Posts with the tag voters

FALSE ALARM NO. 2 - The Boys Who Cry Wolf

Queen E — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:04:16 EDT

June 2, 2009

FALSE ALARM NO. 2 - WHO WILL JOIN THE PARTY OF NAME CALLING AND UNPATRIOTIC BACKSTABBERS? WHO?

ATTENTION VOTERS!

It’s another False Alarm. But I’ll tell you who will join em; the Voters who hate, scream, back-stab and who is unpatriotic; Wrong, o.k. how about the Voter that wanted a woman for President; Wrong again, o.k. how about the Voter who is a die-hard Republican for better or for worse, I’m still Wrong, huh? Then, who? What type of Voter does this type of screaming and name calling? What type of Voter wants the President to fail at all our expense and costs? The Boys who are crying wolf.

Shall I tell you that its o.k. to disrespect and name call our women, children or President of the United States? No. No, it is not o.k. to disrespect, women, children and our President of the United States. And no Radio Personality namely Rush Limbaugh or any other type Persons have the right nor shall be allowed to degrade, shout absurdities or attack and defame character of our women, children and President of the United States and Supreme Court Justice woman nominee.

There is no Freedom of Speech to do this type of defamation, slander and lies at all; its only blown out of proportion by The Boy Crying Wolf and over used by haters, naysayers and people who want to gain some sort of power and notoriety for themselves. The Freedom of Speech has been over blown and over used to name call and create a mockery out of people’s lives and people’s personal and private drama for years.

Constructive criticisms are welcomed and especially welcomed if you have a better solution and position. But just shouting, name calling, screaming, threatening and mouthing off rhetoric for the sake of rhetoric is sounding off about nothing (especially past nothings) is like the boy who cries wolf. It gets a little tiring and boring to hear and its gets old.

How dare we Voters allow this Unpatriotic Radio Personality to verbally abuse our President of the United States and verbally abuse and verbally attack our Supreme Court Justice woman nominee. How dare we allow this Rush Limbaugh guy to disrespect and call the Supreme Court Justice woman nominee a horrible name. We women especially should be very upset and outraged and come to her defense.

We voted our new President into office and we will live with our vote the next four years. And no one, no t.v., no radio personality shall be immune from reprimand of his shouts of absurdities, nor defame of characterizations of our President of these United States or our nominee for Supreme Court Justice. PERIOD.

Let’s put a stop to this Boy-Crying-Wolf. Let’s put a stop to this false, false, false alarm, number 2 is it? The first false alarm was shouted by Republican Chairman Michael Steele. Yeah, he was the Boy Who Cried Wolf number 1.

Sincerely,

June 2 Primary Election: Write / Type In Voting: Support Omar Dyer

Omar Dyer — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:47:33 EDT

Get out and Vote: When you go to the Polls, and you don't like Corzine's name in the Democratic Slate: Write /Type in Omar Dyer. Practice your Write / type In Vote for Omar Dyer. He will be on the Ballot in Novemeber and let's make the state respect his effort in campaigning with out federal money. So Write / Type in Omar Dyer on the Dems side if you want to vote for someone else.

Type In the Vote; and Omar Dyer's supporters should know that the process is simple. You have to type in the on the key board provided on the lower portion of the machine.

And the name shoud be spelled correctly, if not it doesn't count for Omar Dyer -- if you are supporting him. Read the instructions before you enter the polls.

Ramifications of Homeschooling

Doris Anne Beaulieu — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:49:17 EDT

Hello,

My name is Doris Anne Beaulieu. I have a website-Life’s Ultimate Test dot com-on which you can learn more about my mission to change the face of home schooling.

I attended a parochial school as a child in the 1950's. In this Catholic school I was sheltered from the realities of the world around me-from swearing, from public displays of affection, from slang. These are often some of the same things that modern home schooling parents aim to protect their children from. A superior court judge said " In today’s threatening world, we seek to protect children from abuse, not just physical, but also educational abuse." This protection however often leaves behind a naiveness to the surrounding world the children must eventually enter.

Children need to be exposed to real life. Parents should as a family, talk about the world openly so children may not only learn that the world holds cruelness, but so they can gain knowledge from their parents experience and guidance for adulthood.

Playing with other children, a basic aspect of childhood was something we were unable to do because of the lack of seeing children outside of their family. Home schooled kids face the same consequences. A child who hasn’t efficiently learned how to deal with childhood conflict can not deal with adult conflict.

A child could become an active member of an organization that offers compromising skills. Be it girl scouts, boy scouts or some form of sports in their community. Anything of this nature would improve the outcome.

In my school, we spent most of the day praying- in church and in class. Who is to say in home schooling the children are receiving a full education which I even lacked in a parochial school? The same judge mentioned before also said " how can we not monitor the educational welfare of all of our children?" There should be a system, of more than just suggestions, to guarantee the children are being educated. This system should also lack so much variance from state to state.

More of my personal experience can be found in my book The Torments of the Modest Secluded Farm Life and it’s screenplay "Broken Souls." I hope, through my experience, I can soon make a difference for children facing similar situations.

Thank you,

Doris Anne Beaulieu

http://www.LifesUltimateTest.com

Terrorizing the Terrorists

Don — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:34:58 EDT

How do you deter an enemy who is willing to kill himself in order to kill you? You strike at something more important to him than his own life. Defining that will be easy for me. The next question is can America be as ruthless as our enemies?

The time has come to end the fruitless and unsustainable effort to search and destroy every cave in Afghanistan and bomb every campground in bordering Pakistan. It’s counterproductive anyway.

What will put the fear of America into terrorist masterminds and those who would follow their orders is simple and radical revenge. Masterminds have families: Cousins, brothers and fathers. Eliminate them. All at once, or one at a time, it works just as well. The ones who survive an initial “hunt” will go into hiding. Having some adult male relatives killed and the rest hiding out in caves will demoralize masterminds and their loved ones. You cannot work and support your women like that. You can’t make more baby masterminds that way. You cannot continue the blood line. The women and children will pressure them to stop their plotting and bombing.

People want to leave a familial legacy, and they can’t do that under those circumstances over the long term.

Should America do that? Yes. Do we have the “intestinal fortitude” and sustainable motivation? I don’t think so. But we should, and it shouldn’t take another terrorist attack to get us there.

For the last seven years the CIA has been kidnapping people from other nations and torturing them. Why not just go in there and quietly shoot them to death?

Frankly, by not killing women or children the way those terrorists routinely do, we can even claim the moral high ground.

The Real Abominations Against God and Jesus

Don — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:04:47 EDT

The fact that Americans vote in favoring of paying our farmers to produce LESS milk in order to keep the gallon price of milk HIGHER than a gallon of gasoline while millions of American babies' parents can't afford milk is an abomination against God.People who, in the name of Jesus, vote to DENY medicine and treatment for babies in nations where it is otherwise not available suffering from AIDS because adults delivering help condone use of condoms to staunch the spread of AIDS are committing an abomination against God.People who vote against public sponsored healthcare for babies and children who cannot otherwise obtain it are committing an abomination against God.People who allow others to go hungry, homeless and sick, thus disobeying Jesus AND God himself, find the energy to rail against adults who behind closed doors have sex with other consenting adults are committing an abomination against God. They spend money, cast votes and change constitutions to deny those people rights to get divorced like 50% of the self-righteous people do every day.People who blatantly ignore the commands of Jesus and stated in all the gospels to care for the sick, the hungry and the homeless, and “judge not lest you be judged” while trumpeting an obscure sentence fragment from the Old Testament taken out of context while calling themselves Christians are an abomination against God and Jesus. Theirs is the greatest of blasphemy imaginable.When the mere idea that a person would not CHOOSE to be reviled, persecuted, fired from the military, and in some cases savagely beaten to death -- in other words, be gay -- is met by 'conservative Republicans' with such rabid, savage hostility, then one could reasonably believe that their position and their associated rage is intended merely as a distraction from their own actions which are immoral, inhumane and even criminal (refer to first five paragraphs).

The George W Bush Recession and Depression

Don — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:13:08 EST

We need to give credit where credit is deserved: NAME this economic crisis after the man most responsible for it's creation.

$10 trillion deficit is what we had at the end of the Bush administration. In eight years, Bush more than DOUBLED all the indebtedness America had accrued in more than 200 years.

This is more than a talking point, this is a necessary reminder that should be made every day, so that the notoriously SHORT memories of Americans shall be stimulated on a regular basis.

National Online Forum: State of the Union Address

J. Lowe — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:41:55 EST

On 2/24 at 9pm EST, watch the CNN.com live State of the Nation Address and join in the online forum here to discuss issues with fellow voters. All political affiliations are invited to join in the discussion.

RULES OF PLAY:
1. Pretend your 8 year old grand daughter is reading everything you type
2. Treat those who disagree with respect
3. Click 'report' on troll comments and ignore them. If you reply all attached conversations will be deleted by the system along with the offending comment.

Click on "COMMENT" at the top of the post to say something.

Clickon "REPLY" next to the person's post to say something about something someone said.

Sound good? Enjoy, and thank you for participating in this creative volunteer project.

Start the conversation here on this page --

Bankers CAN be heroes -- No 'vetting' required

Don — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 03:01:53 EST

Senator Dodd went rogue and inserted some crazy stuff into the new law, so the President will need to be creative. Perhaps we are looking for HEROES to run our troubled banks. A lot of wealthy patriots have made great financial sacrifices to serve in the Obama Administration. Like-minded people who don’t want to go through the vetting process and insane pubic humiliation of being outed on every little tax related or other embarrassment can now serve their country without becoming federal employees but while still consenting to be paid wages not all that far above that.

Gregg: Is This Petty Partisan Politics

Don — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:47:23 EST

I see nothing different Obama has said or done since 2004 and today -- perhaps Gregg's understanding of it morphed overnight between the time he was begging for the job and yesterday, when it came time to vote on the stimulus plan. Gregg seems to claim otherwise.

Obama should have known Gregg either hasn't the courage of his convictions or , far more likely, hasn't got any deeply held beliefs other than politics. We demand omniscience! How DARE the President not realize a man like Gregg would say anything to further his own personal ambitions?

There's something wrong with a vetting process that cannot discern that a politically savvy adult who somehow got himself repeatedly elected to the US Senate would claim to have turned his back on Petty Partisan Politics but actually lack the moral fortitude to stand by his decision.

Democrats Lose Senate Majority (circa 2010)

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:38:40 EST

(Can I say 'circa' if it's in the future?)

Democrats won't be controlling the Senate after 2010.

They rushed like lemmings to declare they'd never accept Blago's appointee.

A little time and forethought should have enabled them to reason that in order to create the illusion of innocence Blagojevich would be likely to find someone eminently qualified, of stellar reputation and far removed from the (alleged) illegal activities.

That would only be in his own best interests. And if there is one thing we have learned about Blago, it is that his own best interests are his first and last consideration in decision-making.

Senate Democrats have now pitted themselves against the Chicago Democratic Machine. Despite that Dick Durbin has lost touch with reality and thrown in with them, this is a battle Senate Democrats cannot and will not win. In this, there is no winning, only degrees of losing.

Should he be denied, Burris can run against any Illinois Democrat, including Durbin, and win.

As for that silly mausoleum? All politicians are narcissists. He's just 'concrete' about it.

Remember Republican Senator Ted Stevens who actually looked jurors in the eyes and told them he didn't notice people stuffing hundreds of thousands of dollars into his pockets. I dare say Bill Gates would notice if you stuffed a few hundred thousand dollars into his pockets. Ted Stevens,... now THAT'S a big ego!

It is also necessary to remember that this is the same US Senate that gave a seven-time convicted federal felon -- Ted Stevens -- a two-minute standing ovation, and two hours of praise-filled testimonials. And they are claiming to be observing their PRINCIPLES???

Republican and Democratic Senators must think we are stupid, stupid, stupid.

GOP needs America to fail (Democrats helping them)

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:51:49 EST

Imagine what would happen if the immediate and long-term success, and even viability, of the Republican Party depended on Barack Obama failing to pull America back into PROSPERITY. Oh, wait, we don't have to IMAGINE that because it happens to be the current condition.

While refusing to offer any better ideas, Republicans stand in adamant opposition to everything the President-Elect suggests, even without knowing any details. I have to admit, he's been somewhat vague.

History suggests that America's realization of a sense of success by spring of 2012 will mean the GOP will be broadly out of power for one to two generations.

Every month that another 600,000 Americans lose their jobs is the direct result of Republicans acting on what they see is their own best political interests. While one of their many changing SLOGANS last year was "America First", in truth it is plain that they hold the Republican Party's interests above those of America and our people.

Every day that our children continue to suffer from a declining educational system in which mediocrity is celebrated; every day that more taxpayers lose high wage jobs only to go on welfare food stamps and unemployment; every day that more and more Americans are forced to sign up to work at the country's largest employer WalMart whose own accidentally leaked internally study said 43% of their full-time employees are on welfare and food stamps; every day that we lose what little remains of our manufacturing base so that when we next need to really go to war like in WW2 we won't have car factories to swiftly convert to making fighter jets and tanks so we'll have to order them from CHINA which the most likely enemy in a real war; remember that Republicans see that as MERELY another day closer to the time when they regain power over the White House, Senate and House -- which if not for the horrendous disaster they have created over the last eight years might not be so terrifying.

America stopped keeping up with the demands for maintenance of our infrastructure with the Reagan administration. We were told that things like that "the free market" would take care of things like that, but tell that now to New Orleans and their crumbling levees, or Minnesota with their collapsed interstate bridge, or Kentucky with their billion gallons of toxic sludge that spilled out of a mine containment area.

America's best defense against precisely the current financial system collapse, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, enacted not coincidentally in the wake of the financial collapse of 1929, was REPEALED on the demands of deregulating Republicans -- with help from Bill Clinton in 1999. That law alone prevented financial institutions from becoming "too big to fail". That is, it kept each of the insurance, banking and real estate conglomerates within their own area. They could still become behemoths, but it's when they get into all three of those industries and start making up new ones that are totally unregulated like 'derivatives' that the failure of one company can bring down the American economy, even the world economic system.

The only thing the President-Elect can do to get us out of this disaster is to go back the way we came in, by resurrecting modern-day Glass-Steagall style regulations and stimulating the middle class segment of the system while taking back the giveaway tax cuts from the wealthiest 1% that over the last eight years gave money to people who already had more money than they knew how to spend. They squirreled it away someplace, or bought yachts built in Greece. Republicans love to claim that tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy leads to the creation of small businesses. In reality, it's Steve Jobs and Bill Gates when they had nothing who created small businesses that became leading world companies. Billionaires DON'T start small businesses, they BUY huge corporations then fire 50,000 or 100,000 employees to increase productivity and thus profits for themselves and large bonuses for the three to five top executives of each company. Oh, and they CUT wages of the few employees they do have to keep on.

That doesn't grow anything but unemployment and declining wages. Less taxpayers and more people surviving on public assistance.

If we don't stand up to these self-serving Republicans very few of us will have jobs in 2012, and they will be at WalMart. There won't be any real taxpayers to support the public assistance people need to get back into good paying jobs.

I'll get to the CRAZY DEMOCRATS on another post. I'll give you a hint that after 2012 Democrats will no longer be in control of the Senate.

3 Moves In 3 Weeks -- Way to Relocate

Don — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:26:33 EST

“A President must be able to do more than one thing at a time,” said then-candidate and now President-Elect Barack Obama, a few months ago when McCain was trying to weasel out of the big debate.

Evidently, President-Elect Obama CAN do far more than one thing at a time. He and his family are MOVING three times in three weeks! This, the weekend of 4 January 2009, he moves from his Chicago home to DC’s Hay-Adams Hotel. On the 15th, they move to Blair House, then on the 20th, they move into the White House. Yes he can! For most of us, the dreaded process of a single relocation is more stressful than death and taxes. But Superman is tripling-down on it.

At the same time, the President-Elect Obama is interviewing and hiring a government, from cabinet members, agency administrators, secretaries and ambassadors. He’s working feverishly on the economic crisis, the transition and inauguration, as well as homeland security and two wars. Throw in taxes, healthcare, unemployment, social security, Medicare and the crisis of the Big 3 automakers, plus Iran, Cuba, Russia, China, the Palestinians and Israel, plus all those special interest groups here at home, such as the disabled, veterans, senior citizens and gays, and you’ve got an enormous inbox.

After those daily national security briefings in which the President-Elect Obama is beginning to learn just how badly Bush has screwed things up for us around the world, it’s a wonder the President-Elect Obama can sleep at night. He needs all the rest he can get.

Enjoy your vacation, sir, you need all the recharging your batteries can get.

What Page of The Bible?

Don — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:07:57 EST

There are only two reasonable choices.

To evoke the vision of the world economy rising from the ashes of the torched-earth strategy of the Bush-Cheney-Rove administration, BHO should open the Bible to the gospel account of Jesus’ rising from death. Not only will it give us hope, but it will reinforce our knowledge of BHO’s Christianity, helping put aside the invocation guy.

Times are so serious that BHO should keep the Bible closed and put his hand on the whole thing – we’re gonna need ALL of it right now, and it underscores BHO’s whole ‘inclusiveness’ thing.

Welcoming the Ministry of Hatred and Scapegoating

Don — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:08:01 EST

There are always those who make their fortunes playing to the fears and insecurities of people frustrated with their own lives who need someone to blame, someone to hate, and it's easy for them to agree on certain groups to focus on.

Obama is moving America toward the point where those people will realize that if they don't have a good job, they have too little money, too much debt, their kids are in and out of jail and/or on drugs, or failing in school, it's not the fault of some group of "OTHERS". Not the gays, the jews, the blacks, or even those pesky illegal aliens, to name just a few.

It's time for a new era of Personal Responsibility in which we all take charge of our own lives while working together for all of us to achieve the American dream while making government do what it can to enable us.

Rick Warren is just an updated version of the same old Ministry Of Hatred represented by Falwell and Robertson (and so many others).

The coming of that new era is a direct threat to Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and all the other leaders of the Ministry of Hate. Just like the Republicans did during the long two year campaign, they will go down kicking and screaming all the way.

Crisis Briefings: Lies Like Iraq War Pretenses: Bushiness

Don — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:18:41 EST

The President who told at least a dozen lies to get us to go to war in Iraq has conjured up more than a dozen lies to set up President Obama for failure? The most miserable failure of an excuse for a President is leaving directions for the next President?

If it weren’t so serious, it would be funny! If your memory is longer than that of 99% of Americans you know that’s not a line I made up, and you may even know who did. Details.

I’m just saying, George Bush should be planning out where he’s going to hide to keep from being arrested and delivered to the Hague for trial in the World Court for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

We didn’t let Hitler’s assistants off the hook, and neither can we afford to let Bush’s (the New Hitler’s) people go Scot-free.

We all know that all these recent attempts by Bush to rewrite history are mere hopes that America doesn’t do what’s right. If we intend to restore any sense of moral authority or regain any worldwide respect, we must follow our own laws and those international laws we largely wrote and have been demanding everyone else follow for decades until “W” took office.

If we don’t want our soldiers tortured when they in the future are captured, we must deliver to justice George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, their generals and other high officers who ordered torture and passed on those illegal and immoral orders.

America is a chief signatory to the Geneva Conventions. In fact, before 2001, we liked to claim we largely WROTE it. What good is international law if those who claim to have written it are the worst violators?

