Would you like to have a say in the economic recovery?
The Obama Organizing for America initiative is beginning with a major volunteer involvement with the Economic Recovery Plan. Economic Recovery House Meetings will be held during the weekend of February 6th.
If you'd like to get involved, here's the details for action:
Hello, I'm Jeremy Bird, Deputy Director of Organizing for America.This is a special message for neighborhood team leaders and volunteers who showed tremendous dedication during the campaign.I want to give you a heads up about a major initiative Organizing for America is planning to get people involved in President Obama's economic recovery plan. It's our first official effort, so I want to make sure you are part of it.We'll be reaching out to our full list soon to encourage everyone to host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting during the weekend of February 6th. As a community leader, you can play a crucial role in helping folks understand how the recovery plan will affect their lives.The first step is to learn more by joining a special conference call at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, February 3rd. I'll be on the call along with David Plouffe, Obama for America Campaign Manager, and Mitch Stewart, Executive Director of Organizing for America.Sign up now and please provide a phone number where you can be reached when the conference call begins on Tuesday night.You'll receive an automated call at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday inviting you to join us.We'll talk about the economic recovery plan, how to organize a successful house meeting, and what you can do to connect folks in your community with this extremely important effort.As Organizing for America moves forward, I will always give dedicated leaders like you a preview of our new initiatives.It's going to take all of us working together to organize and overcome the challenges we face as a country.Take the first step by joining us for a conference call this Tuesday, February 3rd:http://my.barackobama.com/TeleTownhallThanks for your support. I'm looking forward to working with you in the weeks and months ahead,JeremyJeremy BirdDeputy DirectorOrganizing for America
Barack Obama's Inauguration was an emotional and inspirational moment in our history. Here's a bunch of happy volunteers that helped make it possible.
The Obama Inaugural celebration at Mi Mexico in New Smyrna Beach, Florida: http://s410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/rsarcher-ucnsb-net
It's just hard to believe that tomorrow is both the culmination of the tremendous work you volunteers did during the campaign and at the same time, the beginning of such difficult and effort laden times ahead to make our dream for this country come to be.
I congratulate you volunteers! Many of you have been on-line and in New Smyrna for Obama since 2007. The friendship and feeling of family with this group has been the exact parallel to the hope we all had for this country to assure Barack Obama became the next POTUS.
We have our 'casual' get together tomorrow to celebrate the Inaugration of Barack Obama as President and i am looking forward to seeing many of you there that were so involved in this election struggle last fall.
The TV viewing isn't the greatest at Mi Mexico but the friendship and inspiration we'll have with each other (and don't forget the reasonalby priced food and Margaritas) will overcome all shortcomings.
Just a reminder, our event is copied below. If you havent' done so, you can still sign up there or call me at the number given:
1-20-09 IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE DAYS IN THIS NATION'S HISTORY!
I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE WHAT I FEEL. HOPE. INSPIRATION. JOY.
IT'S REALLY JUST NOW SINKING IN FOR ME...BARACK OBAMA IS THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
I'M PREPARED TO BRING MY PACKAGE OF TISSUES TO THE WATCH PARTY. HAHA.
YES WE MOST CERTAINLY DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was an excellent Health Care Discussion held in New Smyrna Beach on January 30th, 2008 that was activly attended and produced an exceptional report detailing the difficulties and opportunities for health care policy in our country.
The event was hosted by Pat Wilson and the report was written and edited by Diana Barden, Trudy Duffy, Donatella Young, and Mary Lou Schropp.
The full text of the summary report is below:
With your help we will be organizing a service event prior to the Inauguration. On Saturday, January 17, we will organize a food drive. And on Martin Luther King Day, January 19, there will be a beach clean up, organized through the Democrats Work group of the SEV Democrats. Details on both events will be posted early in the New Year.
In the meantime, mark these important service event days on your calendar! And remember Obama's words, 'I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency.' We ask you to continue the momentum and remain engaged in this new vision of active citizenship and democracy.
Together we can help make 2009 a year of Hope, Action and Change!
YES WE CAN!
Diana Bardyn
South East Volusia Democrats
The South East Volusia Democrats will be holding their first club meeting of 2009 on January 6. Bill Maul, the newly elected president, would like to extend an invitation to all the Obama Campaign for Change volunteers, to group members and to anyone who would like to learn first hand about the club's mission and activities. In his words, "After 8 years of Bush, leaving the nation in crisis, Obama needs all the support Democrats can muster. Let's keep the energy going so Obama has the congressional majority needed to fix the mess."The combined efforts of the Obama/Biden campaign staff, volunteers, local Democratic leadership and others have paid off in historic ways. Now like the new Administration, we are reaching out to all of YOU so that together we can transition to the next phase.Time and Place:Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 6:30 PMUnited Church of Christ (Educational Building)203 Washington StreetNew Smyrna Beach, FL 32168Contact:Bill Maul386-424-0314www.sevdemocrats.com
We are sorry for the short notice on this one but Obama supporters all over America will be doing it and we need to be a part of it too. So please join us at Trudy Duffy's home on Saturday, December 13, between 5 and 6pm. We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you again!
