All last week, OFA volunteers, energized from the House vote on the health insurance reform bill, said thank you to Arizona’s members of Congress that supported health insurance reform. Thursday and Friday, volunteers intensified their efforts and held events all over the state. From Sierra Vista to Flagstaff, supporters got out into the community and let their appreciation and support be known.
In Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University students Emily, Aleks, Blekk, and Blaise got a life saver floatation device and went out on NAU’s campus. They asked students to sign the life saver and call Rep. Kirkpatrick office thanking her for her support.
In Prescott, Sierra Vista and Scottsdale, volunteers went directly to the Congressional Offices. They brought with them thank you notes expressing their sincerest appreciation and passed them along to the staff of Rep. Kirkpatrick, Rep. Giffords, and Rep. Mitchell.
In Sedona and Tucson, supporters held rallies on street corners waving signs and American flags. Rep. Giffords made a surprise appearance at the Tucson rally and took time to speak and take pictures with the crowd. She spoke about the importance of health insurance reform legislation and how hearing from her constituents played a critical role in helping her make her decision.
Please contact your Representative and Senators by CLICKING HERE. Let them know you support health insurance reform and you want them to support it as well. Then CLICK HERE to sign up for an upcoming health care event and join the fight to pass ground breaking health care reform.
Check out this slide show of pictures from all the “Thank You” Events.
From Organizing for America Deputy Director, Jeremy Bird:
Last week the President laid out his health reform plan and challenged Congress to act. OFA volunteers leapt into action, generating hundreds of thousands of signatures and calls to show grassroots support. Now we need to reach out in our communities, spread the facts about the President's plan, and bring new voices of support into Washington. If you can spare your lunch hour (or a couple of hours whenever you're free), you can help make it happen. Here's how: Organize or attend a "Health Reform Phone Booth." It's simple: Just join up with other supporters in a public area where people will pass by, distribute fact sheets about the President's plan, and help folks call their members of Congress on the spot to voice their support.You can search online to see if there's a booth already set up near you. But if not, just host your own! We'll give you all the materials, phone numbers, and step-by-step instructions you need to make it a success -- and when you register your Phone Booth online, other OFA volunteers can join you to lend a hand: http://my.barackobama.com/SeptPhoneBooth Passing health reform won't be easy -- they've been talking about it in Washington for almost a century. But we know that when ordinary people who believe in change reach out, spread the facts, and help folks from all walks of life make their voices heard, we can make history. Thanks for making it happen, Jeremy Jeremy Bird Deputy Director Organizing for America P.S. -- In August we asked a few OFA volunteers to test out running a Health Reform Phone Booth in their area, and we got great reports -- even from folks who were pretty nervous before they began. Here are just a couple:I will confess that I questioned my decision to host an event the instant I hit the send button. I imagined myself on a street corner, handing out fliers like the guys hand out restaurant flyers. Relief struck when the first volunteer signed up with me. Imagine how thrilled I was when 15 had signed up!... We distributed 300 phone booth sheets and 600 info sheets... The best part, one of our volunteers was 79 1/2 years old. She was remarkable. Thank you for this opportunity. I am very glad I did it, no matter how nervous I was.-- Mark P. from New York, New YorkWe had two veterans tell us that they were very happy with the VA system, and one vowed to write a letter to the editor to dispel the myths that that system doesn't work. Many people thanked us for having a booth and for trying to dispel the lies being spread by opponents of reform.-- Mike O. from Bozeman, Montana
Last week the President laid out his health reform plan and challenged Congress to act. OFA volunteers leapt into action, generating hundreds of thousands of signatures and calls to show grassroots support. Now we need to reach out in our communities, spread the facts about the President's plan, and bring new voices of support into Washington. If you can spare your lunch hour (or a couple of hours whenever you're free), you can help make it happen. Here's how: Organize or attend a "Health Reform Phone Booth." It's simple: Just join up with other supporters in a public area where people will pass by, distribute fact sheets about the President's plan, and help folks call their members of Congress on the spot to voice their support.
You can search online to see if there's a booth already set up near you. But if not, just host your own! We'll give you all the materials, phone numbers, and step-by-step instructions you need to make it a success -- and when you register your Phone Booth online, other OFA volunteers can join you to lend a hand: http://my.barackobama.com/SeptPhoneBooth Passing health reform won't be easy -- they've been talking about it in Washington for almost a century. But we know that when ordinary people who believe in change reach out, spread the facts, and help folks from all walks of life make their voices heard, we can make history. Thanks for making it happen, Jeremy Jeremy Bird Deputy Director Organizing for America P.S. -- In August we asked a few OFA volunteers to test out running a Health Reform Phone Booth in their area, and we got great reports -- even from folks who were pretty nervous before they began. Here are just a couple:
I will confess that I questioned my decision to host an event the instant I hit the send button. I imagined myself on a street corner, handing out fliers like the guys hand out restaurant flyers. Relief struck when the first volunteer signed up with me. Imagine how thrilled I was when 15 had signed up!... We distributed 300 phone booth sheets and 600 info sheets... The best part, one of our volunteers was 79 1/2 years old. She was remarkable. Thank you for this opportunity. I am very glad I did it, no matter how nervous I was.
