Imagination Joined to Common PurposeMessage from The White Househttp://www.whitehouse.govDear David:Thank you for your recent note, and for sharing your thoughts with me. Your kind words echo the messages of millions of Americans who have welcomed me and my family to the White House with an outpouring of goodwill.On January 20th, Americans spoke with one voice, choosing hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. Our Nation faces serious challenges, but we will overcome them if our imagination is joined to common purpose.Now is our time to work together, reaffirm our enduring spirit, and choose our better history. With your help, we will renew our Nation's promise to carry forth the great gift of freedom to future generations, as our forebears have delivered it to us.Sincerely,Barack Obama
see http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58917909520
USAservice.org International Registrationhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58917909520
Join over 800 active non-partisan community leaders, organizers and national sponsors in helping our fellow citizens renew the United States of America.http://www.whitehouse.gov - President Obama issued a call to non-partisan service and thousands have responded. Volunteers have already organized over 13,000 projects in all 50 states, repainting schools, mentor kids, collect canned food and donate blood.At Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., thousands helped assemble more than 80,000 care packages for our military troops, while in Alexandria, Virginia the Blogfest raised funds for the Fisher House.Please join with us in promoting USAservice.org - 1 ] Join this Facbook group.2 ] Become a member of USAservice.org Registrationhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=589179095203 ] Click on "Invite other Community Leaders to Join" from menu on right.4 ] Select your friends.5 ] Click on "Send invitation"All members agree to support the United States Constitution -http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/index.htmlIt's that simple. Thank you for joining USAservice.org!-----------------------------------------------------USAservice.org Registration Theme SongAmerican Prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVi4rUzf-0QDavid Apperson, Adminhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58917909520#/photo.php?pid=240582&id=1460623847yofast@gmail.com
INTERNET USER TRAINING
If you are interested in community service and would like to learn how you can network with others utilizing the Internet then register here.David Apperson will be traveling the country promoting USAservice.org Registration while helping state coordinators organize community leaders, advocates and volunteers in the use of grassroots Internet interaction.Training with be in 48 continental United States from 25 May 2009 through 3 Sept 2009, with a party and celebration on 11 Nov 2009. see INTERNET USER TRAININGLocations for training and celebration yet to be determined but will be posted on usaservice.org once the schedule is complete -Facebook - USAservice.org Registrationhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58917909520
source: http://go.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGxLzF
USA Service RegistrationLet us all join in the plan to Renew America Together by supporting the President in USA Service Registration.President Obama issued a call to service and thousands have already responded with amazing alacrity. Volunteers have already organized over 13,000 projects in all 50 states, helping to repaint schools, mentor kids, collect canned food and donate blood.At Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., thousands helped assemble more than 80,000 care packages for our military troops, while in Alexandria, Virginia the Blogfest raised funds for the Fisher House.Please join with us in promoting USA Service Registration -Take part in the program simply by:1 Join this group.2 Become a member of USA Service Registrationhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=589179095203 Click on "Invite People to Join" from the menu on the right.4 Select your friends.5 Click on "Send invitation"It's that simple. Thank you for joining USA Service Registration!USA Service Registration
source: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGx2Tj
Every time our nation faces crisis, our national experience has shown Americans rise to the challenge. While government has an important role to play in helping rekindle our economy and addressing the problems of a distressed nation, President-elect Obama believes each of us, as Americans, have a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens. We are one nation.The United States is once again at a crossroads and that is why the President-elect hopes to use the occasion of his Inauguration to rally our nation to commit to service in our communities. We are asking for your participation in meeting this challenge.In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.This website is designed to help promote these events and for Americans to make their commitments, build communities, find opportunities to serve and share their results. These can be events that engage people in direct service, or bring people together to reflect on Dr. King's legacy and how they can commit to becoming more engaged citizens. Please create an event or sign up to volunteer today.
source: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1460623847
UPDATE: Watch Obama Blogfest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOb4ZOnoK2Y
President-elect Obama, General Colin Powell Call on Americans to "Renew America Together" with an Ongoing Commitment to National ServiceLaunches USAService.org to help Americans find ways to serve in their communities
Washington, D.C. - General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), and the Presidential Inaugural Committee today announced President-elect Obama's "Renew America Together" initiative, asking all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. The "Renew America Together" initiative will begin on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19th to honor the legacy of a man who lived his life in service to others.
"At this moment of great purpose and great promise, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. We're not just asking the American people for one day of service.
We are asking you to make an ongoing commitment of your time - an hour, a weekend, whatever you can spare. Because that's how we're going to rebuild this country and meet our great challenges - together," said General Powell.
On the eve of the Inauguration, thousands of community service events will take place in Washington and all across the country. President-elect Obama and his family, as well as Vice President-elect Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, will participate in community service projects in the Washington, D.C. area.
