Thurston County for Obama '08

Getting health care right

Fox7777 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:54:41 EDT

We definitely need health care reform with a public option but there are some items that need to be part of a final bill including (1) common sense tort reform (2) freedom to offer higher deductible options (3) privacy protection in smart cards, computerization, etc. (4) maximum competition across state lines, (5) real built-in incentives for cost savings, etc. We are well aware of extreme right wing lunatics shouting people down and spouting lies at town hall meetings but we do need to listen to common sense ideas from all sides in the debate.

Health care reform needs a true single-payer public health care option. This is the only way we will reduce health care costs and achieve universal coverage. Huge savings can be achieved through prevention, computerization, standardization of records, smart cards, full access to generics, etc. A single-payer public health care option should not have to be subsidized by taxpayers. The United States spends far more per capita on health care than any other country in the world but we are lagging far behind in the health of our people. Doing nothing about health care reform is inexcusable since doing nothing will further decrease our competitive advantage in the world and health care cost increases will continue to far exceed our ability to pay. We must get health care reform done now!

Insurance companies make enormous profits from health problems of the American people by charging more, cherrypicking and denying claims. They have devastated the American people with bankruptcy in record numbers. Special interests such as insurance companies, hospitals, drug companies have made obscenely large contributions to corrupt Republicans (and even a few influential Democrats) to maintain the current dysfunctional system that will soon destroy our country. We cannot trust the insurance industry to cut costs without a public health care option providing some honest competition.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

We must have a public health care option!

Fox7777 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:25:51 EDT

Insurance companies make money by charging more and denying claims. They have devastated the American people with bankruptcy in record numbers. Special interests such as insurance companies, hospitals, drug companies have made huge contributions to corrupt Republicans to maintain the current dysfunctional system. We cannot trust the insurance industry to cut costs without an optional single-payer health care plan providing some honest competition.

Medicare is currently not single-payer in that you also need to pay for a private insurance supplement and then you have to pay for items not covered by Medicare or the supplement. We need to make one payment to Medicare and they take care of all the health care bills.

Regarding the single-payer public health care option, the following should apply: (1) If you like your current plan, you can stay with that (2) We should be able to make one payment to the single-payer option or Medicare and they take care of all the costs (except reasonable copays) (3) The single-payer option should not be subsidized by taxpayers so there is fair competition with private insurance.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

Health care reform needs a true single-payer system

Fox7777 — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:18:20 EDT

Health care reform needs a true single-payer system. This is the only way we will reduce health care costs and achieve universal coverage. Medicare is currently not single-payer in that you also need to pay for a private insurance supplement and then you have to pay for items not covered by Medicare or the supplement. We need to make one payment to Medicare and they take care of all the health care bills. Huge efficiencies can be achieved through computerization, standardization of records, smart cards, full access to generics, etc. Insurance companies make money by charging more and denying claims. We cannot trust the insurance industry to cut costs without a single-payer Medicare plan making all the payments.

The same is true of a public health care option which is similar to Medicare or what Congress gets except that the public option should not have to be subsidized by taxpayers.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

Apr 15 Tea Parties sponsored by mean-spirited Republicans

Fox7777 — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:46:33 EDT

You will no doubt hear about April 15 tea parties of people opposed to Obama's recovery plan (which was necessary to correct the damage caused by Republicans). The not so well kept secret is that these were organized by Republicans like Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey and has been promoted 24/7 by Fox News which is the propaganda arm of the Republican Party. Some details are at
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/10/fox-news-tea-party-video

Later,

Joel Carlson
http://Democracy-Now.us

Washington.CAN - The Next Step - Join Today

Wayne — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:57:26 EST

Hello Wonderfully Active People:It's time to move forward as one. We made it through the election and inauguration - and now we must bring our Washington together and work towards organizing county .CAN groups to work at all levels of government to achieve the Change we voted for.

You're invited to join a group on My.BarackObama.com:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/WashingtonCAN

We are writing to invite everyone to please come out and join the President's Grassroots Team to support Barack as we roll out Government 2.0.
In his recent video (http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/thefuture) Barack Announces Organizing For America.  He mentioned that in a few days you would get instructions by email.  These are the instructions.

1.  We need you to find your State.CAN group in MyBO and join these two groups:

USA.CAN

Washington.CAN

2.  Each of you must update your Personal profile on MyBO with real contact information so we can interact accordingly.

3.  This is our team building nationwide project...to form ranks.  To give you a heads up, February 7th is when the call has been put out for all CAN groups to have their first meetings across the country.  We are asking all MyBO members who want to participate in Government 2.0 to reach out to all their MyBO groups and have them join their State.CAN group as well.  At your face to face meetings across your state and in each county you will elect officers, assign issue teams by individual interests, and make plans to work across CAN groups with all others who might share that issue focus in order to join forces and see solutions implemented.   This is the plan we make in support of President Barack Obama's upcoming legislation and programs.  All issues that we are focusing on to begin with are posted at www.whitehouse.gov.

4.  Overall mandate on what we are to do:

• Organize support for legislation at all levels of government.  This includes supporting President Obama's agenda as well as organizing around state and local laws/initiatives.
• Build grassroots electoral strength at all levels by training and developing grassroots leaders to organize and serve in their communities.
• Be an organ of two-way communication between the White House and the grassroots, so that each knows and responds to the priorities of the other.
• Launch a national, grassroots-driven renewal of civic engagement, again at both the local and national levels.

Lisa Lindo
National USA.CAN Group Administrator (Community Action Networks)
Associate Producer Vote For Change Campaign
Internet Community Organizer
Economic URL: IfTheBuckStopsHereShootIt.com
Vote For Change: http://obeygiant.com/voteforchange/

Our MLK Day Service Project

Stewart Henderson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:04:19 EST

We gathered 13,400 pounds of food -- with more to come tomorrow -- the second largest amount for a single drive for the year!

We brought in $4300 in cash and checks -- the largest amount of any drive for the year!

To put that in context, the Food Bank serves an average of 200 households each, three days a week. The food we brought in in one afternoon, including the bulk food that can be bought with those donations, is almost enough to feed the community for an entire month!

Our work has just begun

Fox7777 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:56:30 EST

Republicans have almost destroyed our country but it is not too late. You can go to http://change.gov and submit your suggestions for the new administration. History has taught us that our country is middle-of-the-road so it is best not to get too far out in left field and then lose the next election. Politics is the art of compromise. It is better to gain concensus and get most of what we want than to lose and get none of what we want.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

Thanks, Joel Carlson

Stop shameful Republican voter suppression

Fox7777 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:25:09 EST

We call ourselves a democracy but still have shameful voter suppression by corrupt Republicans. If voters have to stand in ridiculously long lines, especially in battleground states, many citizens can't wait that long and will be disenfranchised from voting.

Oregon has 100% mail-in voting and Washington State will soon have 100% mail-in voting too. This is much better than the current mess we see in other states. First you can complete your ballot at your leisure with all the information in front of you. Second there is a paper backup which can be independently scanned in close elections to verify the winner. This proved very valuable in Washington State's 2004 governors race where less than 200 votes separated the winner from the loser.

We desperately need voting reform in the United States so citizens are not disenfranchised from voting.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

Vote by mail video: English, Chinese, hearing impaired

Fair Elections for Washington — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:11:56 EDT

There are still LARGE numbers of people who have not yet turned in their vote by mail ballots. It's not too late to benefit from this.

Watch the video that shows how to vote by mail. http://wa-democrats.org/vote

or for the same video on vimeo:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voting/absentee/howtoabsentee.aspx

Chinese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF1M2Mn75nE&fmt=18

Hearing impaired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JnFoeZgwOA

Ten Days Out from the Election - Joe the Activist Doorbells

Joe Nilsson — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:26:09 EDT

I doorbelled a precinct for a fellow PCO today - she had to fly back East to visit an ailing parent.

Fall in Olympia is beautiful. The leaves are turning and many yards are still filled with blooming flowers. Today was no exception. What a great day to pitch in and help elect Democrats!

I started doorbelling about 1 pm. The morning had started like any other Saturday of late. I fixed coffee for Marrial and I. We watched a bit of CNN. I took Mikey and Molly for a walk in nearby Pioneer Park. We had a bit of breakfast. I puttered a bit. Then I headed off to doorbell.

The neighborhood I was in was pretty typical of Southeast Olympia - a mixture of middle class and upper middle class homes, with a few modest duplexes thrown in for good measure.

Obama signs were plentiful, perhaps twenty-five in the precinct. I think I saw two lonely McCain signs. The support for Barack was impressive, even by Olympia standards. Gregoire signs outnumbered Rossi (the snake) by at least a six to one margin.

The main task in this type of precinct is to make sure Democrats vote. Doorbelling is a good way to remind folks.

Folks were very friendly. Many told me they had already voted for Barack, we're a vote by mail area, or were going to. I only had two folks refuse lit - one sharing he was a Republican. Four or five folks actually thanked me for doorbelling.

I finished in four hours, including a break for a bottle of cold green tea at a nearby store.

Doorbelling is a great way to get a bit of exercise and make a contribution to a campaign. I've been doing it for twenty-five years and have had many wonderful experiences. I recommend it highly.

The dirtiest, most dishonest Republican campaign yet

Fox7777 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:47:48 EDT

This has got to be the dirtiest, most dishonest Republican campaign yet. John McCain and other corrupt Republicans caused the savings and loan crash in the early 1990's and now McCain is part of the Republican Culture of Corruption responsible for the current crash. They are now running a disgustingly negative campaign throwing all the mud they can. This is dangerous for our country because it brings out the crazy people seen at recent McCain-Palin rallies.

John McCain is confused, erratic, showing signs of dementia, is not looking healthy, likely to have his melanoma cancer return and is mindlessly spouting lies from his sleazy, dishonest campaign. John McCain has been in lockstep with George W Bush over 90% of the time. Another four years of Bush policies would totally destroy our country and that is what we would get with John McCain. If you believe John McCain's recent campaign lies that suddenly he would be different, then I have a Bridge to Nowhere to sell you.

Sarah Palin is clearly unqualified to be President, is a religious fundamentalist extremist who would take away a women's right to choose and would create an American Taliban reversing all the gains in civil rights. For the sake of our country, we must make sure that Barack Obama is elected President.

Having said that, Obama as President would be smart to have some moderate Republicans on his team because we are all Americans and need to work together in bipartisan fashion to solve our problems.

See http://Democracy-Now.us

Chris Sheppard's Story: A Commander-in-Chief I Can Trust

Eddie Lee, Obama Staff — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:23:48 EDT

Chris Sheppard served two tours of duty in Iraq and bravely fought in the battle of Fallujah. His experience overseas led him to rethink his Republican Party membership. Watch this video to hear Chris' story and find out why this lifelong Republican will support Barack Obama on Election Day:

Some things to consider

Fox7777 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:43:55 EDT

1. As President, Barack Obama would be smart to have some moderate Republicans on his team because we are all Americans and need to work together in bipartisan fashion to solve our problems.

2. I'm about as Independent as you can get. I used to vote Republican but became disenchanted since the eighties when Republicans ran up huge deficits like drunken sailors. Also I was turned off by Lee Atwater/Karl Rove wedge issue dirty politics.

3. Republican policies of deregulation have created the recent boom and bust cycles similar to the upheavals of the Hoover Administration after the 1920's. We now have the middle class being destroyed with huge tax breaks being given to the wealthiest 1% and no country can succeed in the long run with no middle class.

4. Republicans have allowed corrupt lobbyists to write legislation in exchange for huge campaign contributions. We have got to clean up the K street mess. In contrast, Obama's contributions average around $80 from millions of main street Americans.

5. Bottom line is that we need to make sure that Barack Obama is elected President. See http://Democracy-Now.us

Roberta Riley's Story: Obama's Health Care Plan: Leadership I Can Trust

Eddie Lee, Obama Staff — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:39:16 EDT

15 years ago, Roberta Riley found out that she had cancer. While she was fighting to live, her health insurance company decided to drop her from coverage. 15 years later, Roberta talks about her support for Senator Obama and his plan to make health care accessible and affordable for all Americans regardless of preexisting conditions. Watch her story here:

Don't 2nd guess Obama on "bailout" legislation

Fox7777 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:20:22 EDT

There has been way too much political polarization between Progressives and Republicans with politicians and pundits framing everything for their political advantage rather than what is best for the country. We are now in a global economy with the risk of doing nothing comparable to what FDR faced in the Republican Hoover depression of the 1930's.

Barack Obama gets it and knows that we have to remain calm, steady and all work together as Americans to avert this disaster. As President he may have to call on Americans to sacrifice and work together for the common good- not just go shopping. We may have some "fireside chats" where Barack speaks to all Americans to move our country forward. The vote we face now is not just a bailout, it is mostly a loan that we as taxpayers should get paid back.