Diana, Trudy, Donatella and ObamaBob
Address:
1011 Faulkner St.
NSB
RSVP: 386-235-8057
OR GO TO:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpth7q
Hello to everyone. December 10th was the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations. For me it is a time to reflect on how we are all united as one human family. Barrack Obama’s words have echoed this broad spirit of inclusion and certainly strategic policy changes will follow.
To many ‘human rights’ brings images of Tiananmen Square or the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. But there is another side to human rights, with its own violent nature and pervasiveness, and it is outlined in Article 25 of the Declaration:
‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.’
Hello Obama Volunteers and Blogosphere,
Hope you all are doing well and isn’t it amazing to see the intense intellect and capabilities of Barack Obama working during the transition period!?We now have hope of working our way through this morass the country is in with an Obama administration!
I was emailing with Pat Wilson a few weeks ago and she suggested a fun idea; how about getting together about ½ hour before the inauguration of our new President on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at Mi Mexico for a mini-celebration? The food and Margaritas were great there (all food and drink at your own expense of course) and I’m sure we’ll have some fun Obama memorabilia everyone can bring.
Here’s how you can sign up on-line: Go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptmvj and follow the directions.
At the same time, you can also join our NewSmyrnaforObama on-line group if you haven't done so yet. Just put in 32169 in the search group Zip code area, on return, scroll down to New Smyrna for Obama and click on 'Join'.
By Eric Martin
Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded from an 11-year low after President-elect Barack Obama picked New York Federal Reserve Bank chief Timothy Geithner to head the Treasury.
“This news could really give the stock market a badly needed shot in the arm,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, wrote in an e-mail to clients. Geithner is a “fantastic choice to help lead the financial markets out of the wilderness.”
Citigroup Inc. pared a 35 percent slide and JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed a 16 percent tumble in the final hour as a Democratic aide said Obama will name Geithner to replace Henry Paulson. National-Oilwell Varco Inc. and Chesapeake Energy jumped more than 20 percent as oil rose for the first time in six days. The rally came after this week’s rout dragged the S&P 500’s price-to-earnings valuation to the cheapest since 1995.
The S&P 500, which capped a third-straight weekly decline, surged 6.3 percent to 800.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 494.13 points, or 6.5 percent, to 8,046.42, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.2 percent to 1,384.35. Almost five stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Benchmark indexes swung between gains and losses earlier as growing concern over the survival of Citigroup, the second- largest U.S. bank by assets, offset a rally in commodities producers. Some 2.4 billion shares changed hands on the floor of the NYSE in the busiest trading session since Oct. 10. Citigroup accounted for about 11 percent of all trading volume of NYSE- listed stocks.
2008 Slump
The S&P 500 extended its 2008 slide to 49 percent yesterday and was poised for the worst annual decline in its 80-year history after economic reports depicted a deepening recession and lawmakers postponed a vote on a plan to salvage the auto industry. Citigroup, which has about $2 trillion of assets, has fallen for nine of the last 10 days on concern more companies and consumers will default as the economy worsens.
The benchmark index for U.S. equities trimmed its yearly loss to less than 46 percent today, which would still make 2008 the worst year since 1931. The S&P 500 tumbled 8.4 percent this week. The Dow average declined 5.3 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 8.7 percent.
Chesapeake, a producer of oil and natural gas, jumped $2.99 to $16.97. National-Oilwell, which makes crude production equipment, added $3.66 to $21.52.
Energy Rally
Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil company, climbed $7.30, or 11 percent, to $75.81. Crude oil rose as OPEC members cut production and governments stepped up efforts to revive economic growth. Gasoline futures climbed for the first time this week as U.S. buyers took advantage of low prices and a weaker U.S. dollar increased the lure of dollar-denominated commodities. Oil for January delivery rose 46 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $49.88 a barrel.
S&P 500 energy companies rose 12 percent collectively for the top gain among the index’s 10 main industries. The advance came after the group’s valuation slid to 5.6 times reported earnings, the cheapest since Bloomberg began tracking the data.
Citigroup pared declines, falling 94 cents to $3.77 after sinking as low as $3.05, and the S&P 500 Financials Index erased a 7.5 percent tumble to climb 3.4 percent on word of Obama’s pick for Treasury secretary.
Geithner has helped lead U.S. efforts to combat the deepest financial crisis in seven decades, helping oversee the decisions this year to intervene in American International Group Inc., rescue Bear Stearns Cos. and leave Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to fail.
‘Fresh Face’
“The market is relieved that it’s Geithner,” said Tim Hartzell, managing director and chief investment office at Sequent Asset Management in Houston. “It’s important to have a fresh face come in who has also been in the mix and has been at the pinnacle of everything that has been going on.”
Citigroup’s earlier slide came as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said he won’t break up the company after the stock market rout erased more than 80 percent of its value this year. Pandit and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden, speaking on a worldwide conference call, also said they don’t expect to sell the Smith Barney brokerage unit, according to two people who listened to the call and declined to be identified because it wasn’t open to the public.