-- Mark P. from New York, New York
We had two veterans tell us that they were very happy with the VA system, and one vowed to write a letter to the editor to dispel the myths that that system doesn't work. Many people thanked us for having a booth and for trying to dispel the lies being spread by opponents of reform.
-- Mike O. from Bozeman, Montana
We had a wonderful National Health Care Service Day together, raised $105 plus a waist-high box full of precious supplies for Casa De Los Ninos (a local children's transitional crisis housing center with a warm, supportive environment), saw adorable dogs sporting their Obama gear and shared from the heart about our health care stories and why we care so much!
Bo, the President's new furry companion, would have been proud of his canine brothers in Reid park!
Great job everyone! I cannot thank you enough for making this a wonderful event!
Mitch Stewart sent out an email today thanking supporters for the work they did to help pass the President's budgets, and asking them to help spread the word about the work they're doing in communities across America:
President Obama impresses me every day with what he is doing, and what he is trying to do. But I'm appalled at the obstructionist, mendacious behavior by some of the Republicans, taking advantage of his openhanded overtures to try to turn the stimulus bill into something that weakens or destroys its impact, and then falsely claiming they've been shut out of the process and voting against it anyway. Either they refuse to belief the economic facts in the face of all evidence, or don't care about anything but the approval of like-minded constituents. Perhaps they really believe that, as GOP Chairman Michael Steele said, "The Obama-backed stimulus is just a wish list from a lot of people who have been on the sidelines for years.. to get a little bling, bling."
Yeah, right. That's what President Obama and his allies are trying to give the country: the "bling" of jobs, a stable power grid, a decent education, bridges that don't collapse, levees that don't fail, and a safety net to catch us as we fall with this crashing, underregulated economy. Here's what's at stake for me: the difference between a decent job in my field and economic ruin. I'm pretty sure John and I can't keep up house payments if we both end up working for minimum wage, or not at all. I know I've written about my job situation before, but here's an update, because things are only getting worse for us. This what I just wrote in response to one of those Obama "Share Your Story" emails:
Late in 2002, in the last month of my mother's life, I returned to college while working full time as a travel agency's bookkeeper/accountant. I got my accounting degree in early 2005, and left my job of 12 years to work for a mortgage firm as a staff accountant. In August 2007, the mortgage firm went bankrupt in the housing meltdown, even though it wasn't primarily a subprime lender. I learned about FMFC's collapse from a newspaper headline outside McDonald's on my way to work.After a temporary maternity relief job with a used clothing retail chain, I started work with a large RV dealership. But gas and diesel became too expensive to fill an RV's tank, and people don't buy $100k luxury items when their jobs are at risk. So I was laid off, and the dealership subsequently declared bankruptcy. A month later, the travel agency where I'd worked for so long closed its doors after 50 years in business.I had a 90-day temporary contract with a local aerospace firm last summer, but I've been completely out of work since early September. Actually, I did get a job briefly, doing taxes inside a check cashing store, with no rest room access. But I had no tax experience, and the CPA decided to pull out of that location after police spent half a day there. I had been employed for 29.5 hours.Now I'm working on a CPA review course, and watching job sites that have fewer relevant listings each week. That degree was supposed to make me more employable, but it's not longer working. Clearly, I'm neither lazy nor unreliable nor undereducated nor stupid, but there are no jobs for me. Unless something changes, my unemployment benefits are scheduled to run out in seven weeks, shortly after I turn 52 years old. Meanwhile, my husband just survived a major round of layoffs at his company, so our position is more precarious than it's been in decades. We refinanced our house in 2005, and have never been late on a payment. But that could change all too easily if John loses his job and I don't find one.I figure that here in Tucson, infrastructure investments mean construction and solar and education and maybe broadband. Such projects will need accountants. I haven't done governmental or construction accounting, but I can learn. And I'm ready to go on payroll accounting for new jobs in the private sector.Put me to work. Please. Or failing that, help me and my husband stay solvent until people start hiring again. If it comes to that, I'll work at some low-paying job until something better comes along. But it makes more sense to get the economy moving again, and open up jobs for people in the fields for which they are qualified.Thank you, President Obama, and all who are working with you to solve this terrible economic crisis. And shame on everyone who stands in your way due to cynical political calculations and disproved economic models. President Obama, Paul Krugman, Robert Reich et al. have it right. Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall.
