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
The drug war has failed. It’s Victims come from all walks of life with one thing in common: the drugs they chose to use are illegal. We need to shift our "attack" from Persecution to Education & Treatment.
There has been NO Significant Decrease in drug use since this miserable program was enacted in 1971. And the cost… $50 billion a year (Prevention + Enforcement + Legal Adjudication + Correctional Facilities) For 36 year we have been punishing our citizens, sending them away from their loved ones; their families, their support groups. I ask to what end?
Law Enforcement’s View = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc
We need to start an honest discussion with ourselves and most importantly the young people in this country. “If you do this drug, this will happen” “If you get behind the wheel when drunk/high, this will happen” “If you take too many prescription pills, this will happen” “If you drink too much, this will happen” and most importantly “Yes, marijuana is a drug, but it’s effect is much less that other
Is full decriminalization the answer? I’m not sure, but lumping marijuana in with Heroin and other harder drugs doesn’t make sense to me. Also, Mandatory Minimum sentencing has proved to be a bad policy… go ask any Judge.
Here is one idea of mine: Take the Hard drugs off the street and make them available at drug stores. In order to purchase you will have to take a course to educate yourself on the dangers of drug use. Once you have completed the course you will get a stamp on your driver license’s permitting you to purchase drugs. The license will only be valid for a set number of years at which time you must take a refresher course…. (Politicians; think of the Tax money you can make)
I ask you to please give this issue a new Fresh, Honest, Look.
Thousands of miles from my space, a change is happening that will be recorded forever in history. The Americans have made a daring choice of going beyond the race and prioritizing what they all missed for the past 8 years: A leader that would bring them the pride that they deserve.
But how does that affect my life here? Obviously, foreign policy was among the least priorities that concerned the Americans when they voted. Ofcourse. Their country is in an economic turmoil. Economy should come first. But how are they concerned about the world's most conflict-ridden region, and one of the most furtile land for terrorism ? The Middle East awaits daring steps from the Obama administration, and though personally I do not expect much, there are a few things that make me feel a bit more secure:
Obama is willing to talk with Iran...and to pull the troops out of Iraq.
The world has to understand that the Middle East is a highly religiously oriented region. Religious divides, tensions and civic strifes have been going on ever since the war on Iraq started. Do we need a new conflict to highten the already-spiced-up tensions? Any war with Iran would be a recipe for a regional religious divide in the Middle East. Severe consequences follow that. And for someone like me living in a coutnry like Lebanon, where religion defines you and your weight in power, any thought of a conflict with Iran would make me feel like running away from this place. Even if I have to live in some kind of far-away-in-the-middle-of-nowhere island, its much safer than staying in a community fueled by religious tensions. I've been having that feeling for the past 5 years ever since the war on Iraq started. Thanks to Bush, bloodshed is all over the place in this region, and religious Sunni-Shiite divides have been materialized and people feel increasingly insecure more than anytime before. The fact that Obama plans to have a non-offensive, less-agressive attitude towards the issues at stake here make me feel *a bit more safe* to stay in My Space for the coming few years.
Apart from that, I do not expect much of a change. I'm clearly aware that neither my country nor the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is on top of Obama's priorities for his term. I am aware that we will be receiving less American attention...and I thank God for that. *sigh*
Nad
Blogging from Beirut, Lebanon
To view this blog post with music and Barack Obama messages taped on his podcast in the past access this link
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com
"They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.'" (Watch video
********************************
'Eye Without A Face' by Mark Bellinghaus, Copyright 2008
Life is all about signs...seeing the signs....understanding the signs...acting upon the signs
--Mark Bellinghaus
Extract & Photo caption/description posted on OUR MARILYN BLOG - you can find the entire blog article here: blog.ourmarilyn.com/2008/08/31/marilyn-monroe-would-have-voted-f .. and also here: my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/markbellinghaus/gG5W75 Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe, in 1955 (above) and in 1962, (below), the year Marilyn Monroe passed away. In 1955, when racism was still a big issue in the United States of America, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American to perform at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe had lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. Marilyn would promise the owner that she would appear every night (and be on time), and this way also fill the house--and she did, she was there every night, and she filled the house and: she was always on time! Their close friendship lasted for many years and Ella would sing Marilyn Monroe's famous 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' in honor of her wonderful friend Marilyn Monroe, who died almost 34 years before she passed on in 1996, at age 79. Barack Obama Quotes: 'They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.' 'I have nothing to hide, I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween." -appearing as himself on Saturday Night Live as part of a skit that featured Hillary Clinton dressed as a witch at a Halloween party * 'It's like I was shot out of a cannon. I'm so overexposed that I make Paris Hilton look like a recluse.' 'Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare 'Mission Accomplished' a little too soon.' Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy, who was a Democrat
I am a late comer in actually registering with the Obama site and exploring what is here. It has been a true pleasure reading all the posts from like minded people. Until now I have felt like an army of one sounding the alarm, righting the wrongs, arguing with my friends, etc. etc. So it is good to see everyone.