"As Dr. King once said, 'Everybody can be great because anybody can serve,'" said Powell. "That's the beauty of service. You don't have to wear the uniform of your country. You can volunteer in a soup kitchen, or help a child learn to read. You can clean up your local park, or prepare care packages for our soldiers stationed in far-flung parts of the globe."
The Presidential Inaugural Committee also unveiled USAservice.org, a new tool to help Americans find ways to serve in their own community. USAservice.org makes it easy to organize and post service projects, connecting grassroots volunteers with non-profit organizations and community projects in their area. Nearly 5,000 volunteer events already have been established by non-profit organizations and grassroots networks across the country.
To find out more about "Renew America Together or find service event near you, please visit USAservice.org.
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
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Thank you,David Apperson
Over two hundred people registered this morning at the Manchester City Hall, as a diverse crowd of gathered to chat, dance, listen to music, and hear Actor Jeffrey Wright ("W", Syriana, Casino Royale) speak about coming together to create one nation seeking change.
I look around me, wherever I go at Obama events, and I see the complexity of America represented in the faces of the people around me at these events. You know, a lot of what's happened in the last few months has been to narrow the vision of America down to Hockey Moms and Joe Six Packs and Joe the Plumbers. But America's more complicated than that. There's Jose the Barber. There's basketball big brothers. We're all here together and its we who make this country great.
[Powell] talked about how the strength of this country is in our diversity, the strength of this country is in its complexity. Colin Powell himself was born from immigrant parents from Jamaica. That's the story of our country. And when we start to exclude, at such critical times as these in terms of America's place on the global stage, when we seek to exclude whole sections of the population as we try to face these challenges we undermine our capacity to really overcome them.
"Getting people to register the day of is a great opportunity," Wright said. "You've got to find these pockets, these pools of people to register."
Can you join us to Get Out The Vote this week? We only have ten days to remind people they can register on the day of, and participate in this election. Let's go out and win New Hampshire and change this country.
I just got my voter's registration card and info in the mail. I was excited, because, well, I'm a dork and like to vote, but I figure all of us here could be considered voting dorks. Anywho, they messed up my last name big time. It's not even close to what it should be. I'm not too sure as what to do. I don't have my WV ID just yet because I've had a bitch of a time trying to get my birth certificate (and a copy of my lease), and I figure those are the documents I would need to get that changed.
*sigh*
Well, the Joe Biden rally is tomorrow! I was supposed to voluneteer, but they wanted us to meet at 6:45. The first bus out of East Bank doesn't leave until 6:52. And we're also told not to bring a bag...does that include purses?
(Ok, I couldn't help it. I like acorn squash.)
Let's deal with the ACORN rumors, shall we? I think anyone who has worked with a non-profit will feel pain at reading this, because it is so often that when you are trying to do the most good for a non-partisan cause that bad nuts get into the batch. Whether they are employees or volunteers, sometimes your own people undermine your goals.
Does this make your efforts worthless? No. Does that mean that your organization is the problem? No. Is is frustrating and disheartening? Heck yes.
So, on to the reality check. I'm using FactCheck.org and the ACORN website as my sources.
WHAT IS ACORN?
WHAT IS THEIR PROCESS?
ACORN VOTER FRAUD
John McCain stated in the final debate that ACORN is "now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."
Goodness, McCain - embellish much? FactCheck.org disagrees with this outlandish statement about the fabric of democracy being unwoven by voter registration. But I'll put it together for all of us (majority of information from FactCheck.org):
OBAMA'S CONNECTION TO ACORN
FactCheck.org says:
The ad says that "Obama's ties to ACORN run long and deep" – that he "taught classes" for the group, paid a "front" $800,000 for get-out-the-vote efforts, and was endorsed by ACORN for president.That last one's true – ACORN's political action committee did offer an Obama endorsement.It's also true that Obama has worked with the group in the past. In 1995, Obama helped represent ACORN in a successful lawsuit to require the state of Illinois to offer "motor voter" registration at DMV offices. Obama has said [but no longer says- LEB] that this is his only association with ACORN, but that's not the case – he has had other, though less direct[emphasis mine], interactions with the organization. After law school, Obama directed a Chicago registration drive for Project Vote, which works closely with ACORN. And when Obama was on the board of directors of the Woods Fund, the foundation gave grants of $75,000 in 2001 and $70,000 in 2002 to ACORN's Chicago office. The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee cite an additional grant of $45,000 in 2000. The Woods Fund has not responded to our calls about their 2000 grants. The Obama campaign also paid Citizens Services Inc., a group affiliated with ACORN, more than $800,000 for get-out-the-vote (not voter registration) efforts during the primary election. The nature of CSI's services was initially misrepresented on the Obama campaign's disclosures to the Federal Election Commission, which the campaign describes as an oversight. The Obama campaign says it has not been involved with ACORN during the general election. As for "teaching classes" for the group, the McCain campaign cites a March 2008 Newsday article, which says that ACORN organizer Madeleine Talbot "initially considered Obama a competitor" when both were working to get asbestos insulation removed from a Chicago housing project, but that "she became so impressed with his work that she invited him to help train her staff." Newsday does not say whether Obama accepted the invitation. An article by Chicago alderman Toni Foulkes says that "we [ACORN] have invited Obama to our leadership training sessions to run the session on power every year" between 1992 and 2004, when the article was written. The Obama campaign says that Obama participated in two, one-hour trainings in a volunteer capacity. Foulkes could not be reached for comment.
