Oklahomans for Barack Obama '08

LESSONS FROM THE MICHIGAN PRIMARY

snolly — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:12:27 EST

With only one name on the Michigan Democratic Ballot you can get a real sense of how a candidate might do in a general election. With only 60% of Democrats favoring the one candidate you wonder what the other 40% and more were thinking. The uncommitted were probably those Yellow Dog Democrats who vote in every election regardless of candidate but who wanted to vote for another person. Also, in Michigan, it is to my understanding, Democrats can vote on the Republican ticket. So an unknown number of the Democrats voted for a Republican.

If we don't change the name our nominee for President; the Michigan results will probably apply to Oklahoma and Democrats will vote for the Republican nominee or an Independant candidate.

Lets get out there and change things!

Presidential Primary & Absentee Voting in Oklahoma

m2violin — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:27:42 EST

BY MAIL

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you is always 5 p.m. on Wednesday preceding the election. [For the Okla. Presidential Primary, this would be Wednesday, January 30th.]

If your absentee ballot is mailed to you, you must return it to the county election board by mail. An absentee ballot must be received by the county election board before 7 p.m. on election day to be counted.

IN-PERSON ABSENTEE VOTING

Voters may cast an absentee ballot in person at the county election board office from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Monday before all elections. For state and federal elections only, in-person absentee voting also is available from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. In-person absentee voters must fill out and sign an application form when they arrive to vote.

For more information, contact:

Oklahoma State Election Board

Room B-6, State Capitol Building

PO Box 53156

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152

(405) 521-2391

Tulsa County Election Board

555 North Denver Avenue

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103

(918) 596-5780

http://www.tulsacounty.org/electionboard.asp

http://www.ok.gov/~elections/absentee.html

contact list

ken :) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:12:02 EST

i have 12 on my list whom i plan on spreading the obama message to; if they spread to the word to 12 more people then there will be an exponential surge in potential voters for barack

MONDAY NIGHT MEETING WAS GOOD

snolly — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:59:30 EST

The scheduled event was merged with the Comanche County Democrat meeting. A number of Obama supporters were there and participated. John Kinslow, local attorney, gave a presentation on behalf of Obama. Bumper stickers were handed out and we answered a number of questions about where to get campaign stuff (store) and what activities were going on on a statewide basis.

my personal journey relates

ken :) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:20:43 EST

i was born in west africa (lagos, nigeria) and basically raised in northern nigeria (zaria/ kano). as an infant, my parents went to malaysia so my dad (who is from barbados) could get his PhD (in lanaguage arts). my dera mom is nigerain and that is where my now deceased dad fouund her! my immediate younger sister was born in malaysia; my brother in lagos and my other younger sister in zaria. i got to know quite a bit os the muslim culture growing up in zaria. however political elements divided otherwise peace loving neighbors for personal gain (how selfish). i went on to college at the pre-eminent univeristy of ibadan and got my medical degree there. a lot of my class mates are the usa (brain drain) and most of my closer friends are actually psychiatrists (go figure). my most challenging times have been my dad passing away in '94 and a series of unfortunate events is recent times (which, thank God i am gradually and steadfastly overcoming).

i draw correlations to obamas multiethnic background and growing up in indonesia and hawaii. he also identifies with the minority class (just look at his beautiful wife Michelle) while still embodying the mainstream. his goal is real and that is to make race, religion and all the petty differences irrelevant in the progression and propulsion of America to unimaginable heights. i truly believe..........

common George

ken :) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:02:32 EST

say it Mr Bush; you would really just love to ammend the constitution so you could prematurely hand over the presidency to the most likeable leader on the face of the earth right now (president to be Barack Hussein Obama. He embodies hope for all faiths and all races. Mr Obama is certainly ready and capable of giving the state of the union address this month. However, he will be eve more ready next January. God bless America!

We're Doing It Again!

m2violin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:38:38 EST

Please join Oklahomans for Obama for Fired Up and Walking for Change! Go door to door with local Obama supporters and spread the good word about Barack Obama to local Democrats! Change can’t happen without you!

We will meet at:

Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquarters
3930 East 31st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135
on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 10 a.m.

For more information, email m2violin@hotmail.com or visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vqfj

eureka!!!

ken :) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:55:55 EST

i scored a personal landslide victory in the points game. together we can ALL do this for obama!

STRATEGY MEETING IN OKC MONDAY JAN 14TH

snolly — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:50:51 EST

There will be a strategy meeting in Oklahoma City, Monday, January 14th at the Krumme Building 4100 North Lincoly Blvd. at 12:00am. Voluteers, Supporters and friends for Obama 08 are invited to attend.

guess

ken :) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:41:24 EST

to show where hillary is frozen in time; she has BET founder defending her MLK remarks. he makes reference to sidney poitier in his sixties movie "guess who is coming to dinner". obama is with the "guess who" movie generation (bernie mac and company). wow; the life cycle demands that older generations eventually pass on the torch to the younger ones in a dignified and eloquent manner (just like in the olympics). again, the culture has moved on but the clinton's are trying (albiet foolishly) to reverse it.

4th CD MEETING A SUCESS

snolly — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:50:25 EST

While we had no formal meeting of supporters Saturday we accomplished our mission. I had a number of attendees that I had conversations with that wanted information or offered encoragement as far as Oklahoma support for Obama. Several Edwards supporters were interested in information because Obama was their second choice, a Richardson supporter who switched to Edwards was thinking about changing again to Obama, I wore my Obama sweat shirt and received many positive comments on it. Recommend that supporters get one. Fast cheap way to create buzz and you will get responses everywhere you wear it. We also handed out before the banqueet bumper stickers. Most of the attendees were 4 CD county officers and delegates. I was very pleased with the response.

intersection

ken :) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:31:56 EST

going with hillary will be like making an ill advised U turn. Obama will head straight ahead without wavering. he will also bring people from the left and right together. however, he needs the green light from the American people. I have personally reached out to a few senators and governors. i also thanked Sen John Kerry for passing the democratic party mantle to Obama. the main thing is to get out of the inertia many of us were in.

Clinton on Meet The Press

rainsky — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:35:59 EST

I watched the interview this morning and what impressed me the most was the amount of times the words 'I, Me, Mine' were uttered by the candidate. This is one of the biggest reasons why I do not support Mrs. Clinton nor would I consider her as a second choice. (Being clear ,I do not expect to need a second choice.)

Mrs. Clinton is out of touch; she doesn't get the point that this is not about her or any other individual it is about the American people and OUR United States of America.

The Shocking Video Hillary Does NOT Want You To See!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A DREAMER — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:08:20 EST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq8aopATYyw&feature=related for Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMfUajhL24I&feature=related for part 2

Diebold Voting system Fraud Rumors in New Hampshire Primaries

A DREAMER — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:48:04 EST

"Multiple indications of vote fraud are beginning to pop up regarding the New Hampshire primary elections. Roughly 80% of New Hampshire precincts use Diebold machines, while the remaining 20% are hand counted. A Black Box Voting contributor has compiled a chart of results from hand counted precincts vs. results from machine counted precincts. In machine counted precincts, Clinton beat Obama by almost 5%. In hand counted precincts, Obama beat Clinton by over 4%, which closely matches the scientific polls that were conducted leading up to the election. Another issue is the Republican results from Sutton precinct. The final results showed Ron Paul with 0 votes in Sutton. The next day a Ron Paul supporter came forward claiming that both she and several of her family members had voted for Ron Paul in Sutton. Black Box Voting reports that after being asked about the discrepancy Sutton officials decided that Ron Paul actually received 31 votes in Sutton, but they were left off of the tally sheet due to 'human error.'"

Voter Reigstration Deadline is TODAY!!!

m2violin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:51:00 EST

This e-mail I received from MoveOn.Org has a link to a nifthy webite, VotePoke (www.votepoke.org ).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Believe it or not, you probably have dozens of friends and family members who aren't on the voter rolls. They might have moved and didn't register again, or maybe never got around to registering in the first place.

Super Tuesday is coming up, the day when 24 states—including yours—will go to the polls to vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries. The next Presidential nominee may well be decided that day—but many people who could vote are not registered yet, and time is running out.

That's why we built VotePoke, a new website that lets you quickly and easily check to see whether you are registered to vote—and then invite your friends to do the same. Click here to make sure you—and your family and friends—will be able to vote on Super Tuesday, February 5:

http://votepoke.org

Voter registration is public information, but states don't make it easy to access. So until now, this data has mostly been available to the political consultants, but not to real people. Now, with VotePoke, that's all changing—anyone can make sure their friends are signed up and registered.

You would be surprised at how many of your friends aren't registered—or used to be registered—or really just aren't sure. We'll be in great shape for the election next November the more new and young voters we can turn out—and you can help by taking responsibility for your own group of friends.

Research shows that a reminder from someone you know is the single best way to get someone to the polls. Click here to start the "votepoking" and make sure every vote counts on Super Tuesday and beyond.

http://votepoke.org

Thank you for all you do.

PS: Forward this to your friends in Oklahoma, as well as the other February 5 states.

Remember, in Oklahoma you must be registered as a Democrat in order to vote for Barack Obama on February 5. If you are registered as an Independent voter, or with any other party, you will not be able to vote for Barack Obama on February 5. Do the smart thing and register as a Democrat.

NORTH EAST FIREWALL IS CRACKING

snolly — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:24:07 EST

With endorsment of Sen. Kerry, it looks to me the long established firewall around the Northeast United States is cracking affording Obama with many opportunities for convention delegates from that area.

Time to move forward

John Budlong — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:54:51 EST

It is time for us to work harder for the effort. If you would lisen to some of the the TV talking heads Senator Clinton has won already.

Well Senator Obama is still in the lead and it is not over until it is over. We are going to make history before and after the election.

Voter Registration Deadline is Upon Us! January 11!

m2violin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:39:53 EST

Here's the linke to a story run on KOTV-Channel 6 here in Tulsa on the 10pm newscast:

http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=142769

You can watch the video segement by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on the link.

Remember, you MUST be registered AS A DEMOCRAT in order to vote for Barack Obama on February 5. If you are a Republican or Independent voter (or another party) and wish to help Barack Obama on February 5 you must change your registration.

This involves simply filling out another voter registration form. Forms are available at any public library, post offfice, tag agency, county election board (Tulsa County Election Board is located at 555 North Denver Avenue in Tulsa), or online at http://www.registrationbyworkingassets.com/register/ .

If you need information about voter eligibility/registration in Oklahoma, visit the Okalhoma State Electrion Board website at http://www.ok.gov/~elections/voterreg.html .

Don't be left out-the deadline is this Friday, January 11.

HQ IN OKC DEMO HQ

snolly — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:23:35 EST

The Obama staffers are driving from NH - to Baltimore (Friday) Baltimore to St Louis (Saturday) and St. Louis to OKC by Sunday night-Monday morning. I am going to get the lease for the office finalized tomorrow. We're planning a meeting on Monday to get a game plan from them. Our office will be upstairs at the State Headquarters there will not be an office phone number, they will operate by cells, but there will be an email address. More Details to Follow. Susan McCann

Dissappointed by NH

Calvin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:35:50 EST

Tough night last night with the results in NH. I have to be honest. I thought we were going to win by double digits. I could hardly sleep. I did feel a little uncomforable with the amount of press Hillary was getting though. I did not think it was helping us. That's okay. This will help Barack in the long run though. This should be a lesson for the entire campaign. We cannot let up for a minute!!! We cannot trust the polls!!! We must run an insurgent campaign the entire time ...like we are continually behind. STAY STRONG GUYS!!! I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL WIN!!!

