Obama is going through the pressures of national attention and scrutiny while running for the office of President. If he's able to quit smoking through all that stress then we should certainly be able to too.
Today is, to steal a quote from you-know-who, DAY ONE of "Quitting Smoking With Obama" for me!
I started smoking during my later years of college. I started out smoking at parties, then on the weekends, and then it just came a full blown habit....
It's been a while, but here we go.
Here is a COPY of something special I found on Daily KOS.
The truth about the Reverend Wright controversy is now starting to be revealed: The media manufactured it for ratings. How else can one explain the fact that anyone who actually takes the time to watch any of the videos would have a different impression from the one being pushed by ABC/NBC/CNN/MSNBC and most especially FOX? I decided to pull of the video of Reverend Wright's sermon in which he allegedly made the comments blaming America for 9/11, and guess what I found? He was quoting Ambassador Edward Peck, who made those comments on FOX NEWS (oh, the irony) the day after the 9/11 attacks. Here is the evidence: http://www.youtube.com/...
Around the 3-minute mark, Reverend Wright asks the church members if they saw the ambassador on Fox News, and what he had said. Then he proceeds to pull out a sheet of paper, and read the words of ambassador Peck.
This is another example of how the media has manufactured a controversy in order to sway the American public. We all should be very concerned about the media in the country, because after all...this is the same crowd that gave us the Iraq war.
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Basically, Wright was quoting someoe else for his public pulpit speech, but he is also being attacked for what he said outside of the pulipt. The problem is that poeple are combining both, and not understanding that Obama stands behind the Pastor, but not behind the evil remarks he made outside of the pulpit.
On March 3th 2008 my life took yet another interesting turn. I met Congressman Conyers. After a brief conversation he recommended I take the LSAT and become a lawyer. After some soul searching and discussing this with my closest friends and family I have decided to do just that. I plan to study Constitutional Law, and to enter American politics on a platform based on the ideas driving Barack Obama to victory. I will one day to create Change through just legislation. I will give back to the country that gave me so much. I hope this movement inspires all of us to do more than go through the motions in life. "We are the Change we have been looking for!" If you want to host or help organize the May 30th fund raiser, here is the link:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4rppq
I will add your name (or group) as an organizer in the event, helping us cross polinate into new areas.
I might be in philly for the big one but I have to see where I am with my school work.
and apparently ms clinton has already admitted defeat for Mississippi, which doesn't mean we can glide through. Continue to do what you do best, whether it is phone banking, donating, or volunteering your time.
We need to look ahead to Pennsylvania. We need to start letting that state know who is the better choice. When I respond to folks asking if Hillary is the better choice, this is what I send:
Why I won’t vote for hillary:
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Three times may make a trend: for the third primary/caucus night in a row, Hillary Clinton has taken the stage at a post-election rally and failed to mention her losses, or congratulate her winning opponent, Barack Obama.
She spent Tuesday night at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, looking ahead to the primary there on March 4. She made no mention of Wisconsin.
Last Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, hours after getting swept in the Potomac primaries that night, she didn’t acknowledge her rival’s big day. The Saturday before that in Richmond, Virginia, she spoke at the state’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and ignored Obama’s string of four primary and caucus wins that day.
It’s one thing to be a sore loser, it’s quite another not to thank those who have worked so hard for you.