America has long had laws against torture of prisoners of war. We cannot allow one power-mad egomaniac (or moron, depending on who is providing the facts, and there are plenty on both sides) to cause us to abandon our Constitution, or it won’t be worth anything, ever.

To put it simply, we cannot defeat terrorism by becoming the worst terrorists on earth. Long before we got to that point, any real President would have caught himself and found a better way. Why? Because Bush’s route could be seen even by people as unworldly as me to be a fool’s plot.

It started with Bush’s WAR-PRAYER-MEETING, right after 9/11. That was disturbing to me THEN, because, as a Christian and an American I wondered if Jesus would say that we should “turn the other cheek”.

What? “Turn the other cheek”. I know. I certainly wasn’t in the mood for that. But that’s what Jesus would have us do – according to the Bible. Those so-called religious Republicans have still never mentioned that, and they would castrate me for mentioning it if they could. (They don’t have the balls for it, so they’ll try to get you to do it, just like the Romans, according to the Bible, were forced to murder Jesus. Just reading it objectively and making no assumptions. NO benefit to me which side you take).

Strange, but when you think about the things that really were surprises, you can’t find any that Bush created that much cohesion to in that short a time. Can you? I can’t.

Almost makes you wonder WHEN Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush KNEW 9/11 was going to happen, doesn’t it? Naaaaaaah. Certainly not. I don’t really know. Do I???

It WAS amazing that five seconds after the first jet crashed into the World Trade Center, Bush’s officials declared they knew it was Osama Bin Laden! Before the first tower collapsed, the Bush administration told us who to blame. I wondered why they didn’t PREVENT it since they obviously knew so much about it in advance.

Worse yet is the fact that for all of 2000, Bush campaigned claiming “America’s military is not ready!” Yet, during all of 2001, he did NOTHING to get our military ready. Why would you TELL our enemies that our military isn’t ready? Then, once in power, why would you fail to GET it ready/ Bush should spend the rest of his days in Guantanamo for that alone.

I always think you can know who caused something to happen by figuring out who BENEFITTED from whatever happened.

But I’ve already gone LONG, so I’ll have to finish the facts later. In the meantime, don’t read into what I’ve typed, anything you imagine I said. You may end up looking foolish by the time I tie it all together.

What To Do About It

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:07:18 EST

Previously, I argued the likely consequences of the collapse of the Detroit automakers. And already my predictions are beginning to bear out in facts. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market.” What could we do about preventing it?Rather than pumping cash into them over the long term, what we COULD do is just take over something like 60% of the healthcare burden of only the pre-2007 retirees of the Detroit automakers.What? That would fundamentally lower the per-car cost while requiring them to bear their own burden of current and future labor costs. They will still have to make reasonable pay agreements going forward, but they won’t have to fire tens of thousands of workers who actually are cranking out cars that are of competitive quality. We CAN and should require that they immediately begin moving at an accelerated pace to make their entire fleet of cars meet California’s progressive fuel-economy standards.Why? Because that’s a smaller hit to the national economy than letting those people go on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and disability insurance. It helps keep those people paying taxes based on good wages. If those companies collapse, Medicare and Medicaid WILL be forced to take on 100% of all of those retirees from every decade. The few of us who still have jobs or own businesses will pay for that.Remember, according to THEIR OWN study, 43% of full-time WalMart workers are on food stamps and welfare. 43%. They are the largest employer in America. We cannot afford to doom another class of workers to that, because it’s costing us dearly.I don’t know if “60%” is exactly the right percentage, or if “pre-2007” is exactly the right year, but that can be worked out soon and by more knowledgeable people. What I do believe is that we can find a way to take on a much smaller share of the burden than the 100% we will inherit if those companies go down. What I know is that the rest of us will be better off with those people working and paying taxes alongside the rest of us than not.Rather than stirring up jealousy among people about UAW wages and demanding they take pay cuts, Republican conservatives ought to be working to get the pay other OTHER Americans increased so that more of us will be paying taxes at that higher rate, thus decreasing the burden on each taxpayer.Walmart workers, who continue to work full-time while having to also collect food stamps and welfare, are a major burden to all American Taxpayers. We need more high-wage jobs, not less. All that money spent at Walmart goes on a long trip, making a brief stopover in Bentonville Arkansas before flying directly to China to create more factory jobs – in China. If they have their way, conservative Republicans will have all Americans working seven days a week in 12 hour shifts making 90 cents a month like the Chinese.

How We Save America By Saving American Autoworker Jobs

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:53:57 EST

Previously, I argued why all Americans, of all political persuasions, will suffer from the collapse the Detroit automakers. What can we do about the problem?I am far from being an apologist for the UAW or Detroit. There have to be consequences for this mess. But right now, we face bigger problems than that.American Taxpayers should consider carefully the consequences of letting another huge block of Taxpayers be forced to become dependent on welfare, food stamps and unemployment. It’s a double-whammy heaped upon the rest of us. Not only will they no longer be bearing their fair share by paying taxes and Social Security alongside those of us who still have jobs, but they also will be draining vast amounts of Taxpayer-funded money and other resources. What other resources? It takes more government employees, thus money, to hand out and track all those handouts. Can you guess who gets to pay for that?I am scared to death at the prospect of both taking on the burden of another half-million or so workers who will lose their jobs every month – like last month – but also paying much less in taxes myself due to the fact that I won’t be making nearly as much money once most of my customers are out of work. Come hell or high water, those people need to keep paying federal taxes just like me, and they can only do that if we keep them working.If you look at recently published studies on Appalachia – basically W. Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and northeastern Mississippi – the only place those unemployed people who will be living primarily on government assistance will be spending money is at WalMart* . All that money goes straight to China to create more jobs – in China. (Although it does pass through Bentonville Arkansas on the way.)As a direct consequence, many more jobs will be lost, though probably in northern states among people who tend to vote for Democrats. At least, that must be what Senator Shelby and the other conservative Republicans and southerners who subsidize those Japanese auto-plants down there must be thinking. But there are a lot of Republicans up here too. I voted straight GOP all my life, until November when I had to take an Independent stand. My non-auto-related small business will be killed, as will many others, and lots of individuals. Plus, many of those “plumbers” and others who work for small and large businesses that are not directly linked to Detroit will be financially killed. During the campaign Republicans swore they cared about them more than anything.People like that don’t go out and replace our Lexus or Toyota or other Japanese car or truck with next year’s model no matter where it’s built – even in the south. Moreover, people like that don’t switch parties and start voting with the GOP. People like that, including myself, don’t return to the Republican Party. People like that might not even REMAIN in the GOP. Republicans always campaign about being for plumbers and other workers and small businesses. Once the votes are all counted, the GOP kicks us right in our ‘bleepin’ behinds.From what I have seen, once out of work, those high-dollar hourly workers don’t take lower-paying jobs flipping burgers. Unemployed autoworkers sit at home and live off the Taxpayers, even by resorting to disability payments by making claims, not all of which are legitimate**. Those payments cost money, as do the investigators required to catch some unknown percentage of those making bogus claims. It costs more money to house them in jail, plus they never seem to get caught holding enough money to reimburse the Taxpayers for what they fleeced us out of.The bottom line is that we have to work hard to keep people working – especially those making good wages, thus paying more in taxes than those working at WalMart and McDonalds. We have to CREATE more high-paying jobs like that rather than focus on cutting their pay until they make the 9 cents a month they pay in China. To underline a point I’ve been arguing for quite a while, the Wall Street Journal reported today that “Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market.” *To be fair, the studies show, the Appalachians also spend a great of money on liquor and guns. Those are available at WalMart too, but mostly not made in China. They also tend to spend a lot of time and money in church. These observations are in no way offered as commentary on lifestyles. This is all about where our money goes.**This is a concern based on studies which were not based on large sample groups, so they in no way can be asserted to reflect a majority of the group. Yet, any substantial percentage of this group engaged in this behavior would have a significant effect on an already severely depressed economy. Moreover, autoworkers were only a subset of the skilled workers discussed in the studies in general. No lifestyle judgments are implied.

Keep UAW workers paying taxes, not on welfare

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:17:53 EST

Wall Street Journal: Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market. The company says jobs in the state are "secure."

This is the beginning of proof of what I've been saying all along.

The most important detail not understood by southern voters and conservative Republicans is that they, too, will suffer by causing the collapse of the Detroit auto industry.

It's not only northerners whose non-auto industry jobs will be lost in the fallout. Those millions of former taxpayers on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and those around the country, including even the south, who will be dragged down with them, WILL NOT be buying those Japanese cars and trucks being manufactured in those taxpayer-subsidized southern plants.

People won't have the money, won't be able to obtain credit, and won't have the consumer confidence that enable such major purchases.

So all those high-paid UAW people Republican conservatives want to destroy will be merely the BEGINNING of the calamity.

We cannot afford at this time to have high-wage people lose taxpaying jobs while America’s largest employer, Walmart, according to their own internal report, pays wages so low that 43% of their full-time workers are on welfare and food stamps.

Blagojevich? Emanuel? Is that anything?

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:42:47 EST

Blagojevich? Emanuel? Is that anything?

The FBI tapes may end up proving that Emanuel’s talks with Blagojevich only related that the President-Elect would offer the governor nothing more than “appreciation” for nominating one of then-Senator Obama’s “acceptable” candidates. Unless Emanuel “went rogue”. All stay together, and all hang together -- that's how they play it in the big leagues. Over the weekend, Mr. Emanuel apparently sent out his personal operatives – his ‘emissaries' – to put out his own SPIN on his alleged contacts with governor Rod. That would seem to point out that he’s the “weak link” – the person who screws up, then tries to protect himself at the expense of the team. His refusal to go to work last week was suspicious enough.

Innocent people don’t have to BREAK RANKS with their fellow patriots, shun the office so they don’t have to look into the eyes of their colleagues, or hide from the press, rather than just smile at the cameras and say “the Team will have something to say at the appropriate time”.

In addition to that, I do not understand why – if news reports and his statements are true – Mr. Emanuel would be getting threatened, or by whom. Regardless whether he is honest or dishonest, I don’t understand that at all – it seems illogical. Was he lying when he said that? Was the reporter lying about him having said that? I’d like some information on that.

You may not appreciate my questions, especially regarding the alleged claim of alleged threats, but I am someone who has been paying attention. Also, I have a very long memory, especially of politics.

I was just a kid more or less during the 80’s, but right then I was asking why we were crazy enough to be capitulating to the Japanese automakers. I seemed to be the only one in the 80’s who articulated that it was absurd for American automakers to keep making rounds of layoffs of tens of thousands of American autoworkers and then wonder WHY their sales continued to fall. “Who do they think are buying their cars?”, I asked. “The workers who build the cars are their best customers” I argued, “With their wages, they are the ones best able to afford them.”

More than twenty years ago, I could see that you can’t keep putting tens of thousands of your best customers out of work and then wondering why your sales keep declining. If a mere kid could see that over twenty years ago, why can’t beyond-middle-aged voters understand that now? American voters in general have very short memories.

There’s a reason they used to say “what’s good for GM is good for America!” Those workers made good wages. They paid equally large TAXES. They bought only American cars. They spent money only at American businesses that sold only American-made goods and services. One dollar spent on an American-made car meant eight-teen dollars (give or take a dollar) spent in America, to other Americans who paid TAXES in America. It pumped up the economy and created jobs for many AMERICANS.

Right now, we are at best buying cars made at plants in the south owned by Japanese companies that pay LOW wages, sending ALL the money we spend to Japan. Those low-wage workers spend all their meager income at WalMart. That money goes straight to China, where it creates more jobs – in China. Those workers reportedly make 9 cents a month. Do we want to “catch up” with them?

WORSE, when all those high-paid Detroit autoworkers lose their jobs, they will go right onto welfare, unemployment and food stamps. The rest of us will be paying ALL the taxes to support them.

I am terrified at the prospects of MY income decreasing due to the lack of customers directly and indrirectly linked to the Detroit autoworker economy. I am horrified that I will make LESS money but have to PAY MORE to support the government assistance to those people who should have been able to keep their jobs and PAY TAXES alongside the rest of us.

Rather than CUT the wages of union workers, Republican politicians should be RAISING the wages of the rest of American taxpayers, and NOT putting Americans out of work.

Southerners Don't See They Will Go Down With Us, Eventually

Don — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:59:26 EST

What's the most important detail not understood by southern voters and conservative Republicans?
That they, too, will suffer by causing the collapse of the Detroit auto industry.
It's not only northerners whose non-auto industry jobs will be lost in the fallout. Those millions of former taxpayers on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and those around the country, including even the south, who will be dragged down with them, WILL NOT be buying those Japanese cars and trucks being manufactured in those taxpayer-subsidized southern plants.
People won't have the money, won't be able to obtain credit, and won't have the consumer confidence that enable such major purchases.
So all those high-paid UAW people Republican conservatives want to destroy will be merely the BEGINNING of the calamity.
Moreover, those newly unemployed UAW members will have to head south, where, with their experience and new-found openness to accept lower wages, they will be the first to get hired at those soon to open Japanese plants if and when they do open. Even those openings in the works will be substantially delayed by the ongoing economic crisis.
But when those UAW people get down there and get the chance to vote, they won't forget which party is to blame for what they will be continuing to go through.
They will continue to vote for Democrats. That will increase the trend toward Red states turning into Blue states that start in 2008.
That, along with Republican tactics, will further ensure that the GOP becomes, for two generations, the party of Appalachia, Utah and Texas -- completely insignificant within the current Electoral College system.
Having just left the GOP last month to become an Obamican, or Independent in 8 years, that's a chance I'm willing to take.
Rather than trying to cut the pay of people who tend to vote for Democrats, those Republican politicians ought to be working to increase the pay of the rest of us. That's the only way we will BE ABLE to buy those Japanese cars over the next five years -- including two federal election cycles.

Blackberry Problem Solved -- Seriously

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:03:05 EST

The President-Elect's communications are recorded and published, so he can't chat candidly on his own, but he can still keep in touch.

He has a close friend who is his new personal assistant. He can chat privately with his assistant, who can chat on his own personal Blackberry, which is private. What Obama's friends tell his assistant -- who is their mutual friend -- also is private. Use of such a go-between renders all that back and forth as mere gossiping, which, if not done on the President's phone or computer are entirely private.

The President's personal, in-person talks with friends can no more be public than the particulars of the bedtime stories he reads to his children. If some word of that got around "through the grape vine" through private channels, that's not the Peoples' business. Likewise, if information somehow gets back to him through a friend when that person just happens to be in the presence of the President, that, too, is his personal business.

President Obama can even sign a rule making it illegal for White House staff and also administration officials to profit from revealing what they learned during their work.

Federal Agent Insults All Illinois Citizens

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:33:06 EST

99.9% of Illinoisans are law-abiding citizens. People who work hard and pay taxes should not be labeled corrupt by federal law enforcment officials, as was done in the announcement of the charges against the governor. Since that official has such a low opinion of Illinois and such a disdain for the citizens he should RELOCATE. At the very least, he should apologize and be fired.

Republcan Senator Ted Stevens is a seven-time convicted federal felon. Republican Senator Norm Coleman is a common criminal who merely hasn't been charged yet but has committed the crimes Rod has been charged with conspiring to committ. Are Alaska and Minnesota "corrupt" states? Should all their citizens be tarred because they've sent a few bad apples into elected office?

Admittedly, Alaska nearly re-elected Stevens, so virtually half of them actually ARE corrupt, one could argue.

Madigan's Blagojevich Blunder

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:23:31 EST

Too bad Madigan didn't take a little time to think through her "evil plan" before acting.
She and other legislators could have drafted some legislation to be passed upon the Governor's temporary removal, and reach an agreement with the deputy governor on who would be appointed to the Senate once Rod's out of the way. Those could be acted on by the deputy governor immediately upon taking over, since it's likely that an appeal by Blagojevich would quickly see him back in his office holding things up once again.
If this wasn't just about furthering Madigan's chances of being elected governor, she would have done that and more. But like Rod's actions, Madigan isn't putting Illinois first because she's too busy looking out for herself.
Beyond that, even a layman can see that the Illinois Supreme Court would be as crazy as Blagojevich to jump into this mess this early in the game. It might set a precedent so that in the future any unpopular governor could have his tenure ended by his politic opponents filing a lawsuit, which is all Madigan has done.
He's not physically disabled, and though it appears so there is no scientific evidence that he is psychologically unfit. There is an unprecedented but good argument that under the circumstances he can't function because his most important business is appointing a Senator and the Senate is unlikely to seat his appointee, but she should have gotten affidavits from 51 Senators attesting to that -- 41 if you want to consider a filibuster. Because of the other claims in the complaint, his other actions, especially finance related, might be considered to be furthering a "crime spree". The weakness in the "inability to function" argument is that the fool keeps going to the office, apparently completing at least minor functions of his office.
Bottom line: I want him out of office, but even I can see Madigan didn't take time to plan this out. The court is likely to decline to take up the case. If they do hear it, there is a chance they could find in favor of the governor, which would further add to the perception that Illinois is lax on crooks in office.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

WEBMASTER — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:26:14 EST

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Alternative Energy
Source: David Apperson

url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy

How to roll back Bush's last minute law changes

Don — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:49:59 EST

While President Obama won’t be able to simply undo every one of the midnight hour presidential signings President Bush is using to change American laws, there is a way to render them meaningless. I would suggest that Obama can simply “amend” Bush’s rules by signing new rulings that create laws or rules contradictory to those made by the previous administration.

Example: Bush says agencies can decide for themselves when to consider endangered species in their decisions on construction and other matters. Obama then states that after an agency makes it’s determination it must then submit that finding to the same body it used to have to go through for the same review process as before.

As for the sale of lands and oil drilling rights, it may be true that the federal government would have to buy back those contracts. However, what Obama could do is sign an order rescinding the sales. That way, the process is quicker and the owners don’t get to negotiate a higher price than what they paid.

Congress would have to legislate to overrule Bush’s changes, and right now Republicans can filibuster in the Senate. Yet, the same is true for Obama’s rule changes. The incoming Congress of Democrats won’t overrule changes that render meaningless the rules made by Bush, and even future Republican Senates can be filibustered by Democrats – in fact, there are some Republicans who don’t want oil companies to rape the land.

Senator Vitter the whoremonger claims moral high ground?

Don — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:14:19 EST

David Vitter the Republican Senator who confessed to being a regular patron of a whorehouse, is trying to claim he's on the moral highground by taking a stand against the workers. The Republicans have once again campaigned saying they are for working people, only to turn against workers right after the election. Those autoworkers are American taxpayers and it's far better for the country for them to keep working and paying taxes than to be unemployed and on welfare, food stamps and unemployment. Because they tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats (I wonder why) the Republicans are trying to financially kill them -- but this will take the rest of America down along with them. More petty politics. Republicans didn't learn anything from their losses in 2006 and 2008 elections.

Republicans Play Politics While America Burns!

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:52:51 EST

Or was that "Nero fiddles while Rome burns"? Well, whatever.

So much for "Joe, the Guy Who Works for a Living".

As has been the case all my life, as soon as the election is over the Republican party screws the people it promised to work for during the campaign. That's been no surprise to me for a long time now.

What still confounds me is that there are still tens of millions of people possessing the right to vote in American presidential elections who don't have enough working brain cells to understand that. They fall for it every time.

Fortunately, this time there are enough of us -- people who think for ourselves, rather than rely on Fox Noise to tell us what to believe -- that we overruled the zombies.