I Believe in the Audacity of Hope – For Barack Obama

m2violin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:20:43 EST

On the evening of January 3, 2008 I joined with other Tulsa County Democrats in watching the Iowa Caucus returns come in. I was one of those cheering when Senator Barack Obama of Illinois started pulling ahead of the other Democratic candidates. It was thrilling for me to see Iowans embrace Senator Obama’s message of hope for a better America.Barack Obama believes in the politics of hope, of unity – not the fear and polarization brought to us by 8 years of the Bush regime. With his message that “we are not a collection of red states and blue states. We are the United States of America. And in this moment, in this election, we are ready to believe again,” Barack Obama is inspiring Americans to believe in a government that is truly “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Barack Obama opposed the Iraq War from the beginning. Back in 2002, when many others were going along with the drumbeat towards war, Barack Obama, then a Senator in the Illinois Senate, was speaking at rallies opposing the war. Senator Obama supports a woman’s right to make her own decisions regarding reproduction. He believes in protecting Social Security and strengthening private retirement plans so all hard-working Americans know they will live their final years in security and comfort. Barack Obama believes workers should have the freedom to join unions without harassment or coercion from their employers, and is a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. He has created a plan to provide comprehensive, affordable and portable health care coverage for all Americans. To find out the details of Barack Obama’s stance on these and other issues, visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/resourceflyers/ .

More important, Barack Obama has established a record of accomplishment in both the Illinois and the United States Senate. In Illinois he created the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to Illinois families. He was also instrumental in expanding early childhood education programs, and in passing a state law requiring videotaping of all police interrogations. In the U.S. Senate he has pushed for greater accountability and transparency in government, for better treatment of our veterans and active duty military personnel, and the promotion of alternative fuels and higher fuel efficiency in our vehicles.

Barack Obama has accomplished all the above through cooperation and collaboration with others – often, persons who hold widely divergent opinions. In the Illinois Senate Obama was known not only for reaching across party lines, but for reaching out to senators from rural, downstate districts whose priorities often differed from a senator from Chicago’s South Side. In the U.S. Senate he collaborated with none other the Senator Tom Coburn in writing legislation requiring greater accountability and transparency in our government.

After we have been forced to endure the regime of the Worst President Ever, we need a president who will look forward, not backwards. A president who will step forward confidently into a new, brighter future for all Americans, not just a favored few. A president who will reach out to all Americans, and find the common ground that all Americans share.

Americans hunger for someone who can unite our country, not divide it. As Senator Obama said so eloquently on January 3: “You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington. To end the political strategy that's been all about division, and instead make it about addition. To build a coalition for change that stretches through red states and blue states. Because that's how we'll win in November, and that's how we'll finally meet the challenges that we face as a nation. We are choosing hope over fear. We're choosing unity over division, and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America.”

I invite you to join me in helping to bring this change to America, and to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.

Primary Winner Prediction

Mid America Mom — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:59:49 EST

I was having fun in late December.

While speaking to a friend, before the Iowa caucus, I had come up with a theory on who will win the nomination.

Recently I also looked at the Republicans.

Why Obama rose, and Hillary Fell

amadeusmax — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:43:33 EST

Hillary is losing because of Hillary Rodham Clinton. She spends money and time on negative campaign and personal attacks. Where Obama talks about what he plans, what visions he has for the United States.

No one likes a sore loser. I have to hand it to John Edwards for having the balls to state the truth. When Hillary was on top she did not engage in personal attacks. But when she did she created a quick sand effect on her campaign. Even now real clear politics is reporting they are expecting to lose in New Hampshire , http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/shaken_clinton_camp_prepares_f.html.

I think america is tired of the attack political campaign strategy. You better just concentrate on yourself, and tell us what you have to offer. Before this mess started I was looking at an Obama Pres, Hillary VP ticket. Now it's looking like Obama/Edwards.

The ads and the speeches in NH were negative based campaigning or look at my experience. Well I'd quit saying that, because I believe the perception is that you have 35 years of doing politics the way we hate.

www.amadesmax.com

My path to the present and future of hope

John Budlong — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:33:51 EST

I started my political life as a Democrat supporting President Carter but something went very very wrong. President Regan converted me to a Republican with his message of change. Some of it happen but still things went wrong.

When I lived in Virginia was on the City of Hampton city committee for the Republican Party. I did my share of putting literature and sign waving. I went to the fund raising breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I passed out “non partisan” literature by the Christian coalition. I went to the 1st congressional district RNC conventions and the state conventions in Richmond.

Giving it some thought I started to lose faith in the party when in 94 against all odds the Republicans took control of both the House and Senate and did nothing. I supported the pit bull like attack against President Clinton since he was “obstructing” the change the voters clearly wanted.

Then in 2000 George Bush won the Presidential Office by the slimmest of margins. I expected him to try to make amends but this did not happen. What did the Republican change bring? Well nothing, it was the same old stuff but a different letter by different names. It was clear to me that not only was there going to be no change but my hope in a better future for American and the world was being destroyed. My desire for change and hope was changed to suspicion and fear.

In the 2004 election, I had wanted to vote for the Libertarian but was told by a Democrat that "a vote for the Libertarian was a vote for Bush". He did not let me tell him who my other choice was and kept going on and on. Finally I took my absentee ballot and voted for Bush.

I started to break out of my old ways by voting for Brad Henry for Governor. I looked at the candidates this Presidential Cycle and noticed tat only Senator Obama had new fresh ideals for change. Most people I know want change. It was enough for me to change my party affiliation from Republican to Democratic.

I know there are other people like me out there. Have a sore nose from holding it to vote? Senator Obama has changed my worldview from negative to positive. Join me and join the change! His message of hope and change is so very inspiring from the same old same old.

realclearpolitics.com

amadeusmax — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:31:56 EST

IF you want the latest poll results from almost any recognized poll in America on politics, this is the site. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/, is the link. What I really like is how they group the poll data, with the respective dates of the poll, and you can see changes that have happened over a 90 day period.

The Main page, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ covers the main stories of the day, and it's pretty exclusive. It shows the major stories from the major newspapers. What I like is you can see how each media outlet does it's own spin on the same story. What's really neat is to see how these media outlets twist the facts, sometimes worst than the politicians they are reporting on.

My Favorite section is the transcripts. Now isn't nice to get what was actually said. A nice clean reference, so you can get a better idea of the context of each question and answer. It makes it harder to spin that way.

By the way, I'm looking for few friends. If you see this help me out...

We are FIRED UP AND WALKING FOR CHANGE!

m2violin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:05:02 EST

Come join us this Saturday, January 11 at TCDP Headquarters and get FIRED UP to WALK FOR CHANGE!!!

Fired Up and Walking For Change! (Organizing)We'll be going door-to-door, visiting Democrats in Tulsa and spreading the good word about Barack Obama.Time:Saturday, January 12 at 10:00 AM Location:Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquaters (Tulsa, OK) 3930 East 31st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135 View Map:

Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vy94 to sign up-and bring a friend!

LAWTON WATCH PARTY

snolly — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:42:17 EST

Okiebamas in the Lawton area are invited to a watch party for the January 8 election results in NH. It will be at John Kinslow"s office at 522 C Ave in downtown Lawton on the North Side square. Bring a friend!

Come to the BYO Watch Party!

m2violin — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:47:53 EST

Time:Tuesday, January 8 at 5:00 PMDuration:3 hours Location:Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquaters (Tulsa, OK) 3930 East 31st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135 View Map:

Directions:Located on the south side of 31st street, just east of New Haven Avenue (across the street from Tulsa Public Schools Education Service Center).

I wish I was in NH

amadeusmax — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:33:22 EST

After watching a pivotal change in politics, the democratic party, when Barack Obama won in Iowa, I only wish I had the money and resources to drive from Tulsa to New Hampshire. I was on fire, I want to be apart of the change.

But I can't. But those of you in New Hampshire can. There are supporters who are dependent on your actions, your influence. I am glad you are there, and I am thankfull for your efforts. I can't speak for everyone, but I know I am not alone.

Now it's your turn, New Hampshire. If there was something I could do to help, I would. And I know there are lot of people just like me asking you to pull it off for all of us. But know that we stand United. Know that your efforts are needed, and know that they are appreciated. Know that we know it is the effort by everyone that will make the changes we all want. For this country, for this world.

I hope this appreciation is taken as being real. I'm jealous I'm not able to be the example that I am asking you to be. But shine, shine like the sun and make history. Barack may be the captain of this ship, but it's the crew that sets the sails. And the winds of change are upon us.

Thank you.

The OBAMA effect

amadeusmax — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:58:54 EST

I don't care what the spinmasters say, when they Announced that Obama had won the Iowa caucus, I felt the change. It was something physical. History was made, and I witnessed it.Not only that but it's been along time since I have seen anything historical that made me feel that good.

Let's also take a look at the republican party. With Huckabee winning like he did, it shows that the republicans also want great change. Everyone is now trying to jump on the "Change" wagon, that Obama has been since the beggining.

I admit it, I too want change. Barack brings it with a full house, and so honorably and with dignity and charachter. I pray for him, I want him to succeed.

The only thing I didn't like was the DNC website main interest was into (negative campaigning) slam Huckabee and call him a third term bush, instead of recognizing the great accomplishment of all three of the democrats did in Iowa with voter turnout, and the historical win of Barack Obama. Maybe they will take Obamas words and learn how to multiply instead of divide.

THe Obama effect will be that everone will now try to sound like him. Say they said itfirst, or it was their idea first. It's too late, we all know who the true leader is.

Confession

John Budlong — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:21:00 EST

I used to be a "good" Republican but have been put off by the party over the years. I am not sure when it started but by the last Presidential election had a hard time voting the party line. I had wanted to vote for the Libertarian but was told by a Democrat that "a vote for the Libertarian was a vote for Bush". He did not let me tell him who my other choice was and kept going on and on. Finally I took my absentee ballot and voted for Bush.

I know there are other people like me out there. Have a sore nose from holding it to vote? Senator Obama has changed my worldview from negative to positive. Join me and join the change!

Our Work Has Begun!

m2violin — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:55:25 EST

As I'm typing this, I'm watching Senator Obama's thrilling victory speech in Des Moines. What an evening! I hope you're as thrilled as I am about the results of the Iowa caucus. In reality, the United States won tonight!

Now, thre rubber meets the road. Oklahoma's primary takes place on Super Tuesday, February 5. We will be planning some GOTV (Get Out The Vote) events in the next few weeks. We need to make personal contact with voters to encourage them to get out and vote-and prove the pundits wrong, like they did tonight in Iowa.

One thing that you can do right now is to encourage people to register to vote as Democrats. The best way for Obama supporters to support Obama is to vote for Obama on February 5. To do that, you must be a registered Democrat. Unlike some other states, Oklahoma has closed primaries. What this means is Republican and Independent Obama supporters will be unable to vote for Obama on February 5 unless they register as Democrats.