Not! Just needed everyone's attention. Last night on Hannity he was asking ppl on street to name one accomplishment of Barack and they couldn't. How about a legal scholar (Harvard Law Review) who became a community activist instead of a money hungry lying cheating Wall Street corporate attorney? Don't think the Republicans are not worried by now or do not know that Hillary winning nomination is their best way of keeping the White House. REMEMBER THIS: Abraham Lincoln was a self-educated downstate Illinois attorney but became well known and his supporters were zealous because of the character of the man. Extremely smart, bright, decent, witty, etc. etc. etc. ABE was not even an incumbent when he became President and previously had served a mere term in Congress before becoming the President of the United States. But he kept the Union together and was a brilliant commander-in-chief (leading Grant, Sherman, etc. etc. etc.) even though he never served in the military. When people wanted general Grant removed because he was a heavy drinker, Lincoln replied that, if so, perhaps Lincoln should send cases of whiskey to his other generals -- displaying great judgment and wisdom. When the civil war was over and many wanted to make t he Confederates suffer, it was Lincoln who had the heart and mind and soul (i.e., "judgment") to reply that our former enemies are now our fellow citizens, making reconciliation that much easier. (We know of the poor judgment of the Allies in WWI and how their onerous terms at Versailles upon the Germans is credited with the rise of Hitler.) Barack Obama has a resume that can out shine most. How many of us can name one accomplishment of Hillary Clinton? According to her, her accomplishments include those of her husband's administration during his 2 terms in office. But not its failures. We all know the "Millionaire's Club," the Senate, is not the National Football League. Most people don't sit around watching CSPAN. So, for Hannity (a Republican) to go to Times Square (NYC) and ask New Yorkers to name one accomplishment of Barack Obama is very misleading. Which is what he wants to do -- mislead viewers. Come to Rush Street in Chicago and ask people to name one accomplishment of Hillary Clinton. I cannot name one. Failed health care reform when she was a first lady. Honestly, I cannot think of one accomplishment. I cannot think of any accomplishment even of Edward Kennedy, whose been in the Senate almost longer than a nyone else. Unless they sponsored a bill that is widely talked about (average voters don't sit around talking about Senate bills), the average person does not know what ANYONE in the senate does, and most don't do much that gets talked about outside of Washington circles. A lot is at stake, let's educate the masses. Clintons have a lot of supporters who have power over the press, same with Republicans. The masses can be fooled, or at least just enough of them to turn a tight election in the wrong direction. On Sun, Mar 2, 2008 at 10:23 PM, Matthew Binder <youlooksofine82@gmail.com> wrote: Hey guys sorry about not planning anything for tonight after canvassing I'm pretty exhausted! It was a beautiful day out today! I will be canvassing out tomorrow also after 2,3pm until evening, probably complete one or two turfs. We are looking for volunteers still (as many others are) out in District 20, the main office is out on 1195 Technology Dr. Columbus OH, If anyone wants to partner up with me let me know! And if anyone is actually doing anything tonight or Monday night let me know, I might be able to make it. Matthew Good luck to all you guys workin hard! The hard work will pay off. And what a fantastic experience it has been!
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If you want to help in person, contact us. We want to put this contest to rest.
Reach me here, or click some buttons on the site, or make some calls.
So here we are in the final stretch of "The big ones". and I have never been so confident that our efforts will not be in vain. On my way to Hq in Cleveland I saw some reprinted Obama literature being read by two people in the downtown mall.
Hold up. Reality check. People are downloading the pdf's from our site, and reprinted and distributing them as we speak. But it is a small operation, compared to what it could be.
So please take the issues that concern you and download the digital copies on our site and get them to your neighborhood shops. Get them into the pizzerias, laundromats, convienence stores, or whatever small shop will allow you to leave information.
This is a critical moment in our movement, and it offers us a unique oppurtunity to bring hard copies to the masses.
At the very least, we could download the pdf's and email them to friends who are apathetic in hopes we rekindle their hope for a better tomorrow. Or send themthe link below. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
Reach me here for help if you have difficulty in downloading the digital copies (pdf's) from the site.
Charles Lee Intern
Here at the Cleveland HQ we had AMAZING day canvassing!!! AMAZING!!! If you are in the area, come by and help out! Even if it is for a few hours, the more the merrier! Well I gotta run now, but I would like to turn your attention to the fundraiser I have set up, and you can read about it by checking my profile.
Reach me here!
"There is a short time between now and victory!"
Be a part of it!
This was an interesting remark from my dearest friend. He is a PolySci major, and I must admit that it did shake me a bit.
You see, my pal whom we will call Mr. Apathy somehow rationalized that because he believed that Mccain would get more votes than Obama, he should jump on the winning team.
This argument sounded similar of the faulty logic of many of the arguments I heard students having about the bush and kerry debates, as people then told me they would rather a president not flip flop on issues, and because kerry is a flip flopper I will vote for bush becuase everyone else will too.
