Sacramento For Obama

Don't let them Sabotage our Agenda for Change!

DragonflyKid — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:59:02 EDT

Them, They. Who are they? Who are these people who intend to get in the way of anything our President tries to do? Why do they do it? What is their motivation? What is their complaint?

I was outraged to see some schools refusing to play the President's Address to America's school children today. This proves that there is a small number of people in this country who are determined to get in the way and undermine anything we try to do as a country. This is unamerican, it's treasoness and unpatriotic.

They answer the moose call of their leaders, be it Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, and salivate like pavlovian dogs when they hear that call. They have the mentality of sorority pranksters who think this is all just one big fun game we are playing. There's just one more thing, they're bigots. When they don't have an argument, when they are unreasonable, like they were with the birth certificate, you have to admit that their actions are racially motivated. These are the bottom 10 - 20% of the country that is trying to set the conversation and the agenda for the rest of us. Is that okay with you? It's not okay with me, and it needs to be stopped if we are ever to get anything done!

This is not a game, this is our country. We have an electoral process that they seem to have forgotten about. They have selective memory. When we try to call them on their childish behavior they say "well the left did this and the left did that" as if that makes their actions a o k.

Well it doesn't. I'm really tired of the evalgelical left trying to takeover this country. A few months back we learned about "The Family" that reside at the C Street house in Washington DC. We found that many of our southern and conservative republican senators reside there. We learned that the leader of The Family has a drastically different teaching than traditional christianity. He teaches OUR SENATORS that the laws do not apply to them because they have been chosen by God to rule. Jeff Sharlet's book, and subsequent articles and TV appearances have established this beyond doubt. They even make "pilgrimages" to other nations on behalf of America. They have been operating in the shadows for decades, and who know what damage they have done.

The media backed off the story, but to me, it is central to the race bating and unrest going on right now. It's is the chickens coming home to roost for the evangelical right, and the media is giving them a free pass. Why aren't reporters storming C Street? Why aren't those senators asked to resign? What strange bunny hole have I fallen into?

What worries me about these wingnuts is that the Whitehouse and media are much too sensitive about allowing them a voice. So much so, that their voice drowns out our voice. They reveal themselves as hateful liars, yet they seem to be driving the debate and their lies are setting in if one is to believe the polls. Our president must not bow to these people. He must stand up against them as another "special interest" that does not have the good interests of our country at heart.

It is the responsiblity of each and every sane person in this country to stand up to these people, hold them accountable, and vote them out of office once and for all. We must remove this grip they have on our politics so that we can move forward with an agenda that is good for our country and our future. Stand up! Now is not the time to back down. This is a battle, seems it's between good and evil. This is a battle you don't want to miss and we need you on the front lines.

Never give up the fight, especially when it is clear there are dark forces in your way!

The Obama gas, prices, The Presidency, The Real health care reform prices.

Petr Buben — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:05:36 EDT

The Obama gas prices? $2.60. The Republican peak manipulation oil monopoly corrupted market distortion prices? $4.50. ... Which one is better? Many Republicans would claim $4.50, since they like the environment, and green, wind, solar-thermal and solar-cells, geothermal and sea waves energy. ... Well guess what, YES WE CAN have clean green energy - under the right management, under the right, pro-America Presidency, even at gas at $2.70 !! Check that out. .... Elected by The People, for The People, for The America. United We Stand

The cost of real medical reform - $0.00.
No need - do not set up - new taxes. Payments through employers will be redirected to Universal public-private single payer system.

Runaway fraud private insurance medical monopolies prices and their rises 10 -20% a year will be regulated. Extend Medicare to everyone. This will bring significant savings in the future, and it will boost competitivness of the country on the world markets.

I want this Presidency, this President, Mr. Barack Obama, to be known to history as ENDING the health care slavery to powerful insurance medical special monopolies in The Usa. Thank you.

Real health care reform now - Universal public-private single payer system

Petr Buben — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:29:38 EDT

The resources are at http://friendfeed.com/news3 , including Michael Moore take on it - 1. Universal health care available to everybody, 2. Abolish all insurance companies 3. Tightly regulate pharma companies ... to avoid outrageous overcharging ....... currently, premiums rise 10-10% a year ......

A real reform will cost $0. And its the best investment.
The payments through employers will be redirected to single payer system. everybody pays, according to what they can, and everybody has the healthcare ... lets stop this mad system of corporate overcharge megafraud .....

Not to have a health care is a human rights violation. The same goes for a homelessness of a human being. Be it in the industrialized world, or in a third country.

Petr Buben
http://friendfeed.com/BarackObama
http://friendfeed.com/petrbuben - http://friendfeed.com/petrnews

Support a Public Option!

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:47:45 EDT

I strongly support President Obama's three principles for real health care reform and urge you to do so too. Any plan Congress passes must reduce health care costs, guarantee choice – including a public insurance option – and ensure quality care for every American.

If President Obama's healthcare plan gets changed to exclude a public option like Medicare, then it is not real healthcare reform. Real healthcare reform depends on whether the American public is allowed to choose a universally available public option or not. If we are allowed to choose a Medicare-like option, the healthcare bill will bring true healthcare reform. It will ensure choice, competition and will reduce costs.

One reason given for opposing a public option is that private insurance companies won't be able to compete in the marketplace if we have a strong public option.

But why should we deny people the right to get healthcare through a public option like Medicare just to put corporate profits ahead of people’s health?

If we're denied a public option, we won't achieve real healthcare reform at all. It's time to stand up to the special interests and enact real reform that includes a public option.

Please support a public option in healthcare reform and urge Congress to do the same.

To see where members of Congress currently stand on the public option and to contact them, see this link: http://standwithdrdean.com/where_congress_stands

Thanks!

Pathways to Health Care Reform

Karanbir — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:16:39 EDT

President Barack Obama has laid out three basic principles for healthcare reform. There are numerous pathways to achieving these principles but none could be perfect. The basic health care starts with seeing a health care provider. If you cannot see a doctor in the office, you end up in the emergency room for simple medical problems, go through unnecessary tests and waste thousands of dollars. There is also lot of frustration as we have to wait long hours to get help.

Therefore the basic part of healthcare reform is our ability to see a doctor of our choice in the office. This fulfills all the three principles. This can be made possible by having a public health insurance policy and low malpractice premiums.

Public health insurance policy is very effective. About 30 states already have this for their state employees. It would help consumers by providing more competition and holding down costs, since in many areas in the country, the private market is monopolized by one carrier. Monopoly does not give any incentive for innovation or for cost effective strategies.

Most of us have seen that our favorite doctors are leaving their practices and joining hospital systems. This is because they are not able to pay their bills to sustain a successful practice. It has become very stressful for a doctor to run their office as they have to work 60-80 hours a week just to be able to feed their families. Their reimbursement for seeing a patient is going down but our expectations from them are going up. Their malpractice premiums are rising.

Health Care reform - Universal system

Petr Buben — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:12:48 EDT

It is very important to reform the current health mess, to set up universal single payer non bureaucratic health care system for all people in the USA. And everybody will pay in, all the time, according to their means... Just as the rest of the developed world. Get rid of health care payments through, to and from employers. Single payer is cheaper, more fair, thus not violating human rights of American citizens. ... SIMPLY EXTEND Medicare to everybody. Make it non profit, get rid off current colossal overpayment racket fraud. .. Get rid of Veterans Medical system. ...Of course, private voluntary plans will also exist along.

The Obama Deception HQ Full length version

Peta-de-Aztlan — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:55:32 EDT

Check this out for yourself and come to your own conclusions ~ as to whether it is true or not, whether what it claims is valid or not ~ you exercise your own intelligence. Certainly all of us need to keep open minds and see that it is true that there are a lot of global maneuvers and manipulations going on in these troubled times!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw

Call and Write Your Representatives

Dr. Barbara Palmer — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:28:29 EDT

We worked hard to get President Obama elected. We must keep going. Contact your Representatives and other elected officials who just need a nudge. They must fully support The President. We must get the agenda moving forward. Those in office are supposed to represent US. Let them hear from you.

Know what you are gathering pledges for

Walter Heath — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:00:38 EDT

For Immediate Release: March 18, 2009
Contact: Mark Dudzic, 201-314-2653 or mdudzic@igc.org

Labor leaders disappointed by lack of working people's voices at Vermont healthcare reform discussion

Burlington, VT -- Working people's voices were not heard at the Obama Administration's second regional Health Care Summit in Burlington, VT on March 17..

"Despite the fact that several union spokespersons attended the meeting, we were not called upon and unfortunately the voice of workers was shut out of the discussion," said Peter Knowlton, president of the Northeast Region of the United Electrical Workers Union (UE). "When it came to the financial discussion, Gov. Douglas and Gov. Patrick [the two governors moderating the session] only called on wealthy special-interests from the worlds of business and professional circles."

Sandy Eaton, a nurse who attended the forum stated that nurses' voices went unheard as well. "Nurses were well represented, but our voices were not heard -- and the term "nurse" or "hospital worker" was never mentioned in the two hour forum," said Eaton who is a member of the executive board of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Outside the auditorium where the summit was held, over 250 labor and community members rallied in support of HR 676 and single payer healthcare. "Our system needs fundamental reform," said Dawn Stanger, President of the Vermont Workers Center-Jobs with Justice. Stanger, a UPS employee and member of Teamsters Local 597, was joined by dozens of unionized nurses who worked next door at Fletcher Allen Health Care, the largest hospital in Vermont.

"We need to build a movement to demand change," Stanger told the crowd. The Vermont Workers Center is coordinating a major statewide "Healthcare Is a Human Right" rally on May 1 at the Vermont Statehouse, which will include U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders. The rally will oppose Vermont Governor Douglas' proposed budget cuts to healthcare programs and support state and national single-payer legislation.

"I was really hopeful that these forums would finally give voice to workers concerns," added UE leader Peter Knowlton. "There were many people there who could have reminded them about the serious problems hourly workers face with skyrocketing premiums and dealing with the horrors of co-pays, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and the run around all workers face with managed care. If this forum is any indication of future ones, we will need to be much more aggressive to get our voices heard."

Knowlton, Eaton and Stanger were among the several labor leaders at the forum who support HR 676, the "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All" Act. HR 676 was re-introduced this year by Congressman John Conyers. It currently has 66 congressional co-sponsors. Because it eliminates the private insurance industry from profiting from people's misfortunes and, like Medicare, establishes the federal government as the "single payer" of everyone's medical bills, HR 676 can provide healthcare for all with no co-pays or deductibles in a fiscally prudent manner. HR 676 has the endorsement of hundreds of state and local labor federations and local unions as well as many other civic and religious organizations.

The Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare was formed at a meeting attended by over 150 representatives from labor organizations in 31 states that have endorsed HR 676. We believe that the struggle for universal, single-payer health care needs labor's dynamic grassroots involvement. Learn more at: www.laborforsinglepayer.org <http://www.laborforsinglepayer.org>

Free Democratic Leadership Training

California Democratic Council — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:53:08 EST

The California Democratic Council is offering a free workshop covering a variety of different topics that activists should learn about if they want to become more involved with the party.

Whether you are a candidate or a volunteer, these topics will help prepare you for rising in the ranks of the Democratic Party.

The next workshop is on March 21, 2009 and will be held in Folsom, CA.

For full details, check out the event listing:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptp5l

Please not that you must register here: http://www.cdc-ca.org/Training/

Don't miss out!

Support the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:55:04 EST

Here’s a great positive message video from three of our own supporting the passage of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and thanking President Obama and the Congress for passing the bill. It was created in response to the CPAC commercial that used the "money spent since Jesus was born" timeline.

Please Digg it up!

http://digg.com/politics/The_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act

Also on YouTube here: /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->

LINK

Thanks!

Hold Congress Accountable

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 12:18:38 EST

Track your Senators' and Representative's votes by email:

Each week (that Congress is in session) you will receive:

Key votes by your two Senators and U.S. Representative.

Links to send email to your members of Congress using pre-addressed forms.

Upcoming votes for your review and a chance to offer email input before they vote.

Use this weekly vote monitor to track the decisions made by your elected officials on key issues.

SIGN UP HERE:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/

The Misdiagnosing of Neurodivergents

Raymond — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:49:21 EST

I feel that psychiatrists and other mental health professionals need to consider learning disabilities when patients have mental health problems. I have a long history of anxiety and depression,and not one single mental health professional even considered that I had learning disabilities. I believe that there should be screening for learning disabilities in people with mental health problems...especially if they have a history of low self esteem, insecurity,hypersensitivity to criticism that includes feelings of intellectual inadequacy.

Psychiatrists really need to have their patients tested
psychologically and neurologically in order to differentiate learning disabilities from psychiatric disorders. Poor coordination,left/right confusion,memory issues,disorganization,and speech irregularities are not just symptoms of psychotic disorders but they are also symptoms of learning
disabilities. It was these issues that got me misdiagnosed as a schizoaffective bipolar in 1999. They never did any psychological testing nor neurological testing.

Aspergers is listed as one of the conditions misdiagnosed Bipolar in the book,THE BIPOLAR CHILD by The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to
Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papolos M.D.,Janice Papolos, Janice Papolos,Janice Papolos. I actually copied the characteristics of Bipolar children and gave alternative explanations that could be linked to neurodivergent conditions. One of the common characteristics of bipolar children listed in the book was learning disabilities which pretty much supports my belief that a lot of learning disabled are getting diagnosed as having bipolar. One of the very common characteristics of bipolar are oversensitivity to environmental influences,and learning disabled people are highly sensitive. How many learning disabled children act out,misbehave,throw temper tantrums,lash out,pout,and/or cry because they are frustrated,stressed,angry,irritable,and overwhelmed from problems with processing information that leads to being misunderstood,teased,ridiculed,and criticized. A whole lot. I definitely was no different. Where is the common sense in regards to learning disabled children having secondary psychological symptoms? It just seems like there is very little of it. Learning disabled children grow up to be learning disabled adults,and many of them have secondary psychological problems. I definitely was no different. There is definitely a significant overlap between learning disabilities and mental health problems.

My Diagnosis of ADHD by psychologist in 2004
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=LD_ADHD_Assessment_005

My Diagnosis of Cerebellar-Vestibular Dysfunction by Dr. Harold N. Levinson in 2005
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Dr_Levinson_exam_000

My Diagnoses of Dyslexia,Dyspraxia by Veteran Affair neurologists in 2006
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Veteran_Affairs_Neurology_Assessment_and_Follow_Up_007

Children with learning disabilities are prone to chronic depression. Older adolescents and adults tend to become withdrawn. They may be quiet or become agitated, irritable, and angry; they may also look sad and talk about their sadness. Young children, on the other hand, tend to exhibit non-verbal clues and express their emotional struggles more by their behavior than by talking. A major depression typically lasts several weeks and may be intense. Mild chronic depression (dysthymia) may last for an extended period of time and frequently appears to be
an aspect of a child's usual moods and personality.
http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/mental_health/depression.asp

Learning Disabilities Association of America

There's all sorts of research in the field to suggest and support the concomitance of learning disabilities and mental health problems.
Several recent studies show that 50% of individuals diagnosed with learning disabilities have scores above the clinical range on a well known depression scale. One thing we know is that attentional problems are a common feature of both. Another study summary says, Teachers have long known and reported that students with learning disabilities
at lower educational levels have similar but more, and more severe,depression, than their peers without learning disabilities. There's no reason to think this link disappears with age. In fact, it becomes more urgent. And the stakes are higher. Failure to remediate at this adult stage has more serious consequences.
http://dyslexia.mtsu.edu/modules/articles/displayarticle.jsp?id=17

About 75 percent of dropouts have trouble reading, according to research conducted by Reid Lyon of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. About half of adolescents with criminal records and substance abuse histories have reading problems, according to a study published by the National Institutes of Health in 2001.
http://www.hopelit.com/Star-telegram.htm

Social Skills Deficits in Learning Disabilities:The Psychiatric Comorbidity Hypothesis
http://suicideandmentalhealthassociationinternational.org/mentpsych.html

For some the humiliation becomes too much. In one study, Peck found that over 50 percent of all suicides under age fifteen in Los Angeles County had been previously diagnosed as having learning disabilities.
The actual percentage of youngsters labeled "learning disabled" in most school districts in the United States is below 5 percent;therefore, it seems clear that youngsters with learning disabilities constitute a disproportionately large percentage of adolescent
suicides compared with the general adolescent population.

Results from a study in the U.S.A. by the National Center for State Courts demonstrated that youths with LD were 200 percent more likely to be arrested than nondisabled peers for comparable offences.
According to the U.S. Department of Education 60 percent of America's prison inmates are illiterate and 85 percent of all juvenile offenders
have reading problems.
http://www.audiblox.com/learning_disabilities.htm

Social and Emotional Problems Related to Dyslexia
Depression is also a frequent complication in dyslexia. Although most dyslexics are not depressed, children with this kind of learning disability are at higher risk for intense feelings of sorrow and pain.
Perhaps because of their low self-esteem, dyslexics are afraid to turn their anger toward their environment and instead turn it toward themselves.

However, depressed children and adolescents often have different symptoms than do depressed
adults. The depressed child is unlikely to be lethargic or to talk about feeling sad. Instead he or she may become more active or misbehave to cover up the painful feelings. In the case of masked depression, the child may not seem obviously unhappy. However, both children and adults who are depressed tend to have three similar characteristics:

▪ First, they tend to have negative thoughts about themselves, i.e. a
negative self-image.

▪ Second, they tend to view the world negatively. They are less likely
to enjoy the positive experiences in life. This makes it difficult for
them to have fun.

