Hello, all, and welcome to my first OFA blog! My name is Jesse, and I work for the State of Alaska as an Office Assistant. I'm 26, a father, veteran, and a college student, now, as well! Very excited about that, getting my degree, finally, after being deployed twice.
But, enough about me. I've been following the health care debate intently, and it's annoying to listen to our elected (and recently resigned...ugh) officials at "health care town halls" where they do nothing but bash Obama. It's much easier than actually doing something to help those you represent, right, Sen. Murkowski? Easier than coming up with an alternative. If his plan is so awful, what have you got? Of course, they have nothing, which is why we only see negativity and attacks. If they ceased that, they would have nothing at all left to say. My hope is that we can organize here, and press them to cease this cynical "slash and burn" politics. If we let them continue, no one will win, because the only plan they've advanced is continuing the status quo (and their huge campaign contributions from corportate donors and interest groups).
So, my question is, readers, where are our efforts going? Do we have any efforts? I believe we should get a call operation going, a letter writing (handwritten, can't say that's astroturfed!) campaign, something! This issue is too important to cede to lie filled tv ads, politicans more concerned with their coffers than their constitutents, and insurance groups willing to do or say anything to preserve their profits. I feel awful just sitting here doing nothing, because "we're in a red state" or "They're Republicans, they won't listen to me about this." No excuse will hold up for me if I have to look in my son's eyes 10 years from now and explain why he can't be saved because Daddy isn't rich enough to afford his co-pay, or deductible, or premiums, or one of a hundred other things the insurance companies use to make sure they pay as little as possible for the care you supposedly "purchased" through them.
I know every single person that reads this either has some skin in this game, or has someone close to them who's been affected by our current for-profit system. I want to be able to say "Yes, I was there, fighting for what was right!" not "Well, it didn't look like we could do it, so I didn't try...sorry..." People have died because of our current system. More will die if we don't do something about it. We're closer now to real reform than ever before, to make a system where America leads in more than just costs. We have the most expensive care in the world, but 37th in overall health, 25th in wait time (except for that cash cow, cosmetic surgery) and this is just unacceptable! We've got insurance bureaucrats between us and our doctors, not to mention that they only make money when they make sure you DON'T GET CARE! Rationing for profit, and this is the "choice" that the other party wants us to have?
Bullshit. I won't be offered up by a cynical bought off party so some fat cat industry can continue making their 400% increases in profits at the expense of the sick and hurt. I won't stand by and listen to the lies about "rationing" while they deny 18 year olds cancer treatment until it's too late to save them.
What they don't want you to know is that we're winning. That's why the attacks have become so brazen, so filled with mis-information. The truth is on our side, and that scares them witless. We're closer to real, substantiative reform than ever before, and I want to be part of that final push to make this real. We can save lives, people. We can put money back into businesses, into Americans' wallets, instead of into the insurance industries coffers, where they'll happily spend 1.4 million dollars A DAY (yes, a day!) to kill reform, but not to save a person's life. We have the drive, we have the ability. LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT WE CAN DO!!!!
The question of the moment is where do we go from here? As Alaskans? As a nation? As my.barackobam.com participants?
For my part, I have updated my profile, dropped some groups, maintained some groups, and altered E-mail settings on some groups. Would like to continue to build alliances among Alaskans and others for a more healthy, just, peaceful, and sustainable planet, peoples, and all our relations.
We've built some invaluable alliances here and it will be interesting to see if this site remains active and influential in the future for building upon the movement of change and mutual support begun here.
What does everyone think about the best ways to move ahead from here? In Alaska and elsewhere?
Barack Obama, our President-elect is inviting your participation in change with your ideas through his new website:
http://change.gov
Sweet celebration to all. Goal #1 (check). Onward.
Hope we can continue to network here to brainstorm, gather information, share information, set new goals, and implement new policies--for the good of all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzc0re_3hQw
If you're sitting down to write a letter to the editor somewhere and weren't sure where to start, I'd like to suggest that you check out my personal blog where I've been giving a reason a week to vote for Barack Obama as President. Aside from the text itself, which you may or may not want to adapt, each entry has links to issue pages and other materials you might find helpful.
To see the "Why Vote Obama" entries, visit:
http://alaskanlibrarian.wordpress.com/category/whyvoteobama/
If you're writing about some issue where you need a particular fact or quote, feel free to e-mail/message me and I'll see if I can find it for you.
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
Our convention watch party at Centennial Hall went great - it was really great to watch Barack's speech in a crowd. I spotted our Alaska delegation at one point! Go to meet more other Sitka Obama supporters. It was really inspirational and covered so much ground - going from really making the case against the Bush/McCain years and philosophy (or lack) of government, to specifics of what Obama would do, to a soaring and uplifting ending that had me in tears. Yes we can!
Friday, of course, we woke to the shock of hearing McCain had chosen our governor Sarah Palin as VP. What??????????????????? Alaskans are flabbergasted.
