V_BD77:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU (17) Race and Gender Add Intrigue But Issues Rule in Obama and McCain Contest Brooke Adams-The Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_10710498 (18) Former McCain Supporter Says McCain is "Unleashing the Monster of American Prejudice" Amy Goodman-Democracy Now! http://www.alternet.org/rights/102837/former_mccain_supporter:_mccain_is_%22unleashing_the_monster_of_american_prejudice%22/ (19) Taking the Low Road-Opinion Globe and Mail-Australia http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081013.EMcCain14/BNStory/specialComment/home (20) McCain Attack Ads Called Inevitable and Ineffective Howard Kurtz-Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/13/AR2008101302425.html (21) McCain Stands by His Rowdy Supporters Agence France Presse-AFP http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYFXO-JFlaBqsdL8-EGH2_F6-daw (22) New McCain Stump Speech Emphasizes Economy Associated Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyspY713DQg&eurl=http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Barack+Obama&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=4&ctiurl=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/DyspY713DQg/default.jpg (23) Another Conservative for Obama Jonathan Kay-National Post-Canada http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=878085 (24) Sign at McCain Rally Links Obama to Osama bin Laden John Bentley-CBS News-From The Road http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/13/politics/fromtheroad/entry4518912.shtml
So come on Colorado Springs and Pueblo folk -- get us to 40 per cent!
http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/my-own-private-focus-group/?ref=opinion
My Own Private Focus Group
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — I didn’t hook up people to electronic monitoring devices, nothing to measure leg trickles and blood-sugar spikes in response to off-key talking points.
I had no magic maps, no demographic weighting formulas. I simply went to the heart of one of the fastest-growing, most Republican counties in the land — as red as rib-eye steak on the e-coli side of raw — and wandered aimlessly, like John McCain in Tuesday’s debate.
Here in Colorado Springs — the Vatican of evangelical political power, home to the Air Force Academy and a community where optimism usually matches the sunrise glow at the base of Pikes Peak – you can see what will happen in less than a month.
My friends: it’s not good for Senator McCain.
“As a small business owner, it’s very hard to watch a lifetime of hard work and savings just wither away in the last two weeks,” said Jan Martin, a native of this more-than-mile-high city, and a lifelong Republican. “The debate on Tuesday night has, if anything, bolstered my opinion.”
So Jan Martin, who also serves on the city council, will cross party lines in less than a month and vote Barack Obama for president, she said. She’s not leaving the Republican party – she’s deserting the nominee.
But…but…what about Bill Ayers? That radical! Obama served on some charity boards with him – he must be a terrorist sympathizer! And what about Sarah Palin’s claim, with a knowing wink, that Obama “is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America.”
The sludge of insinuation is loose, but has no more staying power than the Chicago Cubs in a playoff series. (And I like the Cubbies.) All the desperate demagogues of talk radio and Fox News, summoning the kooks and fringe lunatics for one last blast of scary Barack Hussein Obama talk, are melting in 2008’s bonfire of economic vanities.
You want scary? How about this: two trillion dollars. That’s the amount that Americans have lost over the last 15 months in their retirement accounts.
“The financial crisis is point number one,” said Pastor Brady Boyd, head of New Life Church, 250,000 square feet of concentrated Christianity. “These attacks against the candidates are just irrelevant right now. Why are you all attacking one another when we’re dying out here?”
The pastor oversees a mega-church with 10,000 members. When I was here four years ago, Pastor Ted Haggard, the onetime head of the National Association of Evangelicals, boasted of his conference calls with Karl Rove and his deep affection for George Bush.
But then, Pastor Ted was a very bad boy, caught up in a meth and male prostitute scandal. He left New Life and went off to get rehabbed at some place that was supposed to make him right in the head.
Pastor Brady Boyd is a different breed of evangelical. His political suggestions this year, delivered in a sermon on Sunday and repeated in our interview, were simple.
“The only advice I give is pray, fast and vote, and that can be for any political party,” he said.
This year, the church hasn’t even heard from the McCain campaign. “What’s happening to us is less allegiance to the Republican party, and more to our core principles,” he said.
Which gets us to the second message to come from Colorado Springs: on election day, there will be no repeat of 2004, when people woke up to the surprise that “moral values” was the leading issue of the campaign, according to exit polls.
Down the road, Focus on the Family is still in a bit a of dither over what to do about John McCain. James Dobson, the founder of what is essentially a political action committee for evangelicals, had said earlier this year he would never vote for McCain. Never. Not under any circumstances.
Now he’s changed his mind. Sort of.
“While I said I will not endorse either candidate this year, I can say I’m now supporting John McCain,” he said in his October newsletter. However, “the senator continues to embrace issues that concern me.”
Dobson’s Web site contains outdated-looking scare alerts with headlines like “American Airlines extends special benefits to homosexuals.”