▪ Finally, most depressed youngsters have great trouble imagining
anything positive about the future. The depressed dyslexic not only experiences great pain in his present experiences, but also foresees a life of continuing failure.
http://www.interdys.org/FactSheets.htm

Children with both dyslexia and ADD are at dramatically increased risk for substance abuse and felony convictions if they do not receive appropriate interventions.
http://www.dys-add.com/nowknow.html

ADHD and Antipsychotic Drugs
Studies conducted at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.,suggest that the drugs are routinely prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=61845

More research needed
There has been little carefully controlled, long-term research on children taking most psychiatric drugs, including the atypical antipsychotics. The FDA is trying to get more pediatric research on the atypicals, says Thomas Laughren, the agency's director of the psychiatry products division. The FDA has asked five pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs to test them in children with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the uses they're approved for in adults. Under law, they can get a six-month extension on their patents for doing these studies. Also, the drug companies are doing their own pediatric studies on children with disorders as diverse as ADHD, autism, conduct disorder and Tourette's syndrome.
Janssen LP has applied to the FDA for approval to use its atypical antipsychotic, Risperdal, in the treatment of symptoms of autism, says Ramy Mahmoud, vice president of medical affairs for Janssen.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-05-01-adult-antipsychotics-kids_x.htm

July 1, 2005 -- The antipsychotic drug Risperdal may cut aggressive behavior in children with autism.
That effect was reported in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers including James McCracken, MD, of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), studied Risperdal and autism.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20050701/antipsychotic-drug-may-help-kids-with-autism

Patients with schizophrenia are likely to have problems reading, reveals a study that shows some may even have impairments similar to those seen in patients with dyslexia.
http://www.patienthealthinternational.com/ncm.aspx?type=news&param=14509

The ability to recognize objects is a fundamental cognitive task in every sensory modality, e.g., for friend/foe discrimination, social communication, reading, or hearing, and its loss or impairment is
associated with a number of neural disorders (e.g., in autism,dyslexia, or schizophrenia).
http://neuro.georgetown.edu/faculty/riesenhuber.htm

History: Most children who develop schizophrenia have disturbances of behavior and cognition prior to the onset of characteristic symptoms
of psychosis. Delays in speech and language and delays in acquisition of motor milestones are noted in approximately one half of these children. Children who develop schizophrenia have higher rates of impaired social skills and school achievement prior to presenting signs of schizophrenia
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2057.htm
(Delays in Speech and language are signs of Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,and Autism. Delays in acquisition of motor milestones are signs of Dyspraxia. Impaired social skills are signs of Aspergers,Autistics. Impaired school achievement is common in Dyslexics,Dyspraxics,ADHDers.)

Language Disorder In Schizophrenia As A Developmental Disorder by Ruth
Condray Language disorder is increasingly understood to be an important characteristic of schizophrenia. The hypothesis advanced here is that receptive language disorder in schizophrenia represents a learning disorder that involves a neurodevelopmental etiology. It is argued that receptive language disorder may involve a preexisting developmental reading disorder for a subgroup of schizophrenia patients. Whether the language disorder of schizophrenia is equivalent,phenotypically and etiologically, to the language disorder of dyslexia is an open question. Although schizophrenia and dyslexia are separate clinical disorders, independent lines of evidence are suggestive of parallels between their hallmark features,cognitive dysfunction, and potential pathophysiology.
http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/biometrics/Publications/Biometrics%20Archives%20PDF/890-2005%20Condary%20Sz%20Res%20Lang%20Disord.pdf

I want to help stop the misdiagnosing of neurodivergents and prevent the unnecessary medicating which can cause serious damage on an emotional and physical level. This would involving having psychiatrists to have their patients undergo psychological and neurological testing and not just go by observations. You can't judge a book by its cover.

Neurodivergent Empathy Program

Raymond — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:32:40 EST

I have a history of Dyslexia,Dyspraxia that was corrected by fine motors skills therapy, auditory therapy,speech therapy,and phonics. The neurodivergence of my Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,and ADHD enables me to believe in neurodiversity. I do what I can to help raise awareness about those neurodivergent conditions as well as neurodivergent conditions in general. Too many of us are misunderstood,mislabeled,and misdiagnosed. I care a lot about neurodivergent children that are medicated for just being different. I am glad that I only got special education and wasn't forced on Ritalin. I believe in treating others like I want to be treated - a human being with a soul. I strongly believe in equality of all human beings. I am not the type to look down on people. I can say that I am very tolerant of diversity.

Since many neurotypical don't understand neurodivergence, and can easily mistake neurodivergent conditions as psychological problems/psychiatric disorders as well as even laziness,apathy,irresponsibility,and/or not trying, I propose that a Neurodivergent Empathy program be developed to help neurotypicals understand neurodivergence by simulation of neurodivergent experiences

Visual processing problems - the use of 3D Optical Scanner.....speeding up a series of letters,words....so they can be blurry,make you dizzy to simulate visual processing issues. Dr. Harold N. Levinson uses one to detect visual processing problems. It could be used to overstimulate the eyes to induce visual processing issues.
http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/information/testing.html

Auditory processing problems - the use of 3D Auditory Scanner as produce auditory overloading,speeding up a series of sounds,letters,words.....so they can be blurry,make you feel confused,dizzy to simulate auditory processing issues
Dr. Harold N. Levinson uses one to detect auditory processing problems. It could be used to overstimulate the ears to induce auditory processing issues.

Highly bright flourescent lights used to simulate oversensitivity to light

Highly loud sounds used to simulate oversensitivity to sound

Slapping on the hand and body to simulate oversensitivity to touch

Electric moving platform while standing,walking to simulate gross motor,balance problems

Field Sobriety Tests
determine possible intoxication of drivers stopped on suspicion. The tests varied widely: a driver might be asked to touch his or her finger to the nose, stand on one leg, or walk a straight line. No studies were available to determine the fairness of these tests.
http://www.fieldsobrietytests.org/fieldsobrietytests.html

Here is my neurological tests and ENG tests by Dr. Harold N. Levinson in 2006
This consists of a series of standardized neurological tests commonly administered to assess the status of the integrated function of the cerebellar-vestibular (CV) system as well as other central nervous system (CNS) structures. Difficulties with any of these tests indicates a dysfunction within the CV or CNS systems.
The ENG is a standardized neurophysiological test in which eye movements are induced and measured under various testing conditions. Fine and reflexive eye movements are controlled by the cerebellum and the vestibular system. As a result, the ENG can help determine whether or not an inner-ear abnormality exists.
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Dr_Levinson_exam_002
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Dr_Levinson_exam_003

Here is my neurodlogical tests by Veteran Affairs neurologists
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Veteran_Affairs_Neurology_Assessment_and_Follow_Up_002
http://astynaz.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=Veteran_Affairs_Neurology_Assessment_and_Follow_Up_003

The same tests that are used for drunk driving are the same tests that are used to test for cerebellar vestibular dysfunction and neurological problems in general. Even the horizontal gaze nystgamus test is used to test for drunk driving,and that tests the eye coordination.
Therefore, people with neurodivergent issues would fail the testing given to drunk drivers,and so they could be mistakened for being drunk. It seems that alcohol could also impair the cerebellar vestibular system.

DRUNK BUSTERS Impairment Goggles™ simulate effects of impairment, including reduced alertness, slowed reaction time, confusion, visual distortion, alteration of depth and distance perception, reduction of peripheral vision, poor judgement and decision making, double vision, and lack of muscular coordination.
http://www.piplus.com.au/drunk_busters.htm

these symptoms are also symptoms of neurodivergent issues)
If the drunk impairment goggles simulate effects of drunkeness, then then they can simulate neurodivergent issues

Maybe we can come up with virtual reality program that simulates neurodivergence in neurotypical people

Using virtual reality glasses - visual processing problems
headphones - auditory processing problems simulator
sensory gloves with biofeedback interaction to experience fine motor skill problems
moving platform to simulate gross motor skill problems

A 3Dimensional Screen with rapid moving stimuli to simulate issues with disorientation that can lead to confusion with directions as well as can lead to difficulty with body movements. Very Bright Screen to simulate problems with hypersensitivity to light

Symptoms of neurodivergent issues

Reading

* Memory instability for letters, words, or numbers.
* A tendency to skip over or scramble letters, words, and sentences.
* A poor, slow, fatiguing reading ability prone to compensatory head tilting, near-far focusing, and finger pointing.
* Reversals of letters such as b and d, words such as saw and was, and numbers such as 6 and 9 or 16 and 61.
* Letter and word blurring, doubling, movement, scrambling, omission, insertion, size change, etc.
* Poor concentration, distractibility, light sensitivity (photophobia), tunnel vision, delayed visual and phonetic processing, etc.

Writing

* Messy, poorly angulated, or drifting handwriting prone to size, spacing, and letter-sequencing errors.

Spelling, Math, Memory, and Grammar

* Memory instability for spelling, grammar, math, names, dates, and lists, or sequences such as the alphabet, the days of the week and months of the year, and directions.

Speech

* Speech disorders such as slurring, stuttering, minor articulation errors, poor word recall, and auditory-input and motor-output speech lags.

Direction

* Right/left and related directional uncertainty.

Time

* Delay in learning to tell time.

Concentration and Activity

* Impaired concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity, or overactivity

Behavior, Temper, or Impulse disturbances

Balance and Coordination

* Difficulties with balance and coordination functions, i.e., walking, running, skipping, hopping, tying shoelaces, and buttoning buttons.

Psychosomatics

* Difficulties with headaches, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, motion sickness, abdominal complaints, excessive sweating, and bed-wetting.

Self-esteem

* Feeling stupid, ugly, incompetent, brainless.

Phobias and Related Mood and Obsessive/Compulsive Disorders

* Fears of the dark, heights, getting lost, going to school.
* Fear or the avoidance of various balance, coordination, sports, and motion-related activities.
* Mood disturbances.
* Obsessions and compulsions.
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/information/syndrome.html

DYSMETRIC DYSLEXIA AND DYSPRAXIA
Hypothesis and Study
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/ddd_study.pdf?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=4783406&dopt=Abstract

DYSMETRIC DYSLEXIA AND DYSPRAXIA:
synopsis of a continuing research project
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/ddd_synopsis.pdf

COMPENSATORY MECHANISMS IN CV-DYSFUNCTION,DYSMETRIC DYSLEXIA AND DYSPRAXIA
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/comp_mech_cv.pdf

THE CEREBELLAR-VESTIBULAR BASIS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES IN CHILDREN,ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS:
Hypothesis and study
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/cv_basis_ld.pdf

THE DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF CEREBELLAR-VESTIBULAR TESTS IN DETECTING LEARNING DISABILITIES,DYSLEXIA,AND ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/cv_tests.pdf

This is scientific papers that show that anxiety,mood disorder,and phobias aren't necessarily psychological(especially involving emotional weakness,a dysfunctional childhood) but could be stemming from cerebellar-vestibular dysfunction

A CEREBELLAR-VESTIBULAR EXPLANATION FOR FEARS/PHOBIAS:
Hypothesis and study
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/cv_fears.pdf

THE CEREBELLAR-VESTIBULAR PREDISPOSITION TO ANXIETY DISORDERS
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/cv_predis_anxiety.pdf

ABNORMAL OPTOKINETIC AND PERCEPTUAL SPAN PARAMETERS IN CEREBELLAR VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION AND RELATED ANXIETY DISORDERS
http://www.levinsonmedical.com/evidence/papers/optokinetic_cv_anxiety.pdf

Clintoniana again ??

Petr Buben — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:30:33 EST

ARE THEY TRYING TO TOPPLE THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT AGAIN ??

From the news : "Investigators talked to Barack Obama" ..... (regarding Governor Blagojevic sting operation investigation).

Even before he takes the office this time ?

THINK Big...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:30:51 EST

The word of the day is INCLUSION!!!!!!!

Don’t Give Up Because of One Decision!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:29:30 EST

To all Americans who are against Rick Warren giving the invocation at P.E. Obama’s inauguration:

You are American whether you are gay or straight, and that makes you an important part of our country. Don't move away, don’t loose hope, and don’t believe for one second that you are being defeated. Stay in the fight - this presidential victory was hard fought and long overdue for all of us. We must continue this fight to take back our country together. It is important that ALL Americans stay in the fight because as P.E. Obama told us more than once, THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT HIM, IT’S ABOUT US – We The People of the United States!
Some of my family members were slaves and most of us have had to fight for everything for our entire lives. Don't you give up hope because of ONE seemingly stupid and unexplained decision. P.E. Obama told us that he is not a perfect man and would not be a perfect president. But he is the best person for the job to come along in my life time, and I bet he has a plan!

You cannot fight against ignorance or bigotry from afar. You have to look it in the eyes and go round for round with it – up close and personal until you choke the life from it. You have to be here, in America, and in the moment to stand up against all who will continue to breed ignorance, hatred and bigotry of any kind where ever you find it. Now is not the time to live in fear, we are through with that madness; Now is the time for boldness, courage, strength and a damn fine fighting spirit full of the determination to battle and win! Fired Up - Ready to Go!!!

Are You Tired of Main Stream Media???

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:24:15 EST

If like me, your answer is YES, there's an alternative. Check out The Real News Network at http://therealnews.com/t/ A fellow blogger on Nations For Change shared this site. Totally refreshing and very informative - MUCH better news and a wide variety of info we don't get from the networks and cable.

To JFK Fan of Radio,,,

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:13:41 EST

Booyah JFK Fan - I got Nothing but BIG PROPS for you tonight!!! You did an Excellent Job on the show speaking about the heart and dedication of VOB's & other Long-Time Obama Bloggers. Wish I could post a picture of an award for you right here__________! Shiva - help me out.

Loved JamKing's expressive voice (especially when he said what Bush should have done to the man that threw the shoes - LOL), and your honest detailed knowledge of what we do here and in the world of politics. Your honesty and respect for those who've served our country is Outstandingly Cool - good job!

KUDOS to you JFK FAN, you are earning it big time - Thank you for all you are doing!

Hardball

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:29:57 EST

If you are not already watching, please go online and check out Hardball with Chris Matthews today. I can't believe the crap coming out of the mouth of Frank Gafney (spelling)? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28262158#28262158 Talking about outrageous!

Lower Health Care Cost...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:19:09 EST

I work in state government and have an affordable family plan through Kaiser - Thank God. I've watched my premiums & co-pays go up every other year which leaves me wondering how other families are handling the constantly rising costs. I believe there are a few things we can do immediately to lower the cost of health care - here's my list:

* Immediately remove prescription drug ads from all main stream media. Pharmacies and research centers will be able to cut costs by diverting funds to R & D and to building an online secure doctor's only site where they can advertise and discuss the pros/cons of drugs with each other;

* Hire thousands of workers to begin scanning, keying and converting medical paper files to electronic records. My state agency has spent the last year "going paperless" and although it is tedious and takes visionary leadership, the benefits which include saving time, money & space are enormous;

* Immediately end the shameful discrimination behind pre-existing conditions. No one in their right mind wants or expects to be ill, and should not be expected to get health coverage before knowing about having some disease or another;

* Deliver an executive order for all medical procedures in America to have a SET Price - at least within the same state. My friends & family members have compared procedural costs for the exact same medical care/treatment between cities in CA and the states of TX, NY, LA, NV & CA, and the differences we've found were shocking enough to make us angry. This is an outrage!

New Tune - Yes We Can (Change Our Destiny)

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:35:23 EST

A new friend of mine, Steven Miles Sulkin, has written a beautiful song, Yes We Can (Change Our Destiny), that really needs to go viral. Please listen to the song, rate it and post a comment/your opinion on his page at http://n4cworks.ning.com/video/yes-we-can-change-our-destiny or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0UWZ7uO6SA

From Mr. Sulkin:
HELP THE YES WE CAN (CHANGE OUR DESTINY) PROJECT by forwarding this video link to everyone you know and asking them to do the same so that this inspirational song can be played on the mall during the inaugural on January 20th. 2009.

The "Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) project was created by Steven Miles Sulkin with the help of 30 of the greatest musicians and artists in Chicago and the nation. My hope is to inspire millions to keep pursuing change, to recognize that our journey still lies before us. We can change the world we live in. We can change our destiny. But we must be as inspired as we were when we were energized to elect President Barack Obama. Let us not lose that inspiration. That's what this song is about. I'm confident that if millions hear this song, it will inspire them to continue to work for the good of mankind. Help me in my quest, please. It's not for me. It's for us, for our world.

Thanks Obama Family - Yes We Can and Will
Mickiboop

Change is Coming...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:08:34 EST

I went to 2 Change is Coming meetings yesterday and had a very good time. In addition to meeting lots of very warm, smart and productive folks in my neighboring neighborhoods (LOL) I learned a lot about city planning, green waste recycling and transportation. The most interesting discussion I participated in had to do with EDUCATION issues. There are many facts, opinions and suggestions being proposed by very intelligent people across this nation and I hope that Change.gov will help to facilitate a discussion on education at all levels - it is truly relevant and much needed.

We also discussed the upcoming national King Day of Service. This is MLK, Jr's birthday/holiday. Barack and Joe have already committed to working this day (1/19/09) and have asked that we as a nation do the same. My groups are trying to decide on a project such as feeding the hungry/homeless, talking to kids about & against violence or holding neighborhood clean-ups. Here's a site to check out: http://www.mlkday.gov/ I've attached a copy of the Inaugural schedule - note second item here: http://api.ning.com/files/7*xRo61t68zihex6Q*Ar1WtB01tIZLYqbsJ7O9Q5GoJlio4xeRr4PeJeQYG131TdGj4D27k2HW4oTcikmE-Dxaa25dAegySp/InauguralSchedule109.jpg after clicking this link, click the document once to enlarge it.

I hope all of you had/have a chance to attend a meeting this weekend - very important way to continue using our movement's power and energy! Mickiboop

Mad As Hell and Got a Bone To Pick!!!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:36:28 EST

MyBO needs to bring the letter writing tool back so that I can begin a new campaign to stop the media madness!