Now really this is interesting, because we had always agreed that politics in this country had sunken into the depths of dreadful boredom and repetitive sound bites of disgust. We agreed that there were no leaders who could inspire, and lead with a record unscathed by any gate scandals, questionable votes or despicable affiliations with companies.
So here is our candidate, ready to go to Washington. He is the Mr. Smith we said would never get his way, and the media (unintentionally?) reinforced this view by making a movie and book of it, which further cemented our culture's apathy toward change.
So why is Senator Obama being rejected by Mr. Apathy?
I don't know.
Mr. apathy happens to be:
A armed forces veteran.
Late on his car payments and it's about to be reposessed.
Late on his financial aid loans.
Maxed out on his credit cards.
Suffering from depression.
Why would he rather endorse Sen. Mccain when Sen. Obama's policies would probably help him more?
My best guess is that he is truly afraid of change, and is unable to believe that we can make a better tomorrow. After four years of an Education that molded him to believe there is no better way so why bother, he can not imagine better days. After a lifetime of neglect by those who have governed him, he can no longer hear words of relief, he is now deaf. He does not know what change is or can be, because it was always in the movies he saw or the books he read, so he lacks the ability to feel it in his heart, and to live it with his soul.
All I have left to say to Mr. Apathy is:
I beg of you to go with me on this journey into our future. I promise you when we get there and we are met by the millions of others, we will begin to understand the concept of change. Through years of hard work, we will be that change.
Us, we, and even they are included.
Carpe diem
Charles Lee
I realized I won't be making it to Ohio for the big one, but I must admit I believe he will win because the people speak louder than Clinton's failed fund raising abilities.
So now I ask if you will not be in Ohio and live in the area to consider attending my May 30th fundraiser. It will be held at the upstairs lounge on Grand in South City. It can easily be reached by Metro, just pop the address into tripfinder. There is a wonderful Vietnamese restuarant on the ground floor and another bar that will have indie/electro music as well.
If you want to help spread the word, or want to help work the event, simply sign up and contact me! I will need at least 10 more volunteers through the night to help with registering new voters, and adding people to our group!
DANCE 4 CHANGE!
While following this campaign closely, I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the best way that I can personally help and be supportive. While my work schedule doesn't allow for me to do much phone banking, I finally figured out a way that I can in my own way help.
On April 5th of last year my son Dante' passed away during surgery to remove cancer. One of his many accomplishments prior to his passing was to sign up in one of these groups to aid in the campaign to get Senator Barack Obama firstly, the Democratic Party Nomination and secondly elected to President of the United States. I believe he felt very strongly about supporting this campaign in particularly since he himself had an opportunity to spend a week in Washington DC as part of the Science and Technology Week program offered by Presidential Classroom. During that week he got to visit the halls of Congress and the Senate and to meet other students from all over the country and even to meet some of his own local elected officials.
I know it made an impression on him and I recall clearly finding out when I emailed him information regarding this campaign his response was that he was already registered in one of the groups and was looking forward to participating however he could.
On the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday it occurred to me that he still can in a way participate in this campaign and I started a fundraisier in his memory. To this day I am struck by an amazing similarity between Senator Obama and my son - because you see they both bring out the good in people. This was born out in the early hours after my son passed I received over 200 emails from all over the country, some from people who never met him in person but who connected with him via the internet and who felt compelled to write to me and tell me what a profound and positive impact he made on their lives. Sounds Familiar?
In any case my aim is not to be so incredibly maudlin and in fact my reason for starting this fundraising drive is a positive one - to effect positive change and to encourage others to do so as well. What better way to do that than to celebrate the life of someone by making a donation in their name to something that was important not only to them but to everyone.
The link to my fundraising page is here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/bikeyorph
The following is a link to my blog which explains more about Dante and who he was and what he accomplished in his short time here:
http://www.beattitudez.com/archives/dantes-inferno/
I leave you with the words of one who had a much better way with words than I do, and who I feel right now would be very inspired and moved by this campaign for change:
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Every time Bill Clinton speaks up in defense of Hillary and attacks Barack, I want to remind people I see that Hillary is not Bill Clinton. Although a lot of people liked Bill (I didn't), Hillary is her own person with her own issues and ideas to run the country. When Hillary feels attacked, she cries. Is that what we want? She is a puppet of the old guard in Washington and special interest groups. She will not bring any change to the way this country is currently run. Barack will bring the change that is needed. As most of his supporters have said, BARACK OBAMA IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT CAN TRULY BRING CHANGE TO WASHINGTON.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7150879.stm
The European Commission will propose that any EU citizen should be entitled to care elsewhere, if the treatment is allowed in their own state.