One percent

Mike from Lansing, MI — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:55:43 EDT

1%, or 1 vote out of 100

There have been 12 Presidential elections that were decided by less than a 1% margin; meaning if less than 1% of the voters in certain states had changed their mind to the other candidate the outcome of the entire election would have been different. More than half were decided by less than a 2% margin.

In 2004,    57,787 votes would have given us President Kerry.
In 2000,    269 votes would have given us President Gore
In 1996,    575,515 votes would have given us President Dole.

From ABC News:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2008/09/squeakers.html

==========
"Squeakers"
Ned Potter
ABC News
September 29, 2008

How close have Presidential elections been? Closer, perhaps, than we ever guessed. Mike Sheppard, a grad student in statistics at Michigan State, has done a mathematical exercise that shows it.

He ran a computer program to answer this question: "What is the smallest number of total votes that need to be switched from one candidate to another, and from which states, to affect the outcome of the election?"

The answer: in some years, very, very few. Take a look at his analysis HERE. It shows the powerful interaction between the popular vote and the electoral college.

[...]
==========

Full article here:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2008/09/squeakers.html

Detailed analysis here, including colored maps:
https://www.msu.edu/~sheppa28/elections.html

-Mike Sheppard

A vet who's still serving his country

Stewart Henderson — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:23:11 EDT

Major Matthew J. Parkinson wanted help getting his word out. He's the brother of a friend of my friend Sima Sarrafan, one of the Obama national delegates for Washington. I know that guys like him can really catch get some flack for speaking up like this, and I'm very grateful they do it.

There's more than one way to serve your country. Bless these men and women who don't stop serving when they come home.

Follow the link, too, to read views from other vets.

Palin -- Beyond the Pale

Stewart Henderson — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:03:51 EDT

I haven't joined in with the anti-Palin attacks that are very popular on the left right now. A lot of them actually have a very arrogant, elitist streak to them, in my opinion. How can we build a progressive movement that can win a majority if we let ourselves make fun of ordinary Americans?

More importantly, from a political perspective, I think Palin is just a distraction. We need to keep our eyes on the prize: We have a great candidate for president, who is right on the war, right on the economy, right on taxes.... And they have McCain, a one-time "maverick" who's now peddling "more of the same," when it becomes more obvious with every passing day (and every daily crisis) that we need CHANGE!

However, I think it is both legitimate and important to highlight Palin's politics. If people want to elect an extremist, fine. But I don't think people have any idea what an extremist Palin really is. It's one thing to oppose abortion... but to oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest?

What about this piece from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., about someone Palin admiringly quoted in her big speech at the convention? Here's Kennedy's comment:

Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies."

It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list.

link

Is Palin Qualified Poll on PBS - Now

Kyle Taylor Lucas — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:40:23 EDT

Friends,

PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also
included is a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP?

     It's close. Let's turn this around..... You don't have to give your name or
email address in order to vote. It's very simple. Please pass it on!

    Here's the link:
    http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

Kyle

More on Matthew Gilbert who spoke so eloquently about Gov. Palin's failings

Kyle Taylor Lucas — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:49:51 EDT

Addendum to last post. . . found this April 2008 NPR 'All Things Considered' story with more on Matthew Gilbert, "Young Alaskan Sees Changing Way of Life."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89755688

An Alaska Native's take on his Governor

Kyle Taylor Lucas — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:27:03 EDT

A friend fowarded this enlightening commentary by a young Alaska Native on Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin. Though her policies toward Natives and the environment are troubling, it is heartening to hear real-world perspectives as opposed to the superficial mainstream news coverage of Palin.

An Alaska Native’s take on his Governor

By Matt Gilbert

Hello. My name is Matt Gilbert. I am originally from Arctic Village, Alaska. I am Alaska Native: Gwich’in Athabascan. I visited Sarah’s campaign office and spoke with her before she became Governor. We talked about the hunting & fishing rights of Alaska Natives. We didn’t get anywhere. She sided with sport & commercial interests, so I walked out on her and never looked back. In general, I believe Sarah Palin is another version of Bush, just as inexperienced, but more impulsive. She is very dangerous and scary. People are continuing to support her because she’s beautiful, and this should be a Red Alert for the world. Her purposed policies is to include Georgia into NATO and that would mean all the European countries with all their armed forces will have to go to war with Russia. So she’s willing to ruffle the feathers of a country right next door to her home. Is this who you want as President? You know the scene in the movies when a car or stage coach is about to go over a cliff and you see yourself sliding over? Scary image isn’t it? That’s’ what I’m seeing if Palin gets elected Vice President. Wake up America! Send her back to Alaska. She has plenty of un-finished work here. She hasn’t even gotten funding to move the town of Shishmeraf. It’s falling into the ocean from an eroding coast due to Global Warming, which she wants to fuel more by encourage more coal and oil development. She fuels the fire, and now they want her to do it on a national level.

Palin has done a lot of irrational things up here as Governor. In the summer of 07’, she Line Item Vetoed a lot of infrastructure projects in rural Alaska. The small town of Eagle spent years trying to get a community center built when they finally got funding, Palin shut it down by her Veto. Even Lawmakers are baffled by her Vetoes. They’ve had Bills well-debated on both sides of the aisle, yet she cuts, cuts, cuts. She supported $15 million to Anchorage’s University’s Sport Complex and cut $1.5 million to an expansion of the runaway teen center. How do you justify that? She supports drilling Off-Shore which would utterly destroy the livelihood of the Inupiaq people on the North Slope. They rely on Whale for subsistence and the development would detrimentally impact those whales. She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. My people, the Gwich’in have kept this area closed from development for 30 years. No other American Indian tribe has ever accomplished such a feat. If she drills in the Arctic Refuge, it’ll be the end of my culture. We rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd and if drilling takes place in the Arctic Refuge, our caribou goes and so does our culture. We Gwich’in Athabascans are the last American Indian Tribe in the US that hasn’t been majorly disturbed, heavily impacted, and assimilated. We are the last pure Native American tribe left. We are the last stand for Indian Country. We are the last chapter in American Indian/Anglo American relations. The prior chapters were bad, so make this last chapter a good one and vote for Obama.

Alaska Natives in general are the last group of Native Americans in the United States still depended on a hunting & fishing-based lifestyle where kids and grown-ups go out to fish and hunt to supplement their western diets. It’s crucial we have food off our land because the western foods, processed foods, give us diabetes if we eat them alone. The subsistence foods not only feed our bodies, but our culture, spirit, social lives, and minds. The Western World calls it Subsistence, but we call it our Way of Life. I’m using the word against my well. It gives our lives meaning and keeps us busy. With God’s help, hopefully everyone can understand. Our way of life off the land is everything to us. If we don’t have that we’re nobody, just another group living off the grid, consuming McDonalds, and buying Brand-Named items. We add diversity and richness to the world. Sarah Palin doesn’t care about this. She wouldn’t care if our culture eroded before her eyes. She’s like Nero, sitting in Juneau putting on lip-gloss as Alaskan villages suffer. We’re suffering from fuel costs. We’re suffering from strangulating Fish & wildlife regulations that keep us from surviving off the already scarce wildlife. She has done some things, but not enough. She can ease the Fish & wildlife regulations in order to improve food security in the villages. She can subsidize the villages with the rising fuel costs. The US Government has a Trust Responsibility with its First Americans, the TR requires the Federal/State Governments to ensure we, Alaska Natives, have everything we need to survive. Mrs. Palin has failed miserably at this task. She has a lot more work to do back home.

Her hometown Wasillia, has been a hot-bed for racist and Anti-Native attitudes. Anchorage is worse. Alaska Natives fight discrimination on a daily basis there. Palin isn’t there for them. I read in the Anchorage papers once that a homeless native man froze to death in downtown and some man called it in sounding all casual about it. It’s like the South before the 60s up here. It’s bad. This is the Alaska Sarah Palin maintains and waters for growth. She’s never bothered to change anything because she thinks nothing is broken. As Mayor, she didn’t think anything was wrong with an atmosphere where a native woman had beer bottles thrown at her as she walked down Wasillia. So you have to ask yourself, if she’s willing to ignore the plights and issues of an ethnic group within her town and state, than how much more horrible do you think it’s going to be when she ignores the issues of the same ethnic group or another on a national level?

I believe her popularity comes from her beauty. This society has got to shift itself away from a National Inquirer-based lifestyle to an NPR or New York Times-based lifestyle. Our very world may depend on it. Our hurricanes and disasters are getting worse due to Global Warming, our Stock Market is dangerously shaky, our healthcare is getting so bad it may cause a revolution soon, and the War in Iraq is draining our resources and working families to depression-levels. We need a Change! We need Barack Obama. Not somebody whose reputation is based mainly on image and charm. As an Alaska Native, I see that she doesn’t support our way of life, as a Gwich’in I see that she is willing to end my culture and people for only six more months of oil, and as a Global citizen I see that she is impulsive and inexperienced. Do you want someone like that in charge of a nuclear arsenal? It’s probably already going to take our lifetimes to recover from Bush, if you elect Palin, the consequence are too scary for me to even think about. Please vote for change. Vote for Obama. Vote for Obama.

Donate Your Frequent Flyer Miles for Obama! TravelforChange.org

Alisa W — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:45:12 EDT

There are hundreds of volunteers who want to work for Barack Obama this fall in the swing states, but a lot of these volunteers, students and recent college graduates like myself (Stanford 2008), don't have the resources to get where they are needed.

If you have 25,000 miles on any airline, you likely have enough miles to sponsor a verified volunteer's trip to work in a swing state! Registering new voters and talking to undecided voters face to face is the best way to fight all the smear campaigns and attack ads we are facing.

In the primaries one woman with a phone line raised 2 million miles for Obama! For the general election we can raise even more!

To get involved as a sponsor or volunteer please email alisa@travelforchange.org or just visit TravelforChange.org and please pass this on!

We must set the record straight

Fox7777 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:10:09 EDT

Republicans, including John McCain and Dino Rossi running for governor in Washington State keep saying that Barack Obama and Christine Gregoire will raise your taxes and they won't. These are absolute lies that must be clearly corrected in the minds of the voters. Barack and Christine must clearly and repeatedly point out these lies and set the record straight. Barack would lower taxes on those making less than $250,000 and the rich would just have their tax cuts rolled back to what they were in the Clinton years. For the truth on Barack Obama, see http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome

Chris Gregoire has done an excellent job as governor, created excellent prospects for Washington State despite the current Republican created downturn and set up a rainy day fund for economic downturns. For the truth on Chris Gregoire, see http://www.chrisgregoire.com/FightTheAttacks

Most import, we must educate people that voting for John McCain means four more years of Bush and Republican corruption that we have suffered through the last eight years. Whether this education be from the Obama campaign or some supporting group, the voters are not getting this and John McCain is pulling ahead in the polls.

Come join us at the Fish

Stewart Henderson — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:05:47 EDT

Come down to Fishtail Ale in Olympia this Wednesday or Thursday (9/3 & 9/4), from 9-11, to talk about the Democratic Convention and discuss how we can help Obama win! Local delegates to the Convention will be there to tell war stories. See you there!

This is a do or die election!

Fox7777 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:48:50 EDT

John McCain is confused, showing signs of dementia, likely to have his melanoma cancer return and is mindlessly spouting lies from his sleazy, dishonest campaign. Another four years of Bush would totally destroy our country and this is what the American people would get with McCain.

Sarah Palin is clearly unqualified to be President, is a religious extremist who would take away a women's right to choose and would create an American Taliban reversing all the gains in civil rights. For the sake of our country, we must make sure that Barack Obama is elected President.

See http://www.Democracy-Now.us

Iron Jawed angles

lone wolf — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:17:13 EDT

"Iron Jawed Angels"
A piece of history we need to remember, or perhaps become aware of, told
   in a brief and moving way.

   This is the story of our Grandmothers, and Great-grandmothers, as they
   lived only 90 years ago.

   It was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the
   polls and vote.

   The women who made it so were innocent and defenseless. And by the end
   of the night, they were barely alive.

   Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a
   rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk
   traffic.'

   They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head
   and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They
   hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed
   and knocked her out cold.

   Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart
   attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
   beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

   Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at
   the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson
   to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow
   Wilson's White House for the right to vote.

   For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their
   food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the
   leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a
   chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until
   she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was
   smuggled out to the press.

   So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why,
   exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote
   doesn't matter? It's raining?

   Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO 's new movie
   'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women
   waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my
   say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

   All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the
   actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote.
   Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege.
   Sometimes it was inconvenient.

   HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social
   studies and government teachers would include the movie in their
   curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women
   gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are
   not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock
   therapy is in order.

   It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a
   Psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be
   permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor
   refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and
   brave. That didn't make her crazy.

   The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for
   insanity.'

   Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

   We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard
   for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic,
   republican or independent party - remember to vote. History is being
   made!

Check out my Denver Convention blog!

Stewart Henderson — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:30:58 EDT

Here's the link for my blog on my trip to Denver: http://stew4obama.blogspot.com/

We must have rapid response to McCain swiftboating!

Fox7777 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:58:54 EDT

John McCain is swiftboating Barack Obama including his attacks on Obama's opinion of the surge and his visiting wounded troops in the European hospitals. This extremely dishonest and sleazy attack by John McCain is shameful. Corrupt Republicans in the background are also responsible since McCain is confused, showing signs of dementia and not in complete control. All he is doing is reading dirty politics talking points provided by other corrupt Republicans.

The strongest defense of Obama was from Chuck Hagel, a Republican. Where are the Democrats? Where are the Clintons? Where is the swift response? If Progressives don't quickly respond and quickly set the record straight, we will lose just like in 2000 and 2004. People who are not paying much attention will believe the Republican lies if they are not challenged and corrected. Progressives other than Obama must do the fighting back so Obama can stay above this garbage. The United States will be destroyed if we have a third term of Bush which is what we would get if Obama loses to McCain.

See http://www.Democracy-Now.us

changes occurring in our campaign

lone wolf — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:21:54 EDT

Sent by

logicconex@********.com

Bokonon, the spiritual voice behind Vonnegut's first great novel, says it is our nature to question, yet accept. The positions we take often mask the vulnerability we feel. That vulnerability is all too apparent on-line as we who have been part of the Obama campaign throughout the primary season try to sort ourselves out during this summer of change. As Obama addresses the concerns of the broad constituency of the American people, we struggle with the changes occurring in our campaign.

Ironically, as we question Obama's vote on FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, he is handing us an opportunity to lead the party ourselves. We are being offered the opportunity and challenge to meet with our const ituents to form the planks of the Democratic Platform. For those among us who think that Obama has recently been "doing it wrong," this is our opportunity to do it right. For those who see Obama's choices as an effort to be more inclusive by reaching out to a larger constituency, this is our opportunity to bring more people to the table. In either case, we must learn how to frame issues so that those who might see things differently see them our way.

It is as though we have been invited to sit at that table of brotherhood set for us 45 years ago by Dr. King. Though, ostensibly, we come to join hands, we most likely will come to this party wearing masks--masks that assert our certainty and hide our doubts. Unfortunately, the masks will not only prevent us from talking openly with each other, but they will also keep us from seeing the vulnerable human features of our companions. It is important that we all lower our masks so we can see each other clearly, for, as linguist and cognitive researcher George Lakoff says, this will engage our mirror neurons, creating empathy that can bring us together.

In his new book The Political Mind: Why You Can't Underst and 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain< /span> [for his views on Obama's shift, see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/the-mind-and-the-obama-ma_b_111105.html?view=print], Professor Lakoff explains how our minds and nervous systems work. Most of our thinking is unconscious, reflexive, beyond our control. Our conscious minds are reflective but seldom engaged. Perception of "color and shape are registered in di fferent parts of the brain," but what fires together wires together, so that messages moving upstream toward the brain are integrated "at convergent zones via neural binding" (p 25). All of this is as unconscious as the brain controlling our heartbeat. Repeated actions create dramatic event structures that "are carried out by brain circuitry." This "dramatic str ucture circuitry" seems most likely to be in the forebrain where it is joined by two "emotional pathways" from the limbic system: "one for positive emotions (happiness, satisfaction)--the dopamine circuit--and one for negative emotions (fear, anxiety, and anger)--the norepinephrine circuit" (p 27-28). Thus our unconscious narrative with its attendant emotional structure becomes a frame. "Frames are structures we think with" (p 22). This thinking is tied to action through "mirror neuron circuits" that "fire when we either perform a given action or see someone else perform the same action." These circuits are connected like a two-lane highway to "the so-called super-mirror neurons in the prefrontal cortex, which modulate the activation of the mirror neurons, apparently to either enhance or limit their capacity for empathy" (p 39). Thus, we are predisposed to accept progressive thought and the politics of empathy.

Even so, we hesitate before lowering the mask. Our neural narratives are grounded in the process of growing up. Trust is framed by physical metaphors developed through experience. As we learned to walk, we risked hurting ourselves. We fell with each step, only to catch ourselves with our advancing foot. Then we would risk again, fall again, and catch ourselves again. Because our steps were uncertain, we felt safe r holding onto furniture or the hand of someone who cared about what happened to us.

Trust, like love, is also tied to an investment metaphor. Again, as child ren, we take what we have as given. Much time passes before we question it. It takes an imagination to speculate on the outcomes of actions that might change our circumstance. Though we might yearn to become what we think we truly are, we are afraid to let go of the positions we hold. Thus, we tend to keep our mask in place, even as we avow "Change You Can Count On."

Like it or not, we are all invested in the Old Politics. It has been a given, like the air we breathe. It is the politics of the closed doors and the smoke-filled rooms. It is the politics of any hierarchy, where bosses hold power by excluding anyone who might have a different point of view. Obama claims to be a leader, not a boss. He promises to shift from the politics of excl usion to the politics of inclusion. This is a pluralistic politics that is criteria-based. As with the offer to allow us to create the planks for the Democratic platform, all people will be welcomed to the table.

Let's look at the creation of an energ y policy to see what that means. Sitting at the table would be companies that represent the interests of oil, coal, and nuclear fuels along side representatives of companies representing solar, wind, and geothermal approaches. Given criteria for cleanliness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, low environmental-impact, and reliability, some groups' proposals will be more attractive than others. No one is excluded; therefore, no one can complain as long as the rules for decision-making are honorabl e and clear. If we who have supported Obama have a problem with this model, imagine how difficult it will be to convince others that Obama would represent us all.

We have to be willing to develop our understanding of this new model of government. Presently, we have as much difficulty accepting it as those we must persuade to vote for Obama. Both groups might react positively to the billboard of an African-American woman, standing by her stove, saying, "My kitchen, my rules!" But, when facing polluters, both groups are not ready to embrace the notion, "Our country, our rules!" The reason is that the word "our" implies common ownership by a people united as one. Our states might be united as one nation, thanks to the Civil War. But, it will t ake an Obama presidency to unite us as one people. That is where we are headed if we stay on course.

But, George Lakoff argues, we don't need to wait for an election to unite us. We ca n learn, right now, to use language that frames arguments so that others will feel included. Here are statements from his book that should resonate:

America says we're all in the same boat, Conservatism says you're on your own, buddy.
America makes the least of us secure, Conservatism tells us to save your own skin and not care about your neighbor.
America says you are safe from government oppression, Conservatism says the state--at least when run by conservatives--can spy on your phone calls, break down your door, imprison you without a charge or a lawyer or even notifying your family, and then torture you.
America says your personal life is your own, Conservatism says the state can force medical decisions on you and your family, tell you who you can and can't marry, and what words you can and can't hear on the radio.
America stands for liberty. Conservatism stands for state control over your personal life. (p 240)

Obviously, in this time of change, we must take the risk to change ourselves. If we are going to move forward, we must ground ourselves with one leg while falli ng and catching ourselves with the other. We must learn to trust ourselves to move forward. We who are invested in a future that is better than our past must act as if we can be the leaders we want Obama to be.

Our campaign, as many have noted on-line, is in crisis. Crisis signifies opportunity and danger, a time when a decision must be made. It is time to lower our masks and face each other as human beings. By being human, we will opt for the values humanity holds dear. The long road ahead is in some ways an illusion. As Lakoff says, we need only to reframe our thinking to realize we are already there.

Kitten or the bills

lone wolf — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:18:00 EDT

Today I discovered one of the world sweetest kittens has a birth defect.

Its tiny heart is broken in a way that only surgery can fix. It will not live long with out the surgery. It is smaller than the others and is rejected by its Mother.

But when I walk in to the room with its little box, it cries out to me to be held and loved. At half the size of the others. It life shines in it eyes as it nuzzles down in my shirt and starts a purr rhythm that vastly out shines it’s small body.

It never asked to be born with this problem. Nevertheless, it looks to me to help it to stay alive, by bottle nursing and keep it warm or cool. Comforting his little body, with strokes to his head, and wiping the small drops of milk from its face. It sleeps rolled up in one hand, cupped to my chest. All I can do is cry

It does not understand the price of fuel or the war in Iraq, or how these things can in effect cause its death. Sadly it comes to a simple matter of life or death for this small life so bent on fulfillment.

After a vet trip it came down to paying the bills the next two months or saving this life. Normally I could figure out a way to do both. Yet with the price of things, I can not.

It saddens me that we as Americans’ have to make the hard choices in these times of crisis.
More over when will it be my husband or grand child? When will it become survival of the wealthiest?

Insurance for medical is just that. We can not see a Doctor with out it but we can not get sick because we have to pay premiums at a low wage job. I am no different. Only the wealthy can call afford both. And they do not have a kitten who needs surgery to live.

a real Change??

lone wolf — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:13:35 EDT

This MY OBAMA page has undergone some changes as of late and I seem to have lost half my friends and 2/3 rds of my events.

I was an Obama Fellow here. I have been thinking about cancelling my page but things here are getting heated up,

There is a splinter group that is forming here due to all the changes Obama has brought about. We like the Obama way and the old gaurd doesn't want the change here. Could be interesting...

Jodi

Volunteers Needed

Dylan Carlson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:43:37 EDT

Are you breathing right now? Good, then you can volunteer to help elect Barack Obama.

In THURSTON and GRAYS HARBOR Counties, we need volunteers to help with:
-Voter Registration
-Phone Banking
-Neighborhood Canvasing
-Answering Phones
-Get Out the Vote !!!

If you are eager to volunteer, but you don't know where to get started, please contact me.

cell: (360) 809-3655 [area code required]
email: dylan@wa-democrats.org

We will WIN this fall because we will work harder than the Republicans. Be an active part of this victory. Volunteer today!

Why 3rd party candidates like Ralph Nader are bad

Fox7777 — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:47:50 EDT

We have a winner-take-all two party election system. Third party candidates only act as spoilers. For example, Ralph Nader caused Al Gore to lose the 2000 election by taking away the votes needed to put Al Gore in the winners column. As a result we have had to endure the destruction of our country by the Bush Administration. Likewise persons who don't vote in an election because they are not 100% satisfied with the Democrat candidate only help to elect a corrupt Republican candidate they are 100% dissatisfied with. We may have our vigorous debates before the final elections but we must come together stronger than ever at the end of the day to defeat the corrupt Republicans in the general election. The bottom line is that we must win elections to be part of the political process. If we don't win, we are irrelevant.

See http://www.Democracy-Now.us

Dobson Dissected

Hillary for Obama! — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:57:42 EDT

This writing is in response to Dr. James Dobson's broadcast addressing his reaction to being named in a speech given two years ago on Faith and Politics. I'd like to preface this by stating that though there is much about which I disagree with Dr. Dobson, I am convinced that he is a well-intentioned brother in Christ who seeks what is good for our society. I believe like many within the faith community, our differences are based upon how one gets from where we are now, to where we want to end up as a society. I see Dr. Dobson as one of the more Pharisaical religious leaders in our country. I think he can speak volumes to those of us who are already committed Christians. But I feel that he has an edge to him that comes across in a way that says, "Hate the sin, but love the sinner in such a way as to make him or her feel about an inch and a half tall." Although his teaching probably does strengthen Christian families, I have a hard time seeing how his rhetoric wins unbelievers to Christ. That having been said, I will respond to his broadcast in a point-for-point fashion.

This broadcast asserts that The United States is a Christian nation. This is incorrect. Though the founding fathers shared values that we recognize as Christian, many were, in point of fact, Deist or Unitarian Universalist. This is a common, interesting, and reoccurring debate. My pastor, Dale Oquist, put together what I felt was a very interesting sermon on this very issue. It can be streamed on line (and the accompanying slides viewed) via our sermon gallery at http://www.ecconline.cc/ecconline/bridgesermons.php The sermon you are looking for is "Mythbusters part 2."