That said... remember that when we speak here we speak primarily to ourselves. Everyone should cross-post interesting things found here, and certainly anything you write, to Facebook, MySpace and the other social networks. No one here is undecided... but some of our friends may be and they need to know the depth and rationale of our support for change.
We need to get as many people registered to vote as humanly possible, and fast (since the deadline to register is only a couple of weeks away in many of the swing states). In some states like North Dakota and New Hampshire, this isn't really necessary. In North Dakota there is no voter registration. You simply go to the polls on election day and vote! In New Hampshire (and maybe a few other states as well) you can register *at* the polling place the day you go to vote. But sadly, in most states, this isn't the case. So we need to get the word out to as many potential UNregistered voters that they need to register. And then obviously the big trick after doing that will be to get them to actually VOTE on November 4. But first things first. I'm trying to get as many people to register as I can. One of my Myspace profiles has almost 12,000 friends. So, what I'm doing is this: I'm using a program that I got online called Spyder. It makes commenting on your Myspace friends' pages quick and easy. You can send out hundreds of comments a day, in fact (I try to keep mine under 400 because I believe Myspace might freeze your account if you do too many in one day). The comments are simple but (hopefully) effective "Register to Vote!" pleas that include Shepard Fairey's great "Rock the Vote" poster but that link to Barack Obama's "Vote for Change" website for voter registration/polling information. So far I have gone through all of my friends and have commented on those that live in such battleground states as Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Colorado and I still plan on doing many more. With an average of 200 or 300 friends in each state, I hope to get out the word to a few thousand people that they should register to vote and then hit them up one more time the week before the election with a follow-up graphic/comment. Online networking like this can work wonders in helping to get Obama elected if enough of us do it. Sites like Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning networks, etc. are designed to help people communicate and network, so use them for that at this time and for this purpose!
Thanks,
kopper
GaragePunk.com
One of the things which impresses me most about Obama's campaign is it's reach on the internet. The campaign has activists everywhere I go, and I love it. I love it so much, in fact, that I'm now agressively a part of it, and there are great opportunities we can focus on together. One of these opportunities is Facebook. Sure, Barack has an excellent presence already, but one official presence was missing... the "Causes" application.
The Causes application provides a way for you to support and even donate to any cause you believe in. Are you going Green? Join the cause! Saving water by drinking beer? Join the cause! And now, thanks to efforts by Facebook user Susan Gordon, Facebook users all over the country can donate directly to the campaign, recruit their friends, and show their positive impact on the campaign right on their Facebook profile. Since its creation, the Obama for President Cause has recruited 55,000 Facebook users and has raised several thousand dollars directly to the campaign.
So, if you are on Facebook, I invite you to check out the Causes application on Facebook, and to join the Barack Obama for President Facebook cause, linked below:
The Facebook Causes Applicationhttp://www.new.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2318966938
The Barack Obama for President Cause on Facebookhttp://apps.new.facebook.com/causes/5482?m=c336b&recruiter_id=16427425
I'm a partisan Democrat and I'm proud of it. Today, I spent my Labor Day watching the Sarah Palin Circus on the TV. Republicans, so quick to condemn everyone, are now the ones standing on the edge of a teetering plank, ready to begin their Big Show. But the trapeze is blowing in a hurricane and the Family Values net is proving to be made from silly putty.
No one in our political system is more righteous than a Republican with political leverage on some liberal accused of high moral failings. Most of the time, those high moral failings are the smallest of incidents, whipped up into a rampaging firestorm, a white hot Dresden-like frenzy of condemnation and outrage coming from the Right.
Already in this Presidential campaign we've seen it again and again, with Michelle Obama's supposed lack of patriotism, Barack's alleged ties to terrorists, the absence of a flag pin on his shirt. Such small little nits, which dispassionately and honestly amount to little more than a hill of beans, instead in the heat of moral outrage and righteous Conservative condemnation turn into leaping pyres burning from one end of the media dial to the other.
Now, with the appointment of Sarah Palin to be John McCain's Vice President, it's the Republicans who are caught in a growing firestorm of failings, taking punishment today for the same kind of political sins they so gleefully piled on to Democrats for in the past. Now that the political shoe is on the other foot, the airwaves are filled with the whines of Republican pundits, trying to scrap the moose pie mess from their Gucci shoes. The Sarah Palin circus has come to the Twin Cities and as a partisan Democrat I'm loving every minute of it.
