Best wishes to Barack Obama as he takes the Oath of Office today! I wish that I could be there in Washington DC to see it but I have to go to work. Congratulations and Best Wishes!
Let me leave you with this musical selection, "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RssIN3ustUw
Tomorrow is the Big Day! the inauguration of Barack Obama. I didn't ever think in my lifetime I would ever see what I'm about to witness tomorrow. My parents didn't think they would live to see this either. I wish my grandparents had lived to see this day. As well as my great grandparents and those ancestors that came before them. For they endured the brutality of the middle passage, toiled in the cotton fields, and lived through the unfairness of segregation.
I wish some of my heros such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks could be here to see this day.
I wish that Ray Charles was still alive so that he could be invited to the inauguration to sing this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghz4_kikLkE
As the Bush administration comes to a close, I would like to dedicate a Ray Charles song to the Bush administration as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDalo-ObM14
I know, you're probably trying to figure out why that even would matter. Honestly, I hadn't heard of the position myself until I started doing some research last night.
According to Wikipedia:
"The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, which from 2001 to 2007 was Dr. Wade F. Horn. It has a $47 billion budget for 65 programs that target children, youth and families. These programs include assistance with welfare, child support enforcement, adoption assistance, foster care, child care, and child abuse."
So, this is the position that has the most direct power over the DHS/CPS, and thus the lives of poor families. Who knew an assistant secretary could be this important?
Bush appointed Dr. Horn, who believed strongly in abstinence until marriage, and that for women, finding a husband was a better way out of poverty than getting the skills needed for a good job. Since he left, Daniel Schneider has stuck with the same idealologies as Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
Now, it's Obama's turn. I trust that he will pick someone who understands the struggles of families trying to get out of poverty, and the relationship between poverty and child maltreatment, and who views all people as having basic human dignity. In other words, someone with a clue.
I know Obama doesn't believe the stereotypes about "Welfare Queens", and I'm sure he understands how broken our child protection/foster care system is. I know that in the last decade, Illinois has drastically reduced the number of children in foster care, while keeping children safe. Wouldn't it be great if Obama could appoint someone who'd get the rest of the country to follow Illinois' lead?
He's probably got some ideas already, and I'm sure that anyone he picks will be a huge improvement, but I'd like to suggest Richard Wexler or Martin Guggenheim. Both of them get it. They understand that it's not that poor people are stupid and lazy and don't love their children, it's that being poor SUCKS, that minor problems become major catastrophes when you don't have the money to fix them, and it's hard to be a good parent while dealing with all the stress and instability that are an inevitable part of poverty. At very least, consult Mr Wexler and Mr Guggenheim about who to put in charge of the Administration for Children and Families, and what changes need to be made. They'll have some great ideas, and it will be very much in line with Obama's basic policy of "We'll do what works."
Here are the front pages of the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, and the Times-Picayune. I went around to three stores before I could find any newspapers. These are collector's items. People were buying them by the stack full. I purchased a stack of them for myself.
http://media.freep.com/documents/freep11052008/index.htm
Lets give a Big Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama!!!! Wow!!! This feels more like New Year's Eve than a presidential election. My relatives are calling me on the phone. I'm have been calling relatives. People are driving through the streets blowing their car horns. This is a historic moment. The United States of America as we know it is going to change. I can't help but feel that I played a part in this victory. I am not a political person and I never been involved in a presidential campaign. I volunteered and I wonder if the phone calls I made or the doors I knocked on helped make a difference.
I tried to post some fireworks to celebrate, but I'm not that good at computers or html code. So I will just post the links below for you to see them.
http://www.amazing-animations.com/animations/fireworks20.gif
http://www.amazing-animations.com/animations/fireworks21.gif
I voted at Pershing High School today. Everybody was there from the barely 18 year old, first time voting group, all the way up to senior citizens. Plus everyone in between. It took nearly two hours for me to get through the line. I got there at about 10:15 AM and by the time I was done voting, it was 12:00 noon. The senior citizens, my parents included, got to go straight to the front of the line so they wouldn't have to stand in the long line. Lucky them! After voting, I went and got something to eat. I passed by Van Zile Elementary School, another polling place, and there were about 200 cars parked in front of the school. So in all my years of voting, this is the largest voter turn out I've ever seen. In past elections, it took me no longer than 20 minutes to vote but today was nearly two hours.