Oh, and by the way, I had a cancer scare this past fall, and no health insurance to pay for tests. No cancer, but I have to figure out how to pay the last of the bills for that.
This is the world the obstructionists are ignoring, a world where formerly hardworking Americans are sidelined through no fault of their own. A capital gains tax cut will not get me a job or health care, or help me keep up the mortgage payments. The stimulus plan might. Even if it doesn't help me directly in the short run, I'm confident it will help us all over time. We need it, badly.
I'd write to my Senators, but I'm darn sure that neither McCain nor Kyl will listen. I only hope the rest of us can overcome the obstructionists, and get the economy moving again.
Karen
The American People have Spoken, There is no turning back. We Now have a President Who Will Fight for For US All. I Love how President -Elect(using that elect add on term for 35 more plus days) is Working on Our Behalf. Mr. President Obama is Cool and First Lady Michelle is Cooler, but I have got to give all of the props to their kids Malia and Sasha because they are the coolest.
May God Continue to bless Barack Obama and His Family, and May God Continue to Prosper and keep all of The People of the Unitd States of America.
I've written lots of stuff elesewhere since the election, but this specific piece is one that I feel I should post here. It is the text of the "Tell Us Your Story" response I sent to Change.gov just now:
Two years ago, I was doing pretty well as a staff accountant for a large mortgage company. In August 2007 that company folded overnight in the mortgage crisis. My next "permanent" job, for a large RV dealership, ended because nobody can afford to buy and fuel RVs anymore. Even the company I worked for before I got my accounting degree, Tucson's oldest travel agency, is out of business now.I've been unemployed since early September, and have had only one job interview since then. That's given me lots of time to volunteer for the Obama campaign. I did data entry, designed lots and lots of buttons, blogged on behalf of Barack Obama in several venues including Huffington Post, and even, despite a phobia about it, made some Get Out the Vote phone calls. I did all that because I genuinely believe in the principles and programs our new President-Elect stands for, help for the global economy and ordinary Americans, access to health insurance, a smarter, less belligerent foreign policy, inclusiveness instead of divisiveness, etc. Like much of the country, I was thrilled when the networks called the election for Barack Obama. I kissed my husband and hugged my dog, and was proud of the speech the President-Elect gave in Grant Park.One particular issue of the campaign became much more urgent for me tonight when my doctor called with some test results. There is a small chance that I have cancer, and I have no health insurance. If I find out that it is cancer, it instantly becomes a preexisting condition. Is it even possible to finance cancer surgery on credit cards? And if we do, how will we ever pay it off?This sort of thing should not happen here, or anywhere for that matter. I doubt that our new President will be able to do anything about health insurance in time to help me, but maybe I'll at least be able to get a job as the economy improves. And it's not all about me in any case. I believe that President Obama can work with Congress to significantly improve the lives of everyone, just be going forward with the policies he campaigned on, to the extent that they can be done on a realistic timetable. I urge everyone to set aside wrangling over whether we're a "center-right" nation or need to be more progressive, blah blah blah, and to support President Obama in his efforts to do exactly what he said he would do. That truly is the "change we need."Karen Funk Blocher
I had yet another run-in with forwarders of anti-Obama smear emails, which you can read about on my other blog. I also finally worked up the nerve to make GOTV phone calls tonight, but that's not what I want to talk about right now. Instead I'd like to share another email back-and forth that followed a big online tussle about Barack Obama's birth certificate. I had just refuted one claim about him being born in Kenya when another one surfaced, originating from a different friend-of-a-friend. My friend ignored all that just happened, and obliviously forwarded the latest version of the smear.
My reply:
Oh, F., do you even read my replies to this stuff? Obama is a Hawaiian natural born US citizen. He just is. His birth certificate has been verified and analyzed to death, claims to the contrary have been disproved, and challenges to his citizenship have been thrown out of court. Yet still people ignore all the evidence and bring it up over and over. Do you honestly believe that the Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press, the State of Hawaii, the Los Angeles Times and all the major fact-checking sites are all lying or mistaken? Not to mention the courts in Ohio and Hawaii?
If you forward negative claims about Barack Obama, at least forward the other side of the story. Thanks!Barack Obama's birth certificate revealed here | Los Angeles TimesPolitiFact | Obama's birth certificate Final chapterAssociated Press: State declares Obama birth certificate genuineOfficials verify birth certificate of ObamaObama birth certificate rumor debunked - Chicago TribuneOhio challenge to Obama's citizenship tossed - Seattle Post Intelligencer FactCheck.org: Born in the U.S.A. Regards, Karen
This stuff drives me crazy. It really does.
