On Sunday, August 2, OFA will do a phone bank for the President's health care reform principles in West Chester, PA.
This is the time for all of us to put pressure on the Congress. In addition to gaining declarations of support for health care reform, we must prevail upon the people that we call to phone and/or email their members of Congress with a strong message of support for the President's health care reform principles.
When phone banking, be ready to provide the phone numbers for your US Senators and all locally-based Congresspersons.
The final step for any person that we reach through phone banking is for him or her to report the results of their own calls to Congress. You can give the following instructions:
YES WE CAN! DC for Obama Volunteer Summit
Nearly 200 campaign volunteers from across the Washington, DC, area came together to decide the role they want to play to help realize the vision that President Elect Obama articulated during the election. The volunteers were convened at a "Yes We Can Summit" on Saturday, December 13, at George Washington University by DC for Obama, a volunteer organization that mobilized several thousand DC-area supporters to knock on more than 100,000 doors for Barack Obama during the presidential campaign. Participants at the "Yes We Can Summit" set priorities for the future of the local grassroots organization. In small groups, the Obama supporters worked with facilitators to share their experience from the campaign and discuss the issues on which they'd like to work. Electronic keypad polling was used to identify the collective goals of the group. The “Yes We Can Summit” used a methodology developed by the nonprofit organization AmericaSpeaks called a 21st Century Town Meeting, which integrates technology with authentic deliberation to help groups identify collective priorities. Who Participated?
Local and National IssuesParticipants were asked to use their polling keypads to identify the local and national issues about which they were most passionate. Health care received the most support, followed by foreign policy/national security/Iraq, energy/environment, economy/jobs, and education. Other national issues received less support, including international development and housing/poverty. The local issue that received by far the greatest support was education and youth issues (almost twice as many votes as any other). Voting rights, homelessness and poverty, health care, affordable housing, crime/public safety, and community vitality received moderate support. More than half of participants said they were most interested in working on national policy advocacy with 22% saying they were most interested in local community service projects and 18% saying they were most interested in local policy advocacy. Optimism about Making an ImpactForty-five percent of participants said they were “very optimistic” about the ability of local volunteers to make a meaningful contribution. Forty-four percent said they were “optimistic.” Elevent percent said they were :neutral” and one percent said they were “very pessimistic.” Memories and HopesSummit participants began the day by sharing their favorite memories of the campaign and their greatest hopes for the future. Examples of favorite memories included:
Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion of hopes for the future included:
One Year Vision for the FutureSummit participants spent time working in small groups to develop a one year vision for the organization. The following large-group themes emerged from the discussions:Promote national and local advocacyDevelop a large and diverse grassroots membershipPartner with local organizations to address underserved communities on education, health care and povertyAct as a clearinghouse for local and national civic associationsCollaborate with the administrationRecruit and retain volunteers for community service projectsUse metrics to ensure vision is being implementedEighty eight percent of participants said they were “supportive” or “very supportive” of the vision. Community Service ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Community Service Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Community Service projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Community Service criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Community Service projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Community Service committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred. By far the project that received the greatest support from participants was to create and support tutoring and mentoring programs for youth with measurable results. This was followed by building job training programs (specifically green jobs), registering, educating and empowering voters, and developing relationships with specific schools and letting school officials tell us what they need. Other priorities that received less support included surveying weaknesses in DC health care system and volunteering to fill in the gaps, and cleaning up and beautifying neighborhoods.Nineteen percent of participants said their top priority project was not among the room-wide list. Advocacy ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Advocacy Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Advocacy projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Advocacy criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Advocacy projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Advocacy committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred.The two advocacy projects that received the strongest support were promoting DC voting rights and advocating for affordable housing, homeless services and poverty support. These were followed by working to improve health care and improving global perceptions of America through foreign aid and diplomacy. Advocacy projects that received less support included advancing community education on tipics such as financial literacy and parental involvement, increasing funding on education reform, supporting HIV/AIDS organizations that provide testing and services, increasing support for tutoring and mentoring programs for DC students, and rallying DC residents to increase the rate of recycling.Eight percent of participants said their top project was not among the list of room-wide themes. Our NameParticipants at the Summit decided to consider a new name for the organization. After talking about the kind of message that their name should convey, they generated 16 options in addition to DC for Obama:
Following a series of votes to identify top choices, the two names that received the greatest support were Yes We Can DC (48%) and DC for Obama (44%). Commitments and EvaluationsAt the end of the day, participants signed up to participate on DC for Obama committees and made personal commitments for the future. Participants were also asked to use their polling keypads to answer two final evaluation questions. 85% of participants rated the meeting as “very good” or “good” with the remaining participants rating it “fair.” 84% of participants said they were “very committed” or “committed” to the outcomes of the day’s meeting with 12% saying they were “somewhat committed” and 4% saying they were “unsure” or “not committed.”Special ThanksSpecial thanks to the College Democrats of George Washington University for helping to support the event and to AmericaSpeaks for donating keypad polling technology as well as staff support. Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who made the Summit possible and who will continue to be the heart and soul of DC for Obama.