I was flipping channels on the tube this evening and made the mistake of watching a few minutes of CNN's Wolf B. just when they were exploiting a story about Barack using his middle name for the inauguration, as if there is something wrong or unnatural about him using his full name. I am so angry I could bite a brick! Why in hell are the media able to get away with such blatant racism against Muslims. YES - it is racist to make a big deal out of Barack's middle name as though his given name is some type of "foreign" covert signal to radical Muslims. There are millions of people throughout the U.S. and the world named Hussein and they are not scary or terrorist or any type of scallywag!!! What an absolute insult to our American Muslim population not to mention the millions of Muslims around the world that love Barack Hussein Obama II.

This is just as bad as what the American government did to the American Japanese during WWII, with the villainization and encampment of an entire race of American people because of a war fought thousands of miles away. Now we vilify all Muslims because of the war on terror and 9/11 as though Muslims had a secret world meeting and decided that all Muslims would become hate-mongers. How stupid it that!!! And while I'm on this roll, here's a little more to smoke - since America is a mosaic of hundreds of races, beliefs, cultures, religions, traditions, and behaviors, why the hell are we still labeling and allowing ourselves to be labeled a specific type of American when other nations don't divide their citizens? We say British not White, Black, Asian, Hispanic British, or we say French, not Black, Asian, Hispanic or White French. How stupid it that!!!

Most Americans are smart enough to recognize these dastardly tactics for what they are and will no longer fall for them. But - there are folks in America who are totally against Barack Obama being sworn in as our 44th president just because of his skin tone along with the lies and smears that were constantly heaped on him during the primary and general election races. For these reasons alone, the media needs to refrain from these idiotic, race bating, malignant, repugnant, totally disgusting stories that do nothing more than keep people divided! $%^&*(!!!!!!!! Wish I knew how to post pictures on this blog, I'd post one of a big ugly beast with huge teeth right here. Someone tried to teach me how once but it didn't work - oh well ~ Y'all know what I mean... I'm freaking P.O.ed about this one!

Obama Inaugural Balls and Parties???

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:56:13 EST

Are there any Obama Inaugual Balls or Parties or Watch parties going on in Northern Cal 1/20/09??? Some of us who have to work that week are still looking for events to attend. Please post or send email through this site. I'll help contribute as needed. I feel the need to share my noise ~ Thanks!

Change is Coming meeting

! Arry Murphey-Frank-Foothills Area Manager CA CD4 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:03:52 EST

WoW! I am hosting an event and we have reached capacity with over 50 people!

This tells me that people are HUNGRY for change and they are HUNGRY to help President Obama move forward with his agenda. I am really excited to see this and I most of these people are new voices who were not involved before.

Our Economy...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:00:32 EST

Can America afford to add 3 + Million people to the unemployment lines by:
* Loss of 3 + MILLION American JOBS
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans covered by employer based Health, Dental & Vision Care Plans
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans paying Mortgages, Insurances and House-hold Utilities
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans paying Soc Security Funds, State, Local and Federal Taxes
* Loss of 3 + MILLION American Incomes assisting to revive our economy through the purchase of goods such as Food, Clothing, Houseware and services such as Beauty care, Child care, Entertainment, Travel and Restaurants???

Loss of Detroit's Big Three = Loss of American JOBs *** Think About It!!!

For Ugonna - My 1st to Campbell Brown

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:22:49 EST

For our "Flood the In-Box" joy...

I can't believe that you, a news anchor would promote the idiotic idea of having P.E. Obama step into the role of the president without being sworn in. You are INSISTING that P.E. Obama isn't "showing leadership" because he hasn't "stepped up to the plate" with regard to the bailout deal P.E. Obama has behaved with outstanding regard for our current imbecile in office, and has courteously said many times that we only have one president at a time. Why don't you get that concept??? P.E. Obama cannot legally take over as president until he is sworn into office. In the meantime, he has done and is doing all he can to help behind the scenes. Are you beginning to loose viewers yet?

More to follow...

Seat at the Table

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:23:30 EST

If you want to be pleasantly surprised and you want to stay involved with helping to change our nation, please go to Change.gov and see what's going on with the P.E. & V.E. Obama/Biden Transition Team. They are hosting a page on the site titled Your Seat at the Table (a beautiful concept) where they are posting documents that are submitted for action by various groups, agencies and officials. We the People can read, download and comment on these documents. No Bull!!!

This is a wonderfully exciting format for the American people. It truly gives us a voice in what happens within our government. I love it because this is what a transparent government looks like! Thank you P.E. Obama - for really keeping your word.

American Products

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:45:59 EST

I skimmed through the blogs and something about Chinese unrest & American products caught my eye. To anyone looking for American made products - they are terribly hard to find locally, but here are a few web sites that list great USA made products:
http://www.americansworking.com/
http://www.madeinusa.org/
http://www.buyamerican.com/

Hope this helps!

President Obama Inauguration Update

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:44:04 EST

Received this exciting news from Obama's Presidential Inauguration Committee:

Friend,

As the Executive Director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, I can tell you that we're already hard at work making sure this Inauguration will be the most open and accessible in history in keeping with President-elect Obama's and Vice President-elect Biden's commitment to change business as usual in Washington.

And because you took the time to sign up for updates on our website, I wanted you to be among the first to hear about an announcement we made just a couple of hours ago.

For the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall -- from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial -- will be open to the public on Inauguration Day. We believe that as many Americans as possible should be able to come together in celebration of our common values, shared aspirations, and the hope and optimism that brought us to this moment of change.

This will be an Inauguration for all Americans. And in the weeks to come, we'll announce further information about events that allow for Americans just like you -- in Washington, DC and across the country -- to participate like never before.

Thank you,

Emmett

Emmett Beliveau
Executive Director
Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009

American Automotive Industry

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:08:28 EST

Although I don't like the idea of "bailing out" any more American companies, I believe that we MUST give the bridge loans (with restructuring) to our auto industry. There are many arguments on both sides, pro and con, for allowing these companies to fail, but the ONLY argument that stands out above all others in my book concerns the American people and how the Big 3's failure will affect the lives of families, friends, neighbors and communities. Here's some of the consequences of shutting down America's Automotive Industry:
* Loss of 3 + MILLION American JOBS
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans covered by employer based Health, Dental & Vision Care Plans
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans paying Mortgages, Insurances and House-hold Utilities
* Loss of 3 + MILLION Americans paying Soc Security, State, Local and Federal Taxes
* Loss of 3 + MILLION American Incomes assisting in reviving our economy through purchasing goods such as Food, Clothing, Houseware and services such as Beauty care, Child care, Entertainment, Travel and Restaurants.

Now, if you consider all of the jobs that may be peripherally dependant on the American auto industry, failure could mean the devastation of more than Four (4) MILLION American Jobs!!! Do we really want to venture into devastating lives in order to make a point concerning bail outs? Should we refrain from trying to help our economy in the long-term?

I think we should have stood up in strong opposition to the REAL bail out of the banking industry when we had the chance, but most of us were in Full-blown Shock and had not really taken the time to research all that should have been demanded before the congress signed the bill. This time We the People, Congress and the Pres. Elect's Economic team are demanding accountability and restructuring for a 21st Century transportation product that will bode well for America's future.

Therefore, I believe we must support the bridge loan. What say you my fellow Americans???

Band Wagon Voters

Ali Seaton — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:54:32 EST

You know I am a real GOD fearing man and all but, I just am not down with the people who really didn't want to see Barack Win.

They all were not for him and hated on him.

I don't think band wagon voters are about change and then people want to go find anyone who is black to talk about how exited they are.

I was exited in April 2007 cause I know he was going to WIN because GOD showed me a sign.

People think they are really about change and they are not.

They still hate but, ok if you are really about change then roll up your sleaves and help Barack

cause Yes We Won but we won a very twisted world.

We still need to weed out those fake and hatred people.

I would had rather them vote for someone else then vote for a race they hate.

I love everyone but, lot's of people hate me because of my skin and for no other reason than that.

I hold my head High and ready to die for the truth, so tell it why don't you.

Just keep it real.

People look at me all different now like they are shocked.

I tell them be shocked at yourself and go to GOD for a pure heart he forgives, ya know?

GOD Bless You

Ali

My crazy New Ideas for World Peace - X Post

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:00:53 EST

Good Day All: I just completed celebrating Thanksgiving & my birthday with four days off work. I can truly say that I feel especially blessed this year because I'm thankfully alive, my family and friends helped me celebrate and I received the best birthday present of my adult life - the president that I wanted, wished for, worked for and helped to elect - Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Yay!!! The only damper I've felt in the past few days has come from the dastardly news going on in Mumbai, India.

So, I've been thinking (a dangerous action), and trying to figure out a NEW and more EFFECTIVE way to go about changing the hearts and minds of the overly sensitive hot-headed terrorists of the world. I don't know that mine or anyone else's ideas would help at this point, and we might just help to make them more desparate & volatile, but I believe we MUST use a new tactic or two. Here are my lofty & realistic ideas:
* President Obama should call a World Summit for Peace by asking the top aids and/or officials of all hostile nations to meet (probably in groups with neutral mediators), work towards consensus on at least two issues and agree to a cease fire (no bombings or terror actions) while implementing the agreed upon changes within a specific timeframe. If successful, the countries can work on the next two issues and keep repeating the process as needed...

* President Obama can ask our U.S. foreign ambassadors to team up with our foreign aid workers to put an AGRESSIVE plan in place and begin helping with the food, medical, clean-water, agricultural and micro-economic issues of the people in nations that are hostile towards America. A lot of the hostility towards western nations is due to the enormous gap between the haves & the have nots! I believe that we could bring an end to some of the hostile angst by helping the resentful nations to feed, clothe and shelter those in need...

* I believe President Obama's humility, diplomatic attitude and calm demeanor will also help to quiet some of the hostility that other nations have toward America. I would like to see President Obama give a few reality check speeches to some of America's hard-core opposition nations so that they can witness his sincerity and hear his message of peace in person. I don't think they would be able to resist Barack's charm and inspiration...

Yes - I know these are a crazy mix of hope, pipe-dream and realism but, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above.

Joe The Plumber, the price of gas

Petr Buben — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:29:05 EST

Yes, people, this election, this change, this redistribution and recharge of our democracy strength is about Joe The Plumber.
Go Mr Vicepresident!
Plumb the leaks, wherever they might be! The gas tank certainly was leaking at $4.50. Now at $1.80, that is more like it. Hundreds of billions for unnecessary wars.

With this new Administration, the American leadership in the world will be strengthened, renewed, and done so yet not with war, force and coercion, but again by example, by moral leadership, by inspiration and cooperation, and with utmost respect for all and from all.

That is the American way, and that is the way it always will be.

Let there be peace on our planet Earth!

The United States of America, with your acknowledgement of all, will continue to lead the way.

My Thoughts for President Obama

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:49:50 EST

I shared the following thoughts on energy and the environment at Change.gov - http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/inside_the_transition_your_thoughts_on_energy_and_the_environment/

Here are a couple of suggestions for President Obama to jump-start America's (and the world's) green future:
I believe that the day after taking office, President Obama and his Administrative team should issue orders to redesign or install solar paneling on the White House and all federal government buildings and offices. I think the Obamas should continue to set "the" standard by becoming an excellent example to our country and the world by going GREEN as soon as possible. Right now, the WORLD wants to know everything about the Obama first family so that we can emulate everything the Obamas do. President Obama should also issue an executive order to all federal agencies, challenging them to change all government vehicles to hybrids within a specific time frame. These measures would influence an immediate double positive for President Obama's national and international leadership and would encourage several positive results for our nation:
- We the people would immediately begin to restructure our homes and businesses to conserve energy;
- Give one or more of our large auto makers incentives to quickly retool plants for support of the executive order, and encourage Americans to begin switching our cars immediately;
- Small construction businesses would begin hiring workers for "green" projects in 2009 instead of waiting for 2010;
- Americans will be busy working to help change our environment instead of dwelling on the many negative challenges we are facing. Some of this will be busy work, but we need this to change America's bad attitude into a positive back to work energy.

A few days after announcing the "White House & Federal Going Green" campaign, President Obama should issue a national request for an "American Renewal & Recycling Week" campaign. Set up a 1-yr plan for 1-week during each month, beginning in February 2009, for Americans to clean-up neighborhoods, old buildings, parks, schools, etc. and have us recycle the materials instead of trashing. President Obama's admin team can work with local governments to set up several recycling stations within each city/county that will accept and process recycled materials. This project will produce positive benefits for President Obama and our nation by:
- Helping thousands of volunteers who are currently out of work to feel valued and useful so that they are not sitting at home worrying about bills, abusing drugs, alcohol or their family members, or getting into crime because of financial desperation;
- Help Americans create business and social networks by being grouped together and focused in structured positive projects. People will improve their methods of handling stress and may create contacts that can lead to other beneficial relationships and possible jobs;
- Help to clean up our nation and will create pride in our continuing progress.

These projects can be done immediately using the media and our volunteer army, and will cost little of nothing compared to the long-term benefits. I hope President Obama and his Administration will take a look at getting our nation moving by using some of these suggestions, or others. Thank you for listening to America!

Sincerely,
Mickiboop
Elk Grove, CA

The Program

Petr Buben — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:13:32 EST

1. Universal single payer healthcare system, just as the rest of the world. It'l be less expensive, support the economy and the country, and it wont violate human rights just as current "system" does. Have concurrently private plans also.

2. Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan immediately. No eastern push in Europe, no radar defense. Provide security and peace by mutual accords. Engage the region economically and politically, not with new weapons.

3. Cut defence budget by 30%. Eliminate all waste. Keep the deterrent, keep Usa the strongest in the world. Immediately stop the torture practices, immediately shut down Guantanamo base camp.

4. Eliminate tremendous waste in Medicare system.

5. Prevent monopolies to corrupt the market, especially in the oil industry. Prevent the usage of dangerous, out-of-control financial tools in the finance industry - lead, regulate sensibly. Defend the healthy market conditions.

6. Deal with 911 openly. Investigate. Say what it really was - a controlled demolition. We have seen it live on tv.

7. Car industry - invest in this country, build factories (not only car factories) and manufacture here, not in China. Support the car industry, also redistribute the robbery profits from oil monopolies to car industry.

8. Raise minimum wage to a reasonable level.

9. Eliminate the Dept of Homeland Security, immediately after the last unfortunate war security fallout is settled (the endles war of civilizations and occupations).

10. Completely reevaluate the relationship with Cuba - install normal relations, promote free enterprise, American interests while respecting that local system - let Cubans themselves establish their own system.

Take a Look

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:46:45 EST

Hey,

President-Elect Obama is hard at work getting this country back on track, but he's counting on input from all of us.

I just wrote in to share my vision for where President-Elect Obama should lead the country, and I thought you might want to do the same:

http://www.change.gov/yourvision

Thanks.

62 days. That's how much time we have left to prepare for the Obama-Biden Administration that will bring the change Americans demanded so strongly in this past election.

President-elect Obama has set a high bar for the Transition team: to execute the most efficient, organized, and transparent transfer of power in American history. As a co-Chair for the Transition, I want to tell you about a few steps we've already taken to achieve this goal.

First, we adopted the strictest ethics guidelines ever applied to any transition team. President-elect Obama pledged to change the way Washington works, and that begins with shifting influence away from special interests and restoring it to the everyday Americans who are passionate about fixing the problems facing our country.

Opening up the Transition means listening to your ideas and stories and providing a window into how the process works.

To give you a look at how we're approaching some of the nation's most pressing issues, we filmed this meeting of our Energy and Environment Policy Transition Team and interviewed team member Heather Zichal.

Watch the video and submit your ideas on energy and the environment:

President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden have set an ambitious agenda, and we are going to make Change.gov a source of information, as well as a place to participate in the decisions being made about your government.

Since the decisions we're making affect all Americans, we're counting on citizens from every walk of life to get involved. You can help us right now by making sure your friends and neighbors know about Change.gov and give their input, too.

We're continuing to develop new ways to open up the process, and we'll keep you posted along the way.

Thanks,

John

John Podesta
Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team

Lieberman is a Short-Timer...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:10:47 EST

Right now the Dems are playing nice and holding their cards close to the vest because they don't have a "Filibuster proof" voting block.

I believe the Dems will keep Two-Faced Joe (TFJ) in place until the new senate comes to town. After that, they will probably hard kick TFJ's dastardly behind to the curb - with much pleasure!

Inaugural Tickets

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:46:12 EST

Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through Members of the 111th Congress. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not provide tickets to the public. Members of the public interested in attending the Inaugural Ceremonies should contact their Member of Congress or U.S. Senators to request tickets.

The public should also be aware that no website or other ticket outlet actually has inaugural swearing-in tickets to sell, regardless of what they may claim. Tickets will not be distributed to Congressional offices until the week before the inauguration and will require in-person pick-up.

“Any website or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth,” said Howard Gantman, Staff Director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. “Tickets for the swearing-in of President-elect are all provided through members of Congress, and the President-elect and Vice President-elect through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism.”

Visit the official inaugural site here: http://inaugural.senate.gov/index.cfm

Great Op-Ed

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:11:48 EST

Bob Herbert offers sound advice on what is neded right now:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/opinion/11herbert.html?hp

"The most important thing the Democrats and President-elect Obama can do with regard to the economy is bring back a sense of fairness and equity.

The fat cats who placed the entire economy at risk with their greed and manic irresponsibility are trying to lay claim to every last dime in the national Treasury. Meanwhile, we’re nowhere close to an economic recovery program that will help the people who are hurting most.

Back in September, with the credit markets frozen and the stock markets panicking, the treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, was telling anyone who would listen that his $700 billion bailout package had to be passed with lightning speed — no time to look at it too closely, no time for dissent.

The package was modified, but hurriedly. Now we learn that while all eyes were focused on this enormous new burden for American taxpayers, Mr. Paulson’s department was also engineering — separate and apart from the bailout — what The Washington Post described as “a quiet windfall for U.S. banks.”