Persons who wish to register to vote, or change the registration to Democrat, have very little time to do this. The deadline for voter registration for the February 5 primary is January 11.

The Obama campaign has made it easy to register, or change your registration. Just go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/OKVote# , click on "Register Now," and you can register online. Voter registration forms are also available at Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquarters, any tag agency, any branch of the Tulsa City-County Library system, or the Tulsa County Election Board, 555 North Denver Avenue

Please pass this message along to your friends who need to hear this message. Together, we can bring about change in our country!

Martha Mattes

PS: Be watching for information on things you can do to GOTV for Barack in Oklahoma!

America Wins!

John Budlong — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:55:52 EST

Senator Obama wins by 8 points over Edwards and 9 points over Senator Clinton. It is an exciting time to be in America. The reason for this is Americans want change. They want change from the same old poison politics of old. We need to chart a new course from the politics of conflict.

I have been watching the coverage via the Armed Forces Network which has being showing MSNBC.

I think the Wind for change is turning into a storm! One that will bring forth change from big corporate abusive over America, where all will have access to quality health care. An America that will fullfill its responsibilities in the world community.

He will bring an end to the 50/50 spilt of America. He will bring forth the change where all good things will become possible.

Barack WINS Iowa!

rainsky — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:12:27 EST

Off to the best start ! It is only a start but, I am so very optimistic. It is the speaking of truth ringing so clearly that won this caucus. The best is yet to come.

The day has come to make a difference

John Budlong — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:41:34 EST

I am still here in Iraq doing the bidding of the current administration. It has been a quiet day for me. I will be home sometime in late February or early March.

This is your chance to do something to help bring reason back to the White House. This is the best I can do to help. The MWR phones do not work very often and the free Internet Connection has a lot of filters on it. The weather channel is blocked for some reason. I get to pay Magic Island Technologies to have a commercial provider.

The troops are expecting this mission to continue forever. Some of them are on their forth tour here. If they complain they are told "you volunteered" as that is an excuse for the poor treatment of the troops. Harsh punishment is the rule over here and there is no compassion shown.

We need to have a candidate who was not deceived and will pull our troops our of this conflict. Please help support Senator Obama! His foresight will make him a good President!

BARACK HAS AN EXCELLENT MEDIA DAY

snolly — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:18:38 EST

Caught Barack twice on CNN in prime time Thursday. One time was Barack with Wolf Blitzer and the other was Barack's Economic Advisor. OB had some appropriate remarks about Bhutto's death, but then he evaluated both the near term and the long term effects and the actions he would take if he were president. Same for the Economic Advisor. He discussed the current mortgage crises but also discussed the long term effect of the credit card crunch and possible actions B could take to ease the problems.

The current president appears to be sending the Secretary of State with a bucket reactions to the Middle East to put out fires that have gotten of control. The same for the current financial crunch. No long term planning or vision but misguided and expensive money patches that seem to have no real value to the real economy.

Merry Christmas!

John Budlong — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:38:29 EST

I am sending you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Camp Liberty, Iraq. It is a cool day here with infrequent loud explosions and sporatic gunfire.

We need to call up our family and friends in Iowa and remind them to vote. I also ask you to remember to vote. I am still waiting for my absentine ballot in the mail. I went to a lot of trouble to vote in the Oklahoma Primary, it is real easy for you to do so! If you have not registered to vote please do so.

Remember doing nothing says you do not care. Please support Senator Obama in the upcoming primaries.

Thank you!!

still time

John Budlong — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:33:27 EST

I see the House has not given George Bush his money to continue his conflict but fear enough democrats will cross the line. Again giving him money with no responsibility is not doing their jobs. It is turning the United States into just another sham democracy. Doing ones job is often painful and hard work.

I see a new direction with Senator Obama, electing Senator Clinton will just extend the conflict. It has no purpose, if it is more peaceful here it is because of the Iraq people not the use of opressive force! We have no purpose here, most of what you hear about Iraq is a lie. The troops you see on TV are a bunch of apple polishers and hand picked for their propongana task.

Call your congressman and ask him not to give President Bush his money, we are depending on you!

deception

John Budlong — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:08:17 EST

Congress needs to withhold the money to President Bush. Giving him more "mad" money does not support the troops but put them into furthur danger. Who knows what he will do with all of that extra money, Invade Iran? If he has to lay off people he can start with the overpaid contractors here in Iraq.

Call your congressman and senators and tell them to do the right thing. I know Senator Obama will withdraw the troops. With the exception of the Govoner of New Mexico the others will continue this mindless conflict here for the "prestige" of the country. National vanity to be paid for in the blood of our troops and for NO real gain whatsoever.

time to show support

John Budlong — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:09:01 EST

Hilary Clinton has said she is sorry for the slanderous attack made apon Senator Obama but does she really mean it. Her ill concieved attack is proof she does not have the stuff to be President of the United States. The next President is going to have and mend fences around the world. It is going to take a lot of patience and insight to do this.

If she attacks a fellow party member how will she do with the head of a friendly country nevermind netural or countries that are now hostile. We need to show our support by making an contribution. Senator Obama and the American people need your support.

Thank You for all you have done!

show support

John Budlong — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:57:05 EST

Hi, I am John Budlong from Claremore Oklahoma. I am still here serving in Baghdad but want to remind everone to show support for Senator Obama in this critical phase of the election. We need to contact our brother and sister Democrats in Iowa and remind them to show their support. The Senator also needs some funds to fend off those nasty attacks from Senator Clinton. These are misguilded attempts to stop the Obama tide however we must not have any malice toward her or her supporters. You can also place a sign in your window or on your car.

Please support Senator Obama, our best chance for real change!

Barack in South Carolina

Kevin — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 21:51:15 EST

Wow! After that speech who wouldn't be "FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!" Barack connected with the crowd and does so better than anyone else out there. He strikes me as more sincere in his convictions than Huckeby and just as if not more experienced in life than any of his democratic rivals. Hillary is trying to say that her experience as First Lady somehow makes her better qualified to lead the country--but Obama shows and she has proven that "experience" to be a hindrance, for she is entrenched in old traditions and points of view. Barack is offering something new and he is giving us all something to hope for--so yes tonight--I'm FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!! GO BARACK GO!

On a side note: I LOVED Oprah's little dance before her speech--I love what Oprah stands for, but she proves that not All black people CAN dance!! --LOL :D

Thanksgiving.

Ryan — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:56:12 EST

This year, one of the things I will be giving thanks to the opportunity to support a candidate who I believe can put our country back on track.

Thanks Obama.

O's education plan.

Ryan — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:53:29 EST

I like a lot of what he has planned. Expansion of the early education programs and elimination of "teaching to the test" sould like great steps in the right direction. Paying for it with reducing the tax benefits of big corporations is fine as well. I'm not real big on the reduction in NASA though. Many great things have come from NASA's work. Many of the things we use every day.

Now I know "reform" is often a political buzzword that often ends up as an unanswered campaign promise, but I really think the education system as a whole could work much more effeciently. I know it's a complicated issue with a lot of special interests involved, but I really think Mr. Obama needs to look in this direction.

Opening post

Joe Merenda — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:35:14 EST

Greetings fellow "Obmanites"

Just wanted to make a quick post here to show my support and share in the BIG breath of fresh air that Sen. Obama represents.

Young, fresh, and to me, stands alone among the other candidates on the debate stage. I get more and more impressed the more I learn about him. I hope he can make his way to Oklahoma during his campaign as it would be such an honor to just speak to the man 1 on 1.

A note to Sen. Obama. I am 35, going back to college and own a Pro DJ business as well as a dad of 5 with my lovely wife, and you sir inspire me. If you come through here and you need a pro DJ for anyting at all, call on me. Consider my audio services a campaign contibution.

TCC for Obama

Delindy — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:45:50 EST

Any Tulsa Community College students out there?
I am starting a TCC for Obama group. Our focus will be getting students to register to vote and supporting Obama for primaries February 5th.
Please email tccforobama@yahoo.com

The tide

Mid America Mom — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:46:39 EST

Since Feb 10 we have been here. Our ship has been sailing to our destination.

Never having cared for Andrew Sullivan....

clsez — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:18:30 EDT

When he first broke onto the scene due to, in my opinion, a misguided conservatism, as do foreigners when they come here thinking their origin nations' conservatism is similar to that in the USA. I despised the gratuitousness of his views but in the same way as Arianna Huffington and I both came around by that needed ingredient; being willing to give the benefit of the doubt when someone restates themselves cleary and thoughtfully, I now greatly respect Sullivans objectivity without always agreeing with him. All Barack supporters should have to read this. I am actually jealous of his diction and reason. You will find it grabbing.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama

Not so fast!

"Barbara Gordon" — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:15:54 EDT

Is Hillary running away with the nomination? Pollsters would certainly lead you to think so. But as an ESPN sports commentator likes to say, "not so fast, my friends!"

Click here for more and a link to a new salon.com article on why NOT to put much faith in primary polling.

And don't forget to watch Obama in MSNBC debates on the 30th at 9 PM Eastern. Obama promises to confront Hillary head on!

Used and new cars

Mid America Mom — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 21:06:54 EDT

The video just posted on the headquarters blog about social security started with a concerned Iowan. He has been looking at the candidates and brought up a popular phrase Senator Obama uses on the stump.

Yes, it is true we want a fighter. Honed, instinctual, decisive, cutting and precise fighter. One to pull the target in and two to mercilessly cut. There will be blood for sure so it had better be the others blood.

clsez — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 06:47:22 EDT

Listen .......

Once committed to fight, cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decsively, resolutely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depths of his spirit. "It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance.

This might sound overly aggressive to the untrained ear or the unseeing eyes but that would be because it wasn't listened to or seen. Understand that the word is not - bomb, not - raze, not - scorch, but CUT. I think when and if Obama wins this, it will be because he understands that dance that the American people want to see. This debate coming up should be the one he uses to completely take over the news waves with the skill and precision of his fight. It should leave people breathless, pensive and excited to have witnessed a master class in precision political dismantling.

Take an issue, any issue and cut!

Flow through gaps and cut utterly.

It is a fine balance that compares to dancing on water lillies as the mind has to be focused and merciless but is easy like a Sunday morning if done with a fully commited mind.

I just hope this leaves an impression as the campaign needs that spark. Hillary has shown how nervous she can get at all those times she has had to redirect. "Hope" and "Change" got the country's attention and us supporters commitment. Now what we need to see is how skillful and determined a fighter Barack will be. It will be needed in the general and some of us want the bonafides of a fighter proved to us going in!

Is there any "hope"?

"Barbara Gordon" — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:07:48 EDT

Barack kicked off his campaign with a discussion of the audacity of hope. And we were all hopeful that together we could turn politics around in the US. But is there any hope remaining? Sadly, it's beginning to look like the Dem nomination is all locked up. For more:

http://republicansforobama.org/?q=node/152

Another Chance to Vote!

m2violin — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:31:07 EDT

A progressive radio station in Portland, OR, AM 620 KPOJ, is having a presidential straw poll. The station has listeners all over America (Air America).