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
"Our veterans are part of an unbroken line of heroes who have defended the American people and stood up for American values" - PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA
ABC * AP * CNN * C-SPAN * GOOGLE * MONITOR * MSN * REUTERS * TIMES * UPI * CARTOONS
Alabama * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * DC * Delaware * Florida * Georgia * Guam * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * Nevada * New Hampshire * New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * North Dakota * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * Puerto-Rico * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Vermont * Virginia * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming *
Well it's official... a 263 page report states that Sarah Palin was found to guilty of abusing her executive powers which just happens to be an impeachable offense.
Note the actual report was over 1000 pages in length, the public is only being given 263 pages to view. The 263 page report can be read here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/10/troopergate-report-full-t_n_133806.html
So what does that say about Sarah Palin... That she is no different than the corrupt, greedy, self serving political fat cats and lobbyists in Washington... you know the same ones that she and McCain claim to abhor and promise to go after with a vengeance. lol
It also shows how inept, unprofessional and amateurish the Palin administration really was. Worse yet Palin has brought total disgrace to her office and to the great state of Alaska! She breached the citizens of Alaska's faith and trust! It also speaks volumes about McCain's character and judgement... especially now that McCain continues to defend and support her. I would have had more respect for the man if he had dropped her from the ticket and admitted his error in judgement when he selected her.
The legalese is quite confusing to layman like myself. So let's try and break it down. 1st - Sarah Palin has a legal right to dismiss or fire anyone regardless of reason or for no reason at all. That is why the report states that it was a "proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority" The firing of Walt Monegan is a non issue! McCain camp claims this vindicates her altogether... WRONG!
2ndly - she WAS found to have violated Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act" and this is a HUGE ISSUE! Alaska's ethics law states the following:The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.
A list of 18 inappropriate behaviors commited by Sarah and Todd Palin suggests that Governor. Palin "knowingly" engaged in improper behavior with regard to Trooper Wooten and therefore she abused her power as Governor and had violated state ethics laws and abused her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
The report states that Sarah Palin improperly pressed for the firing of Trooper Wooten, however it was her husband Todd who had been responsible for the majority of inappropriate behaviors in the report... Sarah Palin is guilty of knowingly permitting Todd Palin to pursue a personal vendetta and allowing him to use the Governor's office and all of the resources of the Governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to get Trooper Wooten fired.
The McCain Spin Doctors claim that this was a politically motivated investigation.
FACT: The majority of the Alaskan Legislature is Republican. The investigation was initiated by the Republicans and the investigation was initiated well before McCain selected her as his running mate. 10 Republicans and only 4 democrats were part of the investigative panel.