John McCain has yet to admit it, but choosing Sarah Palin to be his V.P. was the political equivalent of Houdini shackling himself to concrete, then getting underwater and realizing he left the key in the glove box of the car. For Democrats, though, she's the gift that keeps on giving. Barack is taking the high road concerning Palin's 17-year old daughter and it's only right that he should do so. But after more than 10 years of Vince Foster Clinton murder madness, flying monkey assualts on Al Gore for "inventing" the internet, and more recently, the screaming hordes of Hannityites with torches and sickles in hand, howling at the moon over Jeremiah Wright, I'm ready to pop some popcorn and settle in for the gleeful ride of watching Sarah Palin self-destruct and take the Hindenburg GOP down with her.
My thoughts on how Obama has adeptly handled social media: http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/How_Facebook_won_the_Presidency_Obama_killing_McCain.
If you like the article, Digg it! Would welcome any thoughts.
The MySpace Age is indicative of the dramatic change in the world we have known, primarily in the way we now relate to one another. This age is characterised by the following: individual expression, technology, communication and connections.
1. The MySpace age is the age of the individual. An age where individual expression is paramount compared to the old age of collective information, suppressed information, information censored by authority and being denied access to it. Emphasis is now on personal profiles, extending one's reach globally to others, instead of just to our extended families, and sharing in a cultural enrichment of artistic, social and literary expressiveness. The blog is now king which gives everyone a voice. People have always wanted to be heard and now there is an instant personal comment and expression on every world event. The ubiquitous blog gauges world opinion through individual utterances, while giving the blogger authority, presence and significance.
Those social networking sites have the biggest audiences around. To omit them from the election process would be foolhardy. As most youngsters use the social networks to communicate with one another and to socialise in every sense, there are at least 5 reasons why those young voters are likely to be galvanised by the connection to participate in the 2008 election..
First, linking the candidates to these network sites aid understanding of the issues, the positions and the electoral process, at the very least, even if it doesn't invigorate them as such. One cannot appreciate the value of something until it is understood. By bringing the campaign directly to network users, in their own community, it has a better chance of being regarded favourably. Many young voters would make the effort to become engaged in the process when they might not have bothered otherwise.
It was a cold Wednesday morning in November 1998 I was at home from work because I had suffered a tremendous headache over the weekend. It was around 10:30 a.m. when I started feeling a little numbness in my legs, I tried to get up and couldn’t it was as if they were paralyzed. I yelled out for my husband to help me and the next thing I knew I was awaken in the hospital and was told by my husband and the doctors that a blood clot in my brain had formed and it was leaking (brain aneurysm) and that they need to operator immediately or I would die.
The doctor also told my family there is a 50/50 chance that I would survive the surgery and if I do I may be disabled. Thank God the surgery was a success. The recovery was the hard part with learning how to walk, talk and function again. The migraines and memory loss was challenging and of course the DEPRESSION. I felt guilt that I survive and didn't know what was my purpose for being here.
I just couldn’t find my purpose and it was eating at me that I got so depress that I retreated into myself and couldn’t function.
Well today I am here to tell you I have found my purpose, I heard Senator Obama speak, I was watching something on my TV set at home and I heard his voice coming from another set that my husband was watching and he captured my attention and I became mesmerized it’s as if Senator Obama he spoke as if he had this sensitivity in him as if he understood and he felt what America is going through i see this bright light shining around he has touched my soul and I said I found my calling my purpose this man is going to be the next president and I have survived to bare witness to this and not only that I am going to be a part of it, because I am going to help by putting in whatever time I have to make it happen.
Today is a new day to bring about a change and I am here to witness it and you can be a part of it also, I hope whoever read my blog that it may make you at least think about a new day, a change AND KNOW THAT NOVEMBER WILL BE 10 YEARS TO THE DAY THAT I ALMOST LOST MY LIFE AND THAT SENATOR OBAMA WILL BE PRESIDENT AND I WILL BEAR WITNESS TO IT.
CYNTHIA MCGILL
Prejudice is a natural by-product of making choices in life. We are presented with a diversity of choice daily, from which we are required to select what matters to us most, what we like best, the things which keep us in our comfort zones and anything that enhances us the most, while resisting the rest. From choosing a partner to choosing a fashionable item, we are exercising the prejudice of accepting one thing while rejecting another. So we are all guilty of exercising prejudice in some form and we all have our prejudices relating to lifestyle and culture.
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