It's very important that Barack wins this poll. You can help by voting for him one or many times. The poll allows you to vote, and vote again.

Here's the link: http://www.620kpoj.com/pages/pages/straw_poll.php

The polling ends in November. It would be a great victory!

Vote For Obama!

m2violin — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:23:25 EDT

Hey Friends,

I wanted to drop you a short note to ask for your help. DFA is holding a Presidential Primary Pulse Poll to decide which candidate deserves their support. I voted for Senator Barack Obama and I want to keep them in first place.

Could you take just a minute to vote for Barack Obama right now? Here's the link:

http://DemocracyforAmerica.com/VoteObama

Thanks for your help.

Congratulations to Al Gore!

m2violin — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:27:54 EDT

As you know, Al Gore just won the Nobel Peace Prize. Please click on the link below to send him a congratulatory card. In the card, ask that he endorse Barack Obama!

http://www.democratsenators.org/o/4/t/90/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=79&BOOL18=1

Thanks,

Martha Mattes

PS: Don't forget to TURN THE PAGE ON IRAQ. Join us for canvassing tomorrow, starting at 11 a.m. from David Phillips' home, 206 South Olympia Avenue.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vhrh

Tomorrow's the day to TURN THE PAGE ON IRAQ!

m2violin — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:09:29 EDT

IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW . . . TULSANS FOR OBAMA ARE SPONSORING

"CANVASSING FOR A CHANGE!!!"

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2007 (TOMORROW!)

11:00 AM TO 3:00 PM.

COOK OUT AFTERWARDS - POT LUCK!!!

STARTING PLACE:

206 SOUTH OLYMPIA

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109052026068689477109.00043a6de0e53a3269f26&ll=36.151288,-96.004671&spn=0.005952,0.009978&z=17&om=1

WE HAVE BUTTONS AND STICKERS!!!

918-230-5979

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS

Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vhrh to RSVPS

ee you tomorrow to TURN THE PAGE on Iraq!

Be there or be square!

And now, a word from David:

m2violin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:28:57 EDT

IN CASE YOU DO NOT KNOW!!!! TULSAN'S FOR OBAMA ARE SPONSORING

"CANVASSING FOR A CHANGE!!!"

THIS SATURDAY 11:00 AM TO 3:00 PM. COOK OUT AFTERWARDS

POT LUCK!!!

STARTING PLACE 206 SOUTH OLYMPIA

WE HAVE BUTTONS AND STICKERS!!!

918-230-5979

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS
RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vhrh

Turn the Page in Iraq -- Canvassing for Barack Obama

m2violin — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:11:10 EDT

When: Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 11:00 a.m.

Where: David Phillips' Home
206 South Olympia Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74127
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=206+S.+Olympia+Ave.+74127&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=0.005882,0.009978&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

Description:

We'll be canvassing selected precints in Tulsa, spreading the good news about Barack Obama! Let's TURN THE PAGE on Iraq!

RSVP and further details:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vhrh

Come help TURN THE PAGE IN IRAQ!

Barack Obama Wall of Supporters reaches 1000

Eli Rivera — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:15:00 EDT

The Barack Obama Wall of Supporters reached 1003 supporters today. Visit the wall at www.obamanh.com and have your name listed. Our next goal is 1500 supporters by the New Hampshire Primary in January 2008.

Reach out to your MYBO friends, family and friends and invited them to join the wall.

Eli Rivera
www.obamanh.com

Jeeping for Barack 1st trip is a success

Eli Rivera — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 12:52:15 EDT

The great thing about grassroots campaigning is that every little thing each and everyone of us do can make a diference.

On Saturday October 6, I headed out for my first "Jeeping for Barack" in Peterborough, NH. I arrived around 12:00 and started making my rounds through Main Street, downtown and local shopping plazas. At first I was a little hesistant, but after a few waves, thumbs up and honks, I new Barack had a strong showing in Peterborough.

I did this for an hour, finally parking on Main Street for another 30 minutes. People would wave, take pictures of my Jeep and trailer, encouraging my "visibility campaign" for the Senator.

Every little thing we do brings us closer to electing Barack as our President.

Eli Rivera
www.obamanh.com

Jeeping for Barack on POLITICO

Eli Rivera — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:53:25 EDT

You won't believe but my MyBO event "Jeeping for Barack" made it on one of the top political websites: www.politico.com

See here:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1007/Remainders_Dodd_campaign_sheds_staff.html#comments

You just never know what political websites will pick up.

Eli Rivera
www.obamanh.com

Obama Day at Tulsa State Fair is Saturday, October 6!

m2violin — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:07:34 EDT

Thanks to you, we are completely booked for the 10-2 and 6-11 shifts at Obama Day at the Tulsa State Fair!

However, we have a need for more Obama supporters for the 2-6 shift. We've had a last minute cancellation and have only one person staffing the booth. We really need one more person to step up and volunteer for that shift. Please let me know if you can help out. Volunteers will receive a free pass for the fair! If you know of any other Obama supporter who can help out send them my way.

Thank you for your support of Barack Obama!

6-1/2 hours to go -- and Remember Mike Synar! (Do this for Mike.)

m2violin — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:26:08 EDT

I know you're busy, but I just wanted to check in with a quick reminder about a note I sent you earlier.

We have less than 7 hours to meet the September 30 quarterly deadline. Each and every Obama supporter needs to put their money where their mouth is and contribute. Every little bit helps. Even if you can only give $5, that $5 will send a powerful message.

Many of you may remember the late Mike Synar, who was the wonderful representative from Oklahoma's 2nd district. Throughout his career, Mike never accepted contributions from political action committees or other special groups. He was accountable only to the people of Oklahoma's 2nd district. It must have been very tempting to take the easy way out and accept PAC money. The gun lobby, the tobacco lobby and other special interest groups poured huge dollars into the campaigns of Mike's opponents. But Mike held his ground. For the courage of his convictions, Mike was recognized in Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's book, "Profiles in Courage," the follow-up book to her father's original.

My friends, BARACK OBAMA IS CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH AS MIKE SYNAR. He will NOT accept PAC money or contributions from other special intesrest groups. HE WILL TAKE BACK AMERICA FROM THE WEALTHY SPECIAL INTERESTS. That's why this campaign is truly grassroots -- and why it is so vitally important that EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, make a contribution.

Will you take a moment to check out our group page and consider making a donation?

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/maingroup/Tulsans4Obama

Thank you for your support!

One more day to go!

m2violin — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:27:09 EDT

Have you received Michelle Obama's e-mail message? She's stressing the importance of everyone contributing prior to the deadline. Every little bit counts-no amount is too small. Michelle's 200% behind her husband's campaign. She's going to be an awesome First Lady. Now, let's help her become First Lady -- and help her husband become the next President of the United States.

One more day to go in our challenge -- come on, folks! Everyone can contribute! You don't need to contribute a lot -- even $5 will do! We all need to help out so Barack Obama can run ads -- and open a headquarters here in Oklahoma! You want, that, don't you??

Tomorrow's the deadline -- so all of us (that means you, too,) need to step up to the plate and contribute.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/maingroup/Tulsans4Obama

Thank you to Brad and Tammy who have contributed!

I'm typing this in a hotel lobby in Oklahoma City. I've just played a 2-1/2 hour ballet performance. I could have gone straight up to my room and grabbed some rest (Romeo & Juliet is a difficult ballet to play). But I'm typing this because it's important. We all want Barack Obama to become the next President of the United States. Let's all do our part to make it so!

Good night, folks -- and I'll be checking in tomorrow between opera rehearsals!

Barack and his experience in my opinion

Eli Rivera — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:25:03 EDT

As the campaign for Presidency moves on, and as I continue to read articles from diferent sources, it appears that the only issue other candidates and there supporters go after is there claim of Barack's lack of experience in Washington. I have to say that what they are truely afraid of is change in Washington, the end to a game that has been going on inning after inning with the only loosers being the American people.

Barack will bring an end to this, bring the American People's interest to the forefront and return the White House to the People. A new breath of fresh air and an end to a corrupt and troubled adminstration.

This so call claim, could be almost interpreted as Barack not being part of the Washington clic or the good old boys network, were Barack will be looking out for the interest of the American people and not particular individuals or lobbyist.

Hillary Clinton during a debate at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, she said something that has stayed with me and that was something to the effect, as President we don't tell the American people everything. This is totally contrary to Barack's position of openess and communications with the American people. I do understand National security and confidential matters, but there are tons of issues that our President should be upfront with the people.

Barack is one of us, a person who started at the bottom as a community activist. His passion and leadersip, will bring a new America. Do you Believe?

Eli Rivera
www.obamanh.com

Keene NH Pumpkin Festival

Eli Rivera — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:04:58 EDT

Huge event coming to Keene New Hampshire on October 20, 2007. Keene was the holder of the most Pumpkin lit at over 30,000 at one time for over 8 years straight. With over 75,000 people coming to the event from all over the US, what a great opportunity to show our support for Barack. Carve several pumpkin with a message of HOPE , wear your Barack buttons, t-shirts and hats and spend a day or two in beautiful Keene NH. Stop by an visit the Barack Obama Campaign Office in Keene. As we get closer to the event, look for events in the area.

Eli Rivera
www.obamanh.com

Help us reach our goal-DEADLINE IS 9/30/07!

m2violin — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:59:05 EDT

This is where the rubber meets the road. We need each and every Obama supporter to contribute to the campaign. The deadline is 9/30/07. The three groups with the most contributors will be able to participate in a conference call with our next President-BARACK OBAMA! Even if you can only give $5, every bit counts -- so make your contribution today!

Just click on the link below:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/maingroup/Tulsans4Obama

After you've contributed, forward this to all your friends and encourage them to donate, too!

Thank you for your support of Barack Obama!

Obama Day at Tulsa State Fair -- WE NEED YOU!

m2violin — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:49:05 EDT

We still need volunteers for Obama Day at the Tulsa State Fair! We have four persons staffing the booth from 10-2, but we need at least two persons (preferably three) for the 2-6 and 6-11 shifts.

If you can't work an entire shift you can find someome to split the shift with. You'll be responsible for staffing the booth and answering questions. Keep in mind that there will be materials on hand for other presidential candidates, other Democratic candidates (such as Andrew Rice for Senate), and party-affiliated groups (Heart of the Party, Just Progress, Democracy For America, etc.)

Please sign up to work a either the 2-6 or 6-11 shift. Just reply to this message & let me know which shift you'll be able to work. You will get a free pass to the fair!

Also, we need contributions of money to print out brochures. Joy Whitman and Brad Byers have put together a terrific brochure-but we need money to get copies printed. We'll also need lots of brochures for when we start our neighbhoord canvassing next month. If you can make a monetary contribution, let me know, and I'll give you the contact information.

Also, if you'd like a copy of the brochure to print out and hand out yourself, let me know.

Thank you in advance for whatever help you can provide!

Once again, we need people to work the 2-6 and 6-11 shifts on Saturday, October 6. Volunteers get a free pass to the Tulsa State Fair! Please let me know ASAP which shift you will work;

2-6 p.m.
6-11 p.m.

Thank you for all you do on behalf of Barack Obama!