Dr. Dobson points to a segment of Sen. Obama's speech in which he stated that, even if, by some imaginary circumstance, like exporting everyone who is not Christian from the US, "whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would it be James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" Dr. Dobson seemed to interpret this to mean that Sen. Obama was implying that he (Dobson) wants to expel people who are not Christians form the United States. This is a reaction based on misinterpretation. Sen. Obama was merely invoking a hypothetical circumstance in order to point out that there are vast differences in the points of view of leaders within the Christian community. James Dobson and Al Sharpton were invoked to illustrate that difference, NOT, as Dr. Dobson seems to feel, in order to cast them in the same light, or to somehow say that James Dobson is the right-wing mirror image of what Al Sharpton is on the left.

Dr. Dobson also expressed objection to Obama's highlighting of the different direction that various passages in the Bible would lead us on - citing Levitical Law in contrast to the Sermon on the mount. Dr. Dobson states that Obama is "willfully or accidentally dragging biblical understanding through the gutter." On this point, I think he has some valid concern. I have some amount of discomfort with the dismissive tone that Obama has sometimes used in reference to parts of scripture. In a section in Audacity of Hope which I will be citing in a later point, he refers to "an obscure line in Romans," which given the context I can only imagine he means the section in Ch 1: 21-28, particularly v 27: "and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." How I wish that he had phrased his point differently, in a tone that clearly revered all of scripture. I believe the spirit of what Sen. Obama was trying to express is this: We must revere all of scripture. We must not focus our efforts at identifying sin in the culture around us at the expense of caring for the poor and the widows and bringing light and love to the lost.

Tom Minnery goes on to state that "Religion is the grounding, the foundation of morality." This is in response to the section in the sppech in which Obama boldly asserts that there are very good, moral people, who do not affiliate themselves with organized religion. Certainly we can all think of a few. Obama frequently cites his mother as one such example. C.S.Lewis devotes some thought to this in "Mere Christianity" in which he argues that the very fact that we have this notion of good and evil within us and a basic desire to be good is evidence that we are divinely created beings. The bible is clear on this point: God created us all, and loves us all - not just those who have made the choice to love Him back. That we are all created in His image is sufficient explanation for me of the intrinsic sense of morality, even among those who do not profess to be Christian. I could agree with Tom if he said that "God is the grounding, the foundation of morality," but religion cannot presume the role of God here.

Now to the heart of the matter: Dobson asserts that Barack Obama is "trying to make the case that it is anti-democratic to believe or fight for moral principles in the Bible that are not supported by peoples of all faiths, or presumably by people of no faith... What the Senator is saying there in essence is that I can't seek to pass legislation, for example, that bans partial birth abortion, because there are people in the culture who don't see that as a moral issue, and if I can't get everyone to agree with me, it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the scripture." This is absolutely the opposite of the case that Sen. Obama makes! He argues time and again that there must be consensus in civic society, and that faith based rationale cannot trump secular reasoning, or the views of another faith. Consensus does not imply unanimity, but in cases where it affects something the Supreme Court views as an area the Constitution protects, it better at least involve a 2/3 majority of public opinion. In Audacity of Hope (pg 222) Sen. Obama writes, "Between those who believe that life begins at conception and those who consider the fetus an extension of the woman's body until birth, a point is rapidly reached at which compromise is not possible. At that point, the best we can do is ensure that persuasion rather than violence or intimidation [and to that I would add political trickery and deception] determines the political outcome - and that we refocus at least some of our energies on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies through education (including about abstinence), contraception, adoption, or any other strategies that have broad support and have been proven to work."

Now here's the biggie! THE BIG LIE being fed to people of faith by the right: Dobson again: "Remember, Tom, that Senator Obama is a man that when he was in the State Legislature, did not oppose the killing of babies who were aborted, but then somehow came into the world alive." I have done a bit of research into this issue and this is what I have learned: In 2000 a federal law was passed called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. It's author was a pro-life activist and 44 co-sponsors jumped on board, eager for the positive association. In 2002 a piece of similar legislation was sponsored by a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL (ironically run by a joint Lutheran and Evangelical enterprise). Her claim was that mid trimester unwanted pregnancies were being terminated by early induction of labor followed by provision of "comfort care" only, and according to her testimony, even their comfort was neglected. Rather that blow the whistle on her employer's violation of existing federal law, or the existing state law that had been on the books for 20 years, she advocated for a bill that duplicated this protection, and based on the wording in it, defined "alive" as "any stage of development," leaving open the very real (and undoubtedly deliberate) possibility that even early first trimester abortions would fall under the reach of this new statute. This issue needs to be addressed clearly, loudly and sincerely by the Obama campaign, lest the lie gain even more traction in deceiving us!

Finally, Dobson laments, "To my knowledge, none of the political candidates, speaking also of Hillary Clinton, has said a work about the importance of preserving the family, not a word. It has no significance at all." This last statement is flatly ignorant. Sen. Obama dedicates significant tame addressing the fallout of the decline in two parent homes, particularly within the African American community. See Audacity of Hope pages 332-335 for further discussion of this topic. Sen. Obama advocates for strengthening families with common sense approaches. "Research shows that marriage education workshops can make a real difference in helping married couples stay together and in encouraging unmarried couples who are living together to form a more lasting bond. Expanding access to such services to low-income couples, perhaps in concert with job training and placement, medical coverage, and other services already available, should be something everybody can agree on. " Amen.

Thanks for your time in reading this. Feel free to pass it on as a point of discussion to others within your faith community.

Barack Morning Buzz - 6-24-08

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:50:00 EDT

Barack Morning Buzz - 6-24-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Obama's "Shock and Awe"
Mark Preston-CNNPolitics-Election Center 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/24/preston.obama.ads/index.html?section=cnn_latest

(2) McCain Advisor Says Another Terrorist Attack Would Be a Big Help to Campaign
Glen Johnson-Associated Press
http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/mccain-aide-regrets-terror-comment/20080623175909990001

(3) Clinton to Join Obama as He Courts Female Vote
Shailagh Murray and Anne E. Kornblut-Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062302038.html

(4) Obama to Shake Tinseltown Tree
Jake Tapper-ABC News-Political Punch
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/obama-to-shake.html

(5) Obama Corners the Market in Hollywood
Michael R. Blood-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j3MP7O---5Qv3NLR8ebCRHNiSqsQD91FU1B00

(6) Obama Tells Women He Supports Equal Pay
Sara Kugler-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD91G4DR00

(7) Are You Experienced?-Why a U.S. Senator Might Not Trump a State Legislator
Alan Ehrenhalt-Newsweek
http://www.newsweek.com/id/142892

(8) McCain Gambling on Offshore Drilling
Cathleen Decker and Michael Finnegan-Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-offshore24-2008jun24,0,1535032.story

(9) Evangelical Leader James Dobson Accuses Obama of "Distorting" Bible
Eric Gorski-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnLulDbwWGYGLiXlDW5hPiNMGMRQD91GDOM00

(10) Republicans Recycle Clinton's Obama Barbs
Stephen Collinson-Agence France Presse-AFP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080624/pl_afp/usvoteobamaclintonrepublicans_080624075230

It's time for the US to abolish the death penalty

Fox7777 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:03:21 EDT

Most civilized, advanced countries have long ago abolished the death penalty but Republican religious wingnuts push very hard to keep it. It is strange that these Republican religious right wingers claim to be pro-life but advocate the death penalty, assault weapons and attacking other countries thereby killing people by the thousands. It is time we join the civilized countries and move beyond the death penalty. For details, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment and http://www.Democracy-Now.us .

Government should leave marriages to churches

Fox7777 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:02:04 EDT

The problem with the current same sex marriage controversy is that marriage is a religious concept and we should keep a strict separation between church and state. Like in other countries, everyone in the US, including heterosexual and homosexual couples, should go to the government to be declared a civil union with its equal rights guarantees. If they want to also be declared a marriage, they would go to their church.

See http://www.Democracy-Now.us

Drilling is not the answer

Fox7777 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:44:39 EDT

George Bush, John McCain and other corrupt Republicans funded by the oil lobby are pushing very hard now for more drilling which will destroy our environment and spew more carbon dioxide into the air making global warming worse. The real answer is to get on board with Barack Obama and mobilize our country to become the leader in green energy technology and jobs, see http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy . Please read Apollo's Fire by Jay Inslee which is a blueprint showing how we must end the burning of fossil fuels which can be done with the proper leadership. There are some great ideas at the Rocky Mountain Institute, http://www.rmi.org . Renewable energy and conservation offers the best return on investment and eliminates the need for fossil fuels and nuclear power. Statements by corrupt Republicans and the fossil fuel industry that green energy and conservation can only provide a small percentage of our energy needs are absolutely false. It can easily provide 100%. Fossil fuels and nuclear power requires huge expenditures of hard earned taxpayer money while renewable energy and conservation creates new businesses and jobs without a lot of taxpayer dollars. Nuclear energy also creates the liklihood of atomic bombs, terrorist dirty bombs and release of nuclear waste into our environment such as the current leakage of nuclear waste into ground water-Columbia River at Hanford, WA. Eliminating the tariff against foreign ethanol, such as that from Brazil, would immediately reduce our fuel costs. Please do what you can to get Barack Obama elected now.

Thanks,

Joel F Carlson
http://www.Democracy-Now.us

US drug policy is a failure and must be revised!

Fox7777 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:28:52 EDT

Just like the war in Iraq, we need to rethink the war on drugs because it has been an absolute failure. Drug money from opium in Afghanistan, much of which has been funded by drug sales in the United States, has allowed the Taliban to return with a vengeance. We have a much larger percentage of our population in prison than other countries do because of drugs, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisons_in_the_United_States . Drug money creates gang violence, drug wars and all the other law enforcement problems we currently have thus costing us huge amounts of taxpayer dollars.

We must provide treatment plus free drugs or replacements like methadone, etc. to addicts so drugs dealers can make no profit. We must look to other countries and copy their successes in dealing with drugs because our drugs policies have been failures.

Sincerely,

Joel F Carlson
http://www.Democracy-Now.us

Thank you, WA State Convention Go-ers!

Susan in Spokane — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:42:06 EDT

I was at the Obama table at the WA State Democratic Convention, selling some things for donations to Obama's campaign. This is a thank you to those who donated....

A Sign of the Times (and How to Change It!)

Leslie Milliman-Wolff — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:16:12 EDT

I love my city. I'm from Olympia, Washington. We have a small community in the state's capital that tends to be progressive and idealistic. We have a large contingent of Obama supporters. If you live in Olympia or know anyone in the area, this blog is for you.

I love Olympia. I've lived downtown for about three years now and I consider it my home. The easy access to the water, the community feel and the lay-out are all a major part of my love for this city. Unfortunately something is in the works that may change Olympia forever.

The city of Olympia is preparing to re-zone the area by Heritage Park in order to put in high-rises. These high-rises will ruin the waterfront view, the view of the Capitol from the water and downtown access to the port and to the lake. That sense of community that we all love and the splendid view of the Capitol from the port will vanish unless we all get together to do something.

My call to you? Simple.

Visit: http://friendsofthewaterfront.org

Read the info provided and help keep community involvement at the forefront of Olympia decision making. The city council meeting will be held on June, 24th at 6:30 pm, but if you can't attend you could still put up a sign, wear a sticker, talk to your neighbors, call your council members or write to The Olympian.

I feel bad because I'll be off the continent at the time of the meeting, but I'm hoping that by posting this I can inform other Olympians of what's going on.

http://www.friendsofthewaterfront.org

Blogging from NC to WA

Yelm Jim — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:42:46 EDT

Currently in Raleigh, NC, where there are an incredible amount of Obama supporters!! It's great but I want to be home to do the work that I think needs to be done in my town of Yelm. I haven't seen any events posted yet there. I'll be driving back in the next couple of weeks, and trying to keep up with this as I drive cross country. Would love to find some supporters on my way that I can photograph and post here. I plan on getting to work very quickly after I get back, voter registration, rallies and the like. I am pumped. I want more people in Yelm to get involved. This is a huge opportunity!!

I believe.

Right On!

Dianne — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:00:18 EDT

We are way past due for some measure of joy and demonstration of integrity. Thank you Obama for giving us back the gift of hope. YES WE CAN! No matter what happens now we have accomplished a great deal and Obama has made history. Good for him and by the way shame on Hillary for her inflated ego and her inability to selflessly give Obama credit at a critical time that in the end may sway voters away from a democratic presidency. Her supporters should pressure HER to finally do the right thing and get behind Obama and give HIM her complete support instead of playing her political hard ball to try to strong arm him into doing what is on her agenda. Thank you Obama for your grace, your humiity and for giving us a new American Hero. Just when it felt when all was lost there you are.....Thank you for your message of inclusion - as a 46 year old "working class white woman" I felt that you were talking to me. You are a true leader.

Time for a Change

Marie — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:33:49 EDT

Yeah! Tonight is the night.... let go of fear and have hope..add to it a brain, a listener, a builder of bridges. Thank you Barack!