With virtually no public attention, and without the input of Congress, Treasury made a change in an obscure tax provision that benefited banks to the tune of well over $100 billion. Was this good policy? In the absence of proper scrutiny, how is it possible to know?

We’ve also learned that the government bailout of the giant insurer, the American International Group — already more than $100 billion — is apparently insufficient. Tens of billions more are needed.

When the Champagne and caviar crowd is in trouble, there is no conceivable limit to the amount of taxpayer money that can be found, and found quickly.

But when it comes to ordinary citizens in dire situations — those being thrown out of work or forced from their homes by foreclosure or driven into bankruptcy because of illness and a lack of adequate health insurance — well, then we have to start pinching pennies. That’s when it’s time to become fiscally conservative. President Bush even vetoed a bill that would have expanded health insurance coverage for children.

We can find trillions for a foolish war and for pompous, self-righteous high-rollers who wrecked their companies and the economy. But what about the working poor and the young people who are being clobbered in this downturn, battered so badly that they’re all but destitute? Can we find any way to help them?

In an article on Sunday, The Times mentioned a young woman in Philadelphia, Kyuana Everett, who is 21 years old, has a high school diploma and is desperate for work. “I’ve tried everything,” she said, “retail sales, office work, but the employers all say they have too many staff and they’re not hiring now.”

The article noted that Ms. Everett cannot even afford to rent a room for herself. She stays with her grandmother, secretly, in a home for the aged.

This is no ordinary recession. With brokerage houses, banks and a mammoth multinational insurance company depending on the Treasury for resuscitation, and with automakers like General Motors staring bankruptcy in the face, it has the feel of a monster downturn, a recession on steroids.

That kind of downturn buries people at the bottom of the economic ladder. We have an obligation to look out for them as well as for the banks and the A.I.G.’s of the world.

If I could place a message on the desk of the incoming president, it would have just one word: Jobs.

With credit cards maxed out, the stock market in the tank, family savings depleted and home equity evaporating, that weekly or monthly paycheck has never been so important.

Congress and the new administration need to think big — bigger than the stimulus package of $100 billion or so, which is being kicked around. Now is the time for a coast-to-coast “Rebuild America” infrastructure program. Put people to work repairing and rebuilding roads and bridges, decrepit schools and ancient sewer systems. Get the construction industry back on its feet.

And now is the time to get going on candidate Obama’s promise to move the country as close as possible to a system of universal health insurance. Pump the money from that vast project into the economy and get those jobs up and running.

And let’s get some help, quickly, to the families who are suffering most from the housing crisis — the ones trembling and heartbroken in the dark shadow of foreclosure.

The naysayers will claim that all of this is too expensive, that we can’t afford it. Where were they when we invaded Iraq? And how do they feel about the staggering amounts being funneled, with nothing like the proper oversight, to the banks and Wall Street?

Let’s try investing in America and its people for a change, rather than just hurling our billions into the abyss"

What Next?

Walter Heath — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:49:22 EST

How much of a difference can be made in 15 months? What is the power of personal stories? About 200 people, of all ages and backgrounds, gathered in a Burbank, California union hall in July, 2007 to share our "story of self" and to hear how ordinary people would propel the junior Senator of Illinois to the presidency.

Sharing personal stories of what brought us to the Obama campaign galvanized the resolve of that group in Burbank to do whatever it would take to bear Barack's candidacy on our shoulders. Through our experiences during the campaign, we have become leaders in our communities.

How much of a difference can be made in 15 months? Plenty.

My List of Next...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:15:58 EST

A few weeks ago, some of our positive members began asking what we will do or commit to after Barack is elected #44. That thought made me take a few days to sit down and seriously consider what I want to change in my world and how I want to be the change, make the change, and provide the change I am seeking. I'm posting my list of "doables" hoping that it might help others to get started. Remember - We are the ones we've been waiting for...

Do my part for our country's Clean Environment Issues: Saving for my Grand Daughter’s college fund by cleaning up neighborhoods in my city and returning recyclables for cash (2 birds with one action).

Help to strengthen infrastructure and Create/Protect American Jobs: I voted yes on California's Prop 1A - stay involved and engaged in my local and state politics along with the national issues in order to support broad goals.
Prop 1A = http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_1A_(2008), and drawings of the Rail here: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/

Help to improve Health Care: I began with myself by exercising more and eating better foods so that I can loose the extra 40 pounds I've been carrying around for three years (lost 7 pounds so far). I believe that we must help to create a preventative care focused system instead of a disease care system in order to lower costs, add more people and improve our options for longer healthier lives.

I made an Energy Independence Pledge by joining a couple of green groups http://www.wecansolveit.org/ and http://www.sierraclub.org/energy/, practicing conservation within my family home and work, and I try to convince others to do the same when ever and where ever I can.

I began by practicing "American Unity" when I got involved in the campaign movement for CHANGE. Now I'm practicing American Unity everywhere I go by striking up conversations with complete strangers in my neighborhood, at the grocery store, in the mall, etc. I discovered that I love human beings and they generally love or like me back! LOL
Here's a few more on my to do list: Improve Education, No More Unjustified Wars, Help to Restore American Respect in the world, etc...

My personal list has many more items but I wanted to get this out and give some of you ideas and suggestions to begin working on important challenges that need our strength. Let’s do all that we can to help our new president and our nation!

Post election thoughts

Djovida from Richmond, CA — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:51:46 EST

Hello all,

It's November 11, 2008. We have successfully worked and made history. I want to thank all who have helped me with the video projects and encourage all of us to continue to be a participant in our new government. We have worked nationally to get Barack elected and now we need to act locally to bring change to our cities and counties.

I plan to do this by using my caamera to document the things that are being done to improve life in my neighboorhood. I will also document those things that detract. We, like the members of the mainstream media, are in a position to hold our elected representatives' feet to the fire. I have already begun to interact with my local politicians so that they will be used to seeing me and know that I am watching.

If we all become vigilant they will have to "do the right thing" or be exposed for not doing so. It is sad that the internet is causing so much grief in the print sector because the newspapers were the traditional conscience of politics. When the papers are gone, there will be no watchdogs and there will be no check on those elected. The time to introduce the new dogs is now. Get out and bark so they will know we are here. Remeber, Barack said "we did it" and we have to stay with him to make it work.

Take back the mike, and bark,

djovida
www.youtube.com/djovida

YES WE DID! Thanks To Everyone Who Supported Barack & Me!

Dr. Barbara Palmer — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:23:59 EST

YES WE DID! Thanks To Everyone Who Supported Barack & Me!

It's been a long journey, this road to The White House! Some of you have been with me since 2007. Others joined me in January of 2008. Some of you came along when I knocked on your door or called you on the phone or sent an e-mail in February, pleading with you to support Obama instead of Clinton. (Boy, do I have some stories about that!) And some of you joined me much later. When the campaign suggested that I run for office (something I had not done before), I agreed. Many of you voted for me and I won. I am committed to working to make you happy that you did. And as Barack said, if you didn't vote for me, I'll still represent you to the best of my ability. If one wins, we all win.

As The Word says, it doesn't matter what time you go into the field, it only matters that you heeded the call and went. Our reward belongs to all of us, no matter how long or how deeply we campaigned. Every effort counted.

We did it because we believed we could. Now we must move forward to make the win a real win for America. We cannot go back to business as usual. We no longer have an excuse. Truly, anything is possible with God.

God Bless each and everyone...

God Bless Barack and his family and Joe Biden and his family and...

God Bless America

YES WE DID!!!

Dr. Barbara Palmer

Gov versus Org Websites...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:49:49 EST

Obama's new site is http://www.change.gov/ Please beware of going to Change.org - the two are definitely not the same. An earlier post directing O Supporters to Change.org had me confused, disappointed and a little angry. I thought this is not what I'm expecting from our President Elect... Well - I am soooo happy that it is not the correct site. Guess I was clicking too fast to notice that the Change.org site didn't have the Obama/Biden copyright or registration at the bottom - Whew - LOL!!!
Gotta go, I've got lots to write about on the new Transition Site - See Y'all There ~
We're Off and Running - Fired Up and Ready to Work!!!

Yes We Can :: From Barack Obama, President-Elect

Sarah Gallagher — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:20:11 EST

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

Our Time is Now: Vote Today

Sarah Gallagher — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:15:00 EST

Make sure you know your polling place and get out to vote today. Take a friend and cast your votes.

Change is within our reach. We're counting on you to get us there today.
www.voteforchange.com

Obama Supporters Rally for Change in California

Sarah Gallagher — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:01:52 EST

Obama supporters held rallies in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento today. Hundreds of Obama supporters and local elected officials came together to show their support for Obama and rally to get everyone fired up to vote.

After the rallies, the supporters hit area phone banks to make phone calls to swing state voters, encouraging them to get to their polling places and cast their ballots for Obama.

Find a polling place near you at Last Call for Change.

TOMORROW

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:31:00 EST

After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one day away from change in America.

Tomorrow, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.

Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.

Tomorrow, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.

Tomorrow, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.

We can prove that we are more than a collection of Red States and Blue States – we are the United States of America. That’s who we are, and that’s the country we need to be right now.

In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us afraid of one another.

Despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else – we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. The men and women who serve on our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America.

Bringing about the kind of change we need won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. Some of you may be cynical and fed up with politics. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, Barack asks of us what has been asked of Americans throughout our history.

He asks us to believe – not just in his ability to bring about change, but in ours.

Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in the next twenty-four hours, because it does.

Please get out and vote. Call your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and ask them to vote for Barack. Help others get to the polls.

Tomorrow, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.

Tomorrow, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.

Tomorrow, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.

Tomorrow, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.

That’s what’s at stake. That’s what we’re fighting for.

Be part of history. Be the change we’ve been waiting for. It’s up to you.

OUR MOMENT IS NOW!

PLEASE DONATE: LINK

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TCP

bombarded

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:41:54 EST

Is your city or state being bombarded with McInsane's negative Rev Wright ads against Barack? Mine is. I live in the northern part of CA - Elk Grove/Sacramento area (more red than blue) and we are seeing these ads a lot. I guess McNasty and his cronies are throwing their stink buckets, but its not working! We are sick of Republicans!!! I know that we will need to work together when this is over, but I'm so sick of McOldness and their divisive tactics, awful negative smears and their lying selfish politics that I could scream.

Please do all that you can do to help put Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House! The future of our lives and our country depends on it!!!

Time For Change - Obama-Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

California Phone Bankers Don't Quit

Sarah Gallagher — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:47:43 EST

Californians made a record number of phone calls to Obama supporters across the country, encouraging them to get to the polls and cast their votes.
Joined by celebrities like Orlando Bloom and Eliza Dushku, volunteers overflowed offices across California, sitting on file cabinets, in garages, in alleyways, on yards so that they could call for change all day.Check out the slideshow for more, then join us at a phone bank near you to make history!

LINK this, BLOG this, BULLETIN this, even EMAIL this...THIS needs to BE SEEN BY ALL

Tanya — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:01:24 EST

I DONT CARE WHO YOU LIKE...WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT AND A RESPONSABLITY THAT WAS PAID FOR WITH BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS

NOT ONLY DO YOU NEED TO VOTE
YOU NEED TO DO IT WISELY

VIDEO YOUR VOTE
REPORT ANY WRONG DOINGS

http://www.866ourvote.org/

FOR UP TO THE MINUTE REPORTS OF THE BULLSHIT THAT WILL BE/IS GOING ON AT THE POLLS GO HERE
http://www.ourvotelive.org/home.php

IF YOU RUN INTO A PROBLEM AT THE POLLS CALL
866-OUR-VOTE

WANNA KNOW THE VOTING LAWS IN YOUR STATE? GO HERE AND CLICK ON YOUR STATE (PARAPHANILIA, ETC)
http://www.866ourvote.org/state/

A MUST SEE VIDEOhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_2CQg_c9Ak

Final Presidential Estimate: Obama 55%, McCain 44%

Tanya — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:59:51 EST

Final Presidential Estimate: Obama 55%, McCain 44%Independents break for Obama, boosting Obama's broad Democratic base

by Jeffrey M. Jones, Frank Newport, and Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- The final Gallup 2008 pre-election poll -- based on Oct. 31-Nov. 2 Gallup Poll Daily tracking -- shows Barack Obama with a 53% to 42% advantage over John McCain among likely voters. When undecided voters are allocated proportionately to the two candidates to better approximate the actual vote, the estimate becomes 55% for Obama to 44% for McCain.

The trend data clearly show Obama ending the campaign with an upward movement in support, with eight to 11 percentage point leads among likely voters in Gallup's last four reports of data extending back to Oct. 28. Obama's final leads among both registered voters and likely voters are the largest of the campaign.

Gallup's final estimate is based on Gallup's traditional likely voter model, and assumes an estimated turnout of 64% of the voting age population, an increase over 2004. (Gallup estimates voter turnout from the results of key voter turnout questions, using a model that compares how respondents' answers to these questions have related, historically, to actual turnout.) This year's higher turnout estimate is fueled by a surge in early voting -- 28% of registered voters in the final poll indicated they had already voted -- and higher turnout among blacks than in any of the last four presidential elections.

Gallup has been calculating and reporting an expanded likely voter model alongside its traditional model over the past month. In the end, the candidate selection estimates of the two models converged, and both show the same unallocated 53% to 42% margin for Obama.

The gap in voter support for Obama versus McCain is slightly wider (53% to 40%) when the vote preferences of all registered voters are taken into account. The likely voter model typically shows a reduction in the Democratic candidate's advantage, as has been the case with Obama this year. Nevertheless, Obama has been able to maintain a significant lead over McCain in recent days, ending in the 11-point lead in the final poll. It would take an improbable last minute shift in voter preferences or a huge Republican advantage in Election Day turnout for McCain to improve enough upon his predicted share of the vote in Gallup's traditional likely voter model to overcome his deficit to Obama.

Democrats have been more energized than Republicans throughout the year. In the final poll 73% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they are enthusiastic about voting compared to 59% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Additionally, the Obama campaign has appeared to do a slightly better job of reaching voters than the McCain campaign: thus far 39% of registered voters say they have been contacted by the Obama campaign compared, with 33% contacted by McCain's camp.

Democratic Advantage in Party Identification Difficult to Overcome

Obama was able to match McCain in maintaining party loyalty toward his candidacy: 91% of Democrats say they will vote for Obama, the same as the 91% of Republicans voting for McCain. But Obama's 90%-plus loyalty has a far greater payoff than McCain's, given the significant Democratic advantage in party identification -- evident not only in this final poll, but throughout the year. In the final poll, 38% of U.S. adults identified as Democrats, 34% as independents and 26% as Republicans. Among likely voters, the figures are 39%, 31% and 29%, respectively.

Thus, given the Republican deficit in party identification, McCain would have needed a big boost from independent voters in order to prevail. The two presidential nominees -- both of whom owe their primary victories earlier this year to solid support from independents -- waged a fierce battle for the independent vote, but in the final poll independents preferred Obama to McCain by 48% to 43%.

An Obama victory would also owe a great debt to overwhelming support from racial and ethnic minorities. McCain led among white voters, 51% to 44%, but Obama more than made up for that with an 83% to 13% advantage among non-whites, including a 97% to 1% advantage among blacks and a 73% to 24% lead among Hispanics.

According to Gallup's final pre-election polls, the last time a presidential candidate won without winning the white vote was Bill Clinton in 1992. That year George Bush narrowly beat Clinton by two points among white voters, 41% to 39%, with 20% supporting third party candidate Ross Perot. Prior to that, Gerald Ford in 1976 received 52% of the white vote to Jimmy Carter's 46%, but Carter won the election with 85% of the non-white vote.

While only 4% of voters remain undecided in Gallup's unallocated likely voter model, the final poll estimates that a slightly larger 10% of likely voters still have the potential to either change their mind or make up their mind. Even if McCain converts the vast majority of swing voters, victory for him would be highly unlikely since 51% of likely voters say they are certain to vote for Obama compared with 39% who say they are sure they will vote for McCain.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 3,050 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2008. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 2,824 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 2,472 likely voters (using Gallup's traditional likely voter model which identifies likely voters on the basis of current voting intention and past voting behavior), the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points. The likely voter model assumes a turnout of 64% of national adults. The sample is weighted to reflect this assumption, so the weighted sample size of likely voters is 1,952.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

What To Do About Election-Day Mishaps

Tanya — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:58:58 EST

Tomorrow is Election Day: The campaign is over, and it is time to cast your ballot at last. What could possibly go wrong?

An election official examines a receipt from an optical ballot-counting machine during testing in Washington on Saturday.Plenty. A poll worker may say you aren't registered. Your voting machine could malfunction. Your meddling neighbor could say you aren't eligible to vote. Or maybe you are offered a provisional ballot -- and what is the difference between regular ballots, provisional ballots and emergency ballots, anyway?

There is a remedy for most of these problems, and a bit of advance preparation should ensure that they never come up. Here is a voter's guide on what could go wrong at the polls and what to do about it:

You aren't on the voter rolls. This could happen for several reasons, and the remedies are different for each.

The huge number of new voters has caused registration backlogs in some states, and the voter rolls may not show your name if you registered just before the deadline. That "has the potential to be a significant problem," says Jonah Goldman of the nonpartisan Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

If that happens, you may have to file a provisional ballot. Elections judges open provisional ballots after Election Day and, on a case-by-case basis, decide which should be counted. Your voter-registration form will have been dated and time-stamped and will provide proof that you are eligible to vote.

Be sure you are in the right precinct and polling place. State laws differ -- in some states, a provisional ballot cast in the wrong precinct will be counted; in others, it won't. The Web site www.maps.google.com/vote can tell you where your voting location is and how to get there.

You also might not be on the voter rolls if you haven't voted in several elections and have been moved to the inactive list. Make sure poll workers have checked all of their voter lists for your name. Inactive voters are entitled to cast regular ballots, which are counted on the night of the election and aren't subject to the additional scrutiny of provisional ballots.