Martha Mattes

Our country is ready for Barack

Eli Rivera — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:36:08 EDT

Recently I had 2 conversations, one with a Republican and the other with a Democratic Hillary supporter. The republican said to me,

"New Hampshire is not ready for Barack, New Hampshire won't recognize Martin Luther King Day, instead they opted for a Civil Rights Day, what makes you think that they will vote for Barack".

I was able to hold back my anger and said, as long as people still think the way you do, our Country will never be united. I followed by saying, that support for Barack is growing and that his acceptance in New Hampshire has been positive. We ended our conversation by basically saying that even if New Hampshire did not recognized Martin Luther King's Day, our country was moving in a positive direction knowing that George Bush would not be in office soon.

Later on, I spoke to a Democratic (Hillary Supporter) and was told,

"Barack will never get elected, Americans are not ready to admit that we are equal, they would rather elect a white women rather than a black man".

Again, my blood started to boil and I said, why do people continue to look at a person's color as a requirement for office.

We have a candidate that will bring unity to our country, return the White House to the American people and has the will to bring new direction, hope and change to Washington, and all Republicans and some Democrats are concerned about is the color of Barack's skin. It is clear we still have ignorance in this country and racism is still active among us today.

How do we go about changing this? I hope to trigger some discussion about this, since it is clear that racism is still among us. With total disregard to a person credentials people would sacrifice a good candidate because of the color of his skin.

Eli Rivera

Personal Integrity

Eli Rivera — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:27:52 EDT

Back in December 2006, (Washington Post), Barack said "I'm very proud of how I've conducted myself during the entire time I've been in public service. My hope would be that people come away saying, 'He's not perfect, but he owns up to his mistakes and tries to correct them as quickly as possible'".

Wouldn't it be of great surprise if our current President was to look over this quote and say "It's time for me to take on ownership of some of the mistakes I've made". As a former Republican and supporter of George Bush, I would say that the only way George Bush can leave office with some dignity would be to accept that he made a mistake by going to war with Iraq and not pursuing our true threats.

Barack Top Ten - 9-22-07 - Victory2008.net

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:39:45 EDT

1) Obama Condemns Jena Charges during Iowa State University Speech
9-22-07
Lisa Rossi - Des Moines Register
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070922/NEWS09/709220328/-1/NEWS04

2) Obama and Edwards Step Up Criticism of Clinton
9-22-07
Beth Fouhy - Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jPDo-NMvpVY4UgXpm2c296R0i3Jw

3) Obama Leads Both Giuliani and Thompson in Recent Poll
9-22-07
Rasmussen Reports
http://news.yahoo.com/s/rasmussen/20070921/pl_rasmussen/obamamatchup20070921_1

4) Obama's Mother Featured in New TV Ad Airing in Iowa
9-22-07
John McCormick - Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-obama_adsep21,0,7546153.story?coll=chi-news-col

5) JFK Advisor, Counsel and Speechwriter Ted Sorensen Backs Obama
9-22-07
Jennifer Feals - Seacoast Online
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/NEWS/709210402/-1/NEWS11&sfad=1

6) Students Like Obama in Iowa But Will They Caucus?
9-22-07
Dan Gearino - Sioux City Journal
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/09/22/news/iowa/3d06824cc7f1e10c8625735e000ce490.txt

7) Obama Wants to Expand Senior Volunteer Programs
9-22-07
Mike Glover - Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jDkaLoCLlGNuKVxZbfOhsUW7F7Dg

8) Democrats 2008 - Clinton - 36% - Obama - 23% - John Edwards - 18%
9-22-07
Angus Reid Global Monitor
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/28315/democrats_2008_hillary_36_obama_at_23/

9) Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Ben Cohen Accuses Obama and Clinton of Timidity over Pentagon Cuts
9-22-07
Teddy Davis and Mike Chesney
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3632367&page=1

10) In Polls Obama Lurks - Analysts Say Barack Needs to Soar
9-22-07
Jason Clayworth - Des Moines Register
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070922/NEWS/709220332/1001/ENT

My Take on the Jena 6

amadeusmax — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:56:55 EDT

What if it was 6 White guys beating on one black guy?

I just want to know where the justice is. I'm going to assume that both sides in Jena had racial tensions and stupidity. IF that is the case than, any way I see it 6 against one is unfair. I don't care if one side is purple and the other is orange. 6 versus one is wrong.

Going back to my topic, if this was 6 white guys beating on one black guy, would the reverend Jessie Jackson being crying out for justice and cival rights for the 6 white guys?.

I want someone to explain to me where 6 guys beating up on one guy is fair. I can see where one on one is fair. But not 6 on 1.

And yes I believe that blacks can have as much racial hatred as any white person. Racial hatred can cause a lot of stupidity, like burning crosses, name calling, racial jokes.

Jena may have a lot of racial problems, but until you can show me that it's okay for 6 people to beat on one person, I'm going to have to say white, black, purple, green or yellow it's never okay.

Two wrongs don't make it right. It just makes more wrong in the world. For everyone that has made their opinion about Jena, I ask you this:

IF it were the same circumstances, except it was 6 white guys beating on one black guy, would you feel the same way? Would you protest for or against the Jena 6 then?

Planning Meeting Reminder

m2violin — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:15:53 EDT

Just a reminder -- our next meeting is tomorrow, Saturday, September 22, 3 p.m. at the home of David Philips, 206 South Olympia Avenue.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109052026068689477109.00043a6de0e53a3269f26&z=19&om=1

We have a lot to discuss -- the October 13 barbecue and canvassing kick-off and other events to GOTV (Get OUt The Vote) for Barack Obama. Please plan to be there!

Martha Mattes

Obama's tax plan would help middle class, pinch the rich

m2violin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:39:51 EDT

From today's Chicago Tribune:

Obama's tax plan would help middle class, pinch the richBy Mike Dorning | Washington Bureau
8:12 PM CDT, September 18, 2007 WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed a tax cut of more than $80 billion for low- and middle-income workers and retirees funded by higher taxes on investors and some businesses.

Like other major Democratic candidates, the Illinois senator already has said he would eliminate the portion of the Bush administration tax cuts that benefits families earning more than $250,000 per year, so his tax plan would amount to a significant shift of the tax burden away from low- and middle-income Americans toward the more affluent.

Obama presented the tax plan in a speech to the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan research institute, a day after going to the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York to criticize the values of Wall Street. The tax proposals continue a populist economic approach."We need a tax code that's fair—a tax code that rewards work and advances opportunity," Obama said.

The centerpiece of the tax proposal is a direct "Making Work Pay" credit that would cut $500 from the tax bills of most low- and middle-income wage earners. Obama also would exempt senior citizens making less than $50,000 from income taxes and create a mortgage interest credit to lower the tax bills of less affluent homeowners by an average of $500, according to the campaign.

The new work tax credit would give workers a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $500 for Social Security taxes deducted from their wages, a level that workers rapidly reach. The tax credit would phase out for people earning "about $150,000 to $200,000" per year, according to a campaign adviser who briefed reporters on the tax plan on condition of anonymity.

The new mortgage tax credit is designed to expand the tax benefits from home ownership to include lower-income people who do not itemize their taxes. About two-thirds of Americans currently do not itemize their taxes, the campaign said.

Homeowners would be allowed a tax credit of 10 percent of interest paid even if they did not itemize their taxes. Homeowners who itemized their tax returns could still deduct all of their mortgage interest.

In a bid to simplify the process of filing taxes, Obama said he would give 40 million Americans with uncomplicated finances the option of simply verifying and sending back a pre-prepared tax return filled out by the Internal Revenue Service. Because employers and banks must report wages and interest income to the IRS, the tax agency can compute the tax bills for many Americans without additional input.

The senator said that would reduce time spent on tax returns to five minutes and save more than $2 billion in tax preparation fees and more than 200 million hours of work, as well as "an incalculable amount of headache and heartburn."

Obama said he would pay for the tax cuts by "shutting down corporate loopholes and tax havens," eliminating a tax break for hedge fund managers and raising the tax rate charged on capital gains and corporate dividends.

Investment income from capital gains and corporate dividends is currently taxed at a lower rate than workers' income from wages. The maximum tax rate for capital gains and dividends, currently set at 15 percent, could rise to "as high as" 28 percent, although the campaign has not yet determined the exact rate they would propose, according to the campaign adviser who briefed reporters.

Obama said he would "penalize companies and individuals" who do business in such "tax haven" countries as Andorra and Liechtenstein that do not follow international standards for sharing financial information.

The campaign adviser said Obama had not yet determined all of the loopholes he would eliminate but said they would include virtually all tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. Obama also would change the law to make it easier for the IRS to challenge tax shelters that have no substantial economic purpose, the adviser said.
Visit the Chicago Tribune website at www.chicagotribune.com

Obama's policy team loaded with all-stars

m2violin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:05:14 EDT

From the Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/ :

Obama's policy team loaded with all-stars

Criticized by some as lean on experience, the Democrat has drawn a huge circle of advisers with expertise honed in the circles of powerBy Mike Dorning | Washington Bureau September 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's presidential bid may have a well-cultivated insurgent feel, as the candidate both benefits and suffers politically from a relatively thin record of experience in Washington.

But the swelling team of policy advisers who have joined his campaign shows a politician grounded in his party's intellectual mainstream and well-connected within the capital's Democratic establishment.

As Obama rapidly transitioned from a senator with less than three years in office to a presidential candidate who has delivered detailed policy speeches, he has assembled a personal think tank that easily outsizes any of the established Washington policy institutes that provide intellectual fodder for the political war of ideas.

On foreign policy alone, some 200 experts are providing the Obama campaign with assistance of some sort, arranged into 20 subgroups. On the domestic front, more than 500 policy experts are contributing ideas, campaign aides said. Veterans of previous election campaigns say the scale of the policy operation resembles the full-blown effort candidates typically undertake for a general election campaign rather than the more stripped-down versions common for the primary season.

Senior advisers include heavy hitters from the administration of President Bill Clinton, husband of Obama's primary rival.

Anthony Lake, Clinton's original national security adviser, is helping coordinate foreign policy. So is Susan Rice, a Clinton assistant secretary of state and protege of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Eric Holder, a former deputy attorney general, is among those providing expertise on legal policy.

"These are not outsiders trying to tear down the temple," said Philip Zelikow, a former senior Bush administration foreign policy official and executive director of the Sept. 11 commission.

"If you guess that he's surrounded himself with people who are highly ideological, left-wing or dovish, you would guess wrong," added Zelikow, now a history professor at the University of Virginia. "These folks cannot easily be typecast by ideology."

Free-market economic team

Key economic advisers include a few Washington veterans such as Michael Froman, a Citigroup executive and former chief of staff to then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the Cabinet member most closely identified with the Clinton administration's pro-free trade, business-friendly policies.

There are also several scholars from prestigious universities whose approaches are anchored in dominant market-oriented economic thought. One is Austan Goolsbee, a 38-year-old star University of Chicago Business School professor and New York Times columnist with centrist Democratic views who has argued for eliminating tax returns for many Americans with simple finances.

Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, described Obama's top economic advisers as "mainstream with a dash of creativity."