Under Alaska law it is up to the state's Personnel Board, not the Legislature, to decide whether Palin violated the ethics laws. Palin recently said that the Personnel Board inquiry is the only one that matters. And McCain's campaign echoed those same comments on Friday.The problem with this is that the Personnel Board is made up of individuals who Sarah Palin personally appointed to the board. This is a terrible conflict of interest and any investigation by the Personnel Board could never be taken seriously.
Obviously Palin would prefer to be investigated by her friends. ;-)
Whether justice is served or not in this case the damage to her credibility is insurmountable.
Shout out to John McCain and Sarah Palin... Perhaps you should reform yourselves first before you attempt to reform others. ;-)
Let me repeat Sarah Palin was found guilty of Abusing her Executive Powers! An Impeachable Offense! Let's respect McCain and Palin's reform policy by not voting for them until they reform. lol
Juli Norwood
I did voter canvassing in Reno this weekend. It was a good experience. We called at homes, with the goals of gauging voter sentiment, winnowing out McCain supporters and incorrect residential data, and when possible, discussing issues and trying to increase support.
The Reno coordinators say they need the help and they are pretty well organized and very hard-working. The only thing lacking is lawn signs, which people kept asking for.
If you live in or near a swing state, and feel ok about knocking on doors, I would encourage you to try this. They can line you up with housing with Obama supporters. (Our host was lovely to us.)
My advice, based on this experience: be respectful and listen to peoples' concerns; don't necessarily walk away in a flash if someone is not enthusiastic - sometimes they want to get stuff off their chest and you may have common ground; carry lots of water if you come to Nevada! and don't be discouraged if people are not home or have moved or are not Obama supporters; this is all important information that makes future efforts more efficient.
Earlier today, the Obama campaign released a report highlighting the real impact of Exxon-Mobil's record-setting profits on Minnesota families.
The report found that from April to June, the period in which Exxon reaped in $11.68 billion in profit, a typical Minnesota family paid $729 more for gas than they did in the same three months of 2001, when Bush first took office, in addition to having their income fall by $7,307 in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Barack called the juxtaposition outrageous and said that its time the economy started working for American families, and not for oil-company executives:
Perhaps the only thing more outrageous than Exxon Mobil making record profits while Americans are paying record prices at the pump is the fact that Senator McCain has proposed giving them an additional $1.2 billion tax break. While Senator McCain’s plan has succeeded in helping his campaign raise over $1 million from oil and gas company executives and employees just last month, it won’t lower gas prices or end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. Instead of an energy policy that reads like an oil-company wish list, it’s time to create a new American energy economy by investing in alternative energy, creating millions of new jobs, increasing fuel efficiency standards, and ending the tyranny of oil once and for all.
The full report is available online HERE.
The announcement, including a summary of the report's findings below the fold. Click "Permalink" to read more.
The latest Pentagon report on Iraq and its nonexistent (pre-war) links to al qaeda should be the final nail in the argument. Yet the White House is refusing to put the full report online! (gee I wonder why).
Here’s some links on the MULTIPLE Pentagon reports disproving the claims of neocons (and Hillary Clinton) that Iraq was connected to al qaeda before Bush & Co. went bungling into Baghdad.
Pentagon Report on Saddam's Iraq Censored?
http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/pentagon-report.html
DoD Statement on News Reports of Al Qaeda and Iraq Connections
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=5785
Prewar report doubted Iraq-al Qaeda tie
Senator: Document shows White House was 'deceptive'
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/11/06/iraq.intel/index.html
Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda DiscountedPentagon Report Says Contacts Were Limited
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/05/AR2007040502263_pf.html
thehill.com original report in june 07
a friend sent me a link to this blog
This is simple. Not much experience is required to read the National Intelligence Estimate(NIE)report before voting to authorize a war. Again, I assert that the best qualified leader should be based on: consistency honesty moral calculation as opposed to political calculation proven track record at being productive and making relevant changes
... and uniting parties and diverse backgrounds for the common good instead of failing and blaming republican control of the senate or white house
one more basic qualification please: judgment. and yes, please read a vital report before engaging in war.