K.
On Outpost Mavarin: Wasting My Time
On Huffington Post: Arizona Arts and Crafts for Obama PHOTO SLIDESHOW
P.S. SF writer, columnist and big-time blogger John Scalzi wrote an awsome endorsement of Barack Obama today. Check it out:
Just to Make Things Official About This Election: Obama for President by John Scalzi
Another day, another smear email. Here's my reply:
To those of you who don't know me, I beg your indulgence for a few minutes. You received yet another baseless attack on Barack Obama by email today. I think you deserve to be exposed to the other, better side of the argument. I'll see your Wheeler endorsement and raise you by a few hundred endorsements - politicians, diplomats, military figures, newspapers, actors, directors, writers and organizations. It's all here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_endorsements Incidentally, there's no substance to speak of to the attack on Obama below. An "empty suit?" I challenge you to watch any speech, any debate by the man. Listen to the quality of his reasoning. Listen to how much he cares about you, even if you're a McCain supporter. Honestly compare what the two sides say, and which one actually makes logical sense when you look at the policies they have. Wheeler also indulges in race-baiting, pretending that the only reason anyone would ever vote for a black man is out of liberal guilt. Obama never, ever, attacks anyone for "the sin of being white." I wish I could say the same for the other side. And if being black were an ADVANTAGE in a presidential election (maybe in Upside-Down Land), people like Jesse Jackson (who is a bit of an ass), would have done better in past races. No, Obama isn't winning because he's black. He's winning because he's that good. Contrast Jack Wheeler's remarks with the words of Colin Powell: (I then quoted Powell's seven minute endoresement in full. A few highlights:) GEN. POWELL: On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. ... Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines-- ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values. ...Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions. So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama. More of Powell's Meet the Press interview can be read and watched here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/powell-obama-en.html I imagine it's perfectly possible to vote for John McCain for reasons that aren't based on lies or innuendo. You may believe that the war in Iraq is being won, and will be won if John McCain is allowed to manage it. You may believe that he has a plan for capturing or killing Osama bin Laden, which he's not disclosing for security reasons. You may feel that McCain's approach to foreign policy is better than Barack Obama's, by dint of greater experience and toughness. You may believe that we need a saber rattler in the White House, not someone who prefers diplomacy and direct talks, who, to paraphrase McCain's hero Teddy Roosevelt, speaks softly and carries a big stick. Maybe you don't believe that Obama even carries a stick. Similarly, you may know perfectly well what the factual differences are between John McCain's economic policies and Barack Obama's, and still prefer McCain's. Despite evidence to the contrary, you may believe that the economy needs to be rescued from the top down rather than from the bottom up, with people who earn over $250,000 a year getting the bulk of the tax breaks rather than being made to pay what they were paying the day George W. Bush took office. But here is what I believe, based on extensive reading, and listening to quite a few talking heads from both sides of the aisle. John McCain has wrong-headed ideas on both foreign policy and the economy that are extremely similar to the ones that got us into the predicament we're in now. He has not offered one new idea with a reasonable chance of doing any good, and several that are likely to cause further harm. He has chosen a running mate who believes that dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time as man, who condones witch-hunting, who uses Alaska resources for her personal ends, who lies to the public frequently and without shame, whose husband belonged to a secessionist party for years, and who apparently cannot string two coherent sentences together without a TelePrompter. If the selection of Palin isn't sufficient evidence of McCain's poor judgment, add in his frequent lies about his opponent's policies, personal attacks based on tenuous relationships, baseless innuendo about socialism and other-ness, and massive hypocrisy in constantly accusing Obama and company of doing the same things he and his campaign do to a far greater degree. This is a man I've voted for for Senator, because I used to believe that even if his ideas were mostly wrong, at least he was a man of integrity. I was mistaken. Barack Obama, on the other hand, has a keen intelligence, an outstanding education, a steady temperament, a willingness to listen to Republicans and well as Democrats, compassion, fair-mindedness, charisma, eloquence and, most of all, policies and plans that will help the country and the world. With all due respect to Hillary Clinton, there is only one candidate this year, of any race or gender, with such a potent combination of assets. And a week from now, barring a major disaster or even more massive election-tampering than we've seen so far, he'll be the President-Elect. I hope you will all take a look at http://www.barackobama.com, and see who he is and what he says, instead of relying on what his enemies say, usually resorting to distortions or lies to scare you away. While you're at it, take a good look at John McCain as well. I think the choice is clear, for a whole host of reasons. But if you still want to vote for John McCain, based on his policies, his history and his character, you go ahead and do that. That's how democracy is supposed to work. Karen Funk Blocher
To those of you who don't know me, I beg your indulgence for a few minutes. You received yet another baseless attack on Barack Obama by email today. I think you deserve to be exposed to the other, better side of the argument. I'll see your Wheeler endorsement and raise you by a few hundred endorsements - politicians, diplomats, military figures, newspapers, actors, directors, writers and organizations. It's all here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_endorsements Incidentally, there's no substance to speak of to the attack on Obama below. An "empty suit?" I challenge you to watch any speech, any debate by the man. Listen to the quality of his reasoning. Listen to how much he cares about you, even if you're a McCain supporter. Honestly compare what the two sides say, and which one actually makes logical sense when you look at the policies they have. Wheeler also indulges in race-baiting, pretending that the only reason anyone would ever vote for a black man is out of liberal guilt. Obama never, ever, attacks anyone for "the sin of being white." I wish I could say the same for the other side. And if being black were an ADVANTAGE in a presidential election (maybe in Upside-Down Land), people like Jesse Jackson (who is a bit of an ass), would have done better in past races. No, Obama isn't winning because he's black. He's winning because he's that good. Contrast Jack Wheeler's remarks with the words of Colin Powell:
(I then quoted Powell's seven minute endoresement in full. A few highlights:)
GEN. POWELL: On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. ... Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines-- ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values. ...Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions. So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
GEN. POWELL:
On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one.