I figured I'd share this with you all.
This lady really needs to get a grip. Denying the babies Halloween candy if their parents don't support the right candidate. This is the mind set we are up against.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/01/mccain-supporter-denies-c_n_140075.html
I am deeply saddened by the loss of Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. What makes it even more sad is that it happened the day before Election Day. Tomorrow is going to feel so bittersweet. I am going to keep the Obama family in my thoughts and prayers.
Let's say a prayer for Barack and his grandmother.
(((Barack Obama)))
(((Madelyn Dunham)))
Please read the following article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081021/ap_on_el_pr/obama_grandmother
The fact that Sen. McCain all of a sudden is trying to distant himself from the incumbent simply because he wants to be the next commander in chief is tantamount to fabrication, betrayal and machination of the worst kind.
Within the horizon of realism Sen. McCain and President George Bush are in fact the same on issues that confront the people of this country and not on the bases of their personalities, genetic and or phenotypic composition. In other words, McCain is not the twin brother of Bush in context of biological offspring, but nevertheless an extension of the later policies and articulations.
On taxes the both have the mentality that helping to make the American people live at least a life without much discomfort and burden of paying excruciating taxes to the government is absolutely uncalled for when dealing with the poor and middle class Americans. On the contrary they both favor tax breaks for their campaign financers and oil corporations that are too wealthy for comfort and in some cases at the detriment of the people.
Everybody! Read your ballots carefully because there is more trickery going on. They will do this mess and then the ballots won't count. So check, double check, and triple check your ballot.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=728326
But with one "s" the Rensselaer County Board of Elections turned a single wrong letter into a national embarrassment Friday.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's last name is spelled "Osama" on some 300 absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County hilltowns.
Is it a Freudian slip, intentional gaffe or a mistake? Voters are sure to have opinions, and one politician pointed out that the letters "s" and "b" are not exactly keyboard neighbors.
"Of all the letters to hit by mistake," County Democratic Chairman Tom Wade said. "Unfortunately it is a mistake which negatively impacts our Democratic candidate for president."
The typo was first reported Friday on timesunion.com, and quickly grabbed national attention.
"It was crazy, everybody across the country called," said Edward McDonough, the county's Democratic elections commissioner. He said calls came in from The New York Times, the New York Post, Daily News, Wall Street Journal and Court TV.
McDonough said he was one of the people who received a misspelled absentee ballot at home, and he didn't even notice it.
Elections officials on both sides of the aisle insist a simple typographical error caused the national embarrassment. "It was a mistake innocently done," McDonough said. "We catch almost everything."
Republican officials were apologetic. "We have three different staff members who proof these things and somehow the typo got by us," said Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee. "We really apologize."
On Row 1A, Barack Obama's name is spelled Barack Osama — a name bearing an unfortunate resemblance to terror mastermind Osama bin Laden - but further down on the Working Families line it is spelled correctly.
The Obama camp took the controversy in stride.
"We're glad officials are working to correct this error and we assume it won't happen again," Obama spokesman Blake Zeff said.
McDonough said the absentee ballots with the error went out to voters in Brunswick, Nassau, Sand Lake, Schaghticoke and Schodack. Three voters called to report the error.
By day's end, officials decided to issue new ballots to all 300 voters. They realized some people might cross out the misspelling and write in the correct spelling.
"Election law is quite clear that any corrections done on a ballot will nullify the vote, so to be safe, we re-issued them," McDonough said.
One Sand Lake resident who caught the misspelling, and who asked to be anonymous, was skeptical. "It's a little suspicious and at least grossly incompetent," the voter said.
District Attorney Richard McNally said the incident is unlikely to produce a criminal investigation.
"Both sides are saying this is an honest mistake, so unless we find out otherwise, I don't see it going that way," McNally said.
Rensselaer County is the only county in the state that prints ballots in-house.