Elections offices also regularly purge their rolls to remove voters who have died, moved or been convicted of felonies. Federal law outlines when and how they can do that, however, and Colorado and Michigan recently were ordered by federal judges to reinstate voters who were unlawfully purged. If your name was removed from the rolls, you might have to file a provisional ballot.

You don't have an ID. Only Georgia and Indiana require an identification with a current photo. Other states require some form of identification. And still others require an ID only of first-time voters who registered by mail. A map at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice Web site (www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/voter_id) shows the ID requirements for each state.

Some states allow voters who don't have the required ID documents to file provisional ballots. Don't take a provisional ballot if you don't have to: State laws differ on how and when provisional ballots are counted, and there is a chance that yours will be excluded.

If poll workers ask for an ID even if one isn't required, you can appeal to the chief judge at your polling place or call the nonpartisan watchdog group Election Protection for guidance. Their number is 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Election Protection will operate 25 call centers, staffed by some 10,000 lawyers and other volunteers, and is expecting 100,000 calls on Election Day.

Probably the best solution to an ID problem, though, is to show your driver's license, whether it is legally required or not. "There's not a lot of time on Election Day to stand on principle," says Mr. Goldman.

There are voting-equipment problems. There are different remedies for different problems.

Touch-screen voting machines may lose power or otherwise stop working. In that case, polling places will have emergency paper ballots on hand. An emergency ballot, unlike a provisional ballot, is counted on the night of the election and doesn't undergo a review by election judges. Make sure your emergency ballot isn't mingled with provisional ballots, or it might not get a timely count.

Votes may "flip" on an electronic voting system, showing that you cast your vote for Barack Obama, for example, even though you are sure you voted for John McCain. Flipping usually is caused by a calibration problem, says the Brennan Center -- that is, the voting machine isn't matching up the candidate's name on the screen with his name on an internal program.

Summon a poll worker to fix the error, make sure your vote is registered properly on the summary page of the electronic ballot and then call Election Protection, which is tracking machine problems.

Many states will keep their registration lists on electronic poll books this year. In some trial tests and primaries, those have crashed or been too slow to be of any use. If that happens, there is no way poll workers can verify your registration data, and you will have to file a provisional ballot.

Your eligibility is challenged. The Republican Party has said it might challenge voters registered by activist groups like Acorn, whose field workers it has accused of signing up fictitious people, felons and others ineligible to vote. State laws vary widely about who can make challenges and under what conditions. In Ohio, only poll workers can challenge a voter; in Florida, any voter can challenge any other.

Be prepared for a challenge by bringing along proof of your age, identity and address. If those are in order and you are in the correct precinct, you must be offered a regular ballot. If they aren't, you may have to vote by provisional ballot.

The lines are long. Tough luck.

A few jurisdictions require election workers to offer emergency ballots if lines are more than 45 minutes long. Everyone else can probably expect a long wait.

Voting hours vary by state, so check the Web site of your local elections board. Everyone in line at closing time will be allowed to vote, no matter how late the polls must stay open.

Write to June Kronholz at june.kronholz@wsj.com

Over 80,000 Have Complained About Voting Problems

Tanya — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:58:19 EST

Today, Barbara Anwine of the Election Protection Coalition (1-866-OUR-VOTE), a nonpartisan group, told MSNBC about voter suppression tactics they have witnessed around the country.

The group says it has received over 80,000 voter calls at the Election Protection Command Center.

Some emerging trends:

- Broward County leads Florida in voter requests for assistance.

- Registration-related problems rank 1 in nearly every battleground state - hundreds of calls focus on that problem, most often in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, and California

- Georgia voters are reporting more incidents of voter intimidation than any other state. Other reports of voter intimidation, scams or misinformation are also emerging in Ohio and Missouri.

- Florida voters rank 1 in requests related to criminal status and voting.

- Early voting problems are also being noticed, particularly Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, Florida and California

Durbin's Daughter

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:34:14 EST

Please say a prayer and send condolences to Senator Dick Durbin (D - Illinois). Senator Durbin's daughter, Chris Durbin, passed away on Saturday, 11-1-08. Senator Durbin is a long-time close friend and fellow Illinois senator of Barack Obama, and was instrumental in urging Barack to run for President. You can find the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/dick.durbin.daughter/index.html

May you find peace in this time of sorrow Senator Durbin. We will keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.

McCain's Whirling Dirvish

Jack Tracey, Another Veteran for Obama — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:24:23 EST

Watching MSNBC yesterday, I was amused while watching John McCain at a campaign event. As he closed, he got so forceful about how "American" he was, that I thought he would start spinning like the character in the Wiley Coyote cartoons, or that maybe his head would erupt in a cloud of steam!!!

But of course, he continued the same lies in his speech -- that he was a friend to veterans (contradicting the poor ratings he gets from the Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), and that he -- who failed to mention the middle class in any of the three debates -- is somehow the only champion of working America.

The contradictions for McCain have been enough to make my head spin! Joe the non-plumber and Sarah, the non-reformer. McCain the Bush Supporter versus McCain the non-bush supporter!

Thankfully, it appears that veterans, military personnel, military families and other voters have seen through the empty rhetoric of John McCain and the empty skirt of his soul-mate, Sarah Palin. Voters are turning out in droves in early voting to vote for Barack Obama and end eight years of Republican tomfoolery!!!

Thankfully, we'll be electing more democratic congresspeople and senators, like Charlie Brown here in CA-04, to join President Barack Obama in bringing real change to this country!!!

Inspired & Renewed FAITH...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:01:31 EST

If you become down or discouraged in the next three days, or if your anxiety allows fear and doubt to creep into your mind, please watch this video. I guarantee you'll be rejuvenated within 26 minutes!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ctgw9VyV_0

Obama - Biden '08, Can't Wait!

Countdown for Change

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:58:22 EDT

Thanks so much to all who have donated to this incredible movement through my grassroots fundraising page! LINK http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TCP

95 donations have been made so far. Please help me reach my goal of 100 donations.

We’ve been through a lot together.

From before the primaries, when we were down in the polls, didn't have may endorsements and no one gave us much of a chance; to Barack’s awesome Iowa victory; through the grueling primary contests; and on through this general election campaign, we’ve seen it all. Now we’re just hours away from the big prize and we can’t afford to let up.

We're seeing a surge of support in states we didn't expect to be close contests, including Virginia, North Carolina and even Georgia and North Dakota.

These latest battlegrounds present a major opportunity.

Volunteers and staff are on the move in these new battleground states, and if we can provide them with the right support, they could put us over the top.

We can't take anything for granted, and this election is too important to ignore any potential path to victory.

Please dig just a little deeper and make one final donation right now to help us change the electoral map, and bring a real change to our country. LINK http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TCP

In these final days we have to take the fight to our opponents everywhere we can.

Thanks again!

OUR MOMENT IS NOW!

Ryan Phillippe Works for Change

Sarah Gallagher — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:46:52 EDT

On Friday, Oct 31, Ryan Phillippe joined volunteers at the Obama for America California HQ to make phone calls asking voters in critical battleground states to get to the polls and cast their votes.

To learn more about what Ryan's volunteer effort and how you can get involved too, watch below and then go to Last Call For Change to find a phone bank near your house.

Our Future Depends On It!

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:46:45 EDT

From Barack’s “Closing Argument” speech:

“Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.

(On Tuesday), we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.

… We can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.

… We can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.

… We can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.

That’s what’s at stake. That’s what we’re fighting for. And (if in these last days), you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this – we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world.”

We’ve got four more days to make a difference. We are four days away from bringing the change we need to this great nation.

OUR MOMENT IS NOW!

Please donate: LINK

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TCP

Fear and Liars

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:35:05 EDT

If you repeat a lie long enough, people will begin to believe it. This is what has happened with the people against Barack Obama. They have been lied to by democrats and republicans for two long years. Since they were pre-determined to believe the worst and vote against Barack, it was easy for them to buy into the lies and fear his presidency. This is what we (Obama supporters) are up against and must fight. McOldness and his cronies have preached hate, fear and division long enough for some people to believe the lies even when you prove the truth to them and serve it on a silver platter.

It is a waste of time to argue any more, but when ever I'm confronted with lies against Barack, I make it my business to prove the truth by showing people where to find it. Please help in directing the trolls and anyone else who needs to know the truth, to our Fight the Smears site, FactCheck.com, Snoopes.org, PolitiFact.com, Truthorfiction.com, or any other reputable sites, blogs and video you know of. Once Barack Obama is the president, we will need all of the people in America to work together and this can only happen if we can change their hearts and minds and win them over with the truth!

Obama - Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

Work like your LIVES depend on it!!!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:05:50 EDT

Obama Family - In the spirit of "KNOW YOUR ENEMY", I held my nose and watched the McSame/Palin team perform their stump speeches this morning. They are still lying and hateful but they've changed their wording to sound more credible - in fact, McInsane has stolen words directly from Barack's speeches and is now talking about "providing relief for the middle class", "creating a working majority" and "changing the way Washington works". I would have laughed because I know he's lying, but he has become better at selling the lies. Sarah has added hearts and flowers to her speeches so that she is connecting more with everyday folks by softening her image.

We have got to push through the finish line with all of the energy we can muster. We cannot let up one ounce! I can't imagine waking up on November 5th and hearing a newscaster tell me that John McInsane is the POTUS!!! I think I would go into a deep depression. I'm a little concerned because some of the polls are showing slight increases in McOldness's numbers, C-SPAN's analysts are reporting that currently, the 18 to 30 yr old voters are not increasing their voting block's numbers, and there are many pundits talking about the great unknown - RACE!!!

I'm not an alarmist, but I want all of us to keep pushing and not get complacent. I think we should fight as if Barack and Joe are 20 points down in the polls. WE HAVE GOT TO WIN THIS ELECTION FOR OURSELVES, OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY & THE WORLD!!!

Obama / Biden '08

Adrian Grenier Gets to Work at Barack TV

Sarah Gallagher — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:09:07 EDT

Adrian Grenier, from HBO's hit show Entourage, joined volunteers at California Obama HQ to work for change, making phone calls to battleground states.

Adrian made calls to swing state voters, encouraging them to get to the polls to cast their votes for Barack Obama.

The volunteers took a break to watch Barack's 30 minute address to America on TV, then were fired by a quick speech from Mary Jane Stevenson, our Field Director. Everyone then got back on the phones, the office was quickly buzzing again with the voices of volunteers working to Get Out the Vote! Join volunteers at a phone bank near you to help Barack Get Out the Vote in the final days of this election!: ca.barackobama.com/LastCallCA

Nasty Ads

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:25:56 EDT

Barack was right about the republicans calling him every name in the book. In addition, they are now allowing their state surrogates to run really vile and racist campaign ads against Barack including Rev. Wright. Since McInsane is not denouncing these ads and his campaign says that they are not the police of campaign ads, should we begin plastering the battle-state media with ads about the Keating 5, the Alaskan Independence Party with Palin giving their welcoming speech, the Wassilla "Witch" pastor praying over Palin, and the nasty remarks that McInsane's racists and neo-con pastors Hagee, Parsley and Falwell? Should we call on the liberal 527s to assist in getting these nasties out on the air or should we leave it alone???

I'm so sick of the "Low-Road Express" that the republicans keep taking. Even though my heart knows retaliation does not work, my head wants to smack them into tomorrow and onto a new page. Somebody talk me down...

HOPE - Do not allow fear to divide us!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:18:14 EDT

After listening to the news cast about the ATF arresting two "Skin head" kids that were plotting to kill school-aged African Americans and Barack Obama, my heart sank. I don't understand how in 2008, our country can still have people in it that harbor so much hatred toward a race of people who have never sought to harm anyone just because of their skin color. Were these kids put up to this by some crazy person? Were they really on their own without anyone playing "puppet-master" with their lives?

A friend of mine once told me that some White people are afraid that Obama will make life hard for Whites in retaliation for the racism that has been put on Blacks. I told her that is an insane idea especially since Barack Obama is half White and was raised in a predominantly White and Biracial family. With all that has been done to people of color in the past, I have never personally known anyone who wants anything bad to happen to White people. Most People of Color (including me) demand that we are treated as human beings, treated with common courtesy and respect, treated equally and with fairness. Life is hard enough without having to dwell on hate and unfairness too.

I hope the racists who come here to our site will learn from us and take the positive knowledge to their hate-mongering friends and family. The divisive crap (words & deeds) needs to stop before things get out of hand. If anything bad were to happen to Barack, his family or groups of people of color, this nation will be torn apart. It would be the final straw to breaking the camel's back. No "sane" person wants the type of racial drama and hatred that could possibly happen to our country from such dastardly deeds. Obama is a unifying presence. His Biracial background should be enough for everyone to recognize this.

Barack Obama's message of hope and unity has to be spread and put into practice by we the people - all people - all colors, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Native American. We must come together in order to change our country for the better! We've got a lot to do to heal our nation from the crap we've inherited after the last eight years of divisive politics, let's get busy!!!

Obama - Biden '08

Joe's Interview in Florida

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:36:42 EDT

Obama supporter, Jane Risher post a message about Joe Biden's interview with a sharp-edged Florida news woman. We both believe Joe did an excellent job of responding to the harpie. I think our campaign should put it on the front page of our site. Check out the YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQXcImQfubM

You Go Joe Biden - I love your answers and your temperament!

McCain - Palin

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:36:02 EDT

McCain picked a VP candidate that hates America - Sarah is a member of the Alaska Independence Party. They hate America and want to succeed from the United States. If McCain/Palin are elected, Sarah will quickly work to overpower McCain and tear apart the United States of America!

Scary Uh...
Obama-Biden '08

Breaking: Denver Looking For 11,000 Mail-In Ballots

Tanya — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:47:12 EDT

21K Ballots Sent By Sequoia But Only 10K Received By Post Office POSTED: 7:54 am MDT October 25, 2008DENVER -- Denver elections officials are trying to determine the whereabouts of more than 11,000 mail ballots, the Rocky Mountain News reported Friday.

Sequoia Voting Systems reported delivering 21,450 ballots to a Denver mail processing facility on Oct. 16, but the U.S. Postal Service said Friday that the facility received 10,364 ballots that day, the newspaper reported. The Postal Service said it delivered the ballots to the homes within a couple of days.

The discrepancy prompted Denver Election Director Michael Scarpello to ask Sequoia for paperwork proving the ballots were shipped, the newspaper reported."Certainly we're concerned and we're wanting to get to the bottom of it," Scarpello said. "I don't think we've seen overwhelming evidence to prove one theory or the other.

"My advice to people would be to hang tight for another couple of days."

Sequoia Voting Systems, based in Porterville, Calif., was working to find the paperwork from its mail house to show that the ballots were delivered to the post office, company spokeswoman Michelle Shafer said.

"We will continue to work with all parties concerned to get to the bottom of this situation and rectify it as necessary," she said.

Postal Service spokesman Al DeSarro said his office has delivered all ballots it received.

Scarpello said he is certain that his office sent the correct number of voter files to the printer. He said the problem appears to be either at the printer or at the post office.

A record 1.5 million voters statewide have requested to vote by mail, and more than 180,000 Denver voters have requested mail ballots.

Voters have until Oct. 28 to request mail-in ballots.

Los Angeles Early Vote and Phonebank Wrap Up

Sarah Gallagher — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:47:34 EDT

Over 500 people gathered at the LA County Registrar's office to cast their votes early for Barack Obama. They joined California Field Director Mary Jane Stevenson and Obama for America staffers, who were fired up to vote for Obama and then get back outside to make phone calls for change!

You can still vote early in California, go to VoteForChange.com to find the early vote location for your county.

Once you vote early, join us to get out the vote by making calls into swing states from now through election day, or sign up now to drive for change to a swing state and make a big difference in this election!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:27:17 EDT

I guess the Trolls didn't like my first invitation to join us http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/michellecrowell/gGgf4v because they are still coming here to spew their nasty hateful venom about Barack and calling him a terrorist. I think the trolls should look in their own back yards when pointing fingers because McCainsane has ties to domestic and international terrorists, and his VP candidate and her husband were both members of the Alaskan Independance Party - the ones who really hate America and all that we stand for.

Obama / Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

Defining Moment - Obama Ad

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:38:41 EDT

Be sure to check out the new ad "Defining Moment". It is really nice and no McInsane in it: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/defining-moment_ad/

Obama/Biden '08

The Reason for Trolls: An Invitation

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:17:19 EDT

Although we all hate the Trolls and their nasty negative hate, smear and fear campaign against our Obama/Biden supporters, we should be proud that they are so attracted to our POSITIVE Movement For Change that they come to our site instead of being out on the streets trying to get out the vote for McInsane. The Trolls are really trying to attract attention so that we can invite them to join us (LOL & LMAO)! Our movement is so strong, so attractive, so magnetic that the Trolls can't help themselves and can't stay away from our site.

Your dastardly hate, smear and fear messages are not changing anyone's minds here because we have already done our independent research and we know the truth about Barack Obama. Since everyone wants to be invited and included in changing our nation, here's an invite for you Trolls that say you're against Barack but you spend most of your time here with us instead of being out campaigning for your team:
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ASSIST US IN CHANGING OUR NATION FOR THE BETTER!
YOU ARE WELCOME TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER TO ASSIST IN HOLDING OUR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACTIONS THEY TAKE!
YOU ARE INVITED TO BECOME PART OF THE SOLUTION TO AMERICA'S CHALLENGING ISSUES AND PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF CAUSING CHAOS, FEAR AND MISTRUST!
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BELIEVE THAT WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE MAJORITY IN RESPONSIBLY WORKING TOGETHER TO CORRECT ALL THAT HAS BEEN DONE TO OUR NATION FROM EIGHT YEARS OF GREED!