Even now, the party in power when the government spent $13 trillion more than it took in now claims that the Detroit automakers don't know how to manage money.

Highest unemployment rate since 1982 -- when Ron Reagan was president!

Even as America is showing them out the door, Republican politicians are nutty enough to be 'warning' the President-Elect about what he should and should not do with respect to the economy.

As they lick their wounds after spending $13 trillion dollars more than they took in, they now are stammering on about being for fiscal responsibility.
It would be funny, if it weren't so serious.

McCain says Bush, Rumsfeld committed war crimes

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:10:46 EST

Senators John McCain and Carl Levin -- after the election -- published a finding cited in a Washington Post article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121101969.html?hpid=topnews

They stated unequivocably that the orders to tortune prisoners of war were issued from the top of the Bush administration, beginning with an order Bush signed in February 2002.

Next year, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their chief assistants should be arrested and turned over to the World Court at The Hague, where they should stand trial for crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Convention.

Their actions have made it a certainty that American soldiers captured in future conflicts by enemies WILL be tortured. Unless decisive action is taken by the appropriate authorities, the world will ignore our cries of outrage.

Americans cannot afford failing to repudiate the lawlessness of the Bush administration, which according to Republican Senator John McCain, has "strengthened the hand of our enemies".

As I have always said, we cannot succeed in our fight against terrorism by BECOMING terrorists. George Bush's conduct goes directly against everything Americans stand for -- at least "Real Americans".

By issuing those illegal orders to our soldiers, while writing decrees declaring those orders to be legal, Bush has made himself a criminal of unprecedented notoriety around the world. Only by delivering him to justice in an unprecedented manner can America restore claims of being a land where justice prevails.

The minds of American children have been damaged by the impact of Bush's immorality. How can we teach them that America is ruled by the Constitution and that we abide by the international treaties we sign, while tolerating Bush's blatant violations of the Constitution and the Geneva Convention, of which we are a signatory?

Lastly, every officer who obeyed and passed on those illegal and immoral orders must be court-martialed, as required by the United States Code of Military Justice. We didn't excuse the conduct of Nazi officers who claimed they were "just following orders", and neither can we afford to do so with our own.

Mr. Bush's two terms have been sad days for America. He has destroyed our economy. Let us not allow him to destroy our Constitution, our Justice System, and our military as well.

Even Richard Milhouse Nixon didn't believe he was THIS far above the law.

Blagojevich's state of mind

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:02:25 EST

The President--Elect could open his remarks today by saying, "Look,... how was I supposed to know Blagojevich was crazy? And by "crazy" I don't mean mentally ill. I mean CRAZY. Only a crazy man would do what he is alleged to have done."

Then promise to have more to say about the matter tomorrow and leave the room.

Barack Obama has nothing to explain. The governor called him a "motherf@#$er" who "won't give (the govenor) anything but (his) f@#$ing appreciation", then said "f@#$ (him)".

Before Obama enters the room his aides should pass out a copy of that part of the criminal complaint to put his remarks in perspective.

He has absolutely nothing to explain. The guy who apparently did something said on FBI tape that Obama didn't do anything. Until something different happens, he doesn't need to do anything but remind everyone of that fact.

Just like in the last months of the campaign whe Obama kept saying, "McCain said that 'if we keep talking about the economy, we'll lose',... that's why I keep talking about the economy."

3 things he COULD have said about Blagojevich

Don — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:02:49 EST

Why didn't Barack Obama just say something less 'conventional' when asked about the arrested governor?
I wish he had said: "I want to thank the governor for his kind words... not the ones where he called me an unspeakable name, but the ones where he said I didn't participate in his schemes"
Or: "No one has ever been so happy to have been insulted than I am after hearing the governor's words."
Or: "I've never been so glad to NOT know about something."
When they play the soundbites that's funnier and more dismissive of the entire matter. After reading the quotes in the actual complaint -- yes, I read the entire complaint -- that's really all the President-elect needed to do. There was nothing left for him to confirm or deny.

The Fox Noise political operatives who tell the fascists who have hijacked the Republican party what to believe would not be able to so easily twist any of those quotes the way they have what he actually said. For people who don't think for themselves -- the Faux News watching zombies -- it's not what Obama says, but what the political operatives CLAIM he said that counts. He has to think about their likely talking points before making sound bites.

On the other hand, if he'd followed all my advice, he never would have gotten elected. For example, after those remarks by Rev. Wrong (Wright) I thought it was over. After the election, for the first time I viewed Obama's speech on race, on youtube, because I had to see what on earth he possibly could have said to get himself out of a jam like that. Turns out the truth was all it took.

THE CRISIS IN DETROIT

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:50:00 EST

No car czar named by the same man who appointed those who drove our economy into the New Great Depression. When the first Great Depression occurred, America was not in two wars and was not buried beneath $13 trillion dollars in debt (counting the trillion Bush gave to Wall Street). A "Bush-named car czar is a non-starter".

Those who have run the big car companies into the ground deserve to face consequences -- so, too, do those who ran Wall Street into the ground, including the Bush administration and the Republican party deregulators. Bush and those who helped him rape the American economy are not the ones who should decide what those consequences are -- they are only trying to take the spotlight off their own failures and Mr. Obama needs to do what he did during the campaign -- point out their smokescreen.

The big banks we gave all that money to should be strongly asked by President-Elect Barack Obama to go in and try hard to work out a deal to loan the automakers the money they need, at least for three months until Obama is inaugurated and has time to find a long term solution. Obama should suggest that those bankers "will be sorry" if they don't try very hard to work out reasonable terms. Maybe the free market can ease the transition, especially after we gave Goldman Sachs $10 billion and they turned around and passed out $6.5 billion in "bonuses". Bonuses for what? Going bankrupt. After we gave Citigroup $50 billion then they turned around and fired 75,000 workers right before Christmas.

Mr. Obama should publicly excoriate the Republican senators for playing politics with America's future by refusing to bail out the autoworkers for purely political reasons. Republicans campaigned on the false claim that they were all about helping "Joe the Plumber", but now they are working hard to financially ruin "Joe the autoworker because: 1. they are union workers who tend to vote for Democrats (and now we see why), and 2. southern Republicans believe that if Detroit goes out of business Japanese automakers will build more plants down south.

Republicans are again betraying ALL Americans who work for a living, right after rushing to pump nearly $1 trillion directly into the pockets of the wealthiest 1%. They forced us into giving $12 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% before that. Now they are killing "Joe the guy who MANUFACTURES things, which America does far too little of already.

Further, it would take the better part of a decade before any cars come out of any new southern auto plants. The Japanese will take two years to THINK before deciding to build more plants here or anywhere in this economy (or any economy, that's how they operate). They will take another two years milking tax abatements and other subsidies from American taxpayers by letting southern states "compete" for the plants, one plant at a time. It takes two to three years to BUILD a plant once that's all agreed to. As much as a year to dry run things, making sure the process works by building test cars before pumping out any cars for sale to the public. That's seven to eight years of absolute misery for all Americans while the southern Republicans get their non-union workers.

Mr. Obama should lobby hard for legislation prohibiting ANY tax abatements or other subsidies by any state or local governments for businesses. Why? Those subsidies directly hurt taxpayers and the overall economy by: 1. Paying corporations to move from one town to another, which is of no benefit to the overall economy. If they want to relocate, they should do it with their own money, then they will only do it if it makes sense to their operations. Taxpayers should not be forking out money to shift existing jobs from one American town to another American town. 2. Foreign comanies who decide to build plants in America should not be subsidized. They want to manufacture their products here because it is of financial benefit to them -- they avoid currency exchange costs. Why PAY them for doing something they already NEED to do? Giving them taxpayer money to entice them to build plants in one American town rather than another is of no benefit to the overall American economy, and it directly takes money out of the pockets of American taxpayers who must make up for the losses in government tax revenue. Don't pay foreign companies to do what's already in their best interests -- let them pay their own way.

Tax abatements to corporations are un-American and they harm local, state and national economies. Rather than subsidize individual companies, LOWER taxes for ALL taxpayers, or keep rates where they are -- isn't lowering taxes what those Republicans claim to be for?

KEEP ALL THOSE CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:48:36 EST

Now is the time for bold and decisive action -- not a rethinking of Obama's priorities. America thought over Obama's priorities for two very long years and now is the time to ACT.

The economy was crashing before and during the election and America elected Mr. Obama, so the bad economy is NO EXCUSE for failing to fulfill Obama's promises. The worst thing Obama can do for the economy is be reluctant to do everything he said he'd do -- he must do it all, and be quick about it.

Work to do everything Mr. Obama pledged to do right away -- in the first 60 days of his term. Why? America somehow elected Barack Obama AFTER two years of Republicans and rival Democrats arguing that we shouldn't let him do what he said he'd do. Obama won, by a landslide of electoral votes -- he has both a mandate and an obligation to carry through on his promises. He didn't get elected on some Nixonian "secret plan". American took two long years coming to terms with Obama's proposals, and we bought into it. I didn't really like some of Mr. Obama's promises, but after a lifetime of voting Republican I voted for Obama -- and all his policies.

One good example is cutting taxes for 95% percent of working Americans AND repealing the Republican tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1% -- those who don't work at all. Republicans will argue that "raising taxes during a recession is the worst thing we can do." Then, when Obama turns things around and gets the economy going again, Republicans will argue that "raising taxes during a soaring economy is the worst thing we can do." It's the same tired old Republican disingenuous argument that America finally rejected in November 2008. Should Mr. Obama fail to immediately strike while the iron is HOT -- while he has this resounding mandate that's fresh in the minds of all Americans -- Obama will lose this opportunity forever.

This is the only moment ever where Barack Obama can do the things he promised to do, and he probably won't be reelected if he doesn't manage to get the job done. Right now, we will have two or three years for things to shake out and level off before the next election cycle. This is the time to take those very bold steps, before Congression Democrats lose what little resolve they have.

Obama will probably have to publicly tell Democrats that they will either vote like Democrats or else when they need money for reelection campaigns they need not line up at the Obama money trough. If they want to show the voters how "independent" they are, they way congresspeople like Marcy Kaptur did right after Clinton took office, they should expect that some NEW candidate will be receiving money from me and others who donated money to the Obama phenomena when it comes time for them to run for reelection.

We need to pick out five or six week Republican senators and fund a recall drive against them. If they have to essentially run for reelection in the middle of their term they and others won't be so quick to do what they always do -- vote against America as represented by a Democratic President merely for the sake of petty politics.

Economy and the opposition

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:47:03 EST

President Obama should not accept ANY advice on the economy from Mr. Bush and the Republicans whom America has convicted in November of destroying the economy by creating the current crisis.

That Republicans are "warning" Obama on their way out the door as to what he can or cannot do is LAUGHABLE, and Obama should publicly castigate them on that issue. They are seeking to rerun the election they lost, and if they want to continue to play politics Obama must call them on that every day in press conferences. Obama WON the election and if Republicans want to continue arguing that they have any authority on economic matters then that is precisely the fight Obama should take them up on. He won that fight and it's the perfect battle to keep in the forefront of American politics during the transition and pretty much his whole first term -- especially while he's using his mandate to keep all those promises he made.

Republicans spent two years losing that war and if they want to spend eight more years losing then they only rational thing for Obama to do is to let them. Help them.

It's how the political office is used that's really important

Don — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:22:24 EST

The Office of Political Affairs is like any other tool -- it's value or detriment depends on whose hands control it. Reagan and Bush used the office with bad intentions, using heinous tactics, and to literally evil ends.
Now the Office of Political Affairs will be used properly, for the benefit of the American people in the Obama Administration. We have seen in Obama a man who behaves differently from other politicians. He doesn't operate out of the small-minded, abusive motivations of Bush, Rove, Reagan and Rollins.
We mustn't let our memories of the past abuses of the Office of Political Affairs by the Republicans color our perceptions of the future uses of the office.

Way to get beyond the "Clinton Problem"

Don — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:02:31 EST

The Clintons are not in talks with Obama's team because the Clintons are not team players. They have, from the beginning, made every effort to steamroll their way into the position of Secretary of State through leaks of false information to the press that supports her goal while undermining Obama.
The President-Elect needs to bite the proverbial bullet and flat out say that ALL "candidates" for the position must submit to the same vetting process and that the process evidently is too rigorous for the Clintons and that the country's need to get the process completed quickly means he must name someone else immediately.
With the Clintons causing this much trouble now, Obama must realize that should he name her, he will have absolutely NO control over anything related to foreign policy, plus she WILL leak defense and homeland security information to advance their interests.
It's time to wrap this thing up and call it the mistake it has been. Every President makes some mistakes, and life goes on if they don't let them grow and fester.

Mandate For Change

Don — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:42:10 EST

In the context of the current transition process, I am advocating for a more forceful attitude from Barack Obama on pushing through his agenda. Our agenda.

How should he do it? What will stand in his way? What can WE do about it?

I examine the real reasons we arrived at this point and what it means.

To everyone who thinks America is not biggoted

Ed from Fort Lauderdale, FL — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:20:27 EST

The first amendment"all men are created equal"

So to all those who think bigotry is over let me remind you, that if you voted in CA,FL or AZ and voted against gay rights YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR CONSCIOUS....

Especially after watching the people crying on TV saying I cant believe this finally happened about Barack being elected...HOW DID YOU VOTE IN CA OR FL... I guess gay people are not considered people to you.....

Religion is not part of the constitution and after 200 years of waiting for a black president its mind boggling how so many of you had no problem discriminating against another minority..

We are NOT one......yet .... as Barack has hoped .... it is truly staggering to me how one minority can discriminate against another as the vote showed in CA and FL..... when the black vote was 70-30 to take away gay rights on the props....

yep .... how soon people forget what they are voting for ..i guess they cant even remember after they voted for the president, in the election booth....

For all of you who feel gays are not people according to the first amendment....remember how you feel when you are discriminated against and the thoughts that ran through your own minds on why you weren't considered as good as anyone else....

Im white... alot of my friends are white and we all voted for Barack and never even considered race..... but after the election it really became evident amidst all the hoopla on TV that these same people I watched crying in happiness had no problem taking away the rights of another minority....

Its truly amazing....listening to all the people on TV so happy when there is another minority who was thrown under the bus without a second thought...

Black Voters, Gay Voters - The Bait and Switch

Jarrett in Florida — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:44:53 EST

Yet Another Glass Ceiling With Many Cracks...

I write this blog post in a moment of bittersweet victory. Having campaigned my heart out for Barack Obama over the last 3 months, I am overjoyed at our victory and feel that real change is finally coming to Washington and Main Street.

On election night, I partied in the street on the West side of Fort Lauderdale - a gay white boy surrounded by black people, most of whom were probably heterosexual. It could not have made a difference at the time, because we were all so optimistic and excited. The following morning was a different experience entirely... My friends and I were informed that Amendment 2 had passed and that not only would gay marriage now be outlawed but also civil unions and commonlaw marriages would be denied legal status.

So drops the other shoe.

The most disappointing part of the experience was the media coverage. Every news station was telling us that Black People were to blame... That all of the blacks who came out in droves to vote for Barack Obama had not listened to his supportive speeches and had voted specifically and willfully against my rights... The media maintained that Black people had not returned the "favor" of equality.

I'm not buying it. Here's something that the media is not telling us:

According to the same exit polls from CNN which indicate that Blacks voted for Prop 8 & Amendment 2 at higher percentages than whites, there is a key bit of information that needs to be explored - The total number of black voters for the anti-gay amendments is still not even 1/3 the total number of white, Evangelical voters who voted for the Amendments in the rural areas of the state... In fact, most black voters did not vote on Amendment 2 at all...

It is unfair, unreasonable and devisive for the mainstream media to pit blacks and gays against eachother at a time when we should all be celebrating eachother's diversity... As a white, gay male who supported and voted for Barack Obama with all my energy, I can honestly say that I have not experienced the slightest amount of homophobia from anyone in the Campaign For Change. I have never really felt any exceptional homophobia from the Black community at large, either...

Furthermore, it was not black people who put this Amendment on the ballot in the first place. Once again, this hateful bit of legislation has been brought to you by those "true Americans" who live in the remote grassy knolls that you drive by on your way to better places.

I think it's time to stop blaming races and sexual orientations for problems which are largely brought to us by Republicans. That's the other missing statistic here... Those who voted for John McCain also voted 91% in favor of Amendment 2.

It's time for Black people and Gay people alike to stand up for ourselves and refuse to let Republicans and the mainstream media continue to assail us in the name of "divide and conquer"...

God Bless all of you who helped on this campaign and remember to keep your cool and love your neighbors... even the bigoted ones. We shall overcome.

Congratulations to All! - Change is Finally Here

Unknown user — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:38:10 EST

Congratulations to Obama, Biden, the Democrats, all the supporters, and most importantly to the voters and the people who voted.

It’s a new day today, a beautiful day, a new beginning, and change is finally here.

1,053,791 Calls Made to Voters on Nov 4th

Franklin Katunda — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:45:08 EST

GOTV Phone Banking Experience on Nov 4th:

Dear Friends,

(At 9:22 pm) -- We just broke one million calls for the day, once again showing the power of this movement, but polls are still open in critical battleground states like Montana and Nevada and the night is still young. Supporters around the country keep calling to ensure voters know where to go to vote. The calls you make in the next hour could make the difference in the outcome of these states.

We are closing in on our goal for 1.2 million calls for Election Day and these are the calls that will bring us to victory. Make calls to Montana and Nevada now.

(Later on ... before the anouncement)

We're still awaiting the final results tonight (As of Nov 4th 2008 later at night), but one thing is clear -- this grassroots movement can never be underestimated.

Thank you to everyone who helped us make an astounding 1,053,791 calls today!

I know it wasn't easy and many of you kept calling long after you were tired and your voice had grown hoarse, but your calls to get our supporters out the polls helped tip the scales in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

We've shut down our calling campaigns for the night, incredibly proud of the record amount of calls made today. You gave it your all and we couldn't have asked for more.

Thank you again for everything you've done. You've been with Barack Obama every step of this journey. This is your night.

Obama For America

+++

PS. I joined the GOTV phonebanking organized by the Obama campaign along with the Local Union UNITE HERE! at 33 Harrisson Ave, Chinatown (downtown Boston). We made calls to Virginia towns of Yorktown, Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, Petersburg and Kilmarnorck and to New Hampshire towns of Exeter and Hudson from 9am to 4pm

Results: Obama won both Virginia (52% to 47) and New Hampshire (55% to 44)

OBAMA-BIDEN 08'

Phone Calls

Alicia — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:43:54 EDT

So I just spent the last 2 hours calling battleground states. Unfortunately, almost everyone I spoke with was downright rude, between people hanging up on me or actually yelling at me, I was starting to get frustrated. But then I think about the few that I reached that are supporters of the Obama movement who thank me for the good work I'm doing and it makes me feel a bit better.

Maybe because I'm a lifelong junkie of politics, but whenever I got campaign calls in the past, I was never rude to people. I understand they probably get a ton of phone calls, being in a battleground state and all, but is there any reason to lack enough decency to see the person on the other end is just doing a volunteer job? There's polite ways to say "no thank you"...there is absolutely no reason to yell at the person at the other end.