"These are people who think new thoughts -- within the mainstream, new without a capital N," said Blinder, now a professor at Princeton University.

The campaign policy team gathered around Obama is hardly a shadow Cabinet. If he wins the nomination, other Democratic policy experts who now are neutral or allied with a different candidate will gravitate toward him. If he's elected, still more will join his circle.

But the makeup of the group, and the way in which Obama deliberates with its members, offers a window onto how he might operate as president. Many of them surely would graduate to influential roles in an Obama administration. Their discussions of the broad range of issues a presidential candidate must address provide an early if imperfect drill for decision-making in the Oval Office.

The worldviews of the advisers candidate George W. Bush gathered around him turned out to predict his foreign policies better than his campaign rhetoric that America should be "humble" in the world and avoid commitments to nation-building.

Such architects of the Iraq war as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice and Richard Perle all were influential policy advisers to Bush's presidential campaign. Colin Powell made important public appearances on behalf of candidate Bush but remained distant from the campaign's foreign policy deliberations, foreshadowing the role he would play in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Obama built relationships with high-powered policy experts even before he was elected to the Senate.

Goolsbee first met Obama, then a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, in the faculty social world. University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein and Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, two of the nation's leading liberal legal scholars, have relationships with Obama respectively dating back to the University of Chicago faculty lounges and Obama's days at Harvard Law School. Lake began giving Obama informal foreign policy advice even before Obama won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Once elected to the U.S. Senate, Obama set up an ambitious policy operation for a newcomer. Froman, a former fellow editor of the Harvard Law Review, helped make connections in Washington's policy establishment. So did Cassandra Butts, another law school classmate and former senior policy adviser to then-House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt. She continues to assist with Obama's policy operation.

Big-picture operation

Unusual for freshman senators, who typically concentrate on the daily demands of legislative activity, Obama created a small operation devoted to broad themes under policy director Karen Kornbluh, another former Rubin aide. Kornbluh has written of the need to update government benefits such as Social Security and private employee benefits to take account of the country's shift toward two-income families. It is a theme Obama included in his book "The Audacity of Hope" and frequently sounds on the campaign trail.

His staff quickly began bringing in outside experts for wide-ranging discussions on policy: trade over Thai takeout in his Senate office, energy over dinner at a trendy Capitol Hill restaurant. Obama brings the Socratic style of a law professor to policy discussions and enjoys the give-and-take of opposing views, advisers said.

"It's very spirited," said one longtime aide. "He tests out ideas and challenges people. Nobody is allowed to be quiet."

Among the early additions to his circle was Samantha Power, a Harvard professor who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book criticizing U.S. historical failures to act against genocides. She took a leave from her faculty position to help the new senator with foreign policy and remains an influential adviser.

Other top campaign advisers on national security include Gregory Craig, a Clinton impeachment defense attorney and former director of policy planning in the Clinton State Department, and Clinton Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, who has written on the potential dangers of terrorist strikes using biological weapons.

Sarah Sewall, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and former Clinton Defense Department official who wrote the introduction to the University of Chicago edition of the new counterinsurgency manual Gen. David Petraeus revised for the military, is advising on counterinsurgency strategy.

Since Obama announced his presidential campaign, he has been deluged with offers from experts to assist with policy advice, said campaign aides and outside advisers. Though they attribute that to enthusiasm for Obama's candidacy, his campaign also provides greater opportunity for the ambitious, because front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) relies on an established circle of advisers.

The senior members of the national security team resemble their Clinton administration colleagues now gathered around the former first lady in favoring an active U.S. engagement in the world.

But they tend to be people who, like Obama, were early critics of the Iraq invasion. Many also share a conviction that the foreign policy mistakes of the Bush administration are so serious that the next president must give a clear signal of a new direction.

They are not necessarily foes of military action. Lake was an advocate within the Clinton administration of military intervention in Haiti and Bosnia.

Several advisers said they saw the tough-mindedness and freshness that attracted them to Obama during two incidents that the Clinton campaign tried to portray as gaffes showing foreign policy naivete.

Obama said during a candidate debate that he would be willing to meet with international pariahs such as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Shortly afterward, he declared he would be willing to order a military strike if he had "actionable intelligence" on the location of top Al Qaeda leaders in northwestern Pakistan and authorities there refused to act.

Rather than back away, Obama embraced the conflict with Clinton.

"Some voters on the Democratic side have complained they don't know where the real differences are," Power said. "It added clarity to what his campaign is about, and it gave a coherence to a number of policies he is pursuing."

To see the full line-up of Obama's policy team go to http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/chi-obama_teamsep17,0,169434.story .

Tulsa State Fair

m2violin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:56:13 EDT

As is the case every year, the Tulsa County Democratic Party will be hosting a booth at the Tulsa State Fair. This will be a great opportunity to get out the word that Barack Obama will bring much-needed change to 'business as usual' in Washington, DC!

Saturday, October 6 is Barack Obama Day! We have been asked to staff the TCDP booth that day. The following shifts are available:

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (1 person)
2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (1 person)
6 p.m. to 10 p.m. (2 persons)

Please sign up to work a shift. Just reply to this message & let me know which shift you'll be able to work. If you can't work a shift on October 6 there are plenty of other shifts to work -- just send me an e-mail letting me know you're available to work on another day, and I'll let you know what's available.

Also, if you'd like a copy of the brochure to print out and hand out yourself, let me know.

Tonight's the Night!!!!

m2violin — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:50:14 EDT

We're going to have some fun-join us for Happy Hour, food and information about the Obama08 campaign! The fun will take place at Mexicali Border Cafe in the Historic Brady District, 14 West Brady Street. Plenty of free parking, and they have great food!

We'll have information available about upcoming events. There are plenty of opportunities to support the candidacy of Barack Obama -- and help him becom the next President of the United States!

Obama08OK is promoting the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. As such, we are actively working to secure the Democratic nomination for him. If you are supporting another candidate we ask you join that candidate's Meetup. There are also more generic meetups such as Tulsa County Democratic Party and Democracy For America that welcome all Democrats.

Let's all have the Audacity to Hope that things can change-for the better-in our country!

TIME: Monday, September 17, 5:30 p.m.

PLACE:               Mexicalli Border Cafe
                            14 West Brady Street
                           (southwest corner of Main and Brady in Tulsa's Historic Brady District)

Click here for map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=14+W.+Brady+St.,+74103&sll=36.158225,-95.99382&sspn=0.047608,0.079823&ie=UTF8&ll=36.160261,-95.991583&spn=0.047607,0.079823&z=14&om=1

Click here to RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vdfh

See you there tonight!!!

Victory2008.net - Barack Top Ten - 9-15-07

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:26:27 EDT

1) Blacks Moving Away from Clinton to Obama in South Carolina Poll
9-15-07
TheTimesandDemocrat.com
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2007/09/14/news/12747974.txt

2) Obama and Durbin Seek Meeting with Bank of America Chief Executive
9-15-07
Francine Knowles - Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/business/558327,CST-FIN-bank15.article

3) Michelle Obama on the Campaign Road
9-15-07
Hannah Storm CBS News - The Early Show Co-Anchor
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/15/earlyshow/main3263626.shtml

4) Obama Presses Iraq in Iowa
9-15-07
Aswini Anburajan - MSNBC - First Read - The Day in Politics
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/14/361983.aspx

5) Obama Makes Push in Opening State of Iowa
9-15-07
Time Reid - TimesOnline - UK
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article2457825.ece

6) California Legislature's Black Caucus Endorses Obama
9-15-07
Associated Press
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/13/politics/p105656D99.DTL&type=politics

7) Lowdown on Oprah's Obama Event
9-15-07
Craig Smith - CraigSmithsBlog.com - Santa Barbara
http://craigsmithsblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/lowdown-obama-at-oprahs.html

8) Obama Gets Oprah - Clinton Gets Magic
9-15-07
Michael R. Blood - Associated Press
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070915/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_blacks_9

9) Democrats 2008 - Clinton - 39% - Obama - 21% - Edwards - 15%
9-15-07
Angus Reid Global Monitor
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/28235/democrats_2008_hillary_39_obama_21/

10) Some War Critics Question Obama's Fervor
9-15-07
Perry Bacon Jr. - Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402254.html?hpid=topnews

My reason to support Barack Obama

rainsky — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:41:24 EDT

I first heard Barack Obama speak at the Democratic Convention. I was blown away. I had chills. That is not enough, however, to vote for a particular person; good speakers are easily found.

What really captured me was his presence --- his being "real" if you will. I feel as though he hears me as I hear him. There is honesty there, something this country has not experienced in a good long time. Refreshing and just clean. You cannot fake that kind of authenticity.

His wife is equally authentic and I believe that is important. She is not playing a 'role'; she is speaking her heart and mind.

Mr. Obama has straight forward plans. He is not Naive, rather he is refreshingly clear. He understands and uses 'common sense' tempered with intelligence.

I want this man to be the next President of the United States of America. I believe I can trust him.

Obama08OK! is less than a week away!

m2violin — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:00:47 EDT

TIME: Monday, September 17, 5:30 p.m.

Click here for map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14+W.+Brady+St.+Tulsa+OK+US+74103

Click here to RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vdfh

Be Not Afraid

m2violin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:27:45 EDT

This was written by Father Lowell Grisham, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is what Senator Obama is saying!

Be Not Afraid
What if we chose faith and hope over fear?
by Lowell Grisham
printed in the Northwest Arkansas Times,
Fayetteville, Arkansas
August 20, 2007

I'm told that the messages "Fear not," "Do not be afraid," "Be not afraid," appear 365 times in the Bible -- a reminder for every day of the year. When the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples, his customary greeting was "Do not be afraid." It is what the angels said when they visited in the stories of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: Gabriel to Mary; the angel appearing to Hagar and to Elijah. It is the message of the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. It is what God says to Abraham and Moses and Jacob. "Do not be afraid."

There are few commands as central and repeated in the Biblical tradition as "Fear not." In fact, every enduring religious tradition offers to its followers an invitation to faith rather than fear. Religious language is characteristically the language of faith and hope, not fear. A foundation of the Christian testament is that "God is love" and "perfect love casts out fear."

I've wondered how different this decade might have turned out had our leaders been grounded in a fearless faith which could stand up in love and hope rather than succumbing to the temptation of fear that raises an anxious desperation which sets the stage to the compromise of freedom and the promotion of violence. How different might our response to the attack of September 11 have been if we had been led with words of faith and hope rather than words of fear and violence.

Fear exaggerated the threat of a small cult of organized crime into a worldwide army that must be met by a war. Terror is a tactic. It is the resort of the powerless and small when they don't have the power to come out into the open to challenge an enemy. Terror's only weapon is fear. If we become fearful, the terrorists succeed. Terrorists want to increase violence. If we become violent, the terrorists succeed.

We know how to deal with groups of organized crime who use terror as a tactic because they don't have any other strengths. We've dealt successfully with the Ku Klux Klan and the Mafia. What is called for is police action, not war. Skilled intelligence officers can convert disillusioned members by appealing to a higher good or offering them something better, a way out of the darkness. They infiltrate the group and uncover it to the light of day. It is the light that casts out darkness. Ultimately the KKK eventually lost most of its energy when acceptance of people of other races replaced fear of them, when love overcame fear.