If you are not out helping your team then you might as well help ours and stop the divisive crap that you are doing. Our nation needs every one of us to work towards healing the woes.,,
Obama - Biden '08

~Compare~

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:03:47 EDT

Your brain on drugs:
McCAIN / PALIN

Your brain without drugs:
OBAMA / BIDEN

Nuff Said!!! Obama/Biden ' 08

NEW YORK WAS MASSIVELY PURGED BY THE GOP

Tanya — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:21:55 EDT

Posted on October 21st, 2008 by bolipari

Have you been purged from New York State’s database?

As I wrote about in my last blog, HAVA required substantial changes to the way voter registration lists are managed, requiring that all states maintain a single statewide database, and that voter registration records be purged of incorrect records. But depending on how database name matching is done, this can result in many legally registered voters being removed from the rolls or set to “Inactive” status, which means on Election Day their names will not be in the poll book, and they will not be able to vote.

But a question has remained, how many voter records have been purged from New York State’s voter rolls? Now we have an answer. I submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for all records in New York’s NYSVOTER voter registration database. Early in October, I received a copy of NYSVOTER records from September 23, 2008. I wrote a program to analyze the 12,010,045 voter records and can now report the number of voters who have had their status set to “Purged” or “Inactive” in the Empire state, and the reasons given for the change.

The data reveals that New York State has moved 1,661,244, or almost 14% of the voter records, from “Active” status to “Purged” or “Inactive”, meaning they will not be in the poll books on Election Day. Whether or not these changes are valid is anybody’s guess, and there’s no way to know for sure how many of these have been incorrectly removed from “Active” status. But I’ll wager that a significant number of these records are actually legally registered voters who should be allowed to vote on Election Day, but won’t be.

I’ve provided two spreadsheets which break out the analysis by individual New York State counties, totals for New York City(which includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island), and the state as a whole. The first sheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) shows the total number of records, the number of “Active” status voters, and the number set to “Purged” and “Inactive”, and the percentages these represent of the total. The second spreadsheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) breaks out the reasons given for each record set to “Purged” and “Inactive”.

This second spreadsheet reveals some interesting patterns. For instance we can see that the New York City Board of Elections has set over a half a million voter records to “Inactive” status because they did not respond to a letter from the Board saying they intended to cancel their registration (NYSVOTER lists this reason as “MAIL CHECK”). I guarantee that some percentage, likely very large, of these New York City voters are legally registered who never saw the Board’s letter. They’re going to show up on Election Day and be turned away from the polls.

We also find the top counties which have been removing voters from the rolls – Sullivan County (30%), Allegany County(24%), Tompkins County (23%), Westchester County (21%), Rensselaer (19%) and Erie (19%). We find that Erie, Cortland, Seneca, Sullivan and Lewis counties have all “Purged” over 7% of voter records. And Sullivan, Allegany, Tompkins, Westchester, Manhattan, Rensselaer and the Bronx have each set over 13% of their voter records to “Inactive” status.

My analysis program can only work the data that’s in the records, so I can’t determine how many of these voter records have been legitimately changed, and how many are legally registered voters whose status should be “Active” but is no longer. There’s only one way to know for sure – call your County Board of Elections and ask if you are registered to vote, if your status is “Active”, and if your name will appear in the poll books on Election Day. If it is not, there is still time, although not much, to correct the error.

By the way, if you find that you are not in the poll books on Election Day, you have the right to demand and receive a “provisional” ballot (called an ‘affidavit’ ballot in NYS), which you can vote on. Provisional ballots do not guarantee that your vote will be counted however, as the county must first conduct an investigation to see if you were indeed legally registered. Only then will the provisional ballot be counted. While this is better than not being able to vote at all, it’s a stop gap measure, and I urge you to call your county Board and check that you are registered and can vote on Election Day.

SOURCE: http://www.nyvv.org/boblog/2008/10/21/over-1500000-nys-voters-purged

GOP Denies Involvement In Ohio Anti-Obama Robotext

Tanya — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:01:47 EDT

By Sarah Wheaton

The Republican National Committee denied any involvement in a “robotext” sent to some cell phones in Columbus, Ohio, over the past few days.

The text directs people to call a phone number and an extension. The message appears to be a combination of a robocall recording that the R.N.C. did create, as well as excerpts from a documentary for “Hannity’s America” on Fox News Channel, “Obama and Friends: The History of Radicalism,” as The Times’s Jim Rutenberg discovered on Wednesday.

“This is not our call or chat message,” said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the R.N.C.

Party officials suggested that whoever is behind this effort could have recorded an official call and spliced it with the Fox audio on his or her own.

In his original report, Ben Smith of Politico.com quoted the recording as beginning with, “I’m calling for John McCain and the Republican National Committee because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.” However, by this afternoon, the call began, “You need to know…” with no mention of Mr. McCain or the R.N.C.

The number in the text directs people to one run by a service, Simple Voice Box, that offers free voicemail boxes. Bob Small, who manages the voice center application for the vendor, said that because the service is free, people need only submit an e-mail address to open an account. The company’s privacy policy forbids him from releasing that address, he said.

Mr. Small said that the company has the option to remove “inappropriate” messages. However, he said, “I listened to it, and quite frankly, I don’t see any big deal about it.”

Some questions of legality remain. Because the group is not identified, it is nearly impossible to tell if the people who have received the texts have “opted in,” for example, or whether the group is obligated to identify itself in its communications.

Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting.

Indiana AG Investigating Robocalls

Tanya — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:58:34 EDT

Indiana attorney general Steve Carter told Politico today that he's opened an investigation into the political robocalls reportedly hitting his state.

Indiana has a pretty strong 1998 law against automated calls, including political calls, and Carter has been aggressive in the past about enforcing it.

I asked Carter's office about a report of a McCain call landing in Indiana, and he confirmed that he'd had complaints about political calls.

"We have over the last two or three days received a handful of inquiries for consumers about potential violations of this law, so we’ll be pursuing those, investigating those," he said.

McCain has typically used live callers in states that bar robocalls, so it's unclear whether there were robocalls place to Indiana.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Indiana_AG_investigating_robocalls.html?showall

Scott McLellan endorses Obama

Tanya — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:56:17 EDT

NEW YORK — Scott McClellan, President Bush's former press secretary, says he is backing Barack Obama for president.

McClellan made the endorsement during a taping of Comedian D.L. Hughley's new show that is premiering on CNN this weekend. The former Bush administration official said he wanted to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done.

He's the second former Bush administration figure this week to publicly back Obama, following former Secretary of State Colin Powell. McClellan caused bitterness among his former co-workers with a tell-all book that criticized Bush.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/mcclellan-endorses-obama_n_137358.html

Barack and Union Workers...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:40:46 EDT

I'm a proud member of the Association of CA State Supervisors (ACSS), an affiliate of the CA State Employees Association (CSEA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). We are over 700,000 strong in CA and we're doing a massive GOTV. I'm very proud of our support for Barack Obama and can't wait to watch him be sworn in on January 20, 2009.
Barack participated in SEIU’s "Walk a Day in my Shoes" program in August 2007. Please click on the Walk a Day in my Shoes link on our home page to check out the story and pictures of Barack: http://www.seiuca.org/

I’m so proud of Barack and this wonderful movement for positive change in America.Obama / Biden ‘08 Can't Wait!!!

Grandmother Toot

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:34:49 EDT

The say anything nasty Republicans have the nerve to negatively compare Barack using his campaign plane to fly to Hawaii to Palin's excessive clothing spending spree. There is absolutely no comparison of the circumstances between the two. See the article on Huff Post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/gop-strategist-on-palins_n_137226.html

I've only been able to donate $170 to Barack's campaign but he can use all of my small fund to fuel the jet. I love the idea of him making Toot his top priority instead of leaving her to be alone in the end. Barack is showing a deep sense of family love and commitment to honor his grandmother. I'd much rather have a president who understands how important his family is, than to have one who disregards his family ties.

Obama / Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

Eric Garcetti, LA Council President, on Driving for Change

Sarah Gallagher — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:34:36 EDT

Last weekend, I traveled with 150 friends to the battleground state of Nevada, joining thousands of Californians in campaigning for Senator Barack Obama.

Over the weekend, our group knocked on over 5,000 doors. We spread out across Las Vegas, meeting people in their homes and talking to them about their hopes and concerns. What we heard is that Nevadans, like many of their fellow Americans, are worried. They are yearning for change and strong leadership to put our country back on track. Most were responsive to Senator Obama's economic plan of tax cuts for the middle class and smarter regulation of our financial sector.

I know that an Obama administration would bring renewed focus toward reviving our urban centers, and I will be working to bring that message to other voters between now and Election Day.

Join us on another Drive for Change for the final Get Out the Vote Weekend.

Poll Position

James "Monte" Salter CD4 Valley Team leader — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:20:59 EDT

It's looking good according to the newest polls from the battlegrounds! But like the song says "...you can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands when everybody's fighting for their promised land." With this in mind, we can never underestimate the power of the republican disenfrancizing machine. VIGILANCE!!!

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann
*** Swing states swinging to Obama: Most of the national polls -- including our NBC/WSJ survey -- are now showing Obama with a double-digit national lead. And here come a slew of brand-new state polls that also suggest Obama is in command of this presidential contest. The University of Wisconsin’s Big Ten Battleground polls have Obama up 10 points in Indiana (51%-41%), 13 points in Iowa (52%-39%), 22 in Michigan (58%-36%), 19 in Minnesota (57%-38%), 12 in Ohio (53%-41%), 11 in Pennsylvania (52%-41%), 13 in Wisconsin (53%-40%), and nearly 30 in Obama’s home state of Illinois (61%-32%). Meanwhile, there are new Quinnipiac surveys that show Obama up five points in Florida (49%-44%), 14 in Ohio (52%-38%), and 13 in Pennsylvania (53%-40%). And finally, new CNN/Time surveys find Obama ahead by five points among likely voters in Nevada (51%-46%), four points in North Carolina (51%-47%), four in Ohio (50%-46%), and 10 points in Virginia (54%-44%). The lone state survey that shows McCain ahead: CNN/Time’s West Virginia poll, where McCain’s nine (53%-44%).

Block the Vote

James "Monte" Salter CD4 Valley Team leader — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:12:28 EDT

From Rolling Stone:Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST

Posted Oct 30, 2008 11:10 AM
• Video: Behind the Story With Kennedy Jr. and Palast

These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort to deter fraudulent voting. For Maez, the shock was especially acute: He is the supervisor of elections in Las Vegas.

Maez was not alone in being denied his right to vote. On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county's voters were absent from the rolls. With their status in limbo, the voters were forced to cast "provisional" ballots, which can be reviewed and discarded by election officials without explanation. On Super Tuesday, more than half of all provisional ballots cast were thrown out statewide.

This November, what happened to Maez will happen to hundreds of thousands of voters across the country. In state after state, Republican operatives — the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics — are wielding new federal legislation to systematically disenfranchise Democrats. If this year's race is as close as the past two elections, the GOP's nationwide campaign could be large enough to determine the presidency in November. "I don't think the Democrats get it," says John Boyd, a voting-rights attorney in Albuquerque who has taken on the Republican Party for impeding access to the ballot. "All these new rules and games are turning voting into an obstacle course that could flip the vote to the GOP in half a dozen states."

Suppressing the vote has long been a cornerstone of the GOP's electoral strategy. Shortly before the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Paul Weyrich — a principal architect of today's Republican Party — scolded evangelicals who believed in democracy. "Many of our Christians have what I call the 'goo goo' syndrome — good government," said Weyrich, who co-founded Moral Majority with Jerry Falwell. "They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. . . . As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."

Today, Weyrich's vision has become a national reality. Since 2003, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, at least 2.7 million new voters have had their applications to register rejected. In addition, at least 1.6 million votes were never counted in the 2004 election — and the commission's own data suggests that the real number could be twice as high. To purge registration rolls and discard ballots, partisan election officials used a wide range of pretexts, from "unreadability" to changes in a voter's signature. And this year, thanks to new provisions of the Help America Vote Act, the number of discounted votes could surge even higher.

Passed in 2002, HAVA was hailed by leaders in both parties as a reform designed to avoid a repeat of the 2000 debacle in Florida that threw the presidential election to the U.S. Supreme Court. The measure set standards for voting systems, created an independent commission to oversee elections, and ordered states to provide provisional ballots to voters whose eligibility is challenged at the polls.

But from the start, HAVA was corrupted by the involvement of Republican superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, who worked to cram the bill with favors for his clients. (Both Abramoff and a primary author of HAVA, former Rep. Bob Ney, were imprisoned for their role in the conspiracy.) In practice, many of the "reforms" created by HAVA have actually made it harder for citizens to cast a ballot and have their vote counted. In case after case, Republican election officials at the local and state level have used the rules to give GOP candidates an edge on Election Day by creating new barriers to registration, purging legitimate names from voter rolls, challenging voters at the polls and discarding valid ballots.

To justify this battery of new voting impediments, Republicans cite an alleged upsurge in voting fraud. Indeed, the U.S.-attorney scandal that resulted in the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales began when the White House fired federal prosecutors who resisted political pressure to drum up nonexistent cases of voting fraud against Democrats. "They wanted some splashy pre-election indictments that would scare these alleged hordes of illegal voters away," says David Iglesias, a U.S. attorney for New Mexico who was fired in December 2006. "We took over 100 complaints and investigated for almost two years — but I didn't find one prosecutable case of voter fraud in the entire state of New Mexico."

There's a reason Iglesias couldn't find any evidence of fraud: Individual voters almost never try to cast illegal ballots. The Bush administration's main point person on "ballot protection" has been Hans von Spakovsky, a former Justice Department attorney who has advised states on how to use HAVA to erect more barriers to voting. Appointed to the Federal Election Commission by Bush, von Spakovsky has suggested that voter rolls may be stuffed with 5 million illegal aliens. In fact, studies have repeatedly shown that voter fraud is extremely rare. According to a recent analysis by Lorraine Minnite, an expert on voting crime at Barnard College, federal courts found only 24 voters guilty of fraud from 2002 to 2005, out of hundreds of millions of votes cast. "The claim of widespread voter fraud," Minnite says, "is itself a fraud."

Allegations of voter fraud are only the latest rationale the GOP has used to disenfranchise voters — especially blacks, Hispanics and others who traditionally support Democrats. "The Republicans have a long history of erecting barriers to discourage Americans from voting," says Donna Brazile, chair of the Voting Rights Institute for the Democratic National Committee. "Now they're trying to spook Americans with the ghost of voter fraud. It's very effective — but it's ironic that the only way they maintain power is by using fear to deprive Americans of their constitutional right to vote." The recently enacted barriers thrown up to deter voters include:

1. Obstructing Voter-Registration Drives

Since 2004, the Bush administration and more than a dozen states have taken steps to impede voter registration. Among the worst offenders is Florida, where the Republican-dominated legislature created hefty fines — up to $5,000 per violation — for groups that fail to meet deadlines for turning in voter-application forms. Facing potentially huge penalties for trivial administrative errors, the League of Women Voters abandoned its voter-registration drives in Florida. A court order eventually forced the legislature to reduce the maximum penalty to $1,000. But even so, said former League president Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti, the reduced fines "create an unfair tax on democracy." The state has also failed to uphold a federal law requiring that low-income voters be offered an opportunity to register when they apply for food stamps or other public assistance. As a result, the annual number of such registrations has plummeted from more than 120,000 in the Clinton years to barely 10,000 today.

2. Demanding "Perfect Matches"

Under the Help America Vote Act, some states now reject first-time registrants whose data does not correspond to information in other government databases. Spurred by HAVA, almost every state must now attempt to make some kind of match — and four states, including the swing states of Iowa and Florida, require what is known as a "perfect match." Under this rigid framework, new registrants can lose the right to vote if the information on their voter-registration forms — Social Security number, street address and precisely spelled name, right down to a hyphen — fails to exactly match data listed in other government records.

There are many legitimate reasons, of course, why a voter's information might vary. Indeed, a recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that as many as 20 percent of discrepancies between voter records and driver's licenses in New York City are simply typing mistakes made by government clerks when they transcribe data. But under the new rules, those mistakes are costing citizens the right to vote. In California, a Republican secretary of state blocked 43 percent of all new voters in Los Angeles from registering in early 2006 — many because of the state's failure to produce a tight match. In Florida, GOP officials created "match" rules that rejected more than 15,000 new registrants in 2006 and 2007 — nearly three-fourths of them Hispanic and black voters. Given the big registration drives this year, the number could be five times higher by November.

3. Purging Legitimate Voters From the Rolls

The Help America Vote Act doesn't just disenfranchise new registrants; it also targets veteran voters. In the past, bipartisan county election boards maintained voter records. But HAVA requires that records be centralized, computerized and maintained by secretaries of state — partisan officials — who are empowered to purge the rolls of any voter they deem ineligible. Ironically, the new rules imitate the centralized system in Florida — the same corrupt operation that inspired passage of HAVA in the first place. Prior to the 2000 election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and her predecessor, both Republicans, tried to purge 57,000 voters, most of them African-Americans, because their names resembled those of persons convicted of a crime. The state eventually acknowledged that the purges were improper — two years after the election.

Rather than end Florida-style purges, however, HAVA has nationalized them. Maez, the elections supervisor in New Mexico, says he was the victim of faulty list management by a private contractor hired by the state. Hector Balderas, the state auditor, was also purged from the voter list. The nation's youngest elected Hispanic official, Balderas hails from Mora County, one of the poorest in the state, which had the highest rate of voters forced to cast provisional ballots. "As a strategic consideration," he notes, "there are those that benefit from chaos" at the ballot box.

All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on "list maintenance" methods.

4. Requiring Unnecessary Voter ID's

Even if voters run the gauntlet of the new registration laws, they can still be blocked at the polling station. In an incident last May, an election official in Indiana denied ballots to 10 nuns seeking to vote in the Democratic primary because their driver's licenses or passports had expired. Even though Indiana has never recorded a single case of voter-ID fraud, it is one of two dozen states that have enacted stringent new voter-ID statutes.