The ad says that "Obama's ties to ACORN run long and deep" – that he "taught classes" for the group, paid a "front" $800,000 for get-out-the-vote efforts, and was endorsed by ACORN for president.
That last one's true – ACORN's political action committee did offer an Obama endorsement.It's also true that Obama has worked with the group in the past. In 1995, Obama helped represent ACORN in a successful lawsuit to require the state of Illinois to offer "motor voter" registration at DMV offices. Obama has said [but no longer says- LEB] that this is his only association with ACORN, but that's not the case – he has had other, though less direct[emphasis mine], interactions with the organization. After law school, Obama directed a Chicago registration drive for Project Vote, which works closely with ACORN. And when Obama was on the board of directors of the Woods Fund, the foundation gave grants of $75,000 in 2001 and $70,000 in 2002 to ACORN's Chicago office. The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee cite an additional grant of $45,000 in 2000. The Woods Fund has not responded to our calls about their 2000 grants. The Obama campaign also paid Citizens Services Inc., a group affiliated with ACORN, more than $800,000 for get-out-the-vote (not voter registration) efforts during the primary election. The nature of CSI's services was initially misrepresented on the Obama campaign's disclosures to the Federal Election Commission, which the campaign describes as an oversight. The Obama campaign says it has not been involved with ACORN during the general election. As for "teaching classes" for the group, the McCain campaign cites a March 2008 Newsday article, which says that ACORN organizer Madeleine Talbot "initially considered Obama a competitor" when both were working to get asbestos insulation removed from a Chicago housing project, but that "she became so impressed with his work that she invited him to help train her staff." Newsday does not say whether Obama accepted the invitation. An article by Chicago alderman Toni Foulkes says that "we [ACORN] have invited Obama to our leadership training sessions to run the session on power every year" between 1992 and 2004, when the article was written. The Obama campaign says that Obama participated in two, one-hour trainings in a volunteer capacity. Foulkes could not be reached for comment.
So, before we get all wound up in trying to pin massive voter fraud on anyone, perhaps we should do our own reality check of the facts.
Can we get back to talking about real issues again?
(originally posted at Exponential )
From KTVN:
Registration ended at 9 p.m. Tuesday in Washoe County and throughout Nevada.
That means we have a final roster of who will decide the outcome of the November 4 election here in the Silver State.
More than 1,000 people registered to vote in Washoe County on deadline day.
As of Tuesday night, Washoe County has 231,473 active registered voters. Out of that, 92,210 are Democrats and 90,907 are Republicans.
California voters have until October 20 to register and may do so in person or by mail, as long as it's postmarked by October 20.
YES WE CAN!
Someone in the blog community said the Acorn Chief Organizer spoke well for herself on a C-Span interview ?? Only a partisan could say that. Unfortunately, I waited for some concrete answers to the grilling questions, and she was a master at deflection.
Sorry, but the truth of this matter is more important to me than political posturing. From all accounts Acorn has crossed the line, and if Obama doesn't address this, I will be disappointed. If he says one word in defense of them I will x-out his name from my campaign sign and replace with "sitting this one out," since our ballot won't have any other option except for McCain/Palin.
Responding with pointing fingers at McCain/Palin improprieties won't cut it.
This past week was the deadline to register to vote in many states. And I am proud to be part of the effort that will lead us to the White House and give a voice to millions of Americans!
and even more so that I no longer live in the United States.
Friday was another interesting day. I went out canvassing again with Hill, my new regular canvassing partner. Unfortunately, Hill heads back to Shreveport after this weekend, but we have done some great canvassing, and have one or two more routes this weekend.
The neighborhood we canvassed in was still different from the others, it seemed. Perhaps it was the weather - a hot, dry wind was blowing, and everything seemed dessicated. The houses were smaller, and often surrounded by bare hardpan, without the landscaping with desert plants.
We found quite a few Obama supporters, but also a great many people on the rolls that had moved away. I found one elderly man in hist house, watching the baseball playoffs. He enjoyed talking to me I think, as he usually spends time with his caregiver, a kind middle aged woman. He seemed fairly sharp mentally, but was frail physically. Oh, and yes, he supports Obama!