To all who are tired of the libelous spam:
The first thing you need to do is click on the link at the bottom of the spam blog called "Report Objectionable Content" and write a message calling out the blogger and what s/he is doing. This is annonymous. If that doesn't satisfy you, click on "ACTION" then "Contact Us" and "Other Thoughts and Questions." Fill out the message and on the Issue Item (Subject Line), select "Report Problem with the Website."
EMK
The majority of Americans believe that the 9/11 commission was corrupt in their investigation about 9/11. Lately, great amount of evidence is surfacing about the facts left out of the report as well as connections between Zelikow and the Bush Administration. There are clear conflicts of interest and multiple levels of corruption. The majority of the US population as well as the rest of the world would like closure on this subject, the facts exposed, and the proper people to be held accountable for their actions. In order to achieve peace in the world, I believe the rest of the world as well as American citizens are expecting for the next administration to do the RIGHT thing and carry out a extensive and sincere investigation.
Until this is carried out, the discrepencies only make the United States look responsible for 9/11. This needs to be clarified for the world to believes in us again.
There are many politicians responsible for suppressing the information. i.e. Alberto Gonzales, and the rest of the key figures in the Bush Administration. Clinton's staff also worked hard to prevent his involvement from getting out. Therefore, I believe Hillary will cover up their portion of matter and would never think about reopening the investigation due to the possible leak into her husband's administration.
My question to you is:
Are you going to do something about this when you are President? Would you be willing to take on the corruption in Washington about 9/11?
Saying yes to this would convince the majority of Americans that you are the right person for the job. I'm not saying the 9/11 was an inside job, but I would like a proper independent investigation into the matter.
Will you be the one to truly clean up Washington or will you simply forgive all the crimes the Bush Administration has done?
The Kansas Wheat Report can wave it's stalks, in the cold January howling winds and snow.
Even though it is near semi-blizzard conditions over 10,000 plus were warmed by the ingratiating smiles of our Democratic politicians. Governor Kathleen Sebellius, Senator Claire McCaskill and the energetic fluency, of Senator Barack Obama at Kansas City's Municipal Convention Center.
Because my other passions include producing/directing I was anxious and exhilarated to see the vociferous planks laid in a jovial,coquetish but tempered, with Harvard honed, educated precision, from Senator Obama. I was not disappointed; he not only laid his political planks for the boisterous inside crowd but, also, went outside after a spirited expose to 6,000 KC faithful and, gave a Readers Digest version to @4,000 cold and shivering faithful Kansas Citians, that couldn't get inside the convention hall. That alone would garner my vote for the feelings of empathy he expressed to his supporters, that braved the frigid temperatures of the Kansas plains; just to get a chance to see and hear him speak in person.
HISTORY IS BEING MADE AS WE WATCH A NEW AMERICA GROW AND STRETCH, FOR THE UNREACHABLE STARS & DREAMS OF MANY PAST AND PRESENT "CHANGE AGENTS!"
WHEAT WORDS BY,
Reggie Banks,Sr.
I see the adverts on the TV every day for a web site with a catchy jingle that makes me angrier every day because it hits too close to home. It depicts a person in a pirate costume singing about how he is working in a theme resturant because nobody would hire him after his identity was stolen.
WHat is wrong with us? Why do we allow this kind of thing to continue? I am working on my second degree because for some reason, people don't think that my first degree is worth the paper it is printed on. I could not get gainfully employed, and after a while I started to school again for retraining. Due to my schedule changes, and the fact that I am a full time student, I find myself in a lot of part time jobs, as well as applying for hundreds of others.
What I find sickening is that every job asks for permission to check your credit report. Actuallly, it is not that they ask your permission, it is that they demand your permission or else they will not consider you as a candidate for employment. They say it is because people with bad credit are more likely to steal things, or some sort of nonsense. The point of it is that it is, in fact, nonsense, and it is hurting our workforce! I really like what I read as far as what Obama wants to do with credit cards and morgage, but I think he needs to do one more thing. Make it illegal for people to hire or fire based on credit ratings.