This is the stark difference between Obama's supporters and McCain supporters and it honestly speaks volumes about the way the campaigns have conducted themselves. Obama and his supporters are always courteous and thank people for their time and even remind EVERYONE to vote, not just our supporters but anyone we come into contact with. However, McCain supporters resort to nasty remarks about Barack being a "dictator" or make comments about how they're supporting McCain because he's Irish, just like the "black people are voting for Barack"...this falls RIGHT inline with the rallies.

With all of the McCain supporters I encounter, I never bash the man, I actually said that I had respect for him until he turned his campaign ugly, nasty and dangerous. I wish that the McCain supporters can give our guy due credit and some respect in return. But I guess when you have the Palins of the world up there as the cheerleader for hatred, what else can I expect? At one rally, you hear HOPE, OPTIMISM, the other you hear racist chants, death threats, pessimism and fear. This is exactly why this country has not moved forward.

When you have the knowledge (as McCain does) and you spew out this hatred and lies to supporters who may not be educating themselves on issues, you are being extremely dangerous. To incite fear, anger, violence in people or to pass off ridiculous lies as truth is extremely dangerous.

The past 8 years all we've been told is to FEAR FEAR FEAR. I don't know about the rest of my country, but I am tired of people telling me the future is bleak, that we need to fear other countries, that life is just plain awful. I choose to believe that better days are ahead, and with Barack at the helm, with his sense of optimism and his fresh set of eyes for the problems we face, maybe we can finally get past the FEAR that's been instilled in our psyche for 8 years.

I have never been so moved enough to volunteer my time for a campaign. I have never felt a connection with a candidate where I felt that I should work on their behalf. Barack has changed this for me. This is the most important election of my life and of yours and of our country's.

I can't wait for Tuesday. My birthday's on Thursday next week and I hope I can have a happy 29th birthday with MY President-elect, Sen. Barack Obama. God knows that my last few birthdays around Presidential elections have not been the happiest. Tuesday, I believe that will change.

92 year old woman had never voted

Lori from Indianapolis, IN — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:47:18 EDT

A 92 year old Frankfort, Indiana women that had never voted before in her life registered and voted for Obama. For those of you that aren't familiar with Frankfort, it is a rural, industrial, republican strong hold. For some reason her pic isn't on the website but she was smiling big and holding her folder with all of her Obama material in it. Here is the story: http://ftimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=88&SubSectionID=244&ArticleID=49147

AMERICA IN THE YEAR 2016

Peter from Portland, OR — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:02:06 EDT

I had a dream: We are writing the year 2016, America has left behind the economy crisis of 2008 and developed to a green, social and prosperous society. The unemployment rate is down at 2.3 %, the number of poor people dropped from 37 to 9 million, the national deficit is only a fourth of that in 2008. Every American has affordable health care now, and Obama`s tax cuts have put more money into the pockets of the middle-class American, which led to higher consumption, re-fueled the economy, and created millions of new jobs. Above all 5 million new created green collar jobs and a better, more effective environmental policy with solar, wind and other renewable energies dropped America`s energy bill, air pollution and CO 2 balance by 25%, making the country cleaner and almost independent of foreign oil. America´s is about to become the world leader in green technology, especially due to the broad-scale introduction of US built hybrid cars. In foreign politics America has restored faith and regained respect in the world community of nations as a wise and peaceful mediator in all conflicts. This and other measures also led to an improvement of the national security. The dark Bush years are history and America has made the real CHANGE to a better future - YES WE COULD - And due to the great achievements of Barack Obama`s successful 8 years in national and international politics a committee was founded, proposing the extension of his presidency for 4 more years, as applied during the Roosevelt administration.

Was all of this just a dream ? - No, you can make it happen by voting for OBAMA next Tuesday - It is now up to you, America !

SHOP AMERICA SUPPORTS OBAMA

Pledge to Stand to Protect Voters and Their VOTES

Kira from Santa Barbara, CA — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:47:53 EDT

Dear Barak & Joe,

Please take this pledge to stand for the voters and their votes you care about so much. Thanks for being leaders we can believe in and respect.

About StandingForVoters.org

Standing for Voters is a project of Velvet Revolution and the Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force.

VelvetRevolution.us ("VR") is a nonpartisan network of more than 120 organizations reaching millions of people demanding progressive change through our VR Electoral Reform, Media, and other campaigns. VR launched The Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force in 2006 to address our deep concerns about the condition of the U.S. election system. Individual membership and organizational affiliation are free. Members and affiliates receive occasional emails from us about our action campaigns. Yourdonations are welcome and sustain our work. VR is a 501(c)(4) organization.

Velvet Revolution is a term coined to describe the peaceful road to change in countries where governments ignored the inalienable rights of the people. A few inspiring Velvet Revolutions occurred in the former Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, South Africa, and of course, most recently in the Ukraine. The citizens of those countries, tired of corruption and arrogant power, joined together by the millions in sustained campaigns of opposition - they demonstrated, boycotted, petitioned, and engaged in strikes until the pillars of power were replaced by the halls of the people.

Endorsements

AfterDowningStreet.org
Backbone Campaign
Casa De Cultura, New Mexico
Democrats.Com
Election Defense Alliance
Green Party of the United States
Las Vegas Peace & Justice Center
New Mexico Highlands University Students for Peace
Northern New Mexico Hispano Coalition
Progressive Democrats of America
Protect California Ballots
Re-Media Election Transparency Coalition

About Pledging

Who Can Sign?

Any candidate for public office, regardless of political party or nonpartisan status, in any jurisdiction in the United States. Incumbent candidates are welcome to sign the pledge.

Why Sign the Pledge or Super Pledge?

Recent events and changes to our election system have resulted in plummeting voter confidence. Around the nation, formerly enthusiastic supporters of local, state and national candidates have become disillusioned. As voters, we have reason to doubt that our candidates will take a stand to protect our votes and our democracy. Signing the Standing For Voters Pledge or Super Pledge is a clear way to tell voters that you care that all votes are counted, and counted accurately, and that you will do everything in your power to ensure that the elections are held to the highest standards. Show voters that you will champion the cause of democracy! Sign today!

Candidates who sign the basic Pledge will:

receive an attractive linkable emblem for your campaign website that reads, "I am Standing For Voters. I signed the Pledge,"
receive permission from Standing For Voters to use this emblem in your printed campaign materials,
be listed on the Standing For Voters website
qualify for mention in Standing For Voters publicity.

Additionally, those who sign the Super Pledge will:

receive the Super Pledge emblem to be used as above,
be listed more prominently on the Standing For Voters website, including a link to the page on your campaign website that displays the Standing For Voters emblem,
be invited to create a brief video of your pledge, which will be displayed at the Standing For Voters website.

Basic Pledge

Super Pledge

I, _________________, pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count. I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before declaring victory or conceding defeat. I will involve my campaign volunteers in actions to enhance the accuracy and verifiability of the election in which I am a candidate. I will speak out publicly during the pre-election period about the importance of fair, accurate and transparent elections and about this pledge. I will designate a liaison between my campaign and "Standing For Voters" so that "Standing For Voters" can alert me to any red flags they are aware of regarding my election.

Fill in, print and sign the form you choose.
Fax the form to Standing For Voters 888-812-5735.

Alternately, you may scan your signed pledge form [go to their website] and email it. info@standingforvoters.org

With the exception of the note to Barak & Joe, all the above is from their website:

30 Minutes that Brought it Home

Claudette from Saint Petersburg, FL — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:56:20 EDT

We spent 30 minutes with Barack Obama and the country he brought home to all Americians . It changed all of us. That is what a President does. He sees the people. Will any of us ever forget the 72 year old man putting on his Walmart badge? Where is this hard working mans' retirement years? Do not tell me that Obama is not ready. This man was born ready, worked, educated himself to be our next president. VOTE TODAY, CALL SOMEONE TODAY, KNOCK ON A DOOR, TODAY. DON'T LET THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY PASS.

Early Voting 411 ... A State-by-State Guide!

keepitmovin411.wordpress.com — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:48:17 EDT

submitted by keepitmovin411@wordpress.com

The early voting process is going strong; yet, not without its challenges. This post contains a concise overview of where and how you can early vote. Just click on the links provided below for state-by-state voting information from each of the 31-states participating in this early election process.

Find out ... how you vote; where you vote; ID requirements; in some cases what to wear; ballot issues; other democratic candidates who need your vote; as well as direct state contacts for VOTING CHALLENGES you may experience.

EARLY VOTING vs. Mail-In ABSENTEE VOTING
All states offer voters the option of voting prior to the election. In some states, the ballots are returned by mail. This is referred to as absentee voting.

Other states permit voters to vote in person at the offices of county clerks or at other satellite voting locations. This is referred to as early voting OR in-person absentee voting.

EARLY VOTING/In-Person ABSENTEE VOTING
Early voting differs from absentee voting in that voters may visit an election official's office or, in some states, other satellite voting locations, and cast a vote in person without offering an excuse for not being able to vote on Election Day. Satellite voting locations vary by state, and may include other county and state offices (besides the election official's office), grocery stores, shopping malls, schools, libraries, and other locations.

Early voting generally is conducted on the same voting equipment used in the regular election, as opposed to absentee voting, which is conducted on mail-in paper ballots.

Early voting varies from state to state, and generally ends on the Friday or Saturday immediately preceding the election.

The following (31) states permit in-person early voting/in-person absentee voting.

Alaska Indiana North Dakota
Arizona Iowa Ohio
Arkansas Kansas Oklahoma
California Lousiana South Dakota
Colorado Maine Tennessee
Florida Montana Texas
Georgia Nebraska Utah
Hawaii Nevada Vermont
Idaho New Mexico West Virginia
Illinois North Carolina Wisconsin and ... Wyoming

All other states permit day of election voting on NOVEMBER 4, 2008 or ... Accept mail-in absentee ballots!

For additional information, visit a KiM411 information source website: National Congress of State Legislatures

NOW, get up offa that thang ... VOTE and you'll feel better! Share this message ... Keep it Movin'!

You Got Next!

♥KiM … brown

KiM’s suggested listening music for this message: Get Up Off-a That Thang - James Brown

For the Elders

Leslye J Allen of Atlanta, GA — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:12:25 EDT

Back on January 25, 2008, I received a phone call from my mother telling me that her closest and dearest friend and mentor—and my “Nana”—had passed away. Her friend, Mattie P. Harris died the day Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary. She was one month shy of her 106th birthday. She had witnessed more history than most of us can imagine. The minute Mama said that Nana was gone, I immediately uttered that Barack would win South Carolina. Mama asked me what I had just said, and I repeated the statement. “Are you all right?” Mama asked. “Yeah, it was just a thought,” I answered. It felt extremely weird to have that sensation. I am not one to believe in a lot of hocus-pocus; I have no real superstitions. I do believe, however, in ancestral signs.

This past week I took my mother to the dentist. A retired school teacher and early childhood specialist, at 87 years of age and with two mild strokes behind her, I do not expect my mother to be spry. She has always been a busy body with a keen wit and fierce independence, only recently acquiescing to my demand that she have a housekeeper come to clean up her house. Yet she looked extremely frail to me this week. As an only child, I worry much more than I care to admit. My mother admitted to me that she forgot my phone number the other day, but she has always managed to find her Barack Obama buttons when we are headed out for the day. When I took my mother to vote a month ago, I heard an elderly black man say that he was voting early for Barack Obama just in case he “kicked the bucket before November 4th.” Everyone laughed, but the statement worried me.

Back during the Democratic convention, my cousin Billie, an 83-year-old director, actor, and drama coach called me as if to reinforce how historic and unbelievable this moment in time was. She talked about how she never dreamed she would see such a day. This was coming from a woman who has not only performed with the very best actors of any era, but who has trained some of the best that Hollywood and Broadway have to offer. I worry about her health in almost the same way as I worry about my mother’s health. She admitted that she had endured some recent health problems but was seeing a nutritionist that had prescribed a diet that had improved her overall well-being. She sounded good on the phone, so I worried less. Yet I still worry. In addition to being a supremely talented director, actor, and drama coach, she is a skilled diplomat and when necessary, a gifted liar (smile)—all great actors are! I have heard her skirt around the truth to deter me from worrying. Sometimes it works; sometimes it does not.

This week I found out that Barack Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham was in declining health. The fact that Barack’s grandmother is a year younger than my mother Syble, and only a few years older than my cousin Billie made me a bit more anxious. I am not worried about Barack’s ability to win the Whitehouse or his ability to chart a new course for this nation. I do admit, however, to worrying that there might be some people who might not be around to see it.

I want Obama to win, not simply for myself, and all of us who have made phone calls, donated money and time, but for all of those old folks who never thought such a day would happen. My older relatives have seen this nation at its absolute worst. They remember having to keep silent as they endured the insults of racist whites; they remember being beaten and jailed for looking in the wrong direction or for staring at some white man's ugly cousin. And, too many Black women remember a time when any attractive Black female had to be cautious around white men. Rape was often the payback to a black woman who had spurned the attention of any white man. There was not likely to be any trial, and if so, there would be no conviction of the rapists. These Black elders, male and female, have waited their entire lives for a moment like the one we will see in less than a week. As an African-American, I have heard all the varied responses to a potential Obama presidency. I even heard one misguided white woman admit that she feared Blacks would retaliate against white Americans for past grievances. Oh well.

I do not know any black person who wants to settle two-hundred-year-old plus scores. All that I, and they, wish is to see Barack Obama win this election, and then strut himself, and his wonderful, brilliant wife and two daughters into that Big House on Pennsylvania Avenue. I personally wish this for my country and my elders who have paid the fullest measure for this moment in time!!

Peace and Love!

YES, WE SHALL!!

FAQ: Voters Who've Already Voted

Karen from San Pedro, CA — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:15:42 EDT

One question that's coming up a lot is why there isn't a place to enter the fact that a voter has already voted. The answer? We don't believe that someone has voted until campaign staff in the state have seen the names that the registrar of voters keeps of who has voted. Every day they are checking to see who's voted and then removing those names from the database. There may be a lag time of a day or two before everyone is removed, which is why you might run into such folks.

UNBELIEVABLE TURNOUT IN FT LAUDERDALE TODAY

Ed from Fort Lauderdale, FL — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:17:42 EDT

Ok THIS IS 150% a good post today. I blogged about the candidates not being here in FLorida and low and behold they show up here on monday and tuesday ...YOU GUYS LISTEN LOL

I saw Hillary today and she was great in FORT LAUDERDALE.

SO heres what happened in Fort LAUDERDALE TODay..Early voting started..so after the Hilary rally i went across the street to vote early at the main library..the line was in the hundreds out the doo... I HAVENEVER EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.... so I decided to go to a local branch near by house... cars everywhere.. people lined up to the street..waiting time 4 hours... so i say WHAT THE HELL this is unbelievable is everybody this fired up? so i go to Wilton manors to vote same thing lines to the street waiting time in hours not minutes... so i run do my errands and say ill go back at 4 .. at 4 pm same lines and now they are posting the line wait outside as 2 hours forty minutes... at the same time i arrive at the voting place about 30 other poeple do and all of us decide to come back tomorrow ... which I will do...

but heres the best thing... It wasnt islotaed on the news it was like that EVERYWHERE..

and People arent waiting in line for 4 hours for more of the same so i would say its 90% or more obama voters ... better yet i bought an obam button at the hillary function and everyone that saw me when i went shopping to the market and other places asked me if i voted and how fired up they were about voting for obama ... i mean if there was a Mccain votr anywhere near they never showed themselves and the register clerk at walgreens and publix both said they were first time voters and voting for obama and they were in their 40's... I REALLY DO NOT THINK THE POLLS ARE REFLECTING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO VOTE THAT NEVER VOTe and all of them today were voting for obama in Broward County Florida..

SO THIS IS A 150 % great day in fort LAuderdale for BArrack.. GREAT JOB BRINGING HILLARY HERE they playedd inall over the news ... and IN MY ENTIRE LIFE I HAV NEVER SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE COME OUT WITH ONE PURPOSE TO VOTE.. TO VOTE FOR BARRACK..

GREAT JOB OBAMA CAMPAIGN ..IT LOOKS REAL GOOD HERE REALLY GOOD..and if you read my other blogs you know im not a RAH RAH..lol

Tip a Fence-Sitter

Curtis — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:11:00 EDT

You’re the best person to connect with the political fence-sitters in your life and show them why progressive ideas are what America needs now!

For a helpul resource for doing that visit: http://www.ourfuture.org/tipafencesitter

Why a Mandate is Necessary

Bill from Mahwah, NJ — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:24:06 EDT

I think everyone who cares about this country understands that some significant changes and sacrifices are going to be necessary to correct the issues we face. With that thought in mind, it is not sufficient for the next president to merely “win”. In order to get things done it will be important that a vast majority of the population be behind the leadership and that the executive and congressional branches are aligned. Quite frankly, like many “independents” I would normally prefer that there be checks and balances between the various branches of government but just as the Republicans have chosen to nationalize the banking system I feel now is not the time to have leaders second guessing one another. I just hope everyone remembers why they were elected.

For this reason, supporters of Barack Obama cannot let up in the final days and must continue to help the undecided understand why they need to support him.

Latinos are part of the US mix

Carlos E. C�rdenas — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:09:56 EDT

The country is about to elect it's first African American president. It's a historical moment

The image of an African American as the leader of the US will bring deep social changes to our country. His presidency will be a subtle reminder to all of us that color has no correlation with intellect. He will be a role model for the African American youth, some who will most likely follow in his footsteps. His presidency will redefine and expand the meaning of being a US American, to include more deeply the African American culture

Nevertheless, amidst this historical time, we are leaving out a large constituency. Hispanics are part of this country’s mix and they are shaping the direction of the US. However, mainstream media does not show this fact, just like they failed to showcase the political voice of African Americans for many decades. There is a lag from when the media chooses to showcase an image of our country to what is really happening. African Americans have been part of our countries’ political make up for many decades, but I feel it’s until recently that the media began to project this fact. Hispanics are currently part of this country’s political make-up but this fact is not being presented to the public.

Must 30 or 50 years pass for the media to recognize the political voice of Latinos and just then finally showcase this fact to the world?

The Best Person for the Job

Jim — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:05:00 EDT

It is clear, more then ever that the best team for this country is Obama and Biden. Even though at times during this debate, I wanted Barack to go after more of McBush's lies, distortions and insults, I can see that there is a strategy in how Barack responded or didn't respond.

But we can respond. It is obvious that anything abut Ayers or Acorn is a distraction and has nothing to do with Barack Obama or the Democratic Party. I hope the Obama campaign advertising goes after McCain and Palin on issues like the Keating five, and her ethics violations. There are also some real issues like the free cell phone towers on McBush's ranch and how Pallin's million dollar plus home got built in Alaska. Palin has no credentials for the Vice Presidency. I really wanted some response to McCain's attack on Joe Biden.

The high road is fine but there needs to be some response to smears as the campaign has been doing. We need to keep emailing everyone we know to dispute smears, set the record straight and inform everyone about the negative aspects of McBush/Palin.

The media is ignoring Palin's problems in Alaska and repeating all the McCain campaign lies about Ayers and Acorn non-issues. The media needs something else to talk about and the only way to get them there is to feed them some of the real negatives of McCain and Palin. They are both really not who they pretend to be. McCain is a puppet of the lobbyists, his whole entourage is made up of Rove, his followers, the most dirty lobbyists and neo-con Republicans.