Superdelegates in Washington State

Leslie Milliman-Wolff — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:31:40 EDT

Hello Washingtonians!
Feeling as though your superdelegates aren't necessarily supporting you?
Reading through the actions lists and realizing how tedious it would be to have to search for the address of every superdelegate in your state?
Guess what! You can send a message to all of your superdelegates at once telling them how much it would mean to you if they decided to support Barack Obama.

Go to:
http://www.wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=display&id=277

From there you can access all of the WSDCC at the same time!
Happy emailing.

Volunteers Needed-May 10-Voter Registration-Olympia

Yeller — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:05:02 EDT

There are still several ways you can help out with our Change We Can Believe In Voter Registration Drive beginning May 10th.

1. We'll have a booth a the Olympia Farmer's Market. Come by and register or change your address if you have moved. Bring friends or family, a neighbor, or a disabled person who might otherwise not be able to get out. The weather looks good. It will be a good day to take in the market and the Wooden Boat Show.

2. Canvass. We are specifically canvassing 6 neighboorhoods in Lacey that have no data yet. You could join one of those teams or just pick up some forms and go knock on doors in your own neigborhood. Everyone counts. Lacey walkers please show up about 9AM.

Please do not leave your car parked at the market all day. It will be towed.

3. It is Wooden Boat Weekend. You can pick up a clipboard and walk around and register people on the boardwalk. Not everyone makes it down to the market.

The primay isn't over and it's important we stay strong. The Super Delegates are watching our grassroots efforts as they answer their question about electibility. They are also watching to see who has the best downline organization to help in the other democratic races. We know the answer. Now lets get out and show them.

The important thing is to do something positive. Don't sit at home. Come on out and lend a hand.

You can get more information the mybarack.com event section, RSVP at info@tcforobama, or just show up.

I just dropped in another donation for the 1.5

Yeller — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:54:04 EDT

Just hit the site with another $15 to get in on the 1.5 Million. 1,499.970 and counting. Yee-Haa. Keep donating. We're just getting wound up.

HAVE A HILLARY FREE DAY!

Betsy — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:27:11 EDT

I VOW TO HAVE A HILLARY FREE DAY!

I feel like as an Obama Supporter I spend way too much time talking about, ranting over and refuting issues and comments and tactics of the Clinton Campaign.

So I vow to spend 24 hours without mentioning one thing about Hillary Clinton. I will not write, type, speak or yell about anything to do with Hillary Clinton or her campaign.

I will instead spend that 24 hours discussing my Candidate, BARACK OBAMA, and the reasons why I support him. I will turn the other cheek and stay on issue and on the positive things my candidate has to offer. I will be positive and open and talk & type in ways that I feel represent the message barack obama stands for!

If you would like to make this vow and join me, sign up. (Include where you live)

Betsy Borgacz
Olympia, WA

Lets be POSITIVE

Dianne — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:09:20 EDT

Let's create the positive vision Barack has outlined by living positively and not focusing on the negativity that is everywhere in mainstream media, There are other news sources that are unbiased and provide thoughtful and in depth analyses of issues. Try this link for starters as a news/fact source that is well rounded and robust in terms of real issues and critical thought:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/

Going to the State!

Joanie Joan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:38:09 EDT

What a great event yesterday at the Thuston County Convention. I met some fab people and saw some old friends. And I was elected to go to the state convention in Spokane! Yee-haw! Just booked my hotel.

If I get disabled by Clinton induced depression do I get my Social Security?

Yeller — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:07:11 EDT

This is getting depressing.

First I delivered some Obama signs and buttons to our booth at the Yelm Home and Garden Show at Yelm High School. Stop by and say hi to Anita. She’s a great lady who loves to talk Obama.

My good deed of the day was done by 11:30 AM and since it was such an absolutely beautiful day and I was already headed in the right direction; I spent $25 dollars for $5 worth of gas, grabbed one of those foot-long for $5 Subway specials and headed on up to Mt. Rainer. The snow is still piled high and deep, the sun was out, the day was warm and people were out in force. A great day was had by all or at least by me.

Then I got home and turned on this magic box and my good mood turned to shit. Hillary really is out to destroy the party in order to save it for the Clintons and man that really is depressing. If she can’t win then it seems that she intends to make sure that Barack can win the WH.

I can’t afford Prozac on my Medicare part D because it would just run me into the, so called, donut hole earlier which would be even more depressing. If you aren’t old enough to know about the famous donut hole, it’s were you get screwed but don’t even get a kiss from the drug companies. But I digress. Prozac wouldn’t get rid of the Clintons anyway and it seems that our party is in the process of self emulating once again.

This has happened quite frequently but we don’t have to look far for examples. In 1999 the economy was going great guns and despite his problems Bill Clinton was popular enough to have been re-elect-able if he were eligible. The election should have gone to Gore in a walk off but he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. In 2003 the president was already unpopular and the polls indicated that the majority of likely voters thought the country was headed in the wrong direction yet John Kerry couldn’t win a campaign for dog catcher. Then he gave up before the votes were even counted in Ohio.

This year the presumptive Republican nominee is comfortable running on the presidents agenda which is lower than dirt in the polls. He’s for everything that got us in the economic mess we are in and against anything that will get us out and stabilize our economic engine against future melt downs. He’s old and tired and doesn’t really even seem to know a lot about what’s going on as evidenced by a whole list of “misstatements” about Iraq and the economy.

This year surely the Democrats will win in a laugher. Surely we can defeat Grandpa McCain who would be the new torturer in chief. Surely……Well……Well. Then there is Hillary. Sigh. She has to know she is tearing the party apart. She isn’t that stupid. She isn’t stupid at all. Well at least we don’t think so.

So my brain digs deep in the closet for the tin-foil hat and wonders. Did John Kerry actually throw the race in 2003? After all he couldn’t have possibly run a worse campaign could he? Is Hillary destroying our ability to take the WH on purpose? Who knows.

No wonder many of my friends have given up. They don’t vote anymore because they have no confidence in the system. To them Hillary, Barack, and McCain are all the same. Yes some are indeed bitter. They don’t believe any of these people represent their interests. Why should they? They are too busy just trying to get by to bother anymore. They’ve been beaten down, sold out, and had their votes stolen until they feel so powerless that they just don’t care. That’s the world they live in. Isn’t that what Barack said about in the latest flap? Well, yes but then he gets slapped down every time he gets too close to the truth.

How do I convince my friends that this really does matter? If Hillary or McCain win the WH I doubt that I’ll think it matters much myself and if Hillary destroys Barack’s chance to win then I know it won’t.

Where’s the Prozac for Clintontis?

I’m a YellerDog and unfortunately I endorse this post.

A Warmonger?

Yeller — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:00:48 EDT

Warmonger: “A person who advocates, endorses or tries to precipitate war.”

Random House Unabridged 2nd edition.

“A Sovereign or political leader or activist who encourages or advocates aggression or warfare toward other nations or groups.”

Oxford American Dictionary

Dear Barack Obama:

When Ed Schultz called John McCain a warmonger your campaign was quickly said that you didn’t think it was a term that applied to him. My question is: What part of the above definitions do not apply to John McCain? Words mean what they mean and I suggest that someone on your staff consult a good dictionary before being so quick on the draw.

I understand and support your high road policy. I’ve always hated personal attack. I understand it, in politics it is not only permissible but desirable to attack your opponent on policy. Aren’t we all getting a little too thin skinned and reactionary? This is the majors after-all.

Yes warmonger is a loaded word but a casual reading of history shows that John McCain advocates and endorses the Iraq war. John McCain not only voted for the war but was a head- cheerleader in the senate for the original resolution. He is strongly in the senate coalition that thwarts democratic action to bring the war to a halt. Furthermore he advocates further aggression toward Iran. Can you sing, “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran?”

He later claimed it was a joke. If so it’s a very sick joke. Anyone who knows the horrors of war as up front and personal as John McCain should understand the inappropriateness of joking about beginning another war with another country. A county that poses no direct threat to the United States, a country that sent troops to support our cause in Afghanistan following 9-11 and a country that was poised on the edge of a moderate revolution until George Bush included them in the so called Axis of Evil statement.

I’m disappointed that you took the bait. Ed Schultz did not lie or misspeak. He did not attack Mr. McCain personally He was spot on.

To paraphrase: By his fruits shall you know him and by his words and deeds John McCain is a warmonger. He would love to spin the meaning of the into something it isn’t, but by two of the most authoritative dictionary’s published, his actions can’t be called anything but warmongering.

Sincerely

A YellerDog Democrat and an ardent supporter.

Pic Your Position

Yeller — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:52:37 EDT

Reset: Progressive, Liberal, Conservative

Progressive: “Favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement or reform, as opposed to wishing for things to stay the same. Making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightenment or liberal ideas. Characterized progress or continuous improvement.”

Liberal: “Favorable to progress or reform. Favorable to or in accord with concepts of the maximum individual freedom especially guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties. Favoring freedom of individual choice and action.”

Conservative: “Disposed to preserve existing conditions. Limited change.”

Random House Unabridged Dictionary 2nd edition. That’s the really big one at the library.

Three questions:

Which more accurately represents the American dream and the greatness of our nation?

What in the name of God would you want to preserve about current Republican politics? The economy? The war? The national infrastructure? The health care system? Don’t tax and spend? The trade deficit? The cost of drugs? Maybe gas prices? Now there’s one I could get behind. Let’s preserve $4.00 a gallon

In the 21st century should America be looking forward or backward?

Your Talking Points-10 Things You Should Know About John McSame

Yeller — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:22:25 EDT

This is a repost of a Move On E-mail that I picked up from an NC group. They say to share it so here you go. Hillary is toast. Lets get them McSame talking points shapened to a fine edge.

Dear MoveOn member,

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, there are some important things you won't learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff--and you might be surprised by some of it.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We can't rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain--but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to--and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-9119259-Xfi.sA&t=231

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0--yes, zero--from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out--forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-9119259-Xfi.sA&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

-Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org

Volunteers for the April 19th Caucus Wanted

Yeller — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:03:08 EDT

If you are coming to the convention as a delegate or althernate why not sign up your teen as a volunteer. it will be a great opportunity for them to get involved, learn and do a service. We'll soon be passing the torch to them so lets get them trained and ready to carry the torch. Call 956-0325 and ask for Linda for more information. Thanks guys. You're a great bunch.

2nd LD Caucus April 5th

Yeller — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:59:31 EDT

Tomorrow is April 5th. The date of the 2nd. LD Caucus in Yelm and our first chance to show our stuff for Obama since the February local caucus. Thurston County will have something like 200 delegates at the Yelm Caucus and you all should have gotten a reminder call yesterday. It's very important that everyone show up including alternates. I'm hoping someone will come back and write something about the results here to let the rest of us know how it went. If you are really adventurous you could sign on to Facebook, join the Thurston County Delegates and Alternates group and post a not about your experience there.

All of you are still welcome to come to the April 19th convention at Capitol High. You will be able to vote on the platform, rules and other business and you could also do some volunteer work as well. If you're interested call Linda at 935-0235. The convention will be the largest one ever conducted in Thurston County. Being there and helping will be a part of county history.

Thurston County Delegates and Alternates Group

Yeller — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:42:19 EDT

I just wanted to remind you that if you are a delegate for Obama in Thurston County we have several recources set up to help you. One there is a new Facebook group just for you to meet up on the net and get to know each other, and we will be posting information there as well.

We also have our own stand alone website that is operated by Team Obama here in Olympia. Check it out. We post new things everyday and there is a seperate page just for you delegates. We are encouraging all who want to run for a CD delegate seat to e-mail and bio and pic and we'll post it for you.

Stay tuned in. We are probably the most active Obama HQ in the state.

Volunteers who are not delgates or alternates are needed for the April 19th Thurston County Convention. There are a variety of tasks that need to be done all of which are important to getting our delegates to the national convention in Denver. If you are interested in a good day of politics, call Linda at HQ. 956-0325.

Finally you're local HQ doesnt' get any money from the national campaign but we do have expenses. Donations no matter how small are welcome to keep the lights on.

I'm a YellerDog and I approve this message.

The Tide is Coming In

Yeller — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:40:45 EDT

The Tide is Coming In Just another day in paradise here in the NW. It’s still chilly but the sun is out and the cherry trees are in full bloom. Oh yes and if you’re an Obama supporter the tide is coming in. We picked up Senator Bob Kasey of Pennsylvania Friday and Sen. Amy Lobuchar from Minnesota today which removes two more super delegates from the undecided pool. Oh yes and thank you wonderful Texans for your caucus results. Guess Hillary's

big state stratagy hit a speed bump. Maybe Texas isn't big enough for

Clinton sized ego. Haha.