But a patient may have to seek prior authorisation for hospital care.
The commission's proposals follow court rulings that patients should be reimbursed for care at home or abroad.
Controversial plans
Because of the controversial nature of the plans, the commission has spent months drafting and re-drafting them, but will still face opposition from a number of countries.
EXPECTED PROPOSALS Hospital care: allowed across the EU if allowed at homeUndue delay: treatment allowed abroad, if appropriate care cannot be provided in home country without undue delayReimbursement: government may require prior authorisation before hospital careNon-hospital care: reimbursement without prior authorisation, if entitled to care in own member states
In the UK, some Labour MPs fear the proposals will lead to an internal market for health and ultimately to the demise of the publicly-funded National Health Service (NHS).
The Department of Health has already made it clear that the commission's draft directive will be subject to change during negotiations.
A spokesman said: "We think it is critical that the legislative framework ensures that the NHS retains the ability to decide what care it will fund to meet the needs of individual patients."
Spain and Germany are also likely to oppose some of the plans.
Prior authorisation
Anticipating a frosty reception, the commission is likely to propose giving member states prior authorisation of reimbursement for a hospital stay abroad.
For that to happen, a country would have to provide evidence that the number of patients seeking hospital care abroad would affect the planning of their home country's hospital sector.
The commission spells out that anyone who cannot have "appropriate care" for their condition in their own country "without undue delay, will be authorised to go abroad, and any additional costs of treatment will be covered by public funds".
Non-hospital treatment would not require prior agreement.
Hospital compensation
There are also measures to help patients who suffer harm from treatment abroad.
Earlier this year, the European Health Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, spoke of a patient who had claimed 100,000 euros (£71,000) in compensation, when the hospital itself was worth only twice that amount.
He wants to address that with plans for national contact points to give patients information and assistance if anything goes wrong.
The catalyst for these proposals was a ruling in 2006 on the case of Yvonne Watts, a 75 year-old British woman who paid £3,900 (5,450 euros) for a hip replacement in France because she was not prepared to wait a year for an operation in Britain.
The European Court of Justice decided that patients who were facing an undue delay, in the view of clinicians, should be allowed to seek treatment in other EU states at their own country's cost.
The Hope Action Change event was truly something special to witness. More than 5,000 simultaneous gatherings connected to an Internet simulcast gives citizens an exciting look at the future of politics. The ability for a campaign to simultaneously connect with supporters around the nation via the Internet, and allowing for two-way dialogue, is an area where campaigns are only beginning to fully realize potentials.
Believing that the two-way dialogue part is one of the most important aspects of our emerging technologies, this web site is something that I personally enjoy immensely. Concerned citizens can participate in an event such as Saturday’s simulcast and then respond or follow-up to issues they personally feel are important, or they believe need clarification.
Within that spirit, I’d like to address a few of issues from Barack Obama’s national town hall meeting on Saturday, March 31, 2007.
There’s a lot here so please click the read more link to see the rest of this post, and by all means, please feel free to contribute.
Hello everyone,
Sorry about being so absent the last few weeks, had a medical crisis in the family that occupied most of my time. It looks like we're out of the woods though so it's time to get busy again.
Things have been moving right along with the campaign I see, the supporter numbers posted by the campaign yesterday are extremely impressive. I also saw the Jerome Armstrong post on MyDD comparing Obama's numbers to Dean's... unbelievable, that's all I can really say.
Did anyone else catch the highlights of the New Leadership on Health Care Presidential Forum? There's not a great deal on separation between the candidates on Health Care this time around, that's a positive development. It's be nice to have this complete video if anyone knows where to find it I'd be grateful.
Well, just wanted to say hello and let everyone know I'm still around.
Peace everybody.
this is an online poll on the 2008 presidential race, make your voice heard and pass it around.