On its face, the requirement to show a government-issued ID doesn't seem unreasonable. "I want to cash a check to pay for my groceries, I've got to show a little bit of ID," Karl Rove told the Republican National Lawyers Association in 2006. But many Americans lack easy access to official identification. According to a recent study for the Election Law Journal, young people, senior citizens and minorities — groups that traditionally vote Democratic — often have no driver's licenses or state ID cards. According to the study, one in 10 likely white voters do not possess the necessary identification. For African-Americans, the number lacking such ID is twice as high.

5. Rejecting "Spoiled" Ballots

Even intrepid voters who manage to cast a ballot may still find their vote discounted. In 2004, election officials discarded at least 1 million votes nationwide after classifying them as "spoiled" because blank spaces, stray marks or tears made them indecipherable to voting machines. The losses hit hardest among minorities in low-income precincts, who are often forced to vote on antiquated machines. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, in its investigation of the 2000 returns from Florida, found that African-Americans were nearly 10 times more likely than whites to have their ballots rejected, a ratio that holds nationwide.

Proponents of HAVA claimed the law would correct the spoilage problem by promoting computerized balloting. Yet touch-screen systems have proved highly unreliable — especially in minority and low-income precincts. A statistical analysis of New Mexico ballots by a voting-rights group called VotersUnite found that Hispanics who voted by computer in 2004 were nearly five times more likely to have their votes unrecorded than those who used paper ballots. In a close election, such small discrepancies can make a big difference: In 2004, the number of spoiled ballots in New Mexico — 19,000 — was three times George Bush's margin of victory.

6. Challenging "Provisional" Ballots

In 2004, an estimated 3 million voters who showed up at the polls were refused regular ballots because their registration was challenged on a technicality. Instead, these voters were handed "provisional" ballots, a fail-safe measure mandated by HAVA to enable officials to review disputed votes. But for many officials, resolving disputes means tossing ballots in the trash. In 2004, a third of all provisional ballots — as many as 1 million votes — were simply thrown away at the discretion of election officials.

Many voters are given provisional ballots under an insidious tactic known as "vote caging," which uses targeted mailings to disenfranchise black voters whose addresses have changed. In 2004, despite a federal consent order forbidding Republicans from engaging in the practice, the GOP sent out tens of thousands of letters to "confirm" the addresses of voters in minority precincts. If a letter was returned for any reason — because the voter was away at school or serving in the military — the GOP challenged the voter for giving a false address. One caging operation was exposed when an RNC official mistakenly sent the list to a parody site called GeorgeWBush.org — instead of to the official campaign site GeorgeWBush.com.

In the century following the Civil War, millions of black Americans in the Deep South lost their constitutional right to vote, thanks to literacy tests, poll taxes and other Jim Crow restrictions imposed by white officials. Add up all the modern-day barriers to voting erected since the 2004 election — the new registrations thrown out, the existing registrations scrubbed, the spoiled ballots, the provisional ballots that were never counted — and what you have is millions of voters, more than enough to swing the presidential election, quietly being detached from the electorate by subterfuge.

"Jim Crow was laid to rest, but his cousins were not," says Donna Brazile. "We got rid of poll taxes and literacy tests but now have a second generation of schemes to deny our citizens their franchise." Come November, the most crucial demographic may prove to be Americans who have been denied the right to vote. If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat John McCain at the polls — they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering.

Contributing editor Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of the nation's leading voting-rights advocates. His article "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" [RS 1002] sparked widespread scrutiny of vote tampering. Greg Palast, who broke the story on Florida's illegal voter purges in the 2000 election, is the author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy." For more information, visit No Voter Left Behind and Steal Back Your Vote.

Did I do enough?

charlene davis — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:43:21 EDT

We are only two weeks out until the final vote. I am wishing that I could have done more. Having lupus and being a single mom and no car has made it difficult. I have phone banked from home and headquarters, worked on events, talked to anyone who would listen as to why I believe so much in this team, registered new voters, wore my buttons everywhere, proudly kept my sign in my front apt window and made small donations when I could. Yet, I feel like I should have done more. I plan on devoting the last two weeks to making calls from home to help to push us to the finish line. I also have read and watched everything I could get my hands on to be an informed voter and be educated to speak to undecided voters. I have also had to listen sometimes to people who remain so close minded about Obama and will never "get it". I am sad for them because they are the ones who are missing out. I know that once we have " President Obama", they will realize that he wants the best for each and every one of us.

I also want to wish Barack's grandmother good thoughts and prayers. I truly pray she will get to see him get elected and make history. I so respect him for taking time out for her. It just makes me love him even more .

In Victory we go,

Charlene

What if....?

Roseville City School Board Member — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:54:51 EDT

HOW RACISM WORKS…..

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain was still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Michelle Obama was a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama was a member of the Keating-5?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

You are The Boss... which team would you hire?
With America facing historic debt, 2 wars, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc.

Educational Background:

Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire ?

PS: What if Barack Obama had an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?....

Jobs Summit

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:02:29 EDT

Barack's Job Summit will be shown live through HQ Blog. You can also view it at CNN.com. It will start any moment.

To Ayers from Washington, DC and Oil from Ft. Worth, TX

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:20:42 EDT

I don't believe what Ayers from Washington, DC and Oil from Ft. Worth, TX are stating. If they had read and compared the plans of Obama versus McCain, they would know who is truly working for the people of America. If those two aren’t trolls, they need to stop listening to the crap on the news shows and do their own research. Wake the hell up! America has been a Capitalistic society filled with Socialistic styled programs since the late 1930s and early 1940s. Look at our Social Security and Medicare programs. Some Christians call themselves pro-life while they support the death penalty, NRA policies and inequality in every measure of American ideals and principles. It is an unmitigated insult to the American public to have John McCain running as a republican reformer and maverick. McCain’s major policies are exactly like George Bush’s policies and now McCain and his sidekick Palin are showing us their version of Karl Rove’s politics – slash, hate, fear and division, during a time when our country desperately needs us to work together! The reason McCain is loosing this election is his belief in the “old-style” politics and policies of George W. Bush, his lack of new ideas for solving problems and the real issues our country faces in the 21st century, and his inability to coherently explain or answer questions about any of this country’s domestic interests or plans. In addition to his lack of knowledge about anything except 20th century wars, McCain picked Sarah Palin - a VP gimmick, instead of providing a real choice for the second highest office in the free world. Most people who are NOT bigoted in their views prefer to look at others with an open mind and view of their differences. We prefer to see the whole person for all of their life works and results. We prefer not to fear what is different in others, but to learn about our differences and to embrace what we like and to try to understand and accept what we don't like. We do our best not to ostracize, label or belittle others because of their differences because we know that most Americans, in fact most human beings are essentially the same in our values and life goals.

So you see, when you come here to persuade us to turn against Barack, it will not work. We have done our research - the real kind, and found Barack Obama to be a breath of fresh air when compared to most politicians and especially John McCain and Sarah Palin. The McCain/Palin team is all about hatred, fear and division, so you will fit right in when you stop coming to our Obama blog in favor of theirs. Good Luck in your future McCain/Palin persuasions.

Sincerely,
Mickiboop - Obama/Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

Report Hate Calls

TCP (Tim Prudhel) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:04:12 EDT

Voters in key battleground states are receiving automated phone calls from John McCain's campaign that are spreading some of the most vile smears of this election.

But these "robocalls" -- and the hate-filled mailers that usually accompany them -- say more about John McCain than they do about Barack.

After all, McCain himself denounced these underhanded and cowardly tactics as "hate calls" after a rash of them sunk his primary campaign in 2000. The perpetrator behind that slimy attack: George W. Bush. Now, not only has John McCain embraced these sleazy tactics, he's hired the same firm that Bush used against him to orchestrate them.

Your voice is the most powerful tool to help fight back against this tide of lies and spread the truth.

If you or your family and friends have received one of these sleazy calls or mailings, help us keep track of them by reporting it.

It's clear John McCain would rather lose his honor than lose this election.

While there's nothing new about these scare tactics, McCain has signaled he'll stoop to any level to win.

There's too much at stake to let the politics of the past derail this campaign. And with less than two weeks to go before Election Day, the need to take a stand couldn't be greater.

Reports from folks like you are the only way the full extent of these hateful calls and mailers will ever be known by voters across the country.

Expose John McCain's slimy tactics -- forward this email to everyone you know and make sure McCain's "hate call" tactics get reported:

http://www.fightthesmears.com/report

Together, we'll turn the page on McCain's low road tactics.

Powell for Obama

Peta-de-Aztlan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:21:15 EDT

I am glad that Powell finally came out of the closet and declared his support for future-President Obama. I imagine he has been wrestling with his own inner demons. He has been a good man throughout his life, though I was against the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, as I am against the U.S. involvement in the Iraq War and its waging war in the Middle East.

A Message To "Best from Nassau NY"

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:50:35 EDT

I think you have really been persuaded to believe all of the fears that you carry about Barack Obama because you are prone to believe the worst. Each person has many people who touch their lives or play a role in their growth and beliefs along life's path. All of the parts and pieces of other views help to shape our character in both positive and negative ways.

Take bigots for example - most bigots don't consider themselves to be such and don't think their belief systems are screwed up because of what's been taught to them since they were mentally aware of the world. Bigots prefer to see anyone different or anything different from their own beliefs as negative or something to fear, and they talk themselves into hateful hysteria because of it.

Most people who are NOT bigoted in their views prefer to look at others with an open mind and view of their differences. We prefer to see the whole person for all of their life works and results. We prefer not to fear what is different in others, but to learn about our differences and to embrace what we like and to try to understand and accept what we don't like. We do our best not to ostracize, label or belittle others because of their differences because we know that most Americans, in fact most human beings are essentially the same in our values and life goals.

So you see, when you come here to persuade us to turn against Barack, it will not work. We have done our research - the real kind, and found Barack Obama to be a breath of fresh air when compared to most politicians and especially John McCain and Sarah Palin. The McCain/Palin team is all about hatred, fear and division, so you will fit right in when you stop coming to our Obama blog in favor of theirs. Good Luck in your future McCain/Palin persuasions.

Sincerely,
Mickiboop - Obama/Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

Outrageous!

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:47:26 EDT

I wonder whether the McCain/Palin team realizes that they are fracturing a section of our country; I wonder if they really know how much damage is being done by their politics of hate, fear and division... I believe that they know what is happening but they don't care. I believe that they are so desparate to win the election that they've forgotten that we will need each and every American in this country to help repair all that has been broken, marred, fractured, destroyed and demoralized in America. I honestly find the outrageous behavior behind what these two divisive individuals are doing to be absolutely unacceptable and as close to criminal as it gets.

I wonder whether the McCain/Palin team realizes that in hard economic times like these, people will look for scape goats and patsies to place their usually misguided blame on. The nasty tone, language and awful assumptions being used towards Barack Obama and people of color, will only feed into some of our worst fears and cause the misguided and misinformed to say and do some very illegal and dastardly things within our communities and to American individuals.

I HOPE the people of America will shock the world in a positive way! I HOPE we will overwhelmingly choose Barack Obama and stay focused on the issues that we will have to address. It will not be easy to change the nature, politics and policies of our nation. It will not be easy to work with people who have called us terrorists, communists, socialists and welfare hogs, but it will take hard work from all of us to affect possitive change in America, thus, we need each other.

Phonebanking Old Hollywood Style: A Post from Nancy D in LA

Sarah Gallagher — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:07:02 EDT

This weekend, the Obama campaign held four ginormous super phonebanks in the Los Angeles area. Harnessing the amazing enthusiasm here in the final weeks of the Presidential campaign, these phonebanks are full of great energy, dedication, and cell phone waves (oh, and yummy snacks). In my neck of the woods, our Hollywood-Los Feliz-Silver Lake phonebanks joined forces at the fabled Sunset-Gower Studios, located at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Gower St. (This intersection was once known as "Gower Gulch" - silver-screen cowboys used to gather there looking for work as extras on western films.) Last weekend, this particular phonebank drew 200 volunteers who made 13,000 calls to battleground states and, in phonebanks throughout California, over 500,000 voters were called! This weekend our goal was higher - the campaign has challenged California volunteers to reach at least 625,000 voters - the Last Call For Change!

Former home of Columbia Pictures ("It Happened One Night", "Funny Girl" and "The Caine Mutiny") and current home to such TV shows as Dexter and Heroes, Sunset-Gower houses many independent film and television production companies. It was also the former home of one of my all-time personal favorites: Six Feet Under. (You can read more about the studio's history here.)

Last weekend, entering data from calls to Colorado, I was really heartened by the number of voters solidly in the Obama camp, versus the ones for McCain. The polls there are bearing this out. This weekend, we're over halfway toward beating last week's totals - 111 volunteers on Saturday, making nearly 9,000 calls! Sunday will surely rock.

Thanks to the incredible volunteer coordinators who are making this phonebank happen every weekend. Your dedication is inspiring. And of course, the roomful of volunteers who didn't want to leave.

Folks, if you haven't tried it yet, it's not too late - get thee to CA.BarackObama.com and find the nearest phonebank. You can make calls, enter data, sell swag, bring snacks - the possibilities are endless. You won't regret it!

’N-Word’ Teacher Gets to Keep His Job

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:23:34 EDT

HERES THE NEWS VIDEO CLIPhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qasfRkIAw9I

GOP Fraud: California Voters Say They Were Tricked Into Registering As Republicans

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:22:40 EDT

SACRAMENTO -- Dozens of newly minted Republican voters say they were duped into joining the party by a GOP contractor with a trail of fraud complaints stretching across the country.Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed."I am not a Republican," insisted Karen Ashcraft, 47, a pet-clinic manager and former Democrat from Ventura who said she was duped by a signature gatherer into joining the GOP. "I certainly . . . won't sign anything in front of a grocery store ever again."It is a bait-and-switch scheme familiar to election experts. The firm hired by the California Republican Party -- a small company called Young Political Majors, or YPM, which operates in several states -- has been accused of using the tactic across the country.Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties say they are investigating complaints about the company.The firm, which a Republican Party spokesman said is paid $7 to $12 for each registration it secures, has denied any wrongdoing and says it has never been charged with a crime.The 70,000 voters YPM has registered for the Republican Party this year will help combat the public perception that it is struggling amid Democratic gains nationally, give a boost to fundraising efforts and bolster member support for party leaders, political strategists from both parties say.Those who were formerly Democrats may stop receiving phone calls and literature from that party, perhaps affecting its get-out-the-vote efforts. They also will be given only a Republican ballot in the next primary election if they do not switch their registration back before then.Some also report having their registration status changed to absentee without their permission; if they show up at the polls without a ballot they may be unable to vote.The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.Lydia Laws, a Palm Springs retiree, said she was angry to find recently that her registration had been switched from Democrat to Republican.Laws said the YPM staffer who instructed her to identify herself on a petition as a Republican assured her that it was a formality, and that her registration would not be changed. Later, a card showed up in the mail saying she had joined the GOP."I said, 'No, no, no. That's not right,' " Laws said.It all sounds familiar to Beverly Hill, a Democrat and the former election supervisor in Florida's Alachua County. About 200 voters -- mostly college students -- were unwittingly registered as Republicans there in 2004 by YPM staffers using the same tactic, Hill said."It is just incredible that this can keep happening election after election," she said.YPM and Republican Party officials said they were surprised by the complaints. The officials said the signature gatherers wear shirts bearing the Republican symbol, an elephant -- a contention disputed by some of the voters interviewed.Every person registered signs an affidavit confirming they voluntarily joined the GOP, party leaders said."It does the state party no good to register people in a party they don't want to be in," said Hector Barajas, communications director for the California Republican Party.The document that voters thought was an initiative petition has no legal implications at all. YPM founder Mark Jacoby said the petition was clearly labeled as a "plebiscite," which does nothing more than show public support.He also said that plainclothes investigators for Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, have conducted multiple spot checks and told his firm it is doing nothing improper."Every time, they gave us a thumbs-up," Jacoby said. "People are not being tricked."But Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, said the agency "does not give an OK or seal of approval to voter registration groups."Two years ago, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas charged 12 workers for a petitioning firm hired by the local Republican Party with fraudulently registering voters as Republican.Democratic registration drives have also caught the attention of law enforcement officials.The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, a national nonprofit that recruits mostly Democratic voters, is being investigated by the FBI for filing fake registrations in multiple states during the current presidential campaign.In April, eight ACORN officials in St. Louis pleaded guilty to federal election fraud for submitting false registration cards in 2006.In California, signature-gatherers are prohibited by law from misleading voters about what they are signing."You can't lie to someone to procure their signature," said Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in election law.Civil rights activists recently filed a lawsuit in Arizona accusing YPM of deceiving residents to get signatures for a ballot measure that would have prohibited affirmative action by that state. The lawsuit was dropped after supporters of the measure pulled it from the ballot.In Massachusetts, former YPM worker Angela McElroy testified at a legislative hearing in 2004that she had tricked voters into signing a ballot measure to ban gay marriage. She said she told voters they were signing in favor of a measure to allow alcoholic drinks to be sold in supermarkets.YPM's Jacoby said McElroy was on loan to another signature-gathering company at the time the alleged deception took place.Jose Aguilera, a 48-year-old math teacher from Ventura whose registration was recently changed from Democrat to Republican, said he signed the child-molester petition outside an Albertsons supermarket.He said he was asked to sign a second document but not told that it would change his registration."Somehow the guy pulled out something else and I signed it," he said.Ashcraft, the pet-clinic manager, said she knew that she could still vote in November for whichever presidential candidate she supports -- in her case, Democrat Barack Obama."I just don't like being lied to," she said.Janett Lemaire, 54, said she told a signature-gatherer in the small Riverside County town of Desert Edge, "I've been a Democrat all my life and I want to stay that way."But the man "said this has nothing to do with changing how you are registered," Lemaire said. "Then I get a notice in the mail saying I am a Republican. . . . I was very angry."