On another website someone asked what they can do for Obama now that their primary is over. A couple of thoughts came to mind.

One: You’re local Obama Campaign group can use donations. The campaign didn’t stop on Feb 5. We’ve been busy ever since getting ready for county convention and congressional district caucus’ which will pick delegates to represent Obama in at the National Convention.

Statewide hundreds of people are putting in thousands of hours making sure that the rules get followed, that delegates are trained, and that you’re caucus vote gets translated into the correct number of National Delegates for Obama.

We’re all volunteers but there are costs, rent, postage, utilities, printing, phones and the like. You’re local group has to move the process forward but receives no money from the national campaign. We’re own our own. So, hunt up you local HQ, stop by and buy a yard sign, bumper sticker, button, or make an outright donation. Even small amounts help keep the lights on.

In Thurston County we’re at 2120 Pacific Ave. 956-0235. www.tcforobama.com

Volunteer’s who are not delegates or alternates are needed to help with our county convention and I’m sure other counties have the same need. In Thurston County you can contact us at the number above. Elsewhere contact you’re county Democratic Party HQ and sign up.

Finally if you are a delegate or an alternate it’s vital that you show up or call and let someone know that you won’t be attending. In the caucus system it’s use it or loose it. If a delegate doesn’t show and there is no alternate then the seat goes to Hillary. If you are an alternate then you need to be there at least until the delegate you would replace is seated.

I’m a YellerDog Democrat and I approve this message.

Barack Morning Buzz - 3-31-08

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:01:17 EDT

Barack Morning Buzz - 3-31-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar Endorses Obama
Frederic J. Frommer-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvzT8keHzVS3YjP8BJDDrf64A_AwD8VO647O1

(2) New Backing for Obama Including Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar as Party Seeks Unity
Jackie Calmes-Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120692054573175525.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

(3) To Reach Pennsylvania's Blue Collar, Obama Loosens Up
Mike Dorning-Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-campaign_onlinemar31,1,6383867.story

(4) Obama Dons a Blue Collar-Working Class Whites Crucial in Pennsylvania
Paul West-Baltimore Sun
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.obama31mar31,0,4480611.story

(5) Obama Stresses Economic Needs of North Carolina Voters
News & Observer-McClatchy-Tribune
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1276683/

(6) Obama's Message is the Essence of Leadership
Harry Haskell-Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/553333.html

(7) Obama and McCain Forged Fleeting Alliance on Lobbying and Ethics
Paul Kane-Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/30/ST2008033002513.html

(8) Despite Dire Predictions of Splitting the Party, Clinton Still in the Race
Tim Harper-Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/407458

(9) Clinton Backer and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Call Obama
Sandra O'Malley-Herald Sun-Australia
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23460163-5012748,00.html

(10) Old School Politician, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, Mentored Obama
Christopher Wills-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jHKKCxacDOoYWWEhc_JOzukN11cgD8VO9K8O0

Oh My God

Yeller — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:42:14 EDT

Joe Lieberman, the vp candidate in waiting, compares John McCain to JFK. What in the world are these people thinking. I knew JFK and you sir, John McCain, are no JFK.

Howard Dean issued the following statement today and the RFC demands and apology. Should he?

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement on McCain's ad:

"The American people have been waiting for a president who understands the challenges they face, not another out of touch Bush Republican who promises four more years of the same failed leadership. John McCain can try to reintroduce himself to the country, but he can't change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush for the last seven years. While we honor McCain's military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn't understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years."

What's with all that John McCain is an American stuff anyway? When was the last time we had a Canadian president or maybe a French president? Could he be taking a backhanded swipe at Barack by insinutating that he's not Amercan? You think?

Bonus Barack Evening Buzz - 3-29-08

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:52:34 EDT

Bonus Barack Evening Buzz - 3-29-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Obama Says "My Attitude is Senator Clinton Can Run as Long as She Wants"
Agence France Presse-AFP
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxOENH9dPNQCevQkOz_smheAZNmw

(2) Obama Says Clinton Should Stay in "As Long as She Wants"
Mike Dorning-Chicago Tribune-The Swamp
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/obama_clinton_should_stay_in_a.html

(3) What Made Richardson Flip?-Clinton Insiders Speculate about Obama's Offer to the New Mexico Governor
John Dickerson-Slate.com
http://www.slate.com/id/2187560/

(4) Texas Caucus Conventions Running Again
Kelley Shannon-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYJaQiRyrP6rD0dGdWZKNbT3-S5gD8VNAV580

(5) Wish an African Leader Would Capture My Imagination like Obama
Mohau Pheko-Sunday Times-South Africa
http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Insight/Article.aspx?id=736288

(6) Obama Can Change the World
NationalMedia.com-Sunday Nation
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=24&newsid=120089

(7) Obama-Clinton Ticket Can and Must Happen
Tommy Christopher-AOL News-Political Machine-Cranking 24/7 to Sort the Spin
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/03/28/obama-clinton-ticket-can-and-must-happen/?ncid=NWS00010000000001

(8) How to Win a Knife Fight-Democratic Race Could Well Come Down to the First Contested Convention in Years
Karl Rove-Newsweek
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129586

(9) Obama Faces Prejudice on All Sides
Edward Luce-Financial Times-UK
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/779e72e2-fcf5-11dc-961e-000077b07658.html

(10) Obama, Race and Time to Squirm
Michael Tackett- Chicago Tribune-The Swamp
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/obama_race_and_time_to_squirm.html

Barack Morning Buzz - 3-29-08

Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:30:08 EDT

Barack Morning Buzz - 3-29-08
On to Victory in November

(1) High Profile Obama Backers, Senators Patrick Leahy and Chris Dodd, Urge Clinton to Quit
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/28/clinton.dropout.calls/?iref=hpmostpop

(2) Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy Urges Clinton to Drop Out
Michael Finnegan, Mark Barabak and Noam Levey-Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-campaign29mar29,1,7142655.story

(3) Democratic Party Fears Tight Obama-Clinton Finish
Charles Babington-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKqHbY8ZEkcM-IYrhvQy4cHFRXDAD8VN4GSG0

(4) How to End the Obama-Clinton Standoff-Hold a June Quasi-Convention of Super Delegates
Don Frederick-Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/03/clintonobama-st.html

(5) Obama and Clinton Say Party Will Unite Behind Winner
National Public Radio-NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/03/obama_clinton_say_party_will_u_1.html

(6) Endorsement of Obama Underlines Clinton's Obstacles
Adam Nagourney, Patrick Healy and Jeff Zeleny-New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/us/politics/29dems.html?em&ex=1206936000&en=e68db72d8213dcef&ei=5087%0A

(7) Obama Tries to Wrest Clinton's Blue Collar Base in Pennsylvania
Agence France Presse-AFP
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jgrvXjfDih18V62TZ-XPkJv8CVzw

(8) How to Avoid a Democratic Disaster
Mario M. Cuomo-Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/03/29/how_to_avoid_a_democratic_disaster/

(9) As California Democrats Gather, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Not Taking Sides
John Wildermuth and Jonathan Curiel-San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/28/MNBBVSF89.DTL&type=politics

(10) A Veto Proof Congress?
Mona Charen-Creators Syndicate
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20080328/cm_uc_crmchx/op_55679 Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides.

What I said earlier today only better.

Yeller — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:39:12 EDT

If you don't listen to Rachael Maddow on Air American you should cause she's great. I just discovered that yesterday she said basically the same thing I wrote this morning only she only took a paragraph. In a nutshell it's time for the democrats to stop bashing each other and get on with taking John McCain to the woodshed. It's either that or loose. Here's a link to Daily Kos.

http://joe-buck.dailykos.com/

John McCain is a great candidate.

Yeller — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:06:07 EDT

In fact, John McCain is the perfect candidate to run against. He's old and tired; he's a war-hawk who insists that on running on Bush's failed foreign policy; he knows nothing about the economy; his health care plan isn't a plan at all. John McCain has no honor as evidenced by his willingness to sacrifice his principles for power and for the presidency. John McCain is a Democrats dream, a gift from heaven. John McCain is a great opponent. Now all we have to do is not defeat ourselves.

I read you're wonderful posts and love you're passion and spirit. Collectively we are a political force like none ever assembled. However, we are in danger of slipping into a Clinton Party and an Obama Party. We are in fact the Democratic Party and our goal is to win the White House. Realistically it's time we ourselves trust the numbers and accept that Hillary can't win the nomination. We can be vigilant for dirty tricks but her options are very limited and growing smaller everyday. Pennsylvania may be a firewall of sorts but Indiana and North Carolina look like a brick wall.

Just yesterday two of our Washington super-delegates, who were previously committed to Hillary, (Cantwell and Rice), said that they would vote for whoever gets the most delegates. The math just isn't here for the Clinton's. Even if they run the table they will have fewer pledged delegates, fewer wins and a smaller popular vote count. Reality is setting in and I have to believe that the same super delegate softening process is going on elsewhere. Supers just aren't switching to Hillary and we have no indication what-so-ever that pledged delegates are even considering a switch. Basically all she can do is run out the clock and hope Barack's campaign completely melts down. Not likely.

Hillary is largely a distraction and it's obvious that the notion of the Clinton's as master politicians is a myth. If they were so good and so well organized they would have wrapped things up on Super Tuesday the way they expected. Meanwhile, passions are high and our party is divided.

We can't assume that everyone just hold hands and fall in line behind Barack Obama. If 28% of Hillary's supporters stay home, or worse yet, vote for McCain, we're screwed. Barack may as well give up, strike the flag, surrender his sword, go home, and save us all a lot of time, money, and personal grief. We couldn't win.

I repeat, Barack Obama can not win the general election if he starts with a 28% disadvantage in his own party. It's not possible; end of discussion. This fall we are going to need every Hillary vote on our side.

I call on you, wonderful Obama supporters, to begin the healing process. Let's stop bashing Hillary. Nobody likes an ungracious winner. And we will win.

Her people have an emotional investment in their candidate just like us. Many have waited years, for what they thought would be their turn, not just for Hillary, but to elect a female president, and loosing will be a bitter pill. Now is the time to reach out and touch a Hillary supporter. Give them a hug, buy them cup of coffee and warm muffin with butter. It's OK they aren't the enemy. They just backed the wrong donkey and in any other year Hillary Clinton would have been the unstoppable object they expected. It just isn't their year. They are fellow democrats who have fought a valiant campaign and are about to loose the battle. Lets welcome them home and do whatever we can to heal their hurt. The first step is to stop attacking Hillary which they perceive as an attack on them.

The primary season is a series of skirmishes. The real war isn't to defeat Hillary but to win the presidency and throw a nationwide house warming party when the Obama's move into the big house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. We can not win the White House without Hillary's supporters and further pissing them off is counter productive.

John McCain is the perfect candidate to run against and the White House is ours to loose. We can't keep the Clinton's from carrying on until the end, we can get out of our own way. We can unilaterally stop beating up on Hillary and pivot to focus our energies where they belong. John McCain is getting a free ride. Lets trust Barack and his people to close this deal out. We should be vigilant but not paranoid about Clinton dirty tricks but now is the time to stop giving John McSame a free ride. Now we should unleash our powerful grass roots organization on our real opponent, John McSame.

What the Clinton's failed to understand is that we are the unstoppable force. We the people, not the political insiders, are the ultimate unstoppable force and John McSame is about to learn that lesson too.

Yes we will heal our party rift. Yes we will defeat John McSame and throw that house warming party for Barack and Michelle Obama. Yes We Can and Yes we will.

YellerDog.

Thurston Obama Stuff

Yeller — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:30:04 EDT

Happy Easter or Happy Spring Equinox if that is more appropriate. Lot's going on at Team Obama HQ here in Olympia in the past week. We're knee deep in preparing for the Thurston County Convention April 19. There is lots of data entry left to do and volunteers are welcome for that and other tasks.

Our first Obama Delegate training session was held on Friday night with approximately 80 supporters in attendance. The purpose of the training is to let Obama supporters know what to expect at the April 19 Convention and some basics on how to run for the next level, CD delegate. The discussion was lively with lots of great questions. There are two additional training dates. Please go to our website and register for one. If you were elected as a delegate or alternate you'll be a big step ahead when you get to the convention. If you want to run for CD delegate and are new to the process then you especially need this training.

To all Delegates and Alternates: If you are not able to attend the Convention please let us know so we can make sure you're alternate is will be there. This is a use it or loose it process. If all the Obama seats aren't filled they may go to Clinton. Please call 956-0352 and let us know if can't attend.