Dobson is yesterday. Boyd is tomorrow, saying that the environment, the poor, and helping those in his church who’ve lost a job or a house are things that matter to his congregation.
Abortion? Homosexuals? Bill Ayers?
“To be focused on those things at a time when people are hurting would really be to the detriment of families,” said Boyd.
Obama will not win Colorado Springs. John Kerry got just 32 percent of the vote in this county in 2004. But if Obama gets 40 percent – which is what Democrats expect based on the surge of newly registered voters and independents who are following Jan Martin’s path – he will win this state, and the election.
That leaves the circus of Sarah Palin and the sad specter of a snarling John McCain fading as they embrace the slippery bonds of the last century.
from
Ken Gordon Colorado Senate Majority Leader
Dear Friends and Neighbors:I know you're not actually dummies. That's why I'm sending this to you. This e-mail contains a brief discussion of the statewide ballot measures. I try to give enough information so that you can decide how to vote for yourself, although I will tell you where I stand so you can take my recommendation if you’d like. My recommendation is at the beginning of each section, right after the Amendment or Referenda number. Where possible, my recommendation is a link to a website with more information about each measure.Don't skip the ballot measures and just vote for candidates. These ballot measures affect the schools your children attend, the roads you drive on, the air you breathe, the water you drink, your civil rights, and the welfare of Colorado's disabled citizens. When ordinary citizens don't participate, they create a vacuum that is filled by special interests who try to make a profit at your expense or advance an ideological interest that does not reflect your values.On the inside cover of your Blue Book, there is a page that you can use to note your votes. You can take this with you to the polls. I urge all of you to vote early, or by mail. The ballot is long, and the turnout is expected to be huge. By voting early, or by mail, you take some of the pressure off of Election Day, and you may save yourself from having to wait in a long line.Initiatives and referenda are two of the tools of direct democracy put into the Colorado Constitution during the Progressive Era at the turn of the last century. The people of Colorado felt, with reason, that their legislature at that time was controlled by the railroads and eastern trusts, and they wanted a way to create laws on their own. They did not want to have to rely on what they felt was a corrupt legislature. This ballot contains fourteen initiatives, numbered 46 through 59, and four referenda, L through O. Referenda are referred by the legislature. That is how you can remember, referenda are referred. Initiatives arrive on the ballot without any legislative action, by petition. You have seen people collecting signatures at supermarkets. That is for initiatives.Amendment 46: No This is a proposed Constitutional Amendment which will prevent Colorado government from using affirmative action programs. Its intent is to prevent universities or other government programs from considering race or gender when granting admission, a contract, or other benefit. Conservatives generally support this amendment, and those on the left side of the spectrum will generally vote "No." Since affirmative action programs in Colorado are narrowly tailored to correct the effects of past discrimination I will be voting no.Amendment 47: No This is a proposed Constitutional Amendment that will prevent unions from bargaining for something called a "union shop." This proposal is called "Right to Work," and if it passes, it will make it very difficult to organize a union because every employee will get the benefit of the unions' collective barganing whether or not they support the union. There is no incentive to pay union dues. "Right to Work" has been proposed numerous times in the legislature and has never passed. Employees tend to earn less money and have fewer benefits in "Right to Work" states. The unions call it the "Right to Work for Less."On October 2nd labor and the mainstream business community announced an agreement that labor would withdraw Amendments 53, 55, 56 and 57, and most of the business community has agreed to oppose 47, 49 and 54. I feel that labor and the mainstream business community acted as adults, ending a game of "chicken" that would have been bad for Colorado, so I am supportive of the agreement. The Governor and the mainstream business community asked the proponents of 47 to withdraw it when labor withdrew the amendments that the business community opposed. They refused. I believe they were excessively ideological and rigid, not caring sufficiently about the welfare of Colorado. Most of the business community does not feel that the balance between labor and business in Colorado is problematic, and they did not feel that 47 was necessary.Amendment 48: No This is the proposed "Personhood" Constitutional Amendment. It says that as soon as an egg is fertilized by a sperm it becomes a "Person." The intent of the proponents is to create a test case in Colorado to challenge the US Supreme Court case "Roe v. Wade," which allows a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy. The proponents want this to be considered murder. I think the proponents have gone too far for their own good because under the provisions of this amendment, there could be no allowance for a pregnancy caused by rape or incest. Additionally, many kinds of birth control prevent a fertilized egg from implanting on the uterine wall, so this birth control would also cause the death of a "person." What is a woman who has an ectopic pregnancy supposed to do, and what is the doctor supposed to do with excess fertilized eggs after an in vitro procedure has been successful? The Amendment is extreme and will not make for a sympathetic case to take to the Supreme Court. If you take the position that a woman should never have the right to terminate her pregnancy, no matter what the reason, you should vote for this.Amendment 49: No This Amendment is part of the package that the business and labor community agreed to oppose on October 2nd. The Amendment would prohibit public employee paycheck deductions for any purpose other than those