And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.
...
Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines-- ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time?
And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.
I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
In other news, I got a McCain robocall today, and hung up on it. But from the opening, I'm sure it's the same one that other Arizonans have reported receiving.
And I designed a few more buttons:
And for Doctor Who fans:
More of my recent political writings (and yes, there's a lot of overlap):
I received yet another email forward, and it set me off on another rant. I offer it up as a guide to your own responses to this junk.
The original email is too long to reproduce here, so I'll settle for a few excerpts:
-----Original Message----- Subject: Fwd: FW: Most Americans are aware of Bill Lear,Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:54:47 -0700Straight talk for Republicans and Democrats. Most Americans are aware of Bill Lear, because of his Lear Jet business; however, he has accomplished much more, as you can see at this link: William P. Lear -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia . His opinions are worth a read: A Humble Plea to McCain and Obama Supporters: Dear friends, I am truly astonished by the ignorance Obama supporters have displayed in their quest to get someone - ANYONE - into the White House. Now, wait a minute. I can well understand your dislike or even hatred of our clown, GWB, but he is not the root cause of all of our problems. Our Congress is. And a change there would be welcomed by all. You ain't gonna get it done with Obama. You gotta fire the whole damnable crooked Congress. ...While McCain has abstained from playing "the race-card", Obama is playing it to the hilt even though he's technically not an African-American. To qualify for this distinction you must be at least one-sixth black. Obama is only one-eighth. His father would be, as he was one-sixth. No, Obama is more Muslim than black yet he trades on his blackness. The larger question I have about him is that we really don't know much about him other than what HE tells us, what we read on blogs and from some serious non-partisan investigators whose factual reports are, unfortunately, generally ignored and which receive precious little media exposure. I, as a registered Independent, a military veteran and a patriot, beseech you to put aside party considerations and vote for the lesser of the two evils. Yes, I am NOT a McCain supporter, but he is, at least, not a flake, doesn't carry Muslim baggage and is a PROVEN hero and patriot WITH experience. It's not a party issue. It's all about electing the best we can trust with what we've got to work with. Mr. Obama is NOT that guy.
-----Original Message----- Subject: Fwd: FW: Most Americans are aware of Bill Lear,
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:54:47 -0700
Straight talk for Republicans and Democrats. Most Americans are aware of Bill Lear, because of his Lear Jet business; however, he has accomplished much more, as you can see at this link: William P. Lear -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia .
His opinions are worth a read:
Uh-huh. Sure.