Alternates should plan to attend. You will be able to participate in the County Convention part of the program and vote on the party platform for the first time this year even if you are not seated as a delegate. You'll get to meet lots of the local candidates and do plenty of good old fashioned politicking too. Most importantly you'll be available to fill in for any last minute no shows. This is where the rubber meets the road. We have to fill the seats to hold on to the delegates we elected at the caucus.

We learned this week that box lunches from Pellegrino's will be available for $10. There will be a selection to choose from including a veggie lunch. You you'll get more about this in you're Call to Convention Package in the mail.

Most of our Web related efforts are going into our own website and we encourage all of you to check us out. It's a work in progress and we've added new features in the past few days. We'll keep up to date content posted, we hope daily. The problem isn't not enough things to post but almost too much. www.tcforobama.com. You can now e-mail us at info@tcforobama.com too. Spread the word and encourage you're friends to sign up on the site. We are assuming the close. We assume that Barack will be nominated are are building local network to carry us into the fall campaign. We don't want to assume anything when the actual presidential campaign gets underway. We want to be able to mobilize people and get the job done with a record turnout and a record victory. If we have extra resources, we are learning how, through the Internet to shift some to other states that are in contention. This should be the most exciting campaign in history and because we're organized we'll all have front row seats.

Several of us were at the Vets for Peace rally at the fountain and 4th. Ave Bridge and there was lots of support and enthusiasm shown to us by the crowd. After the rally about 15 people showed up at the office to buy their own signs and buttons. Personally I thought the turn out wasn't very good. The economy my be Issue #1 now but we can't take our eyes off the ball. Americans and innocent Iraqis are still dying and we are still spending $12 BILLION dollars a month, which despite the Liar-in-Chief's assertion, is a major drain on the economy.

That's the news from the front line for tonight. Visit our website, stay enthusiastic and don't let the bastards get you down. We will elect Barack Obama as president. That's Job #1 for 08.

PS: Guess we settled the Barack isn't a Christian issue this week. But damn, now seems he's just not the right kind of Christian. Can you just imagine the audacity of a black family attending a black church? Jeez.

Why we have to end this race NOW

Stewart Henderson — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:50:35 EDT

I had a sad and stunning thing happen while I was campaigning for Barack in Texas. This is why we have the end this race now.

We were in the Rio Grande Valley -- far southern Texas, almost completely Hispanic. I'd spent all election day handing out flyers at the same polling place as this warm, friendly, intelligent young woman, a school teacher, who was campaigning for a family member who was a judge. She was a Clinton supporter, but we were very cordial.

Towards the end of the day, I said to her, "Well, we're all good Democrats, so you'll be voting for him in November." I was completely shocked when she said, "You know, I love what he says, and I like all his positions on the issues. But I don't think I can vote for him."

YellerDog Blogs of Obama

Yeller — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:07:26 EDT

Hi everybody I'd like to share my Livespace Blog link with everyone.

It gives me a central place to write posts which are RSS linked to our

www.tcforobama.com Olympia HQ site. If you read it directly on YellerDog you can leave live

comments. http://yellerdogblog.spaces.live.com/. Feel free to link to me if you have a site.

Keep Hope Alive. Don't Just Sit There Do Something. "We must be the change

we hope to see in the world."

New Team Obama Website

Debby Pattin — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:06:26 EDT

Here's a link to our new stand alone website. You may want to bookmark it because we'll be posting delegate and convention information for the upcomming county convention and especially any new local Obama Campaign Info. There will be a live blog in the next couple of days, (we hope) so you can contribute. If you want to blog for Barack on the site send an e-mail to apply.

For those of you who are anxious about all the delegate lists and the fairness of the caucus conventions just hang on. We announced trainings for Obama Delegates today and the process of putting the convention together is well underway. Yes it's bottom up and may seem chaotic especially if you are new to the process but remember we've been doing it this way in WA State for many years.

Democracy is like making laws and sausage, it's not pretty, but the people who are doing this are familiar with the process. Yes there will be some gliches there always are but we'll get it done. Just be glad you aren't a Republican. Look at the mess they made out of their caucus.

Take a deep breath and don't fret. Yes we will elect Barack Obama as our next president.

www.TCforObama.com

Keith Oberman Rocks

Yeller — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:26:19 EDT

If you haven't seen it, here's the link to Keith Oberman's woodsheding of Hillary. Now when Keith takes you to the shed you're in for one big butt whoop'en. This reminded me of when Walther Cronkite came out against the Vietnam War and Pres. Nixon said when we lost Cronkite we lost the war. Of course Keith Oberman doesn't have anything like the clout that Cronkite did but this has to be one of the class acts of the 21st. Century.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23601329#23601329

Share this with everyone you can. You'll laugh yourself to tears.

The Score Card 3-12-08

Yeller — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:06:53 EDT

I made a sign today to post here at Obama HQ in Olympia. It is also the County Democratic HQ and there are Hillary people about so I wanted to rub their nose in it everytime they came in. I can't get it to format right in HTML so I'm just posting the totals here for you. You can get all the info from CNN Election HQ and the RealClearPolitics.com Homepage to put you're own sign together and post it if you want. I'll keep this up to date as new numbers come in but there won't be a lot of changes for awhile because he next primary isn't until 4-22-08. You might want to bookmark Real Clear. They are a primary source for polling information. I check their daily national poll average every day.

Delegate Count

CNN Obama +127

RCP Obama +131

The diffrent sites have slightly diffrent estimates of the super delegates which is why the numbers are not the same.

Primarys and caucuses Won

Obama +16

Popular Vote

Obama +2.6 million. This number seems high and it as are all popular vote counts is just and estimate. Obama is well in the lead in all counts though.

Yes we can is about to become "Yes We Have" won the nomination.

Keep the Faith

Yeller — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:53:22 EDT

Don't get distracted. Don't take you're eyes off the prize. Hold on. It's going to be slow going for the next six weeks until the Pennsylvania Primary and Hillary is going to spin everything to make that race look like it's the be all and end all. Well it isn't. There are nine more races after PA and we are going to win most if not all of them.

Don't take you're eyes off the ball no matter what the spin. We are ahead and all the yapping and distraction isn't going to change it. Nobody is putting points on the board for now and if Hillary wins PA, which she probably will, it won't matter. Even if you wins by 20 or more points she will only gain a few delegates and we'll make them up in the next couple of races. Remember, NC has nearly as many delegates as PA and will go for the home team.

In the meantime do what you can. Talk Obama up. Wear you're buttons, get a bumper sticker, contact our supers and hound them to change their super vote. Make a donation no matter how small. Anything you can think of to help out. Stop by campaign HQ in Olympia at 2120 Pacific Ave and pick up you're campaign material or just say high. Give us a call at 360-956-0235 and let us know what you think.

articles

Hillary for Obama! — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:19:11 EDT

Wow, it's getting late, but I just ran across some articles I'd like to share. One is on those dubious antics where republicans have been crossing over and voting for Clinton, and the other is a detailed report of recent polling in PA. That one in particular is a great place to begin to focus our energies. That could be an Alamo of sorts. In that article it states that 50% of the PA voters viewed the economy as the most important issue in this campaign and only 18% ranked the war number one. We've got to brush up on our economic policy expertise as we prep for marathon calling to PA!

Happy reading, and here are the links:

http://isaacs.newsvine.com/_news/2008/03/06/1348806-election-fraud-against-obama-in-ohio-more-comes-out

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/pennsylvania/pennsylvania_democratic_presidential_primary

God Bless!

Hillary

My Letter to Gov Dean

Hillary for Obama! — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:27:03 EDT

Gov. Dean,

I am writing to express my grave concerns about Sen Clinton's willingness to tear our party to shreds in order to improve her chances to secure the nomination. I personally view the behavior as so unbecoming that I would be hard pressed to vote for her in the general election even if these tactics were to succeed! I recently read an exerpt of comments from my former Senator, Gary Hart, and I concur with him 100%!!! He is quoted as saying.

"It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not provide ammunition to the opposition party that can be used to destroy your party's nominee. This is a hyper-truth where the presidential contest is concerned.

"By saying that only she and John McCain are qualified to lead the country, particularly in times of crisis, Hillary Clinton has broken that rule, severely damaged the Democratic candidate who may well be the party's nominee, and, perhaps most ominously, revealed the unlimited lengths to which she will go to achieve power. She has essentially said that the Democratic party deserves to lose unless it nominates her."

Sir, I feel that if there is any hope for the party this year, it is that someone in charge, and my hope is you, will put an end to the scorched earth tactics that are going on. Please DO SOMETHING to influence the tone of this process in a more positive manner! Her camp is floating the idea that a dream ticket would be the only thing that can unite us out of the devision that we are currently seeing, however I just can't see that happening if Sen Clinton does not rein in the vicious attacks!

The Democratic Party needs you to lead on this.

Thank you,
Hillary Arnold

Join me in making your voice heard!

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/chairman

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/chairman/index.php

The Delegate Myth-Yes He Can Get Enough

Yeller — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 04:13:07 EDT

It is common knowledge that even if either Hillary or Barack ran the table in wins from here on out neither could come up with the 2025 needed to secure the nomination. Right?

Well gee IT AIN"T SO. Seth and I were playing with a the delegate calculator from the Forbes site today here at OBAMA HQ and found that even with modest projections he can reach 2051 or more delegates just projecting his winning percentages forward into the states he's projected to make a strong showing in. We plugged in the poll numbers for upcoming states where we could get them then assumed the same percentage of super-delegates just like they are now. Of course when Barack gets that close to the nomination there will be a significant shift in supers.

Go ahead try it yourself. There are any number of combinations that give him the outright win.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/27/obama-clinton-election-oped-cx_jb_0227delegates.html

So when people tell you that it's all going to be up to the supers and there is going to be a big train wreck at the convention, you'll know better. Be of good cheer. Yes he can and yes he will be the nominee no matter how much the media tries to make the race seem closer than it really is.

OBAMA SUPPORTERS, HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR MONTH!

Betsy — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:55:46 EST

“OBAMA SUPPORTERS, HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR MONTH”

This month is OBAMA SUPPORTERS, HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR MONTH!

Jim Pugh thought that it would be a great idea for Obama Supporters to get out and show how we support Barack Obama’s vision of change and that change will start with us. I think it's a great way to revitalize those that are feeling a little tired and a little disheartened by the negative press.

SO LET’S GIVE THE MEDIA SOME POSITIVE PRESS THEY CAN’T IGNORE!

1. Organize Groups
2. Find local places where you can go and “Help Your Neighbor”
3. Tell the media
4. Wear your Obama Gear!
5. Feel free to talk to others about Obama, register voters & keep up the momentum
6. HAVE FUN!
7. Feel Free to Make a WE THE PEOPLE Video While your working together

Good Luck Helping Your Neighbors!

Thank you,

Betsy Borgacz
WE THE PEOPLE PROJECT
http://www.youtube.com/group/wethepeopleforobama
People Around The World Sharing Why They Support Barack Obama! Let the world hear your voice!

Below is the Original Email, detailing Jim’s Idea!

Hi everyone,

I recently had an idea for how we can help to advertise the Obama campaign in a very positive way. Instead of spreading Obama awareness using traditional campaign methods (candidate signs, cold calls, etc), we can get Obama's name out there by actually making a difference in our communities. The idea is to organize various community service activities with an Obama theme to them. For example, we could pick up garbage in our local park wearing Obama t-shirts and hats, or we could organize a food drive with Obama logos on the collection boxes. These kinds of activities would be helpful in several different ways:

- improving our local communities
- positive advertising for the Obama campaign
- definitively showing fellow citizens that, even before the elections, the Obama movement is
already making real change in our country

Community service activities are well-suited for a grassroots campaign like this one, since they can be organized and run at a very local level.

This could work especially well on college campuses, where there is so much Obama excitement amongst students. The Obama online social network could be a great tool for putting together these activities, since it makes it so easy for us to get in contact with fellow supporters and organize events. If we're willing to put in the effort, I think that Obama Community Service could be a big benefit to this campaign.

After all, we are the ones we've been waiting for.

Cheers,

Jim Pugh

Thurston County For Obama Office

Debby Pattin — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:54:00 EST

Obama Campaign Office in Thurston County (Organizing)Thurston County for Obama is celebrating the second month of our grassroots campaign office.
Stop by and pick up t-shirts, yard signs, bumper stickers and buttons. Our office hours are Mon., Wed. & Fri. 11 - 5, Tues. - Thur. 11 - 7, and Sat. 12 - 5.
Thurston County for Obama is located at 2120 Pacific Ave. SE, Olympia 98506, on the east side of downtown Olympia, between KRXY radio and Capital City Stove & Fan. Our office is in the Thurston County Democrats Campaign Headquarters.
Please stop by and visit. Volunteer if you have time.
Our email is obamatc.08@yahoo.com
The Thurston Co. Democrats phone number is 360-956-0235.