That's not the strategy our leaders used when faced with an isolated terrorist event from a small, little-known organized crime cult. Our leaders dignified their attack as though they were an army, declaring war on them as though they had the standing of a recognized nation. They credited Al Qadea with a presence and power in Iraq that it didn't have. Our leaders made us more fearful, as if these fugitives could attack everyone-everywhere-anytime.

Our leaders made us more and more afraid. They used that manufactured fear to justify an unjustified war, to compromise our traditions of freedom from unwarranted search, to create a culture that invited torture, and to violate our treasured tradition of habeas corpus.

There was a more faithful way available. What if we had responded with hope instead of fear? What if we had used the world's sympathy after September 11 to create a generous and hopeful global response to the ills and conflicts that create the hopelessness which breeds terrorists: What if we had become the leader of a world-wide effort to overcome poverty, disease, and human degradation? What if we had used our influence to broker a just settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which inflames extremist passions? What if we had joined in common effort with the moderate expressions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism to challenge the legitimacy of the radical and violent forms of those good faiths?

How different might our present be had our leaders acted out of faith and hope rather than fear and violence. As it is, our violence has simply escalated the violence. There is more hatred and mistrust directed toward our nation and people than ever in our history. The number and depth of our enemies has grown. Our own army and economy has been drained. That's the product of decisions motivated by fear.

"Fear not. Do not be afraid. Be not afraid." There are voices of hope and faith out there. Maybe it's time we listened to them.

Barack Obama on September 11th

m2violin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:24:29 EDT

Just in case you haven't received this, here is our Next President's September 11 message:

Six years ago, on a bright and beautiful Tuesday morning, a new kind of enemy came to America's shores.

We will never forget the images of that terrible day -- the planes vanishing into buildings, the thick black clouds of smoke, and the haunting pictures of the missing.

On this anniversary, we pause to remember each and every victim of those attacks.

We celebrate the lives that were tragically cut short. We grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones. We honor the service and sacrifice of the emergency responders who set an example to the whole world that in America we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper.

And we pause to honor the brave men and women of the United States military -- and their families -- who have borne such a heavy burden for the last six years.

We also remember how Americans were stirred to a common purpose. On the lines to donate blood or the candlelight vigils that stretched across our country, there was no red America and there was no blue America. We were united in our grief for our fellow citizens. We were united in our resolve to stand with one another and to stand up to terror. We were united as Americans.

Six years later, the threat to America has only grown. Al Qaeda has reconstituted a new safe-haven where it trains recruits and plots attacks. Al Qaeda's top two leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, continue to disseminate their hate-filled propaganda and inspire legions of followers. Like-minded extremists have struck in scores of countries. The war in Iraq continues to fuel terror and extremism. A Taliban insurgency rages on in Afghanistan. In too many disconnected corners of the world, hate is casting a shadow over hope.

Our calling today remains the same as it was on 9/11. We must write a new chapter in American history. We must bring justice to the terrorists who killed on our shores. We must devise new strategies, develop new capabilities, and build new alliances to defeat the threats of the 21st century. We must extend hope to the hopeless corners of the world and reaffirm our core values to counter the hateful message of the extremists. And we must secure a more resilient homeland.

To write that new American story, we must recapture that sense of common purpose that we had on September 11, 2001.

America is bigger than the challenge that came to our shores. Let us honor the legacy of those we lost by coming together anew. Let us always mark this day by affirming that hope will triumph over fear, and that a new generation of Americans will seek a safer, freer, and more perfect union.

Barack Obama

Obama'08 September Meeting

m2violin — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:06:51 EDT

Time: Monday, September 17 at 5:30 PM

Duration: 2 hours

Host: Martha Mattes

Location:                     Mexicalli Border Cafe (Tulsa, OK)
                                      http://www.mexicalibordercafe.com/
                                      14 W. Brady St.
                                      Tulsa, OK 74103

View Map:

Directions:Located in the Historic Brady District, at the corner of Brady and Cheyenne. Plenty of free parking!

Obama08OK August Meeting

m2violin — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:44:26 EDT

Hope everyone has had a good summer! Labor Day is the traditional beginning of the campaign season, and we need to kick into high gear. We'll be discussing things each and every one of us can do to help elect BARACK OBAMA the next President of the United States.

BRING A FRIEND, OR TWO, OR THREE!

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED!

Time: Monday, August 20 at 5:30 PM

Duration: 1 hour

Host: Martha Mattes

Location:

Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquarters (Tulsa, OK)
3930 East 31st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135

I'm doing something different, I'm getting involved.

amadeusmax — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:39:56 EDT

For the first time in my life I'm getting personally involved into a political campaign. This is quite a feat for me, as I normally look at such activities as either foolish or manipulation. I do not feel that way about what I am doing now. I might be just a true believer. Which is strange for me to become this way, at this age in my life.

I have met with other Tulsans today and we are organizing our group. Our focus is to get Barack Obama information out to the Tulsa area, and then do what we can to get additional supporters from the Tulsa area.

If you wish to be involved please contact me either hear or through my website, www.amadeusmax.com.

If there is anyone who wishes to mentor someone in their first ever political endeavor, please feel free to contact me as I believe I will want as much help as I can possibly get.

The Time is now for you

amadeusmax — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 01:05:45 EDT

The time is now for us to get out there and follow the lead of our leader. He doesn't berate his competitors but he does show why he is better. We need to be the voice that carries the message of the politician we believe in. We need to represent him in the same respectful manner he represents himself.

We need to show the world why he is the Next president of the United States. We need to represent in a clear confident voice, and do it with integrity and humanity, to show our best face forward for what could be the greatest time in American History. As the time draws near for primaries, we need to speak loudly, with motivation and encouragement.

We need to speak to our neighbors, our families and our communities.

Oklahoma Students for Barack Obama

Whit — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:15:15 EDT

Hi all!

I'm Whitney, a senior at OU and the Oklahoma Studentes for Barack Obama Coordinator! I'm currently in Chicago, interning for the Obama campaign! Chicago is a blast, but I'm excited to get back to Oklahoma and focus on building high school and college chapters throughout Oklahoma!!! If YOU or anyone you know would like to start a Students for Barack Obama chapter at their school, please go to www.studentsforbarackobama.com. Whether you're in high school, college, grad school, law school, etc., we would love to have any interested students start chapters!
For more information on Oklahoma SFBO or information on starting up a chapter, email me at whitney.denton@studentsforbarackobama.com

Thanks!!!

Whitney

Obama08OK-No July Meeting

m2violin — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:23:25 EDT

Due to the large number of people being out of town, we will not have a July meeting. Our next scheduled meeting is Monday, August 20, 5:30 p.m. Please e-mail me any suggestions for this meeting. Thanks, and have a great summer!

Brad's Journey with Obama

m2violin — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:48:49 EDT

Brad sent the following to me:

Last week I drove with a friend across Missouri to Moline, Illinois, then back across Illinois and Missouri and a third of Kansas before returning to Tulsa. I wore my Obama button.Here were some of my experiences.At breakfast in Nevada, MO, the waitress told me she plans to vote for Hilary. I told her that is a good choice but Obama is a better one partly because he is free of the obligations to powerful people that will encumber Hilary.At lunch in Macomb, Illinois, a middle-aged man at the next table said he plans to vote for Barack. I asked if he knew about the Walk for Change. He did not, so I encouraged him to go to Obama's web site and locate a group or form his own. The man's mother, visiting from Madison, WI, expressed interest.At the John Deere location in Moline, I found little interest. One man said he does not vote for the party but votes for the person with the best morals. He sounded Republican, and I just silently wished him luck in finding anyone in the Republican field with moral values (think Guiliani and Gingrich with their third wives under scandalous circumstances, McCain with his endorsements of Cheney and Rumsfeld, Romney with his call for doubling the size of Guantanamo).On the farm in Kansas, the elderly (even older than I) gentleman who hosted us said he did not know much about Obama. When I told him, he quickly became a supporter.There were others, but my memory fades quickly. But at about two-thirds of our stops, I found wearing the Obama button initiated pleasant conversations with strangers.

Ba-Rack Tulsa! (Walk for Change)

m2violin — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:26:47 EDT

We'll be fanning out all over Tulsa to spread the good word about Barack Obama! Wear your walking shoes -- or you can help organize things at TCDP Headquarters!

We'll meet at 9:30 a.m. at TCDP Headquarters, get nourished by a light breakfast, get trained and psyched for our precinct walking, get our materials -- and be on our way!

We will only be knocking on doors of Democrats, so you'll be talking to friendly people. Believe me, you will meet a lot of neat people who, like you, want to take our country back from the Republicans.

We'll serve lunch at Headquarters to feed your hungry tummy after all the walking. For those very motivated souls with sturdy feet who want to walk in the afternoon -- you can, if you wish. Just make certain you conclude your walking by dusk.

We will have a prize for the person who reaches the most households for Barack Obama!

If you're unable to walk, or just very uncomfortable, we still need people to stay behind at Headquarters to answer phones, troubleshoot problems, hand out packets to people who come later in the day (or who manage to finish their first packet), enter data online -- and help serve lunch to hungry walkers!

Bottom line -- WE HAVE A PLACE -- AND A NEED -- FOR YOU ON JUNE 9!

Invite your friends -- let's hit as much of Tulsa as we can!Time:Saturday, June 9 at 9:30 AMDuration:Host:Martha MattesLocation:Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquarters (Tulsa, OK) 3930 East 31st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135 View Map:

Associated Groups:Obama08OK!Directions:Located on the south side of 31st Street between Harvard & Yale -- across the street from Tulsa Public Schools Education Service Center, and next door to Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association.

The "View" from Here

"Barbara Gordon" — Sun, 27 May 2007 23:38:26 EDT

Monday is Rosie O'Donnell's last day on The View. She's leaving after months of feuding over the war. Now I don't care if you side with Rosie or if you prefer Elisabeth. I've never even seen The View. But here's my point:

As I sat at a stoplight yesterday, I found myself staring at a faded United We Stand bumper sticker. Do you remember how united we once were? And how the world promised to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with us?

Well that bumper sticker made me think about how far we've fallen since 9/11: how much division and animosity there is now. And I think it comes back to our politics. It's so sad that the very tragedy that once united us is now a tool used to divide and polarize us.

We need a new direction. And I believe Obama, with his eloquence, his passion, and his integrity, can reunite us if we will give him he chance.

A New Direction

Judy Judy — Fri, 18 May 2007 10:04:01 EDT

I have donated to this campaign and have been a staunch supporter of Obama since I saw him speak at the 2004 Democratic Convention. I have read both of his books and believe he has the right ideas to make this country great again. He is a brilliant and humble man that I truly believe could serve us well.

However, it has become increasingly clear to me that our system of government is broken and we are standing at a crossroads. If we don't act now, we may never regain control of our Democracy again. I often wonder, that as good a man as I believe Obama to be, can he really have any impact on our political system that has steadily grown more and more out of control each day?

I firmly believe that it is time for Americans to stand up and insist on impeachment of this president and his administration. If we don't hold our government accountable now, we may never again have the opportunity to save our Republic. This administration has committed so many impeachable offenses, I can only conclude that the reason our Congress won't act is that they fear they themselves may someday be held accountable.