There should be more facts getting out there about Schmidt and Davis, two of the most evil, corrupt advisors McCain is being led by. The stuff McCain spouts is written by them. As was obvious in the debates he just keeps repeating their talking points over and over again, like the "Joe the Plumber" routine. McCain will be controlled by these same people if he is elected and as his dementia increases he will be replaced by Palin who is another puppet, but with her own extreme fundamentalist agenda. McCain and Palin are trying to rally their far right base but that won't do them much good if the rest of the country votes for Obama.

Moderate Republicans and Independents must recognize that a vote for McBush/Palin is not in their interests economically or in any other way. They need to vote Democratic to change the course of the country away from disaster.

Democrats need to go after Republican voter registration drives they way the Republican Party is once again going after potential Democratic voters. We also need to contest attempts by Republicans to disqualify minority voters in almost every state.

With One Step, How Far Can We Go?

Tracey Michol — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:02:22 EDT

Tracey Michol, educator and 2008 Texas Democratic Delegate, organized a blog site at http://yourvotecounts.com to build awareness and especially to get people with disabilities to register to vote in the November election. Ms. Michol also organized a workshop in Fort Worth, Texas on September 22, inviting elected officials and candidates to a nonpartisan event reaching out to the disabilities and deaf communities. It was well received, and she was encouraged to organize another. Visit http://yourvotecounts.com and share the information with others, because everyone's vote does count.

Tracey and Friends

Coalition for Texans with Disabilities and Advocacy Inc. conducted voting workshops for People with Disabilities throughout Texas.

Letter from the Field: VOTE YOUR ISSUE, NOT YOUR SKIN TISSUE

Nina Calahan-James, Freelance Writer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:23:39 EDT

VOTERS: VOTE YOUR ISSUE, NOT YOUR SKIN TISSUE

There are many in the heartland of America who fear that the presidential race may yet come down to just that: fear about race versus values. Some have al ready made their minds up that they won't vote for someone "who is not like them". Yet, for all those who call themselves an American, is not what makes our country great itself greater than is the measure of, or absence of, a man's melanin?

For the voter who can make a choice based on pocketbook and kitchen table issues and not pigment or skin tissue, a quiz:

If you are man with a female child, and you want your daughter to be valued as much as any man, are you strong enough for her to ignore the color of the champion who fights for her? If you are a woman who believes that you, your mother, your daughter, your sister or your aunt should have the sole right to make choices which affect your and their lives, which is the only candidate that supports a woman's right to choose?...

If you are a veteran, voting against increasing veterans benefits on six different occasions and against the new GI Bill should matter. Better yet, if you are a union member, and you want to protect... no...strengthen the right to organize, can you make a conscientious choice between color and collective bargaining?

If on the one hand, if the only color that counts is green and every penny in your pocket counts, do you really want to support a candidate that will tax your employer provided-health care benefits and make you wait for a health care tax credit that will end up fattening the pockets of out of state insurance executives?

If you are a senior citizen, what does color have to do with preventing cutting $1.2 trillion in benefits from Medicare to pay for those health care tax credits? Not a thing. Speaking of benefits, do you really want your Social Security benefits tied to the stock market? The stock market just crashed, big time. Imagine if Social Security too had been privatized. Seniors just dodged a very big bullet.

Bluntly, a candidate's ethnicity does not threaten your poc ketbook and does not take food off your table; what does present a clear and present danger to every American family is policies which support doing the same thing the same way while looking for a different result. Who deserves a tax break more...you or the corporations that just robbed America blind?

Does it make sense to cough up $300 billion more for a taxpayer-funded buyout of all distressed mortgages in America to further bail out the lenders who stuck the taxpayers with a $700 billion dollar cash-for-trash scheme? There is only one candidate who offers a tax cut to 95 percent of America's working families and not to the lenders, banks, or corporations that just ripped off America's workers and retirees.

If NAFTA caused your factory to be shut down or your job to be shipped overseas, can you ignore all that noise about whether someone is white or not and focus on whether a candidate's position against outsourcing jobs is right or not? & nbsp;Only one candidate has pledged to link trade deals to preserving American jobs and to end tax breaks for companies sending American jobs overseas.

And while on the subject of jobs, in today's world you can't get a good one without a good education. If you believe that education is the pathway way out of poverty and to a good paying job and the ticket to the American dream, is it not more prudent to vote for someone who personally experienced the struggles ordinary families go through to get their children through school and to vote for someone who has pledged to fully fund America's educational system.

In all theses instances, that candidate is indeed...that one...Barack Obama.

There is something to be said about being judged by the content of one's character and not by the color of one's skin. As someone wrote recently, there is a big difference between having character and being one. Pigmentation should not have a place in politics. No one is being asked not to see color, just to ignore it long enough to pragmatically focus on pocketbook issues which will directly impact you and your family. For the nation's sake, I ask that you vote your issue and not your skin tissue.

Some will no doubt have to hold their nose while they cast their ballot.

If doing so is what it takes to hold on to what's left of the American dream, well, that's a form of personal sacrifice we should all embrace for the sake of our families and the future of the greatest country on earth. In that instance, pushing past our personal prejudices would be the ultimate act of outright unselfish patriotism.

Gregory Murray, Michiganders for Obama

Photos & Contributions by Nina Calahan-James, LifeSav and Firoze Shakir

The National Policy

Gocachi — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:54:21 EDT

The National Policy for the Obama Campaign

By Gocachi / Marcail Parker

Greetings, my American brothers and sister and international friends, I warmly express my appreciation to you, for taking the time to hear this message. Humility inspires me to remind you that voters should prepare to be open minded to the opinions expressed by other voters. Please remember, neither, anger, retaliation, nor smearing will win this election our next President of the United States of America. Neither will it form unity that will rebuild our America. It is key, to devote our energies to democracy and righteous efforts to work together as one America to achieve universal unity of our nation. If McCain wants to spend his campaign dollars on smear attacks, then that let him, it is his choice. Our campaign will not be concerned with smear attacks. It is as President Roosevelt said, immature! Therefore, my reply to smear attacks will be, “Get behind me! We do not have time for games. Furthermore, I will remind McCain. The Presidency is not just the hand of a man that approves, veto, signs and accepts laws and new policies for the commonwealth, and stability of America. The responsibility of the Presidency, weights equally to the burdens of the republic of our nation. I have thoroughly addressed to congress and all Americans of our United States the direction and steps we need to take to rebuild and stabilize our economy, and the urgent priority to make America safe. It is apparent that Senator McCain has not matured, even after 21 years of service to our country. Therefore, my words will be, Get behind me, Observe, and learn how to lead a country! Observe and learn how to balance America’s budget. Observe and learn how to make the economy right. America does not want a fixed economy or a fix for our national security. America wants the job done right! Get behind me, observe, and learn how to bring our troops' back home as soldiers and not as wounded veterans. Observe and learn, how to make secure our nation and unify Americans as one America. Many of us listened to the second Presidential debate with millions of Americans and our international neighbors. As we listened to McCain’s opinion about being makers of peace, McCain said, America does not have time for, on the job training. That does not support the voice of a true, peacemaker. McCain’s words can be equally translated as, if you do not understand; we will not help you because we do not have time for, on the job training. Neither smearing, nor an impatient President will help America. I do not know where I would be today if President Bill Clinton did not take the time to support AmeriCorps. I am humbly grateful that my former boss in Chicago trained me to be an effective law clerk. I am honored that Sheila Miggins, my former secretarial supervisor trained me to be detailed and organized so that my actions would prove to my boss that I was a hard worker and that my learned skills, proved effective and supported the company’s efforts as a team of one. I am honored that peacemakers of America had time to demonstrate the power of, on the job training, because without these peacemakers, I would not be here today. It is a privilege to be a peacemaker for America. I would like to remind us of the words of President Roosevelt. As he spoke to members of Congress when he said: Every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world, either by arms or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace. In addition, they have blotted out the whole pattern of democratic life in an appalling number of independent nations, great and small, while the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small. These were the very issues Roosevelt and Congress dealt with back then, today we face similar propaganda with our enemies, and we are at war with other nations directly or through support with our allies. Yes, I deliberately moved this conversation from smearing to peace, to historic wars and propaganda to our reality, because these are the issues, we face today, and these are the crisis that concerns all Americans. Our focus should not and in this campaign will not be concerned with smear attacks. America calls upon us as congressional representatives to solve more important imminent issues such as the economic disaster of our American economy. Americans call upon Congress to fix the housing crisis with mortgage companies and to secure failed banks that retain Americans investments. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to witness another Holocaust or experience destruction like that of Hiroshima. I don’t now about you, but I don’t want to march another civil rights movement equal to the days of Martin Luther King. History is for books. Furthermore, it should stay that way, just for books. We are living in modern time with technology that allows us to compare historical data to prevent the woes of history. And when we fall short of data needed to prevent these woes, we are equally, if not greater, prepared to deal with world problems because, America fully understands and is armed with vast numbers of intelligent thinking people, serving our government in departments of science, psychology, physics, engineering and many careers more studied to protect our country. Consequently, any war that is happening as I speak is because, government has failed to act decisively to foresee catastrophic events between nations, that would result in war. Congressional representatives have been sleeping on the books of history, when in fact they should be keeping a watchful eye with all nations, just as Obama said in his reply to conditions of an unstable country. We cannot be everywhere all the time but with technology, we can keep a watchful eye to warn of imminent dangers that approach and threaten the security of America. I turn to the wisdom of President Roosevelt to remind Americans that our country cannot maintain financial stability with one hand tied behind our back, while fighting off nations at war, directly or indirectly with our allies. The time to vote is approaching. We will be making the most important decision that will effect the failed Bush administration, and elect a righteous candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America. Today I want you to pause in your thinking. I want you stop thinking for a moment while I talk to you. I want you to stop thinking about the man or women behind you. I want you to stop thinking about; if you forgot to take the hamburger out of freeze for tonight’s dinner. I want you stop thinking about, whether or not you forgot to lock your car door. I want you stop thinking for just a moment because what I’m about to say regards voting, and you. Because when I say to you, vote righteously, I want you to understand what that means. Understand that the vote you cast defines more than just a four-letter word. When you walk up to the polls, and you decide to select a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America, know what you are asking for. Understand the gravity of your choice and what it means to vote American, and to select, the new President of the United States of America. Our former President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed these basics to help us understand our responsibilities and obligations, as voters and citizens of America, some of which I have added to this speech to include the voices of young Americans. And the basics are simple. When you vote for any candidate seeking the Presidency of the United States, you are asking him to manage your burdens. It sounds like a lot. And it is a lot. Can you imagine someone walking up to you with a sign that read, I will carry your burden and your neighbors, and your son, and daughters, and husbands, mother and fathers’ and on and on an on. You are asking the candidate seeking Presidency of the United States of America, to protect your country. You are asking him to provide employment, peace, security and as Roosevelt put it; freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world, freedom to live wherever you want to live, freedom to exercise your consumer rights, freedom to honor, and exercise your human rights, freedom to leave the country to come and go as you please, and the freedom to vote righteously, for the return of righteous representation for the nation of the United States of America. Now pause, and meditate for a moment on those thoughts. I know, it’s a lot to think about. That is what it means to vote my fellow Americans. Now for the second time in our history we must all prepare to make sacrifices to ensure security and economic stability of our nation. As Roosevelt said… we must give way to the national need. And that time more than ever, is now! It is immature to think less. We must finish this race, move forward and we must untie our nation’s hand, because the nation, our nation is in danger! And America knows the imminent dangers we face from our enemies. Any member of congress or government that thinks less of this urgency is not fit to represent America, and should step down, resign. The house is afire, the lawn is scorched! In addition, the people have lost respect for all congressional representation, because congress, the Bush Presidency with its administration has failed to stimulate the wealth of the economy and to ensure the security of our nation. The time to act is now! When this election is over, America will rise, a righteous leader as our next President. His first task will be the priority of our country’s economy and the security and preservation of democratic life in America. To rebuild our free nation will require full cooperation from all Americans, Democratic and Republican. We will to engage basic elements founded by our late President Roosevelt. We must establish equality of opportunity for youths, elderly, and veterans we must provide jobs for those who can work. We must provide security for our nation and restore preservation of civil liberties. Finally, it is imperative, that we end all special privileges for the few, effective immediately! No person or company should try or be allowed to get rich out of this national program. Congress must act swiftly without error to punish, not discipline, corporations and individual citizens that abuse the budget established, for the resurrection our nation’s economy and the security of America. We must send a strong message that the people’s taxes that are used to rebuild America must not be misused. We must punish Companies like AIG, immediately! Congress must send a clear and strong message, to slackers and troubled arrogant corporations and individual by shaming them for practicing poor un-patriotic behavior, that does not respect American patriotism. It is recommended the legal rights and property of AIG, and other arrogant and abusive corporations alike, be fully confiscated by the laws of sovereign government. These failing companies must be stripped of their power; their board members removed, from the corporation and replaced with government officials, until an honorable board is established expeditiously, for the corporation, so they can stimulate growth, and participate fairly to help rebuild our nation. As Roosevelt said, we must use sovereign of government to save government. There is no other choice if we are to save America. We cannot afford to satisfy for a fix. We need to do the job right. We all know, a $700 billion dollar fix, will not do Americans right. It behooves all companies to stimulate growth for the success of rebuilding our nation. This is not the time to get rich. This is not the time to raise prices for it will only defeat growth. We have no choice but to reasonably increase taxes fairly and share the burden amongst all Americans Rich and poor across the board. In order save the nation of the United States of America, we must invest in America. All corporate tax breaks will cease immediately and the voters, putting patriotism first, ahead pocketbooks will give you their applause. This is not the time to flee the country to escape financial responsibility and American patriotism. To uphold this project to rebuild America, the sovereign of government must impose limits on international investments if we are to be successful. This is the time to avoid shameful, poor patriotism just to enjoy a little temporary safety while blatantly disregarding our efforts to rebuild America. As did President Roosevelt mentioned, companies like AIG, Fannie Mae, and Wall Street deservers neither liberty nor safety for their poor and shameful patriotism. We must demonstrate partisanship with all disapproval of company misconduct, especially during these times. There will be no Golden Parachutes. This will be our national policy and must go into effect immediately. Corrupted individuals will be jailed while others will comply and recognize this must be done to help free the tied-hand from behind the back of our nation. President Roosevelt expressed great wisdom, and it is because of him and his loyal administration that our America was able to stand. In contrast, because the failed, shameful Presidency of George Bush and his administration our nation wobbles. It is evident that during these times, no member of congress shall participate any personal financial investment with companies that affects the businesses, responsible for stimulating the financial growth of our economy while serving active duty for the business of the United States of America. The fall of Wall Street and fail mortgage companies like Fannie Mae, S&L Loans and many more, beacons radiant evidence that it will only lead to corruption. This presidential race clearly, is not about congress, Democrat or Republicans. It’s about getting the job done right to stimulate financial growth of our economy, and to strengthen the security of our nation. I cannot emphasize enough, that we cannot hold off enemy nations with one hand tied behind our back, while the American economy dissolves, and our nation’s security is breach. America knows we have to do this to save the nation of these United States. Congress has failed us.Our congressional representatives have failed us.Our President has miserably failed us.We have come to the brink of all help!We must turn to the people. What is a nation like America to do, in times like these?The answer is simple. The next President of the United States must take the lead to end wars of wars, stabilize our economy, reinforce the security of our nation, and strengthen our unity of purpose, and must know, as did President Roosevelt to that high concept there can be no end save victory! Thank you America, thank you for listening, and thank you for choosing Senator Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States of America. He will lead us, along with Senator, Joe Biden. We hope they will follow every letter of every word of this speech. Thank you and God bless America. Sincerely,

Marcail parker

Gocachi LLC

Republican Manufactured ACORN Outrage

Nia "Hussein" J. — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:09:41 EDT

*I got this information from the listserv*

Looks like the Rethuglicans planted people in ACORN voter registration groups who would do bogus registrations, then turned them in. Then called for an investigation into ACORN. This to dovetail with McCain’s bogus claim that ACORN pressured banks to give home loans to people who were not qualified.

But here’s some bottom lines to this story:
ACORN has themselves identified to voter registration officials any bogus applications to register that they found. They are required to turn ALL of them in (good or not), but they went to the trouble to help registration officials identify bogus registrations. It’s the registration officials who have to accept or reject the registration application.
Ultimately the person who filled out and turned in the bogus registrations has responsibility, not ACORN
Finally, this is not about voting, it’s about voter registrations. Vote fraud occurs when someone actually shows up to vote on an improper registration. For the vast majority, no one is going to show up to vote at all using these registrations, because they don’t even KNOW they have been improperly registered (some of them may be dead).
The Republicans are just messing with ACORN on this to create an issue where none existed. They also are just adding burden to the voter registrars’ jobs. It’s all about trying to tie Obama to vote fraud – while they conduct ACTUAL vote fraud with their other operatives.

Dorchester attorney comes to ACORN’s defense
By Laura Crimaldi
Sunday, October 12, 2008 - Added 22h ago

As election officials in eight states launch probes into possible voter registration fraud, a Dorchester attorney is defending the national advocacy group ACORN, accused of submitting thousands of potentially bogus forms.

“It’s very frustrating to do all this great work and have 99 percent of our employees, sometimes in inclement weather, standing outside of bus stops and in front of stores to help register people in their community and have their work attacked because one percent steal from us,” said Brian W. Mellor, senior counsel for the Washington-based Project Vote.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which partnered with Project Vote in a national voter registration drive, is under fire for voter registration irregularities in Nevada, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Missouri.

Among the phony forms are registrations for the Dallas Cowboys in Nevada, names of the dead and even a fast-food restaurant, Jimmy Johns, handed to elections officials in Lake County, Ind.

The Republican National Committee and Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign accuse ACORN of turning in illegitimate registrations to boost Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

Mellor, who has worked for Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America in Jamaica Plain, said ACORN fired canvassers who submitted phony forms and separated potentially bogus forms from legitimate ones when they turned them in to election officials.

Harvard L. Lomax, registrar of voters in Clark County, Nev., said in an interview that Mellor warned him there might be irregularities because registration is a “sloppy business.” Nevada authorities raided ACORN offices in Las Vegas last week. “My answer was, ‘It’s only a sloppy business when you guys are around,’ ” said Lomax.

ACORN defenders note that the phony registrations do not mean people are voting illicitly since the people listed on them do not exist. Critics say the phony forms needlessly eat up pre-electoral time.

Mellor said ACORN’s quality control requires that workers confirm the registration forms in follow-up phone calls. But all registration forms - even suspicious ones - are submitted to election officials. ACORN says it registered 1.3 million voters this year.

“Nobody wants new voters. The last thing they want is a lot of low-income people voting because that will shake up their city. That’s why we’re registering,” Mellor said.

And this:

Exclusive: ACORN Responds to Voter Fraud Allegations

Sunday , October 12, 2008

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," October 10, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JAMIE COLBY, FOX NEWS GUEST HOST: And it's not just your money that's at risk tonight. There is breaking news, more breaking news about another thing that is so important to all of us, your vote. For the past few days, we've been reporting about a group called ACORN. Their members hit the streets to register low-income voters. And we can tell you tonight that the organization is currently under investigation for fraud or registration irregularities in at least 13 states. There are also questions that have surfaced about Senator Obama's possible ties to this group.

Well, joining us "On the Record" exclusively for his first interview, Scott Levenson is the national spokesperson for ACORN. And Scott, thank you very much for choosing us to talk to about this.