The most disturbing incident happened late in the day, when I found one of my canvassees in his yard, speaking to a friend. I told him that I "was looking for Obama supporters". He replied that he had voted for Bush in 2004, but was for Obama this time. "But", he said, "someone from the McCain campaign had told him that he was ineligible to vote!" He was on our voter list, so I urged him to vote early, so if there was a problem, there would be time to "fix it" before election day.
I checked our voter database and verified his story - he had registered at his current address just before the 2004 election, and had voted in the Presidential election that year. He had not voted since, but should still be eligible. I checked the county voter database, and there, he was missing. I fear that the McCain campaign has been removing people they think might vote against them from the rolls somehow. I have reported this to our legal team, and we will be investigating.
As we discussed this incident, we recalled talking to more than one person who reported registering earlier in the election year, specifically, in front of the local Wal-Mart, but were registering again because they never heard from the county. I suspect that some 'deputy registrars' may have thrown away the forms of unlikely supporters.
This turn is quite disturbing, and will play out as we encourage early voting. I'm guessing we will find more instances of this type of thuggery. "Have you NO decency, John McCain?"
Hill and I ran into another couple who were for Obama. We gave them the campaign literature about Obama's economic plan. I heard the man exclaim to his wife about the Obama tax plan, which considers people making under $250K as middle class. It was pretty clear that this guy had never been anywhere in the vicinity of $250K.
Hi Guys,
According to the Virginia Registration folks, there have been over 300,000 new voters have been added to the voter rolls in 2008. This is a wonderful credit to the sustained hard work by the Obama unsung heros like our very own JP who helped grow democracy.
Republicans love to chant USA-USA-USA and wave their "Country First" signs at McCain and Palin campaign stops. Seems like Republicans must love the democracy too, right? However if you we Martian listening in on radio waves from U.S. media lately, and especially Murdox's FOX affiliates, you might conclude that registering new voters was akin to commiting an egregious criminal offence. Unfortunately, accusing democratic leaning registration activists of voter registration fraud, real or imagined, is politics-as-usual for Republicans. The fact of the matter is Republicans fear new voters, especially if they are from "suspect" race and economic demographics (see in Defense of ACORN YouTube video). Republicans tried to stop state Motor Voter initiatives when they were first proposed, imagining all those newly arriving residents might lean towards Democratic candidates. Further proof Republicans hate democracy is their shameful display during the 2000 Florida Presidential recount where they did everything in their power to stop the re-count, ultimately using their right-wing Supreme Court majority to snuff out all appeals to restart the counting. Welcome to Karl Rove hard-ball politics America! We saw voting problems in Ohio in 2004 in pro-Kerry districts where voters stood in line for 10 hours, some of these districts were forced to stay open longer than scheduled after Democratic lawyers demanded that judges intervein.
Hopefully, you have your ears up by now, and wary of the "Country First" Republicans and their hatred of democracy. What should we do to battle these anti-democratic forces?
1. Valid New Registrations: Ensure all new voters are positively accepted by voter registration. Many times, there are problems completing the voter registration form. A great web site I have found is Can I Vote (dot) org link. The site shows if you are registered and where your voting precinct is located.
2. Vote: Maybe easier said than done. According to today's (October 10th) Virginia Pilot,
"The Advancement Project charged that the six cities it examined in Virginia do not have enough voting equipment or poll workers" and,
"Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News were among the six Virginia cities studied because of the active voter registration efforts that have taken place.
"There are potential serious problems in all six cities and counties," Jim Freeman, a staff attorney for the organization, said. "Norfolk and Virginia Beach are certainly at or near the top of the list."
Obama voters will clearly need to be patient to make their vote count. It will be worthwhile!!!
3. Litigate, as Necessary: The Republicans were not shy about sending their sworms of lawyers to Florida in 2000. I hope and pray that the Obama Team has the badest, nastiest, meanest group of lawyers chained up in a padded room somewhere ready to be unleashed November 4th upon state voter officials should any voter irregularities threaten the integrity of the election. All American's votes must count on November 4th; cast and count all votes possible!!!
Dave
The last thing you want on Nov. 4 is to find out you are registered at the wrong address. Fortunately there is an easy way to confirm your registration online. Visit http://www.canivote.org/ to make sure your voice is heard.
The non-partisan website created by the National Association of Secretaries of State hosts an easy to use, comprehensive list of state websites where you can check your eligibility and registered address, and it also provides information on polling places, absentee ballots, and other things you'll need to know in November.
Pundits agree that voter turnout will be one of the most important factors in this election. Florida was decided by 537 votes in 2000. It only takes five minutes to ensure your enfranchisement in one of the most critical elections in history.
If your registration is incorrect, visit http://www.rockthevote.com/ to download a registration card that you can print and mail to election officials from the comfort of your own home. Hurry, the registration period is coming to a close in many states!