Reid: McCain’s Robocalls "Scummy"

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:22:10 EDT

LAS VEGAS — Two senators in opposing political parties asked Republican presidential candidate John McCain to stop the automated phone calls that link Democratic candidate Barack Obama to a 1960s radical.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, made separate appeals to McCain on Friday. Collins faces a tough race for re-election and serves as a co-chairwoman of his Maine campaign.

"These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley said. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."

In Nevada, a four-page campaign flier mailed this week by the state Republican Party also focused on Obama's past relationship with former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers, calling the college professor a "terrorist, radical, friend of Obama" and featuring several images of Obama and Ayers.

Reid told reporters at a news conference in Las Vegas that he's surprised at the "scummy" tactics employed by McCain's presidential campaign and "can't believe John McCain knows what's going on."

The McCain campaign says the calls are warranted because Obama's connection to Ayers _ the two met many years after Ayers' anti-Vietnam War activities had ended _ raises questions about the Democrat's judgment and record.

"This is an association that is highly questionable and not out of bounds," McCain spokesman Rick Gorka said.

The automated calls in Maine, Nevada and other states _ they are commonly known as "robo calls" _ say Obama "has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans." The charge is misleading: The bombings, which took place more than 35 years ago, didn't result in fatalities and the group didn't claim responsibility for the attack on the judge's home.

Obama has condemned Ayers' radical activities, which took place in the late 1960s and the 1970s, when Obama was a child. In the debate Wednesday with McCain, Obama said Ayers played no role in his presidential campaign.

Ayers, an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, lives in Obama's neighborhood in Chicago. In 1995, he hosted a meet-the-candidate session at his home as the young Harvard Law School graduate prepared to run for the Illinois Senate. The two also worked with two nonprofit charitable organizations in Chicago.

___

GOP Turnout Lagging In Heavy N. Carolina Early Voting

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:21:31 EDT

Thursday's first day of early voting drew record numbers across North Carolina, election officials said, as more than 100,000 people turned out.

That exceeded the 2004 figure by about 40 percent, said Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections.

"We blew it away," Bartlett said Friday, encouraging other voters to take advantage of the early voting period before it ends on Nov. 1. "If not, it will be a long day on Election Day."

Mecklenburg County, where Chgarlotte is located, also set records, with an updated count showing more than 10,000 voting on the first day, and an additional 7,000 on Friday. Michael Dickerson, the county's elections director, suspects Friday's totals might have been higher if not for the rain.

Across the state, Democrats showed the most first-day enthusiasm. Of the nearly 114,000 first-day voters, 64 percent were Democrats, 21 percent Republicans and 15 percent unaffiliateds.

African American turnout was up significantly. Black voters, who make up about 22 percent of registered voters, were 36 percent of Thursday's early voters.

In 2004, blacks made up 18.6 percent of voters.

Experts estimate that Barack Obama needs a black turnout in North Carolina of between 22 percent to 23 percent to carry the state. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Racist ’N-Word’ Robocall Reported In Pennsylvania

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:21:00 EDT

According to the election analysis site FiveThirtyEight.com, some Pennsylvanians have complained about a robocall that impersonates Barack Obama and includes racial epithets:

"Over in Indiana, PA and Northern Cambria, PA, volunteers fielded complaints of a massive wave of ugly robocalls both paid for by John McCain's campaign and those paid for by third parties. The third party call was interactive, and purported to be from Barack Obama himself. The call starts out reasonably, and then "Obama" asks what the listener thinks is the most important issue. Whatever the response, "Obama" then launches into a profane and crazed tirade using "n***er" and other shock language."

If anyone has received this call, please send us an email so we can follow up.

NYT Runs Controversial Cindy McCain Profile...Drug Use Raised

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:20:23 EDT

Cindy McCain was new to Washington and not yet 30 when she arrived at a luncheon for Congressional spouses to discover a problem with her name tag.

It read "Carol McCain." That was the well-liked wife John McCain had left to marry Cindy, to the disapproval of many in Washington.

Fearing that the slight was intentional, she slinked to a half-empty table that never filled. "No one wanted to sit at her table," said Barbara Ross, a friend who was not surprised when Mrs. McCain announced a few months later that she was moving back to Arizona. "It was like high school."

Cindy McCain, the wife of the Republican presidential nominee, has spent the last year pursuing a return to Washington: "a harsh town" that does not suit her, she has said.

Nor does campaigning, friends say. She has done relatively few solo events, grants interviews reluctantly— she declined to speak for this article — and in introducing her husband at events, she offers few of the heartwarming anecdotes that are the stock in trade of the political spouse. When she finishes, she stands silently behind him, sometimes with an approving smile, sometimes looking strained.

From the start, Mrs. McCain's marriage has been defined by her husband's ambitions, and despite her sometimes punishing ride in political life, she does whatever she must to help fulfill them. As his poll numbers have slid recently, her devotion has seemed only to grow. When the McCain campaign recently stepped up attacks on Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. McCain joined in with startling intensity. The day after the second presidential debate, which did not turn around Mr. McCain's standing in the polls, she interrupted a Fox News interview he was doing to testify to his virtues. At this late date, Mrs. McCain is starting to headline her own rallies, starting in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

"She would walk on broken glass barefoot if it required her to do so in this campaign," said Matt Salmon, a former Arizona congressman who knows the couple.

Mrs. McCain, 54, describes herself as her husband's best friend, though for the last two decades they have mostly lived apart, she in Arizona, he in Washington. She initially seemed like an ideal political partner, giving Mr. McCain a home state, money and contacts that jump-started his career. But as the years passed, she also became a liability at times. She played a role in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal, and just as her husband was rehabilitating his reputation, she was caught stealing drugs from her nonprofit organization to feed her addiction to painkillers. She has a fortune that sets the McCains apart from most other Americans, a problem in a presidential race that hinges on economic anxieties. She can be imprecise: she has repeatedly called herself an only child, for instance, even though she has two half-siblings, and has provided varying details about a 1994 mercy mission to Rwanda.

Those close to Mrs. McCain say she aspires to be like another blonde, glamorous figure married to an older man: Diana, the Princess of Wales. Mrs. McCain sought out the same mine-clearing organization that the princess supported, joining its board and traveling to minefields, just as her role model had. Mrs. McCain recently told British reporters that as first lady, she would take her cues from Diana, throwing herself into international philanthropy.

First, though, the McCains must win. Mrs. McCain has traveled by her husband's side on the campaign trail and helped reorganize the campaign after it floundered in 2007. When The New York Times reported last winter that Mr. McCain's staffers had urged him to stay away from a female lobbyist during his first presidential run, Mrs. McCain stood by her husband at a news conference and defended his honor.

Politics have always brought the McCains together: as she remarked during his failed 2000 presidential run, campaigns are when the two spend the most time with each other.

"Just when I think we're complete opposites, it turns out we're not, that we've had a common goal — first the children and now this," she told Harper's Bazaar last year.

Washington Experiences

Some of Mr. McCain's Washington friends say they have barely met Mrs. McCain, while fellow mothers at their children's schools say they have little sense of her husband. The two often relax in separate places: Mr. McCain prefers the family's ranch in the Arizona desert, while Mrs. McCain's refuge is a high-rise condominium on the Pacific. (Her husband is "not a beach person," she recently told Vogue.)

From the beginning, John and Cindy McCain had two entirely different experiences of Washington. He was the most popular member of the freshman Congressional class of 1983, with the most heroic background, the most uproarious jokes and, from his days as the Senate's Navy liaison, the highest-level contacts. "John was clearly the star from the first day," said Steve Bartlett, a former congressman from Texas.

Mrs. McCain was 28, nearly two decades younger than her husband and just five years older than his eldest-son. "Cindy was a little bit star struck by John's fame and the strength of his personality," said Diana Dunn, who socialized with the couple. Ms. Dunn, the former wife of William S. Cohen, the former Maine senator and defense secretary, recalls the new Mrs. McCain as gracious but timid, unschooled in Washington conversation, and worried about fitting in.

Carol McCain was still a presence on the social scene, working in the Reagan White House and as an events planner. Everyone knew her story: she had stood by her husband during his captivity in North Vietnam, never passing word of a debilitating car accident, only to discover, a few years after their reunion, that he was leaving her for a younger, richer woman.

Rejected by the clubby Congressional wives, Cindy McCain tried to befriend her husband's aides.

"She seemed lonely," said Lisa Boepple, a former chief of staff. But "she was John's wife, so we didn't really want to hang around with her."

Mrs. McCain announced she was returning to Phoenix to start a family, but friends detected other reasons. "I think Cindy made an intellectual decision: I could stay here and fight this, or I could go and do more productive things," said Ms. Ross, the friend from back home.

Ever since, the McCains have led only partly overlapping lives, with Mr. McCain — who was first elected to the Senate in 1986 — spending the week in Washington. The separation had a political upside: Mr. McCain, initially considered something of a carpetbagger, boasted that his family lived in Arizona. He flew home on weekends, but spent part of them campaigning.

In his absence, Mrs. McCain organized elaborate fund-raisers, like a "South Pacific" affair to complement his naval background, complete with Polynesian dancers. She shopped for thoughtful gifts: engraved silver platters to give to staff members on primary night, gold elephant lapel pins, and gag presents, like a cowboy outfit for Victoria Clark, then an aide who knew little about the West. For his district offices, she ordered native Arizonan plants — which all promptly died, according to Peggy Rubach, a former aide.

Mrs. McCain expanded her childhood home, turning it into a 10,000-square-foot mansion that struck more than one visitor as a shrine to her husband. On the walls, she hung photos of the storied McCain military clan and her husband clasping hands with Republican presidents. Elephants adorned the wallpaper in one bathroom and a pot rack in the kitchen. In the master suite, she installed a fireplace carved with "MC," for McCain.

When he was home, the two were "as affectionate as you can be with John McCain," said Wes Gullet, a former aide, explaining that his old boss, with his military training, restless energy and sarcastic humor, is not the cuddly type. "He's a funny and vivacious guy, but he is not someone who spends his weekend watching 'The Way We Were,' " Mr. Gullet said.

Recently, Mrs. McCain has called the separations painful, volunteering that she endured several miscarriages alone. She spent subsequent pregnancies mostly confined to home, Ms. Ross said, sitting in a favorite stuffed chair, watching videos. But she rarely complained. "Her attitude was as a good soldier," Mr. Gullet said.

As her family grew, her parents moved across the street to help out, even ordering birthday gifts to be given in her husband's name. "I'm sure John hasn't been able to get anything done, so send something Cindy would enjoy," Marguerite Hensley, Mrs. McCain's mother, would tell G. Darrell Olson, a local jeweler. "John doesn't have a lot of money, so find something in the $5,000 area," she added, according to Mr. Olson. (One year, Mr. McCain chose his own gift for his wife: a ring with her children's birthstones.)

Mr. McCain regretted his absences, but he saw himself as an improvement on his own father and grandfather. "John's dad had gone to war on Dec. 7" — the day Pearl Harbor was attacked — "and didn't come home for years at a time," Mr. Gullet said.

Scandal and an Addiction

Whatever humiliation Mrs. McCain suffered in her first Washington foray, her trips there in 1989, for weeks of Senate hearings on the savings-and-loan scandal, were worse.

"I can remember once during that time, Cindy saying she didn't know how she was going to get up in the morning," Ms. Ross said. For the ever-present news cameras, Mrs. McCain developed what Ms. Ross called "that stone face" — an impassive mask.

Her husband was accused of improperly intervening on behalf of a donor, Charles Keating, whose failed savings and loan had cost taxpayers billions. Four other senators were implicated, and one Senate spouse: Mrs. McCain. She and her father had invested in a shopping center with Mr. Keating, and while Mr. McCain insisted that he had reimbursed Mr. Keating for vacations their families had taken together in the Bahamas, he said his wife, the family bookkeeper, could not find the receipts.

Mrs. McCain busied herself with the American Voluntary Medical Team, a charity she founded to supply medical equipment and expertise to some of the neediest places on earth, like Micronesia, Vietnam and Kuwait in the weeks after the Persian Gulf war.

When Mrs. McCain visited Bangladesh after a cyclone, she stopped at an orphanage founded by Mother Teresa, who was not, as the campaign has said, present for the visit. Mrs. McCain returned with two baby girls; Mr. Gullet later adopted one, and Mrs. McCain informed her husband on landing that they would adopt the other.

In 1994, Mrs. McCain dissolved the charity after admitting that she had been addicted to painkillers for years and had stolen prescription drugs from it. She had used the drugs, first given for back pain, to numb herself during the Keating Five investigation, she confessed to Newsweek magazine. "The newspaper articles didn't hurt as much, and I didn't hurt as much," she wrote in an essay. "The pills made me feel euphoric and free."

The scandal broke just as her husband had been trying to rehabilitate his reputation. He had no idea his wife had been an addict, he told the press.

On the Trail

Mrs. McCain has said that the smears during her husband's 2000 presidential bid — he was accused of fathering a black child, a twisted reference to their daughter from Bangladesh — left her skittish about presidential politics.

Observers of that campaign and the current one say she seems different this time — more guarded, more tense, superthin. She rarely campaigns away from her husband's side, and yet their interactions on the trail often appear brief and formal. During the rolling primary-season seminars that Mr. McCain held in the back of his bus, Mrs. McCain sat up front. Once in a while, she joined him, sitting very straight, smiling and saying little. Physically, she seems fragile: she suffers from migraines, hobbled around on crutches last year after a knee injury and recently wore a wrist brace because of a handshaking injury.

In speaking about each other, the McCains use standard lines: she praises his experience, he tells the crowd that she should really be the candidate. Meghan McCain, their daughter, performs the image-softening role spouses usually perform for each other: on her blog, she depicts her father joking around on campaign planes and her mother in polka-dot pajamas. On Friday, Mrs. McCain made rare contact with the reporters covering her husband, distributing Halloween candy and gaily advising, "Make your dentist happy!"

In interviews, some of Mrs. McCain's statements seem questionable. She often tells of how she moved to California, leaving her children behind, for four months in 2004 to recover from a stroke that left her unable to walk or speak. But news reports from the time indicate she had few discernible impediments. She gave interviews four days afterward, attended a baseball game with her husband and a reporter several weeks later, and spoke at a Tempe, Ariz., Chamber of Commerce event. "One month out, I feel wonderful," she told the audience. The McCain campaign declined to resolve the discrepancy.

Similarly, Mrs. McCain often mentions her travels to Rwanda at the height of the 1994 genocide — she wrote about it in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece and has been praised by politicians and newspaper columnists for jetting into the heart of a massacre. As with her other charity trips, participants praised her eagerness to help victims of tragedy. But news accounts and interviews indicate, and a campaign spokesman confirmed, that Mrs. McCain traveled after the genocide had ended, spending time with refugees in neighboring Zaire, now Congo. Asked if she was ever in Rwanda, as Mrs. McCain has stated many times, a campaign spokesman, Jill Hazelbaker, said "she was driven to the Zaire/Rwanda border in order to assess the conditions of the refugees entering the country."

Whatever stumbles she may have made in telling her story, Mrs. McCain has exhibited the signal trait of the political spouse: a burning desire to win. In summer 2007, she helped reorganize her husband's campaign after it almost fell apart, sitting down with the books to review the cash-flow. Rick Davis, a contentious figure in the McCain camp because of his lobbying ties, emerged as campaign manager, in part because Mrs. McCain, with whom he spent months traveling and fund-raising, backed him.

"It was at a time when most people had given up on John," said Mr. Salmon, the former Arizona congressman. "When he was down, Cindy was extremely positive."

Asked to explain how Mrs. McCain can seem so uncomfortable on the trail and yet so intent on victory, friends say she truly believes that her husband is the best man for the job. Some note she has invested for decades in his career and now sees the ultimate prize in reach; others say she wants approval, from either her husband or the public. At a Florida rally on Thursday, the crowd greeted her with chants of "Cin-dy! Cin-dy!"

If Mr. McCain wins, she would have to return to the town she says she dislikes, attending the same sorts of luncheons she once fled from. But this time — maybe at the annual event that Congressional wives have for the first lady — the women of Washington, including a few who shunned her the first time around, would have to applaud in Mrs. McCain's honor.

Kitty Bennett and Mark Leibovich contributed reporting.

BECAUSE OF THE GOP..PEOPLE CANT LIVE THEIR LIVES IN PEACE

Tanya — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:19:19 EDT

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW YOU KNOW THAT MCCAIN HAS GONE TOO FAR..ITS AFFECT LIVES..PEOPLE ARE BEING THREATENED..BEAT UP AT PALIN RALLYS...THIS RACIST HITLERISH BULLSHIT HAS TO END!!

UNL Cancels William Ayers Speech
Safety Concerns Lead University To Scrub Appearance By '60s Radical

POSTED: 7:09 pm CDT October 17, 2008
UPDATED: 9:15 pm CDT October 17, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Officials at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have called off plans for William Ayers to speak on campus due to safety concerns.Officials had said Ayers was invited to come Nov. 15 because of his expertise in research related to small schools and urban education.But Marjorie Kostelnik, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences, said Friday night that the university's threat assessment group received e-mails and other information that identified safety concerns.The announcement comes after Gov. Dave Heineman and others asked the university to rescind its invitation."This has become an embarrassment, not only to the university, but the state of Nebraska," Heineman said. "I've heard from parents who want to pull children out of the university, contributors who no longer want to give to the university. It's not worth it, considering who this individual is."The chairman of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents said calls from the governor and other politicians had nothing to do with the cancellation. Chuck Hassebrook said those calls were crass opportunism.Still, Hassebrook said he supports the decision to cancel the speech, calling Ayers an "unrepentant terrorist." (EVEN THO HE TURNED HIMSELF IN TO THE FBI)