"It saves the taxpayers a lot of money," McDonough said.
Wade said it might be time to rethink that practice.
Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.
I take that back. She doesn't have nerve. She has gall.
Says Obama will diminish the prestige of the presidency. Yet, this is somebody who says "doggonit" during an interview and can't pronounce the g's at the end of her words.
Also says Obama is far out of mainstream America. Yet, her running mate can't even mention "middle class" during his speeches or debates. So who do you really think is out of the mainstream?
Here is the article. I will let you read it for yourself:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attacked Barack Obama Thursday for not being honest about his association with 1960s radical William Ayers. “Barack Obama hasn’t told the American people the total truth about that, about his association with Ayers,” Palin said on conservative radio host Laura Ingraham’s show. “Doggonit, he fails to tell the American people with candor and with truthfulness what his associations are and we have to know.” Palin blamed the media for not providing what she characterized as the same level of scrutiny to Obama that it has applied to her and running mate John McCain. “I don't see the other ticket being asked to be truthful and give details,” Palin said. “Some in the mainstream media are saying that, well, we’re taking the gloves off unfairly. No. You know there are only, what, 26 days to go. We gotta start getting answers to these questions that are paramount here so that voters have a choice in front of them that is based on truthfulness and candor. They deserve it.” The Alaska governor told Ingraham’s listeners that if those questions were being answered, voters would find Obama “out of the mainstream,” adding that the Illinois senator would diminish “the prestige of the United States presidency.”
“What does it say when Barack Obama says he would sit down unconditionally with Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il and others, unconditionally, and I guess sort of hand over some of the prestige of the United States presidency and validate, I think validate, some of the positions that these dictators have taken,” Palin said. “Barack Obama is so far out of mainstream America. And the policies I fear that he would support, that are so far left, that are maybe today in the campaign are packaged up to look real pretty and mainstream, they are not.” Obama accused the McCain campaign of trying to score “cheap political points” by hitting him on Ayers Wednesday during an interview with ABC. “I'll repeat again what I've said many times. This is a guy who engaged in some despicable acts 40 years ago when I was eight years old. By the time I met him, 10 or 15 years ago, he was a college professor of education at the University of Illinois,” Obama said. “The notion that somehow he has been involved in my campaign, that he is an adviser of mine, that . . . I've 'palled around with a terrorist', all these statements are made simply to try to score cheap political points.”
All throughout the debate in the answers to various questions. All night long, McCain said "I understand..." , "I understand...", and "What Obama doesn't understand is...".
Just like "maverick" was the buzzword in last weeks debate with Palin. In this debate the buzzwords are "I understand..."
I also think that Tom Brokaw had a bias toward McCain. He would let McCain speak longer than his alloted (sp) time. But he would cut Obama off when his time was up.
I am just tired of the McCain’s campaign accusing Obama without substantiating the facts of their ads and campaign of calumny and maliciousness against him. On the other hand, Obama has continued to meticulously and articulately hammers McCain on issues of national concern and all we get from the McCain’s is a dogmatic and archaic mentality of reciprocating by denigrating and fallaciously accusing Obama of distortions.
How does McCain respond to the fact that he had voted and is indeed in support of the privatization of social security? As Obama rightly pointed out in Florida, let to McCain the Millions of dollars accruing as benefit for those who had earned it may as well be down the drain as a sequel to the near collapse of the financial market.
Read Obama hammers McCain on Social Security by visiting the link below:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/20/campaign.wrap/
In his zeal to present to the people of this country his maverick nature- which in reality may be synonymous to the stubbornness and pigheadedness that we have often seen in the fading Washington that he has been part of for close to three decades, McCain has as a matter of fact catapulted his mediocrity to such an alarming peak in context of his economic articulations and understanding that I believe the country will not be able to find any logical excuses to return the Republican Party back to office again.
My favorite CTA performer (and new bud), Albert Griffith/GQ/Tha Teacha, told me about Barack Obama's appearance on Letterman on Sept. 10. I missed it on TV, but found a video clip on the CBS web site. Here's the link to Letterman -- click on the picture of Dave and Barack to play the clip.