We are FIRED UP & READY TO GO
Debby Pattin on behalf of
Thurston County for Obama

What immigrants bring to America

Hillary for Obama! — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:15:37 EST

Brothers and Sisters,

I was so blessed when I viewed these two videos, I just had to post them. Please take a few minutes to watch both.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2zO5d-XZWA&NR=1

Don't Sleep!

Hillary

Waffles for 1 Milion?

Hillary for Obama! — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:40:33 EST

I have been reading some criticism of Sen Obama regarding his reluctance to commit unequivocally to public financing in the general election. I'm sure some of his reluctance comes from wanting to avoid painting himself into a corner where both candidates end up using loop holes to survive. I doubt however, that the core issue is simply that he wants to enjoy the advertising advantage that this level of support will buy him, as his critics would have us believe. I wonder how much of his reluctance is about US? After all, he and David Plouffe and others have been referring to this remarkable movement as a campaign that we legitimately OWN a piece of! I, for one, would like to send a strong message to Senator Obama that he has my 100% commitment and backing, even if he doesn't want my money anymore! The movement is more than a million strong, and I know I speak for more than just myself when I say that if we care enough to contribute, we care enough to serve in other ways. E-mailing, phone banking, canvassing to name a few.

Message for Barack: We are behind you all the way, and won't feel slighted or disowned by your standing by your original plan to accept public financing!

Whatever the numerous other legitimate reasons for re-evaluating that decision may be, let it not even enter your mind that it would alienate us, your committed supporters!

Sincerely,

Hillary in Olympia

Blog On Google

High School Counselor — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:29:47 EST

If you google my name you get a link to my Obama blog. WOW!

He is My Shining Black Prince!

Over One Million People!

Annetha — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:15:17 EST

We did it. Oh my goodness, we did it! Over one million people have now joined up to support Barack Obama and donate to his campaign. This is incredible. Never has this been done before, we truely are making history happen!

I Donated Today

Yeller — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:32:57 EST

Like many, I could only afford $25 but I think that's OK. We are already blowing the doors off all the other candidates in online fundraising but we have a long way to go till Nov. I'll donate every chance I get.

Partner with me on boycotting Fox News and it's advertisers!

Hillary for Obama! — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:09:24 EST

As someone who has not been a big TV watcher, my first exposure to Fox News was in early March 2003, deployed in support in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dozens of soldiers from around the dusty compound of Camp Wolf, Kuwait, would gather around the morale and welfare tent where they would turn a TV set around so that it could be seen from outside the tent, since the audience couldn't fit inside. We were gathered around, all hungry for some sign of when the "shock and awe" and subsequent invasion might begin. Armed Forces Network programming was brought in by sattelite to keep us connected to a degree, since, for reasons of operational security, we had no internet access at that time.

In order to strike some sort of balance, AFN ran both CNN and Fox News, alternating between the two. The contrast was striking. It didn't take a rocket scientist (or HS graduate for that matter) to see that Fox News was a noisy, obnoxious mouthpiece for the war machine. No, I've never been a fan. But what I've learned in the past couple of days has positively enraged me. Please check out the following links regarding the outrageous slander against Barack Obama perpetuated by Fox, and more ominously, the invocation of lynching - high tech or otherwise - as a potential mechanism for dealing with (subtext: uppity) blacks in politics.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/21/olbermann-slams-oreilly-_n_87821.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfc8cn8Yqxk

If you, as I, want to make your voice heard on this issue, please join with me in communicating these concerns to Fox News directly as well as to their advertisers. A quick google search took me to this list, though others may have more comprehensive and up-to-date information.

http://www.newshounds.us/2007/07/24/advertisers_on_the_oreilly_factor_update_707.php

Thanks for your time and continued support for Barack Obama. In light of the rhetoric of Bill O'Reilly and others, please also join me in prayer for physical safety for the entire Obama family.

God Bless,

Hillary

We The People Project

Betsy — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:54:12 EST

Join the 89 cities across the US and several international locations that are participating in this project. Individuals and Groups are joining together to show what WE THE PEOPLE think of Barack Obama.

Greetings from "The Other America" DVD-r training for rookie Obama delegates in Washington state.

lionanimal — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:54:51 EST

Regarding video training for rookie Obama delegates in Washington state.

Please consider the following. Please withhold suggestions about YouTube. Please consider the great many citizens who do not have internet access. In addition, we are looking into a pass-word protected website for the following specific exercise. SEE THE FOLLOWING....

He is my Shining Black Prince!

High School Counselor — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:26:32 EST

I made to comittment to make 100 calls a week. A big step for me, but worth it. Obama is inspiring me in ways I never thought possible. Ran 11 miles tonight - listening to U2, thinking about shaking his hand. He is my Shining Black Prince!

My First Call

High School Counselor — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:41:55 EST

I have called a few times, but was only getting answering machines. I got my first person I spoke with live and they told me they would be supporting Obama. I cried again!MAN - I AM EMOTIONAL ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN, like never before in my life.Obama is my hope, dreams, my shining Black Prince!

NPR story about young Evangelicals drawn to Obama

laura — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:53:29 EST

40% of Evangelicals are undecided at this point in the campaign. Sunday's Weekend Edition was an especially interesting one.

If you get a chance listen in <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18854833">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18854833</a>

And Obama weighs in too. <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18854872">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18854872</a>

We did it Washington!

Annetha — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:26:29 EST

Congratulations fellow Washingtonians... we got out the vote and we did it in record numbers! I am so proud. I took my two girls (ages 4 years and 4 months) to the rally on Friday... we were among the last to get in. It was incredible! Then on Saturday I was proud to caucus for Obama... my precinct had a total of 14 votes for Obama and 0 for anyone else. Wooo hoo! It is so exciting to see this movement sweeping across the nation, but I worry about Texas and Ohio. Let's get online and make some phone calls people, it's not over yet!

All but one WA jurisdiction goes to Obama

laura — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:28:44 EST

If you haven't seen the jursidiction breakdown check this out http://www.wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=display&id=273

I was watching Hillary supporters on the news say that they thought that the eastern side of the state would go to her. Well the results are obvious - the people have spoken.

It is ridiculous that so many of our super delegates have pledged to Hillary. Do they not care what the people of the state think? Or is this more of that "Washington DC knows best" kind of insider dealing we are all sick of?

Seattle Rally 2/8/08

Nate Merwin - Washington — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:34:54 EST

Wow! Today's turn-out was inspiring. I was one of the few thousand left out in the cold. But that didn't stop Sen. Obama from taking the time to speak to us too.

Here is a link to videos of his brief message to us outside:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EB78061635778BE6

A link to a video of the speech inside:

http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=216252

My photos from outside Key Arena:

http://flickr.com/photos/courtnate/sets/72157603873660322/

Final Draft of My (now) 65 Second Caucus Pitch

Daewoo "Hussein" Kim — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:05:45 EST

I want to thank everyone who gave me feedback and/or words of encouragement. I'll try to respond to everyone, but if I miss some people, please be assured that I read each email carefully, and that I very much appreciated the effort you took in writing. Thank you.

Please feel free to use any of my words without attribution. You deserve full credit for taking the time out of your very busy schedules to stand up for your beliefs.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

---Dae
==================
Obama has 11+ years as an Illinois and U.S. Senator. In just two years, he sponsored 780 bills - of which 280 became law. He has a 100% approval rating from Planned Parenthood.

On-Demand video files on internet of Friday February 8 Obama rally in Seattle

lionanimal — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:46:20 EST

The following hyperlinks are to video on-demand files of entire "Stand For Change" Rally with Senator Barack Obama at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington (state) on Friday, February 8, 2008. http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=216252&shu=1 http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=216252 http://www.king5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=216252&shu=1 http://www.king5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=216252

I SHOOK HIS HAND

High School Counselor — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:07:41 EST

AND HE SIGNED MY BOOK in Seattle today. Amazing! If he is elected, I will be proud to be an American again! Today was very special. Had a Dr. MLK feel today! AMAZING! I have a video on You Tube of it - even though you can only see my hand :) I have a blue bracelet on my right wrist. I held his hand with both of my hands for a brief second.

http://www.youtube.com/user/toddcaffey

Not that he is some super human Dude, but he could be the first Black President of the USA. My heroes! 1. Malcolm X, 2. MLK, 3. Barack Obama

If you are sick of "politics as usual", does that qualify you for a sick day from work to attend in-person rally Friday February 8 at Key Arena in Seattle?

lionanimal — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:39:39 EST

For what it is worth, if you are unable to attend the Stand For Change rally with Senator Barack Obmaa in-person today, Friday February 8 at Key Arena ... then consider the following potential resource that might be of use:Live coverage of presidential candidates -
Thursday: Watch live coverage of Barack Obama on KING5.com, NWCN.com and NorthWest Cable News
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ok, ok I hear questions already "What exactly does that mean?" Hopefully the folks that run those commercial websites will clarify soon. It could mean a few brief mini-reports from time to time, or it could mean wall-to-wall coverage. The folks responsible for those commercial websites have not seen fit to clarify their intentions yet.Clearly the preferable option is to attend in-person. If you are sick of "Politics As Usual" does that qualify you to take a sick-day from work and attend the rally at Key Arena on Friday February 8?Best regards,

Key Arena --- Friday February 8, 2008 Doors open 11 a.m. Senator Barack Obama for President rally with the candidate

lionanimal — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:28:37 EST

I just signed up to attend a free Stand for Change Rally with Barack Obama in Seattle this Friday, February 8th.

You can RSVP here:

http://wa.barackobama.com/seattle

I thought you might want to come. Here are the details:

Stand for Change Rally with Barack Obama

Key Arena
305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109

Friday, February 8
Doors Open: 11:00 a.m.

getting involved

High School Counselor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:53:16 EST

for some odd reason i cried last night when i realized obama might not win. i haven't really done anything to get involved other than order 1 small little sign.

well today i ordered a shirt and a bigger sign, signed up to wave signs tomorrow and am going to call some people once i figure out what a caucus is. i can't be there saturday because i have to go to a soccer coaches clinic.

also, friday i am at a training so i may miss him when he comes to visit - however i am going to do what i can. wish i could do more.

HE HAS TO WIN!

Washington matters!

Annetha — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:39:17 EST

Hooray! Washington State's primary really matters! Now some will tell you that it always matters, but in my lifetime there has always been a clear frontrunner by the time we get to say anything. Not this year! Let's get out to caucus and make our voices heard!

I'll be there...tell me when, where, how

laura — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:59:25 EST

I watched the returns tonight with some Clinton fans in Tacoma and talked about how Barack inspires me. I talked about how he understands that change is about organizing and motivating people to take ownership and participate. I talked about how republicans and independents (like my Mormon parents?!?!) are drawn to his message and, frankly, his positive vibes.

I'm here. Ready to go to work. Tell me when, where, and how. I'll be there in a heartbeat. Let's give the Obama campaign Washington State!

"Yes We Can" song

laura — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:04:57 EST

So I watched that music video and was like ug? Why does that song make me want to role my eyes? Perhaps because it seems to be more about the power of celebrity than the hope of real change? Perhaps, as you said, because we are sort of prematurely building this Obama guy up as a great leader before he's had a chance to lead? Perhaps it cheapens people's personal hope about this election make it something fake and Hollywood?

But maybe I'm being too cynical.

Not any one candidate in any race has the experience to lead the most powerful country in the world toward the fundamental change it needs. Let's face it, even after the election no one person, not even the president, has the power to get that done. It will take a nation of people organized and working for real change to happen. We need a leader that understands that and has the ability to inspire people...that is hopeful. I think this is frankly why I'm voting for Obama. Because I think he understands that a president will never have the power or experience needed to alone create the fundamental change we need. But he shows he'd be a president with the power to lead. In the end, it will take the people of this country to make real change happen. It will take ordinary citizens to stop feeling apathetic and start getting involved. But it will take a talented leader to inspire us to take action.

So though it makes me feel a little foolish to love that song, I do. I'd rather be a fool then a cynic.

Okay, back to work.

Watch the Returns in Tacoma on Super Tuesday

laura — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:38:28 EST

I noticed there were no events scheduled in Tacoma to watch the Super Tuesday results. A group of friends and I are getting together at Meconi's Tacoma Pub & Eatery to watch the returns at 6:30. Come join us!

Tacoma - Watch the Returns on Super Tuesday

Time: Tuesday, February 5 at 6:30 PM - 2 hours
Location: Meconi's Tacoma Pub & Eatery
709 Pacific Ave.,
Tacoma, WA 98402

You can view the details of this event at any time by going to:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4r5fv