First of all, tell me about these investigations into ACORN. Every day, we hear new information about people who can't even remember how many times they were encouraged to actually register by ACORN representatives.

SCOTT LEVENSON, ACORN SPOKESMAN: Let's talk about what the real story here is because it's actually a great story. ACORN, along with Project Vote, registered 1.3 million folks over the last year. We saw record numbers of people interested and excited about this election in ways we never saw before. There are poor people and young people who are participating in this election in ways they never participated before. And that's our mission. Our mission is to enfranchise the disenfranchised and empower the disempowered.
COLBY: Well, if you're going to sign up...
LEVENSON: So we're...
COLBY: Real quick...
LEVENSON: ... Actually proud of the work we do.
COLBY: You have signed up a lot of voters. I'm not sure you can personally answer. But if you can, how many of them are legal voters and have the right to vote? But why just the poor and disenfranchised? Because perhaps that benefits one party or another, one candidate or another. There's lots of wealthy people who are apathetic who might not vote. Why don't you just do a general get-out-the-vote?
LEVENSON: Well, in fact, we are nonpartisan. We don't ask somebody their income level. We don't ask somebody who they're voting for. We don't ask somebody what party they belong to when we register them to vote. And you know, we've entered a bit of the silly season in politics. You know, all these stories that have come out over the last week...
COLBY: About ACORN -- raids on your offices.

LEVENSON: But it's really important to find out what the real story here is because we by law are required to hold onto and turn over every single voter registration form that's filled out.

COLBY: And your position is that the elections commissions and boards should be responsible for checking those out. Your job is just...

LEVENSON: Well, it's actually -- let me go -- it's really important for the public to understand what's gone on here. We spot proactively by ourselves any questionable voter registration form and proactively notify appropriate authorities at the time that we collect it. We have been turning over registration forms to the authorities in these states weekly...

Watch the interview: Go to this site and click on Watch the interview, imbedded in the story.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436584,00.html

Of course, being Faux News, she doesn’t let him completely tell the story before she starts spinning. But you get the gist of it.

This is all related to this story below. Looks like the Rethuglicans implanted people in ACORN voter registration groups who would do bogus registrations, then turned them in, calling for an investigation into ACORN. This to dovetail with McCain’s bogus claim that ACORN pressured banks to give home loans to people who were not qualified. That’s in this story.

HBOFF] Major UK banks seek $35B funds from government: UK media
ACORN Response to Senator McCain's Smear Ad

Last update: 4:50 p.m. EDT Oct. 12, 2008
WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- ACORN President Maude Hurd released the following statement today in response to the McCain campaign's new ad claiming that, among other things, ACORN is responsible for the mortgage crisis:
"For almost a decade, ACORN, a community organization of 400,000 families in neighborhoods across the country, has been fighting against the predatory lending practices that have robbed our members of their homes, destabilized neighborhoods, and roiled the global economy."
"In his newest ad, John McCain's campaign bizarrely claims, "ACORN forced banks to issue risky home loans, the same types of loans that caused the financial crisis we're in today." Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, ACORN has worked successfully to help working class families get good home loans on fair terms from legitimate banks and has fought vigorously against predatory lenders who have ripped off families in our communities. These predatory loans caused the crisis."
"For more than a decade, ACORN members have held protests, released reports, and advocated for regulations to protect homeowners from predatory lenders. ACORN organizers and volunteers have been working day and night to help victims of the GOP economic meltdown to save their homes from foreclosure. In fact, ACORN has brought class action lawsuits against several predatory lenders, and has lobbied the Federal Reserve and Congress in support of regulations against predatory lending. ACORN has even been successful in convincing many lenders to treat homeowners more fairly and help families be able to make their mortgage payments and save their homes."
"Unfortunately, the Bush administration and Congressional Republicans like John McCain have blocked the sensible regulations that ACORN and others proposed that would have averted the mortgage meltdown. If John McCain thinks that community organizers caused the foreclosure crisis, he knows even less about the economy than previously thought."
"John McCain and the Republicans are desperately trying to shift the blame for the economic crisis they caused with a philosophy of deregulation and indifference to homeowners. All the grainy footage and creepy music in the world can't cancel out some simple, basic facts, and the facts about the economy are not on John McCain's side."
SOURCE Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved End of Story

Dorchester attorney comes to ACORN’s defense
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view.bg?articleid=1125026&srvc=home&position=active
ACORN Response to Senator McCain's Smear Ad
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/acorn-response-senator-mccains-smear/story.aspx?guid={3359B4E7-C95F-4FB6-AA25-43850C78E4EC}&dist=hppr
Fox News
ACORN Responds to Voter Fraud Allegations
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436584,00.html

Ready (Register), Set (Validate), Go (Vote)!!!

Dave — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:09:40 EDT

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

Investigate ACORN Allegations, Find Which Individuals Responsible, Affirm Allegiance to 100% Transparent, Legitimate Process

Joseph — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:51:31 EDT

The GOP is hammering the organizing group ACORN, in part because it wants to create the imrpession that Sen. Obama is somehow a propagator of manipulations and shady dealings. It is a vital part of the Republican psychological fabric to make sure that somehow, no matter how dishonest or sinister in essence or intent, the Republican zeal must be directed like a lightning strike at something its adherents believe is morally degenerate, irresponsible and against all decency.

They will do anything to be able to tell lies with that sharp tone of condescension in their voices, in order to convince voters that they can vote their bias, vote their ignorance, and take shelter in the fabrications of the Republican party. This may sound exagerrated, but it is a consistent pattern and it is visible in every single election where Republicans feel it will not be an easy win. The ACORN issue is also part of the Republican strategy to accuse voters of defrauding the electoral system, when in fact it is a top-down organizational manipulation that they have been working to carry out in every presidential election since 1968.

We need to take this challenge seriously. They will not relent, and they will become increasingly vicious with every passing day. The more shocking their tactics, the more press they will get. If individuals working with ACORN falsified registration forms, there needs to be transparency, the group needs to take action against those individuals, and the Obama campaign needs to be clear about its absolute opposition to any such tactics.

But, we must also keep in mind that legitimate voter-registration drives are absolutely essential to our campaign, to the message of hope, renewal and change, and to the integrity of our democracy, as such. The Republican party counts in most elections on insuring that fewer citizens vote. That is not democracy, it is voter suppression, it is Bolshevik. We need to make this point and make it stick. Democrats, Barack Obama and community organizing groups that help register voters, want our democracy to work, want everybody to have a voice.

The issue here is ACORN was defrauded by volunteers or paid contractors. Someone for some reason decided to forge registration forms. It is likely that there is a trumped up Justice probe going on (this has been part of several corruption scandals for years, including the firing of US attorneys), and that ACORN is being blamed for individual actions, but we need to separate the wheat from the chaff and tell the truth to the American people. Government officials involved in pursuing false or trumped up prosections should be prosecuted, and now.

But the central note we need to strike is: election fraud of any kind is wrong; we need absolute transparency on all related issues, including the misuse of prosecutorial powers, the intimidation of voters, voter profiling for "challenges" and insecure electronic machines, plus links between the corrupt bosses of certain manufacturers and the GOP. Do with this what's been done on Keating: get the resources together, get the story ready, and if they try to use this to smear Obama or to suppress the vote, get the message out on what is known about these other issues.

My Attempt to Call Voters

Jen — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:42:53 EDT

A few days ago, I signed up on this website to call 25 registered voters in my area (Cleveland) and gather information on their plans to vote for the Obama campaign. I feel as if I have failed miserably!

I decided to wait until today, Thursday. I'm always VERY nervous making any phone calls and talking to people I don't know, so I figured I would wait until a stree- free day off of work :) I also wanted to be prepared and helpful when I spoke to my voters. I had the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website open in one window and BarackObama.com in another to look up my Voters polling locations if they wanted me to, and to answer any questions they had on the issues. It turns out, I didn't even get to refer to these sites once.

One of my voters claimed to be undecided and then hung up. One man kindly informed me that he was voting for McCain. One man didn't want to answer any questions. About 5 of the phone numbers were disconnected, only one of which had a forwarding number message (which I called and left a message on the answering machine). At most of the remaining residences, I got the opportunity to talk to the machine or voicemail :) On these messages, I identified myself, informed the voter about the Obama website and the upcoming Prasidential debate, voiced a plea for their vote, thanked them, wished them a great day, and hung up.

I still hold hope as I have 3 of the 25 left to call back. One man didn't feel well and asked me to call back in a few days, after I had identified myself. This might be promising! One woman was at work, I was informed by her family members. I will try her back on Sunday. One woman was 88 years old and must have been hard of hearing. She wasn't able to hear me on my cell phone and asked me to call back. I think I will try her on Sunday, also.

I feel quite disappointed. I don't think I helped any of the voters decide anything and I found out precious little information! Confirming one vote for Obama will make me happy! Is anyone else having this much trouble?

Comprehensive vs. Specialist Voting.

Kelson Philo — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:36:58 EDT

The NRA is endorsing McCain based upon his voting record concerning the right ot bear arms. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre has said:
"He's cast more than 60 votes in the Senate in support of the Second Amendment".

Located here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_el_pr/nra_mccain

How many of us choose our political candidates based solely on one issue? This sort of filtration is hazardous. Failing to take in the bigger picture of a candidate's agenda can lead to harsh consequences in the future. What good is it to be able to buy an automatic if you can't afford the bullets?

Change for America...

Naveen from Woodbury, NY — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:18:27 EDT

I doubt Barack Obama or Joe Biden will respond to this... I would like to hear someone talking about htese points...

I am a registered voter who does not support either candidate.

I want to vent my reasons why...

1. Every politician thinks that American's are DUMB. No one has talked about how the economy works in cycle's... how it was democratic legislation that gave mortgages to the weak, and that caused our crash. Also that the cycle economy will come back. Obama says basically ".. if you are hurting vote for me... McCain will destroy the economy like Bush did... " But why doens't John McCain come back and tell the truth... its not bush, its the Mortgages which everyone thought was great that were given to those that couldn't afford under Clinton, that has now backfired....

2. No one is owning up to the fact that there are fundamental problems with our government as whole. This is NOT a democratic or a repulican nation, it is AMERICA. Some one needs the GUTS to come out and say "..look democrats and repulicans together have supported Isreal, each have a vested interest in oil, and America as whole has supported terrorists, like giving weapons to Bin Laden to use against Russia..."

3. No one is talking about Clinton's 4 failed attempts to protect the country form bin laden because of his "fear" of leading the country into a war. Or his willingness to go into Iraq in 1998 siting there are weapons, but now saying they didn't have it since. WHy not come out and say Our CIA had misleading information...

4. No one has the GUTS to go against their party, and I think its a shame. The Media manipulates it because no one has the guts... and if you do... the media will repress you...

The Latino Constituency

Carlos E. C�rdenas — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:20:30 EDT

It's a momentous time in the US. The possibility that Barack Obama will be the first African American president in US history seems more and more likely as time passes. His campaign exudes a sense of inevitable victory...like it's destined to win. I feel the media has picked up on this. It seems there are more African American commentators are on TV and the the media is giving African Americans more equitable time on TV to voice their opinions. It’s fascinating to watch this happen, however this should have occurred many years ago.

The US is no longer the black and white world, literally and figuratively, that existed 100 years ago. Today, Latinos are a big part of this mix. Latinos will, in the near future, become the majority of the minorities. English no longer holds a monopoly on the means of communication; Spanish has become a fierce competitor in the US. The growing use of bi-lingual education is testament to this fact. Favorite fastfoods such as pizza, hotdogs and burgers are now no longer the number one choice. It's now Mexican and other Hispanic foods that are seducing the palates of many around the US. We are now becoming "green" people a long past tradition of our Latin American "Indian" ancestors. I hope an Obama presidency will lead the country to recognize this reality and thus show the world that the US is more than just a black and white world.

Today is the last day to register to vote in Florida...here's my effort...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:28:59 EDT

I created a flyer today to notify my immediate neighbors and neighboring apartment buildings that today is the last day to register to vote in Florida.

If you live in Michigan, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Virginia today is the day for you to tie up all the loose ends and register...

Let your voice be heard!!!!

This was my effort on this last day to register here in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida...enjoy:

-R

Something to think about this election year...

Barb — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:10:50 EDT

I am a very tolerant person. But I lose my patience with one thing (well, I actually lose my patience over other things too but in an election year, this bothers me the most)...

I lose my patience with some voters.

Vanishing Voters: Why Registered Voters Drop Off the Rolls

Julia G. — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:19:02 EDT

Well, I discovered why I was dropped from the Ventura County voter rolls… It was “believed” that I had moved out of the precinct because I changed my home telephone number to a new, unlisted number on July 31.

It’s funny though that over the past 25+ years that I have been voting, through all of my many moves and telephone number changes, even a party affiliation change, I have NEVER been dropped from the voter rolls until this election.

I’m not a black helicopter, conspiracy theorist by any means, but as my father used to say, this just seems a little hinkey.

Yes, I have reregistered, but I also went out and found more information about this on the U.S.PIRG web site at http://tinyurl.com/vanishingvoters:

[highlighted and underlined items in article are mine]
-----
Vanishing Voters: Why Registered Voters Drop Off the Rolls
09/24/2008

Executive Summary

In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Its primary purpose was to open up the voter registration process and enhance democratic participation. The law had several aims, but among them was protecting Americans from being carelessly or purposefully excluded from voting by being improperly dropped from voting rolls.

Specifically, the NVRA established two clear and simple directives regarding the maintenance of voter rolls:

1. Election administrators may systematically remove ineligible voters from voter rolls at any time except within 90 days of a federal election.

2. Election administrators must notify voters that they will be dropped from the rolls if the administrators believe that the voters have moved to another precinct.

Fifteen years after enactment of the NVRA, however, many states continue to appear unaware of the federal rules regarding voter roll purges. A survey of state laws and election officials shows that, on the eve of the 2008 general election, voters across the country do not appear to enjoy the important voter protection provisions afforded by the NVRA.

Many states seem unaware of the federal rules against systematic voter list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election as evidenced by the following three findings:

1. Nineteen states do not have laws, regulations or systems in place to properly implement the NVRA's 90-day ban on voter list maintenance. There is no apparent pattern to the states that lack these protections, and they cross both political and geographic boundaries.

2. Nine states claim that there is no deadline beyond which voters cannot be systematically dropped from the rolls, a direct contradiction of the terms of the NVRA.

3. Four states have their own deadlines written into state law -- all of which are less than the federally mandated 90 days.

In addition, we found that 11 states do not have the proper systems in place for notifying voters who have been removed from the rolls if they are believed* to have moved out of the precinct.
-----
*believed: They don’t need ACTUAL PROOF. They just need to “believe” that you have moved out of the precinct. Oh, and I was never notified that I was dropped from the rolls.

So again, I ask all of you to verify your voter registration status, and be sure to tell your family and friends to do the same.

Do a Google search on: how can I find out if I am registered to vote in [insert your state here]

Or go to:

National:
http://www.voteforchange.com

Ventura County, California voters go here:
http://recorder.countyofventura.org/elections.htm

California voters go here for your county:
http://www.calvoter.org/voter/government/ceo.html

Julia.

No Nukes is Good Nukes In 2008 and Beyond

ProgressiveVoice — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:47:28 EDT

The overall Energy solutions within the Obama campaign are good aswell as the Green Energy Plan for America.

The only part of Obama Energy Plan that needs to be excluded are Drilling for Oil off Shore McCain wants it and its not only bad for the Environment but the oil return will take if anything 10-15 years if that to find some Oil.

Its a bad Idea Senator Obama don't fall for McCains Energy Plan its no good.

The other area that many are concerned about is Nuclear Power Plants .

Since the early days of the Anti Nuclear Movement which I would bet many of you were involved in over 35 years ago.

Seabrook New Hampshire for one back in the late 70's people protested in the streets against Nuclear because of the Radiation leaks and other major problems with these types of energy plants.

Just recently in an investigative report in the Valley Advocate talks about a Public move to finally shut Vermont Yankee down I suggest all Obama supporters and Obama's campaign staff on Energy Policy read this here is the link http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=8218

Here is a picture of a fire burning at the Planet in the front of this Nuclear Plant not good in 2007 .

Here is another picture of the same Nuclear Plant where they have used Duct tape on a leaking pipe.

Photographer Unknown Photo of area where the stop valve that malfunctioned at Vermont Yankee on August 30,2007

Here is the link to the editorial from again the Valley Advocate Newspapers

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=3551

Remember Three Mile Island anyone i do .

I also have an excellent link which gives information on the dangers of Nuclear Power.

Go to this link aswell Senator Obama I know your concerned with the waste disposal of Nuclear Power Plants thats another reason we cannot build anymore Nukes in this Country.

Anyway here is the link http://www.nonukes.org/ .

Don't listen to the Oil Industry nor the Nuclear Industry they represent whats bad for America and the World we live in period.

Tell Mccain your for real Alternative Clean Energy not Nuclear Power Plants first Mccain said he wanted 100 new Nuclear Plants lastnights debate he said 45 new Nuclear Plants .

The bottomline is Nuclear is unhealthy for our Children and their Childrens ,Children .

Here is a youtube video about Fusion Energy which is not Radioactive as Fission Energy is Senator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn04nIby-gY

Here another good site http://www.generalfusion.com/

What I am basically suggesting Senator Obama is that you take Nuclear Power out of your Energy Plan and instead ad Fusion Power which is clean and safe.

I would like everyone on the grassroots to learn about this Alternative to Radioactive Plants aswell as the Obama Campaign Staff .

Thanks for listening Obama/Biden 08

My response to a couple of call in McCain Supporters.

Kent — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:31:26 EDT

I was listening to Liberal Radio (Rational Radio AM 1360 in Dallas). And a couple of callers really ticked me off. And here's my response to them.

Dear Voting for Palin because she's a she,

Amazing! Ignore everything the GOP candidate does and vote for them because one of the candidate is a woman. Never mind that her core beliefs reflect an attitude that is so anti-woman that women's rights would be set back decades if she's in office. I know it's an odd position to be. In McKinney, there was an openly gay candidate running for city council for the city. First, I'm happy that a gay candidate could run in conservative Collin County. However, the fact that he's gay doesn't cover the fact that he has a pro-business agenda. I supported his oppenent. Despite the fact that he's gay like me, his platform ran against what I believe and that's the reason you should or should not vote for someone!

Signed

Voting for Obama because he's a he

Dear Voting for McCain because Palin is a true Christian,

Okay, you really set me off. I was comforted by the fact that you also set off the radio host and the member of the staff (The Stephanie Miller Show). You claimed you were voting for Palin because she was a good Christain. When Stephanie pointed out the Obama is also a Christian, you said that Obama will give money to the poor and that's not the Christian thing to do. Oh, and then you bring up that bible verse "You'll always have poor. . . " blah, blah, blah. You know, I don't think Jesus said that so that we can use that as an excuse to do nothing for the poor. You went on to say that you worked hard to get where you are at, why can't everyone else. It just brought into focus that Palin's "I'm a Christian and I'm better than you" type of faith deals with bringing other down, telling others how BAD they are so it makes YOU feel better. Obama's on the other hand is help others and bring them up. I prefer his faith over your faith anyday!

Signed,

Holy except for the gay thing and therefor a really bad person in your eyes.