Saturday we went out canvassing and not many mentioned Sarah Palin as a decisive choice - many mentioned they liked her but it wasn't going to change their position - they had too many reasons to support Obama. She is not viewed as a "weighty" choice here!
Monday we are going canvassing again (meet 10:30 - 11:30 at the Obama office 408 Oja Way - I'm bringing muffins!). Canvass from about 12-3 then we'll have an open house at the office 6-7 pm.
My latest idea - we need an Obama group entry in "The Running of the Boots"! It's late Sept this year.
As an Alaskan, I am well informed of Palin's poor politics and treatment of Alaskans. Any Alaskan can tell you,
"there's nothing new but the packaging!"
McCain obviously chose Palin due to her gender. Her record isn't even long enough to even begin to predict how she'll vote as a Vice President. Those are all the credentials of someone who needs to be TOLD how to vote. Does McCain believe that Hilary supporters will stand with him? Palin does NOT stand for the same things Hilary does--she doesn't even respect a woman's right to choose. She is the same, old, tired politics wrapped into an attractive an alluring package set to draw people in by promising "change"; counter balancing his age (72!) with her youth and inexperience. Of course there will be change with the McCain administration: instead of all the benefits going directly to the Bush Administration, it will go to the McCain administration first!
Her contraversial "Troopergate"--her firing a well-known hero cop of Alaska because he wouldn't fire her "ex"-brother-in-law while he goes through a custody battle with her sister--and costly "Road to Nowhere" in her short political history show that she clearly is no Hilary Clinton and is headed on the same track that most other corrupt politicians are. FORGET PARTY LINES! It's time for change. It's time for unity. It's time for America. It's time for Barack Obama!
It's at 408 Oja Way - the brick building across from the police station. The grand opening will be next week, but here's some of our "core group" getting started. (It was raining - neither rain nor snow nor dark of night shall keep us from organizing!)
Out youngest (and probably most dedicated) volunteer, Ben
Looks like it's going to be the year of the B's for Alaska. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Barack
Biden
Begich
Benson
Berkowitz
Vote in the Primary, Tuesday, August 26.
Out canvassing today and got some good feedback about the choice of Biden as VP. The highest praise was "he speaks his mind", which is admired in Alaska. I was happy with the choice and Biden's speech at Springfield today has me even more excited.
Here's an article from the Alaska Blog Mudflats (Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics)
Obama Picks Joe Biden, The Gloves are Off!
There is nobody who has more foreign policy experience and savvy than Joe Biden. No matter who the McCain camp selects, they won’t be able to hold a candle to Biden in the debate on foreign policy issues.He’s been around a long time. He pointed out in his speech that there are only four senators with more seniority than him (soon to be three after Stevens’ inevitable defeat), but that there are 44 who are older than him. Good chuckle line, and he makes the point. McCain is older and less experienced.The man takes the train to work in D.C. from Delaware every day. He’s from a working-class Catholic family from Scranton, PA. In the current climate of ‘House-Gate’, it can do nothing but help. No one’s going to call the Amtrak guy an elitist, especially after John McCain just got nabbed taking a nine car motorcade to Starbucks for a cappucchino. (low foam half-caff with a sprinkle of cinnamon perhaps?) In his speech today in Illinois, Biden invoked that iconic vision of sitting at the kitchen table worrying about finances. Then said McCain would have to decide which of his seven kitchen tables to sit at…Youch! Democrats aren’t used to fightin’ talk, and from the sound of the crowd, they liked it.Biden’s other classic line from the speech today: “These times require more than a good soldier, they require a wise leader.” Oof. Body blow. He recognized and commended McCain’s service to his country, and deftly shifted gears with the above line. He hit the ground running on day one with a scathing attack on the effects of Republican rule in Washington, and referred freuqently to the “Bush-McCain policies” of the last eight years. The more often people hear Bush-McCain in the same breath, the better for Democrats. For all those who wish just for once, Obama would just get mad and lose his cool in a fit of moral outrage, this is as close as you’re going to get. The team is officially composed of one cool cucumber and a scrappy attack dog. The election just got a whole lot more interesting."
For all those who wish just for once, Obama would just get mad and lose his cool in a fit of moral outrage, this is as close as you’re going to get. The team is officially composed of one cool cucumber and a scrappy attack dog. The election just got a whole lot more interesting."
My sentiments exactly!
Please remember to vote in the primary election, Tuesday, August 26th.
A number of excellent candidates on the Democratic side are running for U.S. Senate (Ted Steven's seat) and U.S. House of Representatives (Don Young's seat).
There are also four citizen-based initiatives on the ballot. I support Initiatives 2, 3, and 4.
Initiative #2 places places reasonable limits on airborne hunting of wolves, bears, and wolverines.
Initiative #3 (Clean Elections) provides for public funding of candidates willing to meet certain requirements and reduces the influence of corporate funding and lobbying in the political process. It is modeled after the successful programs initiated in several other states.
Initiative #4 (Clean Water) supports healthy clean water in Alaska, healthy food (salmon) for Alaskans, and protects the jobs of fishermen.Regards, Kathleen Menke, Haines