I replied:
Vague smears and pleas to "trust me" from a millionaire industrialist do not move me, especially coming from someone with the slogan and book title, Fly Fast, Sin Boldly (See http://www.billlear.com), who admits to spending much of his life outside the U.S.. Contrast Lear's reasons, which basically come down to "he's a Muslim" and "he's uppity," with Colin Powell's well-reasoned, seven minute endorsement, and there's a huge difference in the quality of the argument. Details of Barack Obama's life have been thoroughly investigated and reported on for the past two years. Millions and millions of words have been written about him, true and false. Lies are perpetrated by far right nutcases (including an anti-Semitic would-be lawyer who was refused admission to the bar due to personality disorder)* and passed on to people who are made nervous because he has dark(ish) skin, a dead father from Kenya and a funny name. The smears are distortions at best, out-and-out lies at worst, endlessly passed on and believed despite being thoroughly debunked in the press and on several fact checking sites. (And in case you assume that Politifact, FactCheck.org and Snopes.com lie, consider that they debunk anti-Palin and anti-McCain stuff too, and Politifact even calls Obama out on inaccurate statements he makes.) Why is all this happening? Rich people with a vested interest in Republican power, and people who honestly believe Obama is dangerous because he's "not like us" are willing to lie and cheat to convince you not to vote for Obama. They know they can't win on the issues. Obama's tax plan is the one that benefits most people, while McCain' s will continue to redistribute the wealth upward to the richest 1% of the country. McCain's will result in more dead soldiers, and more hatred of the U.S. around the world. And by the way, his support of veterans' issues, such as funding of the VA, is abysmally poor. So the Republicans and radical right try to distract you with vague insinuations about Bill Ayers (who sat on a board with prominent Republicans as well as Obama) and a heaping helping of lies and distortions. YOU ARE BEING PLAYED. If you don't know who Barack Obama is and what he stands for, you're not looking very hard. Venture beyond the email forwards, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the Drudge, and check out a wide range of newspapers, magazines and tv networks, the fact-checking sites, and Obama's own site. If you dare to do this, and give these resources your honest attention, I think you'll be surprised. I am Karen Funk Blocher, and I wrote this message. * His name is Andy Martin. See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/us/politics/13martin.html Resources: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php http://www.snopes.com http://www.factcheck.org/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ http://www.nytimes.com/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ http://digg.com/2008_us_elections
Another email required a much shorter response:
Subject: McCain's or Obama's Computer Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:29:39 +0000 Barack Obama has put out an ad that simply reminded us John McCain cannot use a computer. Well guess what ... Barack cannot land a jet plane on an airc raft carrier at night.
Subject: McCain's or Obama's Computer Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:29:39 +0000
Barack Obama has put out an ad that simply reminded us John McCain cannot use a computer. Well guess what ... Barack cannot land a jet plane on an airc raft carrier at night.
This was followed by a picture of a laptop next to a picture of a jet cockpit, and then a goofy photo of young Obama next to one of McCain posting next to his plane. "If your [sic] still thinking about voting for Obama ; I have a question for you..." the email says. "Is your head up your..." well, you know the rest.
How exactly does crashing several Air Force planes forty years ago make John McCain more qualified than Obama to lead this country? http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_mccain_crash_five_planes_did_he.html (As the article notes, he was not actually at fault for every crash and near-crash, but he did cause at least one actual crash, plus an international incident when he brought down power lines while clowning around in the cockpit.) Although the "McCain doesn't know how to use a computer" ad was a bit of a cheap shot, I submit to you that knowing how to use a computer to retrieve and disseminate information is slightly more relevant than knowing how to fly a outdated plane, which McCain probably would not do anymore because of his injuries. Neither skill is a strong reason for voting for or against anyone. Fortunately, both men have far more important qualifications. Karen
Will the people forwarding such emails listen? Maybe not. But it's important to counter the smears, ignorance and disinformation as best we can.
For weeks I've been wearing either a Barkers for Barack or Bloggers for Obama button on my daily trips to Miko's Corner Playground dog park with Cayenne and Pepper. I seldom hear a comment on these, even when Cayenne wears a Barkers button on her bandanna. But today I wore my Obama T-shirt for the first time, and that provoked a stronger reaction. Nobody said a word to me about it, but they did talk to each other:
Woman #1: I should have the word McCain tattooed to my forehead.Woman #2: I was going to wear my Obama shirt today.Woman #1: I should have worn my Palin shirt. Can you imagine?
Young Man on Bench (to wife or girlfriend): Don't worry. We have two McCain stickers on one car!
Such is life in Tucson, 13 days out from the election.
In other news, Huffington Post has published a roundup of Off the Bus "Grassroots Correspondent" entries, featuring my button maker photo at the top of the page. As it happens, more than a few of them are from AZ and NM, and most of them are much more interesting than mine. Check them out!
I had the honor today of getting my first entry published on Huffington Post, specifically the OffTheBus grassroots correspondent section. I would tell the various groups I belong to on here, but two of the three emails I've sent to the listserves in the past never went through. I'll investigate whether I'm doing something wrong and how to fix the problem, but my hopes on that aren't high.
The HuffPo entry is headlined Campaign Journal: Making Buttons For Obama Supporters, but that's just a small part of the story, such as it is. Last week I attended my first actual campaign event. No, it wasn't that huge rally in Missouri, or the other huge rally in Missouri. It wasn't even the Women's Day of Action with someone I admire, Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona. It was a trip downtown to see a bus. That's right, a bus. And secondarily, to meet someone else's Congressional representative.
Let me tell you about it.
The Obama bus outside REA Media on 9th St.