I will no longer support any candidate that does not support impeachment. The resolution to impeach Cheney first has been introduced and should be voted on. It is time. There must be investigations and resolutions to hold these guys accountable. We must act NOW to restore our constitution and the balance of power.

MySpace

Mandy Langston — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:10:42 EDT

Just wanted to inform everyone of a MySpace profile worth joining. If you are interested, it is www.myspace.com/oklahomansforobama They have something like 100 people so far, so it is worth looking into! Thanks!

Clearing the Air

Egg Shen — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:37:56 EDT

Ok, so maybe I overplayed my hand a bit…

Let me begin by reiterating my pleasant surprise at the volume and breadth of the comments I received on that last post (www.dailykos.com). While the character of the reaction was somewhat different than I had expected, I'm pleased to know that this many people are paying enough attention to what's going on that they would even find, much less read, what I had written. And while I worry about the foundations of many of the objections (and compliments) that I've received, I think it mostly my fault for not being more clear in my style. There is one repeated comment, however, that I find disconcerting and think not necessarily my fault. Specifically, the charge that this was a humor piece.

While I understand that the exaggerated nature of my praises for Senator Obama may have lead some to dismiss them, I cannot emphasize enough how serious I was. The real irony of it, to my mind, is that it is my enthusiasm and exuberance that seems to have thrown most people off--as if the fact that someone took a Presidential candidate and an election serious enough to make it an issue of cosmic importance immediately disqualified them from the possibility of being reasonable. In all honesty, I think this country would benefit much from a Romanesque model--hence my invocation of princeps-- wherein we understood violation of our national principles and trust as something more akin to sin and impiety, rather than mere crime or mis-demeanor. Put another way, I think our politicians would be much more trustworthy if their campaign lies and shady dealings, rather than being an expected misstep, earned them a place in the hell where people are skinned alive.

With such pseudo-religious ideals in the background, I can easily understand how some saw it as a kind of attempt at deification. After all, I would characterize the piece as a kind of prosy, poetic hyperbole--sort of in the style of prophetic religious revelation--that sought to express simultaneously my elation at the Senator's run for office and my depression over the state of American politics. Ultimately, I think the overall project is best understood as a system of metaphors deployed to give shape to what I think best in Obama's campaign and what I think makes him best suited for the office. My focus then, was not so much Senator Obama, as it was the kind of politics and thinking that he represents. While I am by no means a member of "the Obama cult," I am a very proud and very vocal member of the cult of pluralistic pragmatism.

I think to say that I or anyone else of his supporters unquestioningly worships him as a hero is to overlook the substance of our agreement with him and misses much of what makes him so attractive to such a wide audience. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to pragmatism than the simple dictum "if the shoe fits, then we can wear it to work." In fact, pragmatism and pluralism have a long history in America and ultimately provide the ontological, epistemological and axiological frameworks of the American polity. Absolutely fundamental to both pragmatic and pluralistic thinking is the Socratic dictum, "if I am wiser, it is because I know that I do not know." Thus, any claims of support for Senator Obama that would grant him the status of "He Who Knows" immediately contradicts that which makes him such a valuable national asset. It is precisely because he does not claim to have a solution to all of America's problems that we feel he is the only one qualified to address all of America's problems.

At this point, it becomes clear to me why so many people have such a hard time with Obama. His statements of policy are vague; his opinions rife with the language of hope and idealism; and his panoply of support largely a function of his being a kind of "political Rorschach test." However, many of his supporters see these "faults" as his greatest strengths. While he is certainly idealistic, the idealism he preaches is a species of idealism-of-the-practical, which refuses to ever take anything for granted, nor any option off the table (within tolerances). His policy statements remain vague because there is still time to decide. The fact that at this point he has laid no specific plans is a testament to his willingness to remain open to all alternatives and perspectives until the critical moment itself. Meanwhile, his ability to speak eloquently, subtly and with sophistication, on prompt, about many of the most complex issues of our day betray a mind that while not settled is certainly not oblivious. Finally, that so many people see themselves in Obama is a direct result of the fact that he is refusing the high- in lieu of the common-ground. Everyone sees themselves in him because in his calm voice, gentle demeanor, and openness to alternatives, they see that which they think is best about themselves and ultimately our culture.

So, you must forgive me for the over-bearing nature of my last few posts. They were chthonic ejaculations erupting from a place that I think many of us share. It's that part of all of us that are saddened by the image of democracy we see everyday when compared with the images we were told we would see when we were young. It's that part of America that knows better than to buy into the rhetoric of this degenerative, faux-Kulturkampf and would like to focus instead on the things we share and that have made us great. And if there is one thing that has made America great, that has made it stand out in the history of the world, it is our dedication to pluralistic and pragmatic democracy (albeit in variously circumscribed forms) from our very beginnings.

But, now we begin to stray into areas best left, I think, to later posts. I hope to produce a short series that will elaborate on how exactly all of this fits together and ultimately why I think Senator Obama is best suited to the job of our next President. Primarily, it will be about pluralism and what I take to be its role as the preeminent problem facing America today. But, naturally, this will spill into a discussion of just how Barak Obama fits in as the beginnings of a solution.

I hope this has been successful in clearing the air surrounding that last post. It was not my intention to get a rise out of anyone, beyond the rise that would get them out of their chairs and onto the Obama '08 campaign trail, though simply getting involved at all, with anyone would be enough. And it was most explicitly not my intention to make a fool out of anyone, save for maybe myself. But in addition to that, I don't want people to think I was being disingenuous or cheeky. While I'll admit it was over the top, I think we all have to admit that in the past few years the world as been sort of over the top and maybe rhetorically extreme reactions to the rampant disenfranchisement and disillusionment facing most Americans today are not wholly inappropriate?

The kind of work I thought was going to be done...

amadeusmax — Wed, 02 May 2007 00:14:40 EDT

When I joined the advertisers group out there, I thought there would be some kind of joint effort to send like flash messages banners and put cool screen savers or videos out there. I haven't seen any of this.

I was trying to work on one myself (flash) but quickly ran out of steam since I haven't really seen anything as far as guidelines from barak campaign hq.

If you don't understand what I am talking about,

Link is an example. The first 30 seconds is as far as I worked out. Is there anyone else out there doing this type of thing?

Baloney Party [Cheney-Inhofe protest], Tulsa, Fr 4-27-07 10am-2pm

Mike W — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:39:30 EDT

Baloney Party [Cheney-Inhofe protest], Tulsa, Fr 4-27-07 10am-2pm
Link IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Mike Workman, 918-743-8165 h/o

Friday, April 27, 2007
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Central

street north of Doubletree Hotel
617 W. 7th Street, Tulsa OK, 74127

Organized by: DFA Tulsa

Sponsored by DFA Tulsa, Tulsa Peace Fellowship, Peace House Tulsa, MoveOn Tulsa, Tulsa Democratic Party MeetUp, and others.

When Republican US Vice-President Dick Cheney and Oklahoma Republican US Senator Jim Inhofe come to Tulsa at $250 per person for lunch, some of us plan to take some of the baloney they bring with them, make sandwiches, and eat them in a public gathering... the baloney sandwiches that is!

Baloney sandwiches will be available for an optional donation of 250-cents and proceeds will be used to help ensure that candidates like Cheney and Inhofe do not get elected again! A recipe contest will also be held with this luncheon encounter. Just imagine Bush-Cheney Katrina Baloney, Cheney Baloney Shots, and Inholf "Global Warming Is A Myth" Baloney! Join us with signs, songs, and your most creative baloney recipe!

Tulsa: Tulsa County Demos luncheon, Scott Bighorse, 4-27-07

Mike W — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:44:50 EDT

Tulsa: Tulsa County Demos luncheon, Scott Bighorse

Date:Friday April 27, 2007

Time:11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Location:Full Cup Cafe, 4634 E. 31st Street, Tulsa, OK 74135

TCDP 918-742-2457; Mike Gonzalez 918-639-1891

Tulsa County Democratic Party, Democratic Luncheon Club

Please join us, and bring a friend! Program at 12 noon

Meetings are held the fourth Friday of each month (except November and December)

Guest: State Rep. Scott Bighorse [D]

Oklahomans for Barack Obama '08

LESSONS FROM THE MICHIGAN PRIMARY

Presidential Primary & Absentee Voting in Oklahoma

contact list

MONDAY NIGHT MEETING WAS GOOD

my personal journey relates

common George

We're Doing It Again!

eureka!!!

STRATEGY MEETING IN OKC MONDAY JAN 14TH

guess

4th CD MEETING A SUCESS

intersection

Clinton on Meet The Press

The Shocking Video Hillary Does NOT Want You To See!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More Questions About Diebold Voting Machines, Did Hillary Really Win New Hampshire?

More Questions About Diebold Voting Machines, Did Hillary Really Win New Hampshire?

Diebold Voting system Fraud Rumors in New Hampshire Primaries

Voter Reigstration Deadline is TODAY!!!

NORTH EAST FIREWALL IS CRACKING

Time to move forward

Voter Registration Deadline is Upon Us! January 11!

HQ IN OKC DEMO HQ

Dissappointed by NH

I Believe in the Audacity of Hope – For Barack Obama

Primary Winner Prediction

Why Obama rose, and Hillary Fell

My path to the present and future of hope

realclearpolitics.com

We are FIRED UP AND WALKING FOR CHANGE!

LAWTON WATCH PARTY

Come to the BYO Watch Party!

I wish I was in NH

The OBAMA effect

Confession

Our Work Has Begun!

America Wins!

Barack WINS Iowa!

The day has come to make a difference

BARACK HAS AN EXCELLENT MEDIA DAY

Merry Christmas!

still time

deception

time to show support

show support

Barack in South Carolina

Thanksgiving.

O's education plan.

Opening post

TCC for Obama

The tide

Never having cared for Andrew Sullivan....

Not so fast!

Used and new cars

Yes, it is true we want a fighter. Honed, instinctual, decisive, cutting and precise fighter. One to pull the target in and two to mercilessly cut. There will be blood for sure so it had better be the others blood.

Is there any "hope"?

Another Chance to Vote!

Vote For Obama!

Congratulations to Al Gore!

Tomorrow's the day to TURN THE PAGE ON IRAQ!

And now, a word from David:

Turn the Page in Iraq -- Canvassing for Barack Obama

Barack Obama Wall of Supporters reaches 1000

Jeeping for Barack 1st trip is a success

Jeeping for Barack on POLITICO

Obama Day at Tulsa State Fair is Saturday, October 6!

6-1/2 hours to go -- and Remember Mike Synar! (Do this for Mike.)

One more day to go!

Barack and his experience in my opinion

Keene NH Pumpkin Festival

Help us reach our goal-DEADLINE IS 9/30/07!

Obama Day at Tulsa State Fair -- WE NEED YOU!

Our country is ready for Barack

Personal Integrity

Barack Top Ten - 9-22-07 - Victory2008.net

My Take on the Jena 6

Planning Meeting Reminder

Obama's tax plan would help middle class, pinch the rich

Obama's policy team loaded with all-stars

Tulsa State Fair