How to get the 18% who don't vote to change their minds

Jonathan Buckman — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:41:25 EDT

As of now I am not going to vote. Maybe that's how you feel or maybe you've already decided. If you feel the same I'm glad to have the company. If you've already decided then finding ways to motivate people who do not vote should be at the top of your list. There is one reason I have never voted and still plan not to: the main issue I am interested in is never dealt with. In fact, my top two or three issues are never discussed in any type of political arena. Why am I writing this blog then? Why have I joined barackobama.com? I have decided to plead for a reason to vote for Mr. Barack Obama. Not any reason, mind you, but my reason. Will I reveal it here: no! Why? Well, I'm curious to see if anyone within the campaign actually cares about little 'ol me and the 18%, a free 18 points?!?!?, I represent. How can I claim to represent that 18%? Excellent question. Actually, it would be totally unreasonable to claim that but please continue reading. This 18% have never voted because nothing has moved them to vote, they have noted no change in this country whether a democrat or republican is in office, except for maybe which actor on Saturday Night Live becomes more famous for their impression of the new president. Maybe they sense the cyclical movement of history and deem the president more an agent of that cycle, a figurehead if you will. Maybe they've read or watched some Noam Chomsky (Manufacturing Consent etc) and notice that no candidate wants to address the massacres by the US occurring in other countries--the ones that do not make it into any newspapers. Surprisingly, that is not the issue that is most important to me and please remember that I will not reveal it here. Also, I would like to note that the president of our country has many powers, some great and some small, but I believe the greatest power is the one that doesn't rely on the cooperation of Congress, Senators, or a constituency; it is the power of storytelling, of mythologizing. Fans of Joseph Campbell will hopefully acknowledge that statement. If a president could tell our country a story so powerful as to change the way we view ourselves and the world then no laws need be passed, no voting must happen. Maybe Mr.Obama is up to my challenge and if not, then I guarantee not 1% of the 18% will be swayed and certainly my vote will stay at home on election day. What if there was a story which could be told which would allow all human beings to have true freedom, true wealth, and a true universally compassionate attitude? What would this story sound like? In fact, the main topics of that courageous and shattering story would be the very concrete items that I, as a human being and US citizen, want addressed more than anything. If you want that 18% you're going to have to do what no other politician has ever been willing to do; tell the US and world citizens a story they have never heard before. The stories we are told define who we are, how we treat others, and our view of the cosmos. It is time for a new story and boy do I have the main characters! I have spent my life reading, learning, thinking, and meditating so I refuse to settle for less than I deserve, for less than you deserve! I want a real change--the real change. As one simple human being I guarantee that the candidate willing to hear me out, to hear my story and to shape it into their own words will not have to worry about any election--they will have the ear of the people of this earth and that is all the power a leader needs. Please, Mr. Obama let me tell you a story you have never heard so that you may have the first chance of relaying it to the world. I'm guessing, however, that this campaign will continue to ignore me and the 18% who will not vote on election day, instead choosing to focus on the standard dead-even election while worrying about how to get one or two points ahead via swing-vote concern. Before concluding I must apologize for the almost new-age-iness of this post--it seems like I'm speaking of some ethereal object or some religious movement--I am not! I am instead choosing to challenge the candidate who I believe might have the courage to ask me exactly what I mean. My true question: does anyone from the campaign even read these posts and do they care? Will anyone have the courage to simply write me an email and ask for more details about how Barack Obama can become one of the most famous men in all of history? If not then Mr.Obama has proven that his campaign is simply an exact replica of all that have come before him. Please don't let that be true.

VOTERS BEWARE!!!

Marie Yolaine — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:30:07 EDT

Please, please, please advise everyone you know that they absolutely can NOT go to the polls wearing any Obama (or whoever you are voting for) shirts, pins, hats, etc. It is AGAINST THE LAW and will be grounds to have the polling officials to turn you away. This is considered campaigning and no one can campaign within X amount of feet of the polls. They are banking on us being overly excited and not being aware of this long standing law that you can bet will be ENFORCED THIS YEAR!!!!!

They are banking that if you are turned away, you will not go home and change your clothes and return to the polls to vote. Please just don't wear ANY gear of any sorts to the polls! Please share this information with as many people as you can. If you are already aware of this, please don't take it as insulting your intelligence.

Have a great day and see you at the polls on November 4th.

Tamiko F. Jones, MSBe yourself...everyone else is already taken...

IMPORTANT - HELP BARACK OBAMA IMMEDIATLY!!!

Obama Radar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:33:58 EDT

content of my email to Michelle Obama:

Of extreme importance:

Whoever - if at all – anyone reads this in the campaign offices:

Barack Obama needs to know the following trend:

Since beginning of this year, we have tracked voter opinions, energy and “swings”.

Although we are only local in the State of Nebraska [physically], we speak daily to many from around the US

and the World [of eual importance to any presidency to be accepted by other nations, not just their leaders]

Since the past 2 days the mood is shifting, especially after the press conference from today:

Barack gave a “careful” speech regarding the conditions to be met for the bail-out of 700 billion.

The conditions they all agree with 100% -

BUT, the opinion now is taking over that Barack sidestepped what he would do if those conditions are not met.

Quote” then I will strongly urge that we go back to the drawing board...”

This is NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE.

People start to think that Barack is more concerned with his political image – versus showing

“Backbone” without being afraid of possible future consequences on his now suggestions.

People want “demands, a president that shows strong leadership even if it goes against the

Campaign motto so carefully orchestrated by a team.

People want to see a president that has STRENGTH, can stand alone with an opinion – if it is the

RIGHT opinion, even opposing everyone else.

Sadly to report, that people start to doubt if Obama is “strong enough”.

This affects primarily the “swing voters” – THE MOST CRUCIAL PART at this point for Barack Obama

to win the presidency.

He ABSOLUTELY HAS TO STATE HIS STRENGTH, CONVICTION, HONEST WILL AND READYNESS

TO EXECUTE IF NECESSARY – saying this with WORDS to the American people.

That is what they need to hear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, they too want specifics from candidates – but Barack Obama still holds a slight different position

with the people: his “hope and change” stimulation is still the core –

But the movement at this time NEEDS TO have verbal reinforcement and AFFIRMATION direct from Barack’s mouth.

BEFORE McCain has a chance to decide to play a maverick and declare some well thought out speech

stating that it is he that is the forceful one.

It is already a careful balance act, since McCain has achieved with his smear campaign to heavily erode

Barack’s “experience” sheet!!!!!!

It does not take much currently and swing voters will clamor to McCain, if for nothing else but the war hero

[which he in reality actually never was if you cared to research his record]. Thousand of soldiers deserve that

title of hero far long before McCain would ever get on this list.

But he is a ‘dangerous man’, with no real strength, honesty or conviction, except the one to hold on to

his job and give himself a crown before he dies.

Please don’t be offended by my harsh words – truth is often harsh.

Barack NEEDS to KNOW how people feel – the ones that not necessarily attend physically his speeches.

It would be a great dis-service to him, to just speak pretty words and haze over the reality.

He MUST become our next president – but he needs MORE then contributions – he need the peoples hearts and

minds to believe that HE is the strongest of them all – i.e. fit to be the president, no matter what the task at hand.

Please excuse my rather plain English for this email – but there is no time for fancy words.

Yours with all my regards,

Michele Krammer

The

obamaradar

ps: posting this content on the blog may not achieve any result to Barack getting such messages because none of the vital campaign managers seem to read posts here.
It’s just a constant back and forth between “already” devout democrats and Obama supporters, as I am. But

just hashing things over and over within our own circles does not make for great stride in the 4th quarter of the run to win the election. No offense - just reality.

Yours,

Michele

Obama Radar

Volunteering - It gets easier

Suzan — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:33:13 EDT

Honestly, it can take a little bravery for some of us to leave our comfort zone and go into an unknown situation, even if you know you'll probably be among like-minded people. The first time I stood outside Kroger and registered voters, I felt a little awkward for the first half hour. The first time I met a "strange guy" in a parking lot so we could go canvassing door-to-door together, I was just a tiny bit apprehensive. (He wasn't "strange" - he was a kind, quiet gentleman - an accountant by profession).

Now, I'm a veteran. I not only register new voters, but I can answer all kinds of voting questions. I no longer fear that I might meet someone hostile when I'm canvassing. It's never happened. And while everyone may not agree with my point of view (and some may even be voting for McCain, and not overly friendly), if I had never volunteered, I never would've met a lot of cool, smart people in my community. If I had never volunteered, I wouldn't have talked with all those people who were so excited about voting for the first time. I never would've met so many passionate Obama/Biden supporters who wanted to share their hopes and fears.

I don't even care if I meet up with a hostile McCain supporter any more. It couldn't begin to put a damper on the uplifting experiences I've had volunterring for this campaign. I've gotten way more than I've given.

Jackpot! Register Voters Residing at Shelters

Lady Beryl — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:43:13 EDT

There are only a few days left!

Register to vote the residents of homeless shelters! They can LEGALLY use the shelter address as their permanent address. Get certified to register people and forms at your local Democratic HQ. They will ensure you know and follow the laws of your state/county. For example, Colorado law is that ex-felons can vote unless on parole. However, those on probation may vote

Registering those who reside at shelters to vote is a win-win-win.

1. It is a good civic thing to do for our country. WIN

2. It is good for the Democrats because most struggling and poor people are smart enough to vote Democratic. WIN

3. It is good for the residents at shelters because the process will give them dignity at a time they need it most. WIN

You might have to arrange transportation for them on 11/4 with the Democrats.

Get busy as soon as you can and spread the word!

Abortion Issue Bigger Than We Thought

Change O'8 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:16:19 EDT

Every undecided voter I've spoken to likes Obama, but are repelled by his stance on abortion.

I think Obama's public discussion of abortion, so far, is inadequate. But Obama has left his view on abortion a little wiggle room, such as, when during the PA debate he said he was unsure about when life began. Then, during the Faith Forum, he said this difficult question was "above [his] pay grade."

I agree with Hillary's comment that abortion should be rare and safe. I think Obama should welcome a vote, once he becomes president, to overturn Roe vs. Wade to state law, and communicate this within the next 45 days to undecided voters.

Obama Needs to Back Off Gun Control

Triscuit — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:20:12 EDT

I've been reading a bit this morning, and I've found people starting to talk about Obama's position on gun control. The gun control issue seems to be returning somewhat, and Obama's support of the Assault Weapons Ban is really hurting him with moderate gun owners.

I think that it is something he really needs to rethink his stance, because the AWB did absolutely nothing to ban automatic weapons, curb violence, or prevent shootings. It is a meaningless piece of legislation that the Democratic Party needs to leave in the 90s. It serves only to drive away gun owners, which are 25% of American adults. 50% of American households have at least one gun.

Obama can't afford to let gun control become a national issue. Both he and the Democratic Party need to drop the issue, support the status quo, and fight other battles. There are very few people who will vote for gun control, and many people who will vote against. It just isn't worth it.

This is the thread that sparked my concerns:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2958956

New Information Attack

Kevin M. from Norfolk, VA — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:57:17 EDT

I know that I am just a citizen, but this would be an excellent time for Senator Obama to begin dropping some hints to whom he would have in his cabinet as President while he is now on the offensive.

It is important that his cabinet is very diverse in political terms, gender, race, etc.. Show the American People what your cabinet would look like.

Who do you think should be in his cabinet?

New Stump Concept - "We Will Run America Like You Run Your Family"

Simon Gornick — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:05:00 EDT

You know, there's a lot of talk that the Republican Party is the party of family values.

Over the last few years they acted as if they owned the idea of family.

But I'm not so sure those days aren't over.

Family Values this. Family Values that.

They keep talking family, but do they deliver?

No way.

American Families have suffered terrible hardships over last eight years.

Bush and his pals talked a real good game about family and what did American Families get out of all that?

Lower real wages, higher food prices, skyrocketing health costs, more foreclosures than ever before, and four dollar gas.

Not much of a deal.

Just a lot of hot air.

Bush and McCain told us that if we cut taxes a little for you, and a lot for the rich, all American families would get richer.

Didn't happen that way.

I suppose that's what they mean by family values.

Rich families are just more valuable than yours.

With Bush and McCain at the wheel, Wall Street cleans out the trough, and then hit you up for the bill.

Could've seen that one coming.

I suppose that's what they mean by family values.

Your family is only valuable to them when it has to bail them out.

And if McCain and Palin ride their Double Talk Express into the White House I guarantee you it will be four more years of the same.

There will be more big talk about family.

And zero action to help American families.

More hot air about how important you are to them.

As long as they can keep picking your pocket to keep their rich lobby friends happy.

It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen.

Because the American Family deserves way better than that.

The American Family deserves more than lip service.

The American Family deserves to be heard.

So I've been doing some thinking and it occurred to me that it's time Democrats started to listen.

Not just to hear you out.

But to learn.

Because the way the American family works is the way America should work.

It has optimism, it has guts, and it has faith.

It has energy, it has intelligence and it has joy.

It has justice, it has wisdom, and it has courage.

Rich or poor, black, brown or white, it doesn't matter.

There wouldn't be an American dream without the American family.

Because the American family is the heart and soul of this country and we in the Democratic Party honor that.

The Democratic Party has been fighting for the American Family for generations.

We're the party of FDR, Civil Rights, and the Great Society.

The Democratic Party has always protected the American family during times of crisis

During Depression, during war...

And we're here for you now during the Wall street meltdown that Bush and his buddies have so kindly delivered.

But we won't stop at just protecting you.

We won't rest at that.

We need to go further.

We must recognize that what we need to do to solve the great problems that face this nation is already part of the experience of every good and strong family in America.

We need to learn from the families of this country, to build the family that is America.

So what is it you do we need to learn?

Your family tries to balance the books and spend what it can afford.

That's what America must do to improve its economy.

A tax cut for the middle class. No more programs we can't afford. A cleaner tax code.

We need to learn from you.

When someone in a family strays, tough love brings them back.

America needs tough love too

For Wall Street, for Big Pharma, and for Big Oil.

We need to learn from you.

Your family teaches its children wisely, and give them wisdom and love.

That's what America must do to create the citizens of tomorrow.

Creating good jobs. Nurturing innovation. Paving the way for success.

We need to learn from you.

Your family doesn't waste energy or fuel. It recognizes their value.

And so should America.

A comprehensive energy policy. No more dependence on mid-east oil.

We need to learn from you.

American families are open and honest and fair.

Washington should take a leaf out of your book.

Bush kept you in the dark. We'll turn the lights on.

We need to learn from you.

American Families watch where their money goes.

Washington needs to do the same.

When I am President you will be able to tell us how you want some of your taxes are spent, right on your 1040 itself.

Because we must learn from you.

When your son or daughter is sick, you do everything you can to make it right.

So should America.

We need a fair health policy that protects everyone and gives them choice.

We need to learn from you.

Your family keeps its house and yard clean and safe.

So must America protect its environment and show that it's serious in the fight against global climate change.

Let's put American ingenuity to work to build a greener economy and save our environment.

We need to learn from you.

When a neighbor needs help, your family offers it, gladly, willingly, and without condition.

So must the American Family.

Strengthening social security, helping people on welfare back to work.

We must learn from you.

When American families make mistakes, they get it right next time.

America needs to pay attention.

Three years after Katrina, FEMA is still an accident waiting to happen.

We need to learn from YOU.

Your family is a good friend to its neighbors, but knows how to protect itself.

That's what America must do on the world stage.

Rebuild America's standing. No more wars without end. No weakness in the face of terror.

We need to learn from you.

Every day, the families of America strive to make their worlds better and brighter.

Every day the families of America persist and prosper.

Every day the families of America work hard.

We need to do this as a nation.

And together we will.

Let me make it real plain.

When I am in the White House we will run this country like you run your family.

Because decisions that affect your family are more important than any other decisions a president can make.

So let me say this loud and clear from Los Angeles to Louisville, from Phoenix to Pittsburgh, and from Alberquerque to Atlanta.

Let us one and all join together to build a better, stronger, more hopeful American Family that will once again turn its American dream into reality.

(end)

Republican National Committee Challenging Michigan Voters on Foreclosure Lists

Sunny — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:01:18 EDT

Republicans were planning on blocking folks who foreclosed their homes due the sub-prime mess in Michigan from voting in the up coming Presidential election. Talk about caring for people, the bastard Republicans hit a new low with that strategy. McCain has 7 houses, how the heck does he know what the average American’s struggles are. The Dems are fighting the case in a federal court!

Voters vs. Converts

Steve — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:26:45 EDT

Converts don't win elections. Voters win elections. We don't have to get 270 electoral converts to win, we have to get 270 electoral votes to win.

Democrats want converts. In my view, that's laudable, but it doesn't win elections.

Republicans want voters. In my view, that's often detestable, even more so because it wins elections.

Why People Vote Agaist Their Own Best Interests

TJ Franklin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:04:24 EDT

It is painfully obvious that many people will willingly vote against their own best interests, but the nagging question is "Why?"

A small minority will vote for their party, regardless of the issues. There's really nothing that can be done to persuade this group of voters. No arguement, no matter how well phrased, no matter how logical, will get through their strict party loyalties.

Another group are those that vote on the basis of personality. These voters, as well, are difficult to persuade. They simply like the candidate that they support. They may not even know why, but on some deep level, they connect with the chosen candidate. This is extremely apparent in the "hockey mom" group that supports McCain/Palin, and women that are voting for Palin based solely on gender, and they support them not because of McCain, but because of Palin. The same applies to those that vote based solely on race, age, or other identity factors. The issues don't matter, they will simply believe in or agree with whatever the personality espouses.

Educating the Voters

Salvatore from San Jose, CA — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:25:36 EDT

I have a growing concern as I watch the back and forth with this election. Voters are being swayed by things they see in ads and see in e-mails and not on the facts about the candidates. This is no news flash to anyone, I'm sure, but my question that I'm posing to the general public is "How do we get accurate information to the voters?". My gut feeling is the majority of people out there vote on a candidate based on their perception rather than based on the issues, and it scares the hell out of me.

We've seen the McCain campaign say things like "Obama is going to raise your taxes." , a true statement for individuals making more than $250,000, but not the whole truth. I just saw an article on CNN about a McCain campaign ad on immigration which slams Obama even though McCain had the exact same voting record on the immigration issue last year.

Let's be fair, this is not specifically an issue with the McCain campaign. I've seen Obama ads that do not necessarily tell the whole truth either (I know it's just politics). For instance, I've heard Barack Obama say repeatedly that John McCain is going to give a tax break to the oil companies, again, a true statement, but not the whole truth. McCain's policy is to give all corporations a tax break, not just the oil companies. It has a different ring when said specifically about oil companies.

So, back to my question. How do we get the right information to the voters? We can't rely on all of them to do their research on the web, and ads aren't long enough to get the message across. If we let the general public be swayed by the ads of this campaign, McCain will have an advantage.

Watchdog group says McCain aired negative TV ad in violation of 9/11 pledge

Jennifer Mohr — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:22:24 EDT

Associated Press | 6 hours, 52 minutes ago in Politics

An independent watchdog group says that Republican John McCain's campaign violated a pledge not to air any negative TV ads on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Read more of the article

Absentee Ballots sent to potential Obama Supporters in Purple States... from the McCain camp???

Shirl3y — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:46:04 EDT

I heard on Air America during Thom Hartmann's block (he's got a sub. in for him--not sure his name) and he received calls from people in purple states that would-be potential Obama voters, that they received an Absentee Ballot forms from the McCain campaign...?