It was the Obama Tour '08 bus, which apparently carries volunteers around to promote the campaign and sell T-shirts, buttons and such. The merchandise, like my buttonmaking, is a grassroots effort, not something produced by the national compaign. The bus and and the volunteers were at a PR media office off Tucson's Fourth Avenue, as part of a meet and greet headlined by Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva. He has been campaigning for Obama since the end of January. His own campaign headquarters is also a center for Obama volunteering and events.
Congressman Raul Grijalva
Grijalva turned out to be an interesting guy. I told him that I'm not in his district (my Representative is Gabrielle Giffords), but had heard good things about him. He was very gracious about this. When I asked to photograph him for my blog, he asked me exactly what a blog was, but stopped me before I finished the sentence. He was messing with me! I must say I was relieved to learn that he knows his way around the Intertubes. When I mentioned Huffington Post, he told me and the people around him that it's a good site.
There's a little more to the entry, but I'm not going to reproduce it here. You can find the rough draft and lots of pictures on Outpost Mavarin, and the final version on the HuffPo page linked at the top of this entry. Oddly, they published it with all but one of the links stripped out, all the photos removed - and the captions for the removed photos retained as subheadings. Uh, okay!
See also:
P.S. Another HuffPoster reported on the Napolitano appearance. Her entry is here. Yet another HuffPoster from Tucson reports on the results of her recent phone calls in support of early voting. Read that one here.
Adapted from an entry on Outpost Mavarin:
There are a few more, but you get the idea. See the whole collection at http://picasaweb.google.com/Mavarin2/Obama#. You're welcome to use anything you find there as a button, a sticker, a graphic for your blog or Facebook page, etc. I only ask that they not be used for profit - any money beyond costs should go to the Obama campaign.
In other news, I responded to yet another email smear yesterday. This one was titled "What Does Obama Read?" and to her credit, the first forwarder listed do not include the most egregious falsehoods seen on the version covered by Snopes.com. My response:
I've ranted a few rants on my main blog since I last posted here. Here are the links:
That's it for tonight. Now to follow Twitter links to political articles until I absolutely have to go to bed!
I'll come back later and reconstruct the entry I lost last night to site maintenance.* But for now, here's my reply to something that turned up in my spam folder today:
From: Karen @ ...
To: Christian Response <info@christianresponseupdates.net>
Subject: Re: 7 Reasons Why Barack Obama is Not a Christian
You people should be ashamed of yourselves. This lie has been thoroughly debunked, as you well know:http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asphttp://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asphttp://www.newsweek.com/id/145971 http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_obama.html http://www.factcheck.org/specialreports/that_chain_e-mail_your_friend_sent_to.html As a Christian who is webmaster for a mainstream church, I am frankly appalled that some self-proclaimed Christians place one or two issues that Jesus never spoke about ahead of His mandates to love your neighbor, love your enemy, be a good steward, care for the poor and be pure of heart. Your willingness to lie and cheat in order to mislead Christians into voting against Obama on the basis of false information is an affront to everything Jesus stood for - and still does. Oh, and by the way, take me off your mailing list. It will be one less odious spam to delete. Karen
*Okay, so I never got around to rewriting that lost entry. But you can probably get the gist of it from my recent entries on Outpost Mavarin. See my October 15th entry above for links to those rants.
Adapted from a late-night post in my other blog, Outpost Mavarin:
I need more time to digest before I have much to say about Friday's debate. Part of this is due to an odd disconnect in the way my mind works. When I read something that is supposedly factual, I am constantly analyzing it for plausibility, internal inconsistencies, lapses in logic and variance with previously established facts as I understand them. But when I hear a speech, even as part of a debate, I'm a bit more gullible. Even politicians whose positions I abhor acquire a certain Grima Wormtongue quality when delivering their prepared remarks, and sometimes I come very close to buying into the truthiness of it all. (By the way, although I don't watch his show, Stephen Colbert deserves the thanks of a grateful nation for two highly useful words, "truthiness" and "wikiality.") It sometimes takes me a while afterward to apply the same kinds of standards to the spoken word as to the written one. I say "same kind" because they can't quite be the same actual standards. Everyone misspeaks, stumbles over an occasional spoken word, and says things off the cuff that don't quite make logical sense. A certain amount of slack must be cut.
Photo: Homemade signs at Pima County Democratic HQSo listening to George W. Bush the other night giving his economics speech, I had to grudgingly admit he did a pretty good job of explaining the situation we're in, if not necessarily exactly how the bailout will help. And listening to the debate tonight - on tv at home, in the car, at Democratic HQ, and finally in various post-debate wrap-ups - I found myself sometimes agreeing with what John McCain was saying. As did Barack Obama, it turned out, who graciously acknowledged when McCain came out with something similar to Obama's own policies. And no, I don't count it as a weakness to acknowledge when your opponent is on the right track. That is intellectual honesty and consensus building, not weakness and deference to the superior debater or candidate.