Citigroup will probably get rescued by the U.S. government after a crisis in confidence erased half its stock-market value in three days, investors and analysts said. The stock climbed 6.1 percent to $4 in trading after the close of U.S. exchanges.
JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by market value, pared a drop of $3.69 to close down 66 cents at $22.72.
Gap Surges
Gap Inc. rallied $2.59, or 27 percent, to $12.10. The largest U.S. clothing retailer said third-quarter profit climbed 3.4 percent as the company reduced markdowns of sweaters, jeans and khaki pants. The owner of the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains reiterated its forecast for profit of $1.30 to $1.35 a share for the year ending Jan. 31.
Sprint Nextel Corp. climbed 25 percent to $1.71 and earlier soared 36 percent, the most since at least 1980. Barry West, chief technology officer of the third-largest U.S. mobile phone company, bought 50,000 Sprint shares, marking the biggest investment at the company in the past five years, Barron’s reported.
Microsoft Corp. jumped $2.15, or 12 percent, to $19.68 after Oppenheimer & Co. raised the world’s largest software maker to “outperform” and said the stock has fallen too far. The shares trimmed their yearly decline to 45 percent.
Alcoa Jumps
Alcoa Inc., the biggest U.S. aluminum producer, surged 23 percent, the most since at least 1980, to $8.44. Newmont Mining Corp. jumped 25 percent to $28.79. Copper and aluminum rebounded from three-year lows on speculation mine shutdowns will help erode supply surpluses caused by reduced demand.
All 10 industries in the S&P 500 advanced at least 3.3 percent and 28 of 30 stocks in the Dow average rose.
Autodesk Inc. fell $2.45, or 15 percent, to $14.37. The largest maker of engineering-design software said fourth-quarter earnings excluding some items will be as much as 34 cents a share. That missed the 54-cent average estimate by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
This year’s tumble in the S&P 500 dragged down 97 percent of its stocks and all 64 of its so-called level-three industries, groups such as “distributors” and “leisure equipment,” as of yesterday’s close. More stocks decreased in the current bear market than in the 49 percent rout after the technology bubble burst in 2000.
‘Irrational Exuberance’
Alan Greenspan can stop worrying about “irrational exuberance” in the U.S. stock market, 12 years after he warned investors that share prices were rising too fast. The S&P 500 fell below 744.38 today, its closing level on Dec. 5, 1996, the day then-Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan used the phrase in a speech on “The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society.”
The S&P 500 was trading for 20.7 times earnings when Greenspan gave his warning and its valuation climbed to as high as 62.9 in March 2002, according to Bloomberg data. The index was valued at 16.3 times reported profits of its companies at yesterday’s closing level, the cheapest since 1995.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net.
It's been 2 days now since the election and finally, a feeling of elation has set in after the adrenalin days leading up to the election.
What a night, what super volunteers, what emotion, what a new beginning for our country.
Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States of America.
You made it happen! A special thanks goes out to all you New Smyrna for Obama team members and all who have read and contributed to these postings.
We went into election day here in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with over 500 local volunteers hitting the streets, phone calling any and all in the area, providing Courtesy Stations at polling locations, dispatching and driving voters to the polls, and providing food and drink for all the above. Thanks to all, what a group, what a day, what an inspirational start to the next administration.
There were NO dry eyes at the celebration on election night now let's put that ground swell of inspiration and volunteers to the tough tasks ahead for President Elect Barack Obama .
Keep active, keep support flowing, and remember when we started this online group about 18 months ago, YES WE CAN, YES WE WILL, YES WE DID!!!
OMG...I can hardly contain myself. It looks like it is going to happen!!! This entire experience has restored my hope that our nation really sees the truth behind the blinds. I am almost at a complete loss of words...
Thank you MSNBC for hearing the voice of the Senator Obama supporters from Day 1. They were smart enough to know it was the "Voice of A Nation".
Florida...please do not act crazy and let's get it under the belt!! Go Obama Go!!!! Thank God!
Like the taxi driver who told you that your eyes ~ light up the world, when you smile.
Like the small child who showed you ~ the wonder in simple things.
Like the poor man who offered to ~ share his lunch with you.
Like the rich man who showed you that it ~ really is all possible, if only you believe.
Like the stranger who just happened to come along, ~ when you had lost your way.
Like the friend who touched your heart, ~ when you didn't think you had one to touch.
Angels come in all sizes and shapes, ~ all ages and skin types.
Some with freckles, some with dimples, ~ some with wrinkles, some without.
They come disguised as friends, enemies, ~ teachers, students, lovers and fools.
They don't take life too seriously, ~ they travel light.
They leave no forwarding address, ~ they ask nothing in return.
They wear sneakers with gossamer wings, ~ they get a deal on dry cleaning.
They are hard to find when your eyes are closed, ~ But they are everywhere you look, when you choose to see.
This is a poem I found online some years ago. This is for our Senator Obama and hope that perhaps he will find peace after the loss of his incredible Grandmother and continued strength in the hours and day that lies ahead.
The world awaits your arrival, and we, millions and millions and millions are behind you.