listed in law. The purpose is to prevent union members from choosing to have their union dues automatically taken as deductions. This measure has consistently failed in the legislature. Amendment 50: No recommendation This measure allows gaming communities to vote to raise their hours, stakes, and to add additional games. Increased tax revenue will go to community colleges. I'm torn. Community colleges certainly need the money, but I generally don't like to fund state services through gambling. I'm leaving you on your own on this one.Amendment 51: Yes Colorado does a very poor job of funding services for people with disabilities (46th among the states). This statutory amendment raises state sales tax from 2.9% to 3.1% in order to provide these services. That is two cents on a ten dollar purchase. In terms of reducing human suffering, this is the best value you can get for your money, and it makes sense as an investment as well. Additional services provided at an early age to people with conditions like cerebral palsy, autism and Down's syndrome will significantly reduce the number of tax dollars that will be needed for long term care. These services can vastly improve the lives of our disabled population. Anyone with a heart should vote "yes" on this measure. The Rocky Mountain News editorialized in favor of this measure.Amendment 52: No This amendment will take some of the current stream of severance taxes (taxes paid for the privilege of severing-or extracting-minerals, oil, and gas from the earth and selling them for private gain) and divert them to highway construction. Some of the losers, if this passes, are water projects, wildlife conservation, and low income energy assistance. We do need more money for highway construction, but this does not provide enough and takes away from other worthwhile projects. Amendment 53: This measure has been withdrawn. It will appear on your ballot, but the votes will not be counted.Amendment 54: No This measure will prevent labor unions and other contractors from making campaign contributions to political candidates under certain circumstances. I actually feel that money in politics does have a distorting effect and is one of the reasons that our governmental institutions tend to arrive at results that too often favor wealthy special interests. This Amendment, though, seems to take a disproportionate shot at labor unions and has very little effect on businesses. If we are going to try to reduce the influence of money, it should be done across the board and not be an attempt by one group to reduce the contributions of another while maintaining their own.Amendment 55, 56 and 57: These measures have been withdrawn. They will appear on your ballot, but the votes will not be counted.Amendment 58: Yes Currently Colorado has one of the lowest tax rates on the production of minerals and oil and gas of any of the eight large producing western states. Wyoming, for instance, has a tax rate twice that of Colorado and uses the money from this tax to send all of its graduating high school seniors with good grades to college. If Amendment 58 passes, it will raise about $300,000,000 for need-based college scholarships, development of renewable energy resources, wildlife habitat, transportation, and clean water projects. You need to know that the oil industry is spending millions of dollars on misleading advertising opposing this measure. The Amendment does not raise any tax that any ordinary Colorado citizen has to pay. The only contributors to the "No" campaign are oil and gas companies, and they are writing million-dollar checks. It is only fair that Colorado's citizens receive some of the benefit of this natural resource. Before too long it will be gone. It is appropriate for us to put some of the current proceeds into human capital by educating our young people, and to also support the next generation of energy. Governor Ritter is one of the proponents of this measure, and he has been taking quite a few shots for his position. We should support him and this measure because it is in all of our interests... unless you own a big oil and gas company (the small ones are exempted.).Amendment 59: Yes This ballot measure is referred to as SAFE (Savings Account for Education). If SAFE passes it will put the money from future TABOR rebates into the State Education Fund. Colorado does a poor job funding education, and SAFE will help with this funding in future years. TABOR rebates only occur when the economy is in boom times, and the state collects more taxes than it spends, so there are no rebates expected in the next few years. However, in my view, the passage of SAFE is very important to Colorado's future. TABOR preserves the right of voters to vote on tax increases. If you believe that skimping on education is not a good strategy as we try to compete in a global market, then you will vote "Yes" on Amendment 59, SAFE.Referendum L: Yes This measure reduces the age requirement for serving in the state legislature from 25 to 21. Many states do this, and the only people of this age who will end up serving are people who can convince a majority, first of their party that they deserve the nomination, and then of the general electorate that they are the best candidate. It might inspire young people to pay more attention to politics. Referenda M and N: Yes These measures remove obsolete portions of the State Constitution. They are not controversial.Referendum O: Yes This measure will decrease the number of signatures needed to put a statutory initiative on the ballot and increase the number of signatures needed to put a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot. It also increases the number of votes necessary to change a statutory initiative by subsequent legislative action. The idea is to channel more of the initiatives into statutes rather than the Constitution. Since a Constitution is supposed to be a document that expresses big, general principles rather than detail, I think this is a step in the right direction.As always do not hesitate to write back with comments or questions. Please forward this email to your list and feel free to republish it in whole or in part in any format. If you know people who you think would like to receive these emails, send us their email addresses and we will add them to our list. Sincerely, Ken GordonColorado SenateMajority Leader