Photo: Yes we can eat cake!But McCain wasn't gracious in return, and maybe that's why the Wormtongue effect didn't work very well tonight. Much has been made already of McCain's failure to look at his opponent throughout the debate, beyond a fleeting glance or two in his general direction. It's a little difficult to be charming and ungracious at the same moment.Maybe that's why McCain's frequent claims that Obama "just doesn't get it" hit my ears as a desperate and condescending lie rather than a sincere attempt to point out a genuine weakness in his opponent. Obama consistently showed a wide-ranging knowledge of foreign policy issues and the major players involved, and was even able to connect the dots between the individual conflicts and the strategic disadvantages of being dependent on foreign oil. Meanwhile, McCain showed a similar level of knowledge at times, but stumbled over a few names, got a few facts wrong, and stated no clear policy of his own while frequently distorted Obama's. When your opponent just proved to anyone who is listening that he has a strong working knowledge of the subject, it seems dishonest and pointless to claim otherwise a second or two later. Say that you disagree with your opponent's assessments, and here's why your opponent's ideas won't work. Don't try to pretend that the disagreement stems from ignorance, not when the other candidate is clearly demonstrating the opposite. Whom was McCain trying to convince? Maybe, maybe, sound bytes of his accusation will be believed by people who rely on such things, and will never hear what was said immediately before or after. But those are the people who already believe the ignorance and inexperience claim. To everyone else, each repetition just made McCain look more petty and desperate, and more as though he's the one who doesn't "get it."I'm not going to include all of the other posting here - you can always check out the other blog if you're intered. So let me just add that I've been designing canoaign buttons for the last few days. Here are a few of them:These designs and quite a few others can all be seen and downloaded on my Obama gallery on Picasa. There are designed for use with a 2.25" buttonmater, but can be resized. Share and enjoy!
Oh, and one more thing. In case you missed it, check out a new posting on YA for Obama, wherein YA sf writer Scott Westerfield does the math on how the two major political parties have fared on the economy since the days of Herbert Hoover: http://tinyurl.com/4zpox2. Amazing!
My fellow Obama Supporters:
What if the Gifford's and Grijalva campaigns unite with Democratic AZ Governor Janet Napolitano's office and Tucson for Obama's thousands of petitioners in inviting Presidential candidate Barack Obama to Tucson and have a great show of party unity here in Arizona. Michelle Crow is Congressman Grijalva's campaign manager can be reached at michelle@grijalvaforcongress.com . Zachary is Congresswoman Giffords campaign manager and can be reached at zach@giffordsforcongress.com. The fact of the matter is party unity encourages voters. And I believe this would be a very encouraging event. I look forward to hearing and seeing what both of you come up with.
I believe Senator Barack Obama must visit the people of Tucson, Arizona who support him for the Presidency. And my associates and I are working to garner a petition of five- thousand names directed to Senator Barack Obama inviting him to Tucson, Arizona before the November 4th election.
I believe that when one is nominated to represent a political party for the position of President of the United Stated and he or she has vast support within his or her opponents home state, that nominee has a duty to his or her own political party to travel to and visit with the people of his or her opponent’s home state to see and hear them and understand they’re discontent with his or her opponent’s policies, and illuminate the statewide issues of discontent to the nation.
In this case, the Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has enormous support for the Presidency by the people of Southern Arizona especially in Tucson, AZ (which has a population of over one-million people) and is located in his opponent Senator John McCain’s home state of Arizona.
My fellow Arizonans, let us work zealously for a five thousand strong petition. This petition represents a collective invitation to Presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama to visit the great number of his supporters here in Tucson, Arizona.
Before Election Day let us demonstrate to the independents in swing states that Senator McCain is not the people’s candidate here in Arizona, and influence them to support our candidate Senator Barack Obama for President. I’ve talked with Arizona representative Gabrielle Gifford’s and she has made it clear that she has been calling on Barack Obama to visit us in Tucson and indicated to me she would be happy to share an event with Senator Obama. According to her, the only problem is he feels “discouraged” to visit us here. I’m sure congressman Grijalva and Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano as well as all other Arizonan city, state and federal publicly elected officials will be honored to be in attendance and show the nation we that the people are united in the concerted effort to elect democratic candidates across the board and especially to our congressional and the executive branches of our federal government this November 4th 2008.
All in all, let us unite to prove to Barack Obama and the nation that Arizonan’s strongly support his Presidential campaign and elect him to the office of President of the United States.
If you have questions or comments please contact me at benjaminbosley@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Bosley
Tucson For Obama