Also on Sept. 10, NPR played audio clips of John McCain and a host of other politicians using the good ol' "lipstick on a pig" phrase. McCain himself used it during the primary season to criticize Hillary Clinton's heath care initiative. Listen here to NPR clips. (Ugh, I can't believe even I am posting about this stupid non-issue.)
Thanks for the tip, Albert!Albert on this site: http://my.barackobama.com/page/dashboard/public/grQfxAlbert on TPM: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/gq
Democracy is not a spectator sportObama needs your help to winClick on Events at the right side of this page --------- >Volunteer for the campaign today
Free Obama button, free shipping: https://pol.moveon.org/obamabuttons/?rc=homepage
Free Obama/Biden oval sticker, free shipping: https://pol.moveon.org/barackstickers/
Get yours today and show where you stand.
Today: Emailed and called a new contact about finding housing for MoveOn trainees coming to Chicago later this month. Invited three people to join mybarackobama.com. Edited and uploaded photos from Tuesday's calling party event for attendees to see.
500,000 Young Voters for Obama (click me, I'm a link) »
We're spinning up a massive program to register half a million young voters in swing states. If you donate $12 or more to help get this program going, we'll send you a hip Obama T-shirt for free, with free shipping, too.
Donate & get your T-shirt (click me, I'm a link) »
-- from MoveOn.org
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
See another shot of the T-shirt on someone's Flickr »
Democracy is not a spectator sport. Volunteer today to help put Senator Obama in the White House. There is too much at stake to sit on the sidelines!
Today: Attended three-hour MoveOn.org calling party for Obama -- called Democrats in Midwestern swing states and asked them to step up and volunteer at their local campaign office. Took photos at party. Emailed two people and asked them to donate a small amount through my fundraising page. Invited several people to join mybarackobama.com.
If you haven't seen this clip from The Daily Show yet, watch it. Unlike the McCain-Palin ticket, it's a winner, with 2,750,000 views so far on ComedyCentral.com. Sarah Palin Gender Card (video clip, ~5 minutes) Democracy is not a spectator sport. We can't afford to lose another election!
Today: I made five calls for the campaign, got two people to watch the Sarah Palin video above, and got someone (very special!) to donate to MoveOn.org's GOTV efforts to register 500,000 new young voters.
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 28 hours of TV each week. If you haven't yet volunteered to help the campaign, can you find one hour a week to help Obama win this election? C'mon, just one hour a week?
You can use this web site to locate volunteer opportunities and activities.
How about writing a short letter to the editor of your newspaper? Reference one of their recent articles on the campaign or a candidate, and tell the editor what you think of it. You can do this from home in 20 minutes.
You could take a friend or family member and spend a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon helping register voters. It's fun and rewarding.
Not working? Sign up to be a Nov. 4 election judge in a local precinct.
Two evenings a week, spend 30 minutes making phone calls for the campaign.
Get involved through MoveOn.org. I've volunteered with them on two previous elections. They are very well organized.
Attend a rally or potluck for Obama with other people in your area.
Think of what is at stake here. There are tons of different ways you can help. So come on, pick one and just do it. Every single volunteer makes a difference, and together we can change this country for the better by putting Barack Obama in the White House.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. With your help, Yes We Can win this election!
I have a confession to make. I've been living with clinically diagnosed "Major Depression" for more than 3 years. For the most part, the meds do their job and I'm a functional member of society. For the most part... Sometimes, however, the meds don't quite do the trick and I find myself spiralling downward into a very dark place. I'm fortunate, I have health insurance with reasonable mental health coverage. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't. I know that one of my prescriptions costs over $700 a month of which we currently pay something like 20% thanks to prescription coverage. I know that, given that price tag, I would probably be living without medication. This is part of the reason that this election is so important to me. Health care. As seems to have been my habit before falling over the edge, I'm up way past when I should be in bed and my mind is running in circles around things that I want to say but can't type fast enough to pin down. Consider this a place-holder... Let's talk about health care...
After that, let's talk about education. I've been thinking a lot about education recently, since my daughter just started her academic career with her first day of preschool.