Huh?... many are questioning the validity of them and whether or not they will ultimately cause undo harm come time to vote. Will voters who filed the form be misled, only to wait and wait for it to arrive, that it eventually never comes in the mail? Some were claiming it had additional information on it that was confusing; checking of some sort of box--and what if they did/didn't? It's definitely something to look into, although it's probably nothing.

Anyone have any insight as to this who might know more details?

How can you be undecided??!!

Tanya0510 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:43:50 EDT

I overheard someone at work speaking VERY loudly about McCain and Obama yesterday. He might of seen the Obama 08 shirt I was wearing, however; I couldn't make out what he was saying exactly because I was pretty far away, but I caught a few sentences. He said, "I don't have a problem with his skin color, but he doesn't have enough experience." What are people thinking?! How can anyone these days vote republican? The party is ancient... in the ideals the party members promote as well as their age. People once believed the earth was flat and even when it was proven to be round, there were those that still believed it was flat. That is a typical republican! How can anyone be undecided for this upcoming election?? Isn't it clear? The republican party does not support the American people, it supports corporations.

In regards to Obama and McCain, it is not about experience, it is about what KIND of experience! I don't think it is a problem that Palin has little experience. I think it is a problem that she wants to set back the women's movement and does not approach the world as it is today but as if she were living a hundred years ago. McCain has a lot of expereince, yes, but NOT the right kind of experience! A person's perspective and creativity in handling situations is not subject to age or amount of experience. You either have it or you don't, no matter if you just begun or have been doing it for 30 years. Obama HAS it! McCain just wants to preside over America with outdated views and beliefs.

If America is going to have two primary parties competing nationally, then they should be the democrats versus the greens. That seems more fitting for our world today. The democrats are more conservative and the greens are more progressive. The republicans are just backwards. It's time to phase them out! It's time for a REVOLUTION... a peaceful one!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Ghandi

Seek Your Own Information; Don't Be Passive

Ken in Squirrel Hill — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:17:30 EDT

As voters continue to let themselves be manipulated by irrelevant distractions about Barack Obama, the less they know about him. If voters would actually make an attempt to learn meaningful information about the candidates on their own, rather than sitting back to be spoon fed distortions and nonsense by partisan opposition, they might reach very different conclusions about the candidates and whom they favor. For example, if everyone would read Obama's impressive memoir, "Dreams from my father", written when he was just 32 (before he got into politics), they would discover Obama's real life story and values, including his years of organizing on behalf of poor and working people in Chicago. They would realize that his message of "hope and change" is not a cynical campaign slogan (unlike George W. Bush's blatant lies about promising to be a "uniter, not a divider" or a "compassionate conservative") but rather one that has guided his life for decades.

Help Me Understand

Lacey — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:16:43 EDT

I just don't understand how people can be so careless about voting. We have been given the opportunity to choose who we want to lead our country out of a handful of candidates. When people are ignorant it makes me confused and irritated.

Here is what I mean... Someone in my circle of friends has stated that he will not vote for Obama due to his "race". I find it hard to believe that these people are still out there, but they are. When asked about his political views and wishes for our country's future, his opinions matched Obama's. So WHY would he waste his vote by voting for McCain??? If he is going to have a problem with Obama, but does not believe in McCain's campaign, then, in my opinion, he should just not vote. Why vote in something that he do not believe in, just to prevent America from having a black president? Then, when my friends and I started talking more about the subject, he requested that we stopped talking politics. That p's me off just as much, because he is not willing to LEARN what is going on!!! And I feel that this uneducated person will be canceling out my vote.

On the same note, someone else that I know was saying that she was going to vote for McCain because he is Christian. WHAT?!? This seems to be even more aggravating to me than the race thing. I understand that she wants the president to have good morals and such, like she believes all Christians do, but why does it matter where the president goes when he dies?? That does not affect your personal eternity. Why make choices for a leader on earth based on the candidate's interpretation of an afterlife? Plus, anyone can say they are Christian, what makes her think that McCain is a devout Christian, and not just saying that to get her, again, uneducated vote? She has not looked into either candidate's campaign, and is using this as her only excuse. She said that she was under the impression that Obama is Muslim, and that "bothers" her. I told her that I do not know his religion, to me that does not matter, but if he is Muslim, then she is lucky because then at least he still believes in the same god that she does. She did not understand. She obviously does not understand the Muslim religion. I was enraged by the fact that people can be so ignorant. Just because someone may be Muslim, does not mean that they are al qaeda... That would be like some non-Christian thinking that the people of Westboro Baptist are what all Christians are like.

Please help me understand why/how people are like this. Do they not want a change in America? Do they not understand how things work? Do they not care enough for themselves or those around them to educate themselves? Or are they just so ignorant that they do not see how very ignorant they are?

What We Can Do Together

Amanda Thompson — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:49:12 EDT

Great HuffPost blog on how we can all own this campaign.

Frightened by McCain's Post-Convention Bounce? Three Things You Can Do Personally To Affect the Outcome of the Election

Robert Creamer

Posted September 9, 2008 | 01:32 PM (EST)

Over the last couple of days I've received more calls and emails than I can count from people with fear in their voices. They want to know what to make of McCain's post- convention bounce in the polls. They want to know if Obama can still win. Most of all they want to know what they can do to help.

McCain's post-convention bounce resulted from two factors:

First, was three days of the Republican Convention, during which large numbers of viewers watched Republicans and fellow travelers like Joe Lieberman repeatedly deliver a carefully crafted message. They blasted Obama. They postured about change. Their kids looked adorable. Subject anyone to largely one-sided messaging for a week and some will be convinced. Some of that will stick; much will disappear as memories of that experience fades.

Second - and more importantly - McCain's pick of Sarah Palin moved a lot of white women. The Washington Post poll released today showed white women shifting from an eight-point pre-convention lead for Obama to a 12-point McCain advantage.

What does this mean for the outcome of the race?

The race today is about even, with McCain having a slight advantage in the popular vote, and Obama having an advantage in electoral votes. The effect of exposure to the convention itself will likely diminish over the next several weeks. In 2004, Bush moved to a nine-point lead after his convention and most of that gap disappeared within a few weeks.

The long-term effect of the Palin factor is less certain. Much depends on what all of us choose to do now.

There are about ten likely electoral vote scenarios that could develop in this race. In eight of them, Obama is the winner. The underlying desire for change, and the overall disgust with the Bush-Republican administration of the last eight years, is just as real as ever. The website www.Fivethirtyeight.com employs a sophisticated projection model to predict electoral outcomes, and it still gives 61.2% odds that Obama will win in November.

But this week's polling numbers have certainly given a wakeup call to lots of Progressives who might have become complacent in their views that Obama's victory was a lock.

What did we think - that the gang who has run this country for the last eight years would simply roll over and surrender without a fight? These guys are very good at running elections and they will bite and claw and gouge eyes to win.

Luckily, we don't have to just sit by and watch from the sidelines, and hope that someone else makes the right call or runs the right TV spots.

There are three steps that every one of us can take that will actually impact directly the ultimate outcome of this race.

1). Remember that you are Obama's best campaign commercial. Obama made a good deal of progress at his own convention in convincing swing voters he is not just an agent for change, but a "safe" choice. But there are still a lot of voters who worry about Obama. They aren't really too worried if he is "experienced" enough (though they may say so). The movement of white women to Sarah Palin should put an end to any thought that "experience" is the main issue. They are worried if he will "safely be on their side."

The message that is most persuasive at convincing someone that Obama is "safely on their side" is having someone who is like them talk to them about why they support Obama - and why they are against McCain-Palin. "If Mary or Sarah likes Obama I guess he must be OK."

If you want to help win this election, it means you might have to break the "taboo's" about not talking about politics with your neighbor or your co-worker. It means you have to bring up the campaign over the lunch table or the backyard fence. It means you can't just go along when someone says something like "Palin is such a breath of fresh air." No, you must tell them, actually she's never been for "reform" and she embraces all of the economic policies that allow big companies to make tons of money while incomes of people like us fall.

Want to make calls to swing voters like you in swing states? The Obama campaign can hook you up with lists to call and get a report from you on the outcome through their website, www.MyBarackObama.com. And don't feel like the conversations you have are just a drop in the bucket. There will be hundreds of thousands of other volunteers around America who will be doing the same thing.

2). Don't unwittingly contribute to their narrative. Most swing voters aren't excessively focused on "experience." They think the gang with lots of experience has done a pretty crummy job, at least for them. They want someone who is "on their side." One reason that many white women like and identify with Palin - at least at first blush - is because they think she identifies with them.

When Progressives make "elitist" attacks on Palin, they just reinforce the right wing narrative that the "Elitist Eastern Establishment" is the problem. Don't patronize the very people we are trying to convince.

From most people's points of view, the problem with the McCain-Palin ticket isn't so much that Palin is from a small town in rural Alaska and hasn't got the experience to run the country. The arguement that is convincing to normal people is that neither McCain nor Palin are what they claim to be - reformers or agents of change. Their campaign is being run by lobbyists for the biggest corporate interests in America--the same people who ran the Bush campaign. And they are committed to the economic policies that make average people's incomes drop and reward the very rich.

McCain and Palin act as though they identify with the interests of the guys in the NASCAR grandstand and the women at the PTA - but they are doing the bidding of the guys from Wall Street and the women wearing $4,500 outfits like the one Cindy McCain donned for the Republican Convention.

Our assault on McCain and Palin must never be done from an elitist perspective, but from a populist perspective.

3). Take personal responsibility to win this election. More than any election in modern political history, this election will be decided by the work of millions of people who talk to their neighbors, make small donations on the internet and - most importantly - demand that every voter go out to vote.

And I mean demand that every voter go to the polls. To win, we need to change the electorate. In this election, friends don't let friends not vote. There is too much at stake. The damage of another four years of Bush-McCain economic and foreign policy would be catastrophic for the future of our children, and children all over the world.

The key point is this: don't just whine to your friends about what the campaign should do, or the party should do, or the candidate should do. Take personal responsibility to do the two things that will win: persuade swing voters, and mobilize voters who won't vote unless they are motivated to do so.

The Obama campaign has the best field operation in the history of presidential politics. Join it. Take an assignment. Make contributions on the Internet. Hold a fundraiser. Write a letter to the editor. Most important: don't sit on the sidelines.

The recent polls should provide a call to arms to everyone who wants change in America or believes in progressive values.

Don't think what you do is inconsequential or can't affect the outcome. My firm, the Strategic Consulting Group, ran the field operation for a wonderful congressional candidate in south Florida in 2000. We did a great job. We knocked on every door. We pulled out lots of votes. But we lost by 550 votes. It was the same 550 votes that beat Al Gore and gave us George Bush.

If we had just dragged out one more Democrat per precinct in the closing hours of that Election Day, America would have been spared the nightmare of the last eight years. Each of us could decide the outcome of this election, too.

In 2008, Progressives in America are presented with an unprecedented opportunity to fundamentally change the direction of American politics. As I argued in my book, Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win, we could be on the verge of a new progressive era in America. If we win, progressives will be able to take the offensive and reshape the political and economic structures of our society for the first time in four decades. We can come out of our defensive crouch and help shape a democratic society infused with progressive values, with the fundamental principle that "we're all in this together" not "all in this alone."

But to have that opportunity we have to win - and winning requires that we all stand up now and take the future into our own hands. The game is on. Get out of the stands and onto the field, into the arena. The work we do over the next 56 days could be the most important that any of us will do in our lives. Let's not miss this precious opportunity to make history.

Robert Creamer is a long-time political organizer and strategist, and author of the recent book Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win, available on Amazon.com.

It's about us, the voters!

Martha Page — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:17:58 EDT

What will MY world look like on January 21st! That's what this election is about, and what Barack should remind voters. It's not about this campaign or polls or the lies repeated by the talking heads. It's not even about Barack. THE ELECTION IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA. It's a BIG election, and not about little things. I LOVED the ad this morning showing excerpts from Barack's AMAZING CONVENTION SPEECH.

And I believe that the polls and the common wisdom and especially the Republicans are dead wrong because they never notice us...the army of Barack volunteers out there. And they definitely overlook all those people registering for the first time. Keep going everyone! And Barack, keep the faith in David Axelrod's vision. Hope, a common America, Enough. You can add NO MORE YEARS!

Republicans using Mind Control Software technology to influence voters

Rik from Silver Spring, MD — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:01:25 EDT

I can assure you that this information is technically accurate. The technology is cheap, easy to acquire, and easy to use to generate effects upon unsuspecting American voters given the mass media venues that are available. Starting with the 2004 elections the republicans began experimenting using mind control software to effect the voter turnout and the voter decision making process. You may remember the numerous articles reporting in 2003 2004 that it appeared that the voters supporting Bush must have been hypnotized or in a trance to ignore so many warning signs about Bush's unfitness and failings to be considered for president again. The republicans are using the mind control software again in 2008 with lots of success at the national level, but with less success at the state level for some reasonThis is not a joke....the technology was invented in the 1830s and is called Binaural beats here is a wikipedia link that explains it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats but you can just google binaural beats and get dozens of links. It is today a large growing industry with lots of newage and meditation like groups producing and selling the same software technology to be used for positive purposes that the Republicans have been using for mind control of Anerican voters.In fact I own one of the binaural beats production tools myself and can assure you beyond any doubt that it works as advertised. While the intended use is not mind control (mass hypnotize) it is very easy to do that and requires almost no technical expertise to accomplish using the commercial available binaural beats software. Basicly, what you generate is something that sounds like "white noise" and that any audio tracks such as speech or music can be overlayed onto. What it does is create two frequencies that is played in stereo. The brain hears the two different frequencies separately through each ear and then the brain creates a third frequency. That third frequency overrides the person's normal thinking mind and can create brainwave states of Alpha, Theta, Delta, and Beta...each of which has a corresponding physical, emotional, and mental state. You can find tons more on this described by the companies that sell the software online when you google binaural beats software. (btw it is now sold under many technology names ....like Hemi-sync, Subliminal-Studio, SHARM, etc)Now days everyone listens to TV (cable, satellite, FIOS), Radio, iPod, CDs using devices that generate stereo output. This binaural beats software technology was in use at the 2008 Republican Convention during the TV time of any of the key republican speaker's speeches. So for over 50 % of the listeners using stereo TVs the republican speakers could have been saying "marry had a little lamb" and they would have thought it was the best ideas and speech ever due to the underlying .binaural beats being used to hypnotize the listeners. They were being mind controlled with a pre-programmed unaudio'able audio tack of binaural beats overlaid along with the broadcasted video signalThe republicans plan to do the same for the McCain and Obama debates. The current plan for the debates is to use the binaural beats software to hypnotize voters to dislike and distrust Obama when he speaks. This binaural beats software is really powerful stuff. You can take a person and without them having any knowledge before , during , or after that they have been manipulated into a relaxed suggestive state of mind and then one the republican seeds of suggestion have been implanted in the person's mind another set frequencies is used to solidify the republican instructions and cause the person to act upon the suggestions when they are in a state of slight hyper activity....like when you go to vote, or like when you get excited discussing with you friends or family.Many of us are now supporting policitical canidates and polictical platfroms simply because you have progrmmed to do so. Over 50 % of the native english speaking population of the US are highly suggestive subjects. Unless you are de-programmed, which is very simple and quick you have continue to think and believe what the republicans have hypnotized you to thin and believe for weeks or even months on a single session of binaural beats that are being encoded into what apperas to be normal TV and Radio broadcast. (Conventions, Canidate Commericals, Debates, etc)

Palin's pants are on fire.

JennyB — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:32:14 EDT

Why can't we call politicians who lie, liars? Why do Democrats & the media shie away from calling it like it is? If I hear "misstatement", "misrepresented", "inaccurate", or "untruth" one more time, I'm gonna throw things at my TV!

When we cease to call liars "liars", corruption "corruption", and even worse, cease to insist on reasonable answers to legitimate questions, we will be lied to by corrupt liars who will dodge inquiry. My brother says that Americans get the politics they deserve; i.e., if individuals don't take the time to learn about the issues and discern truth from fiction and make an informed decision, they deserve to be represented by the likes of Bush/McCain/ Palin. Maybe they do deserve it, individually. But we as a nation don't.

I know Barack is confident that when the dust settles and voters think about who has their interests in mind, they will vote for him. But that's what I thought in 2000 and 2004. We can't afford to overestimate the voters - nor can we underestimate the outrageous lengths McCain, Palin, Bush, Cheney and Rove will go to in order to win. Yes, they will lie and cheat and steal. They've done it before. And they won.

Get a job in the swing states! RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE!

Bobbi Miller-Moro — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:36:10 EDT

Want to be a part of the 2008 election?

The nation’s attention will be on swing states this fall – and there are LOTS of jobs available there!

If you want to be a part of the action, we’ll help you get to one of our program cities, starting with: Denver,
Cincinnati, and Virginia Beach and get a job with a group like MoveOn, Sierra Club, ACORN, or a candidate
campaign of your choice.

Is Welfare Abuse Still An Issue?

Middle-Class Muse — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:18:49 EDT

Here are some comments I recently read on a message board about why Republicans are choosing McCain:

I'm very much in favor of finding a way to eliminate the handouts, asap. I'd yank Welfare in a heartbeat.

In the U.S., Welfare lasts as long as you suck from that tit.

We don't owe social assistance to the children of illegal immigrants or career welfare users.

So why are on-the-ground Republicans still regurgitating the Reagan campaign's talking points? Haven't they noticed that even McCain isn't talking about welfare anymore?

I don't want to support welfare lifers either. I've spent 25+ years working my tail off, and I don't want my taxes going to support an able-bodied person who spends the day watching All My Children and collecting a welfare check.

But welfare-for-life really ended in 1996, so I am surprised that welfare is still a big issue among Republican voters. Welfare abuse was a genuine problem until the mid-1990s, but today there are only 14 million people on any sort of public assistance at all, and of those, 65% are children. Of the 35% of welfare recipients who are adults, 90% are women. And statistics show that welfare is now a temporary form of assistance: a recent analysis shows that 56 percent of AFDC support ended within 12 months, 70 percent within 24 months, and almost 85 percent within 4 years. The actual cost of welfare programs is about 1% of the federal budget and 2% of state budgets.

In contrast to the 14 million people who receive some form of public assistance including welfare, there are 50 million Americans who have no health care except through emergency rooms (which by law cannot turn anybody away), plus another 38 million who are inadequately insured (in other words, they're covered for an emergency, but can't afford the copays and deductibles for routine care such as mammograms or blood pressure medicine or a visit to the doctor when they have the flu.) These are people who, almost universally, neither want nor expect a hand-out, who work hard and pay taxes. They just can't afford health care and/or insurance.

By the way, the key welfare reform legislation was enacted under the Clinton administration.

Republicans who are still making voting decisions based on the societal drain of career welfare recipients aren't doing their homework. They're just reaching for the same tired old crutch because they can't be bothered to do some real homework. And Republican candidates are happy to let the welfare myths stand, since the profit from them.

Democrats are letting a huge opportunity go by if they don't start talking about these facts.

Voters Registration

Nibal and Pamela — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:42:41 EDT

We ( in Florida ) have until October 6 to get as many voters registered as we can. I hope someone knows how to have a posting like this go to all the groups in the united states. just imagine this:

all members of the group print 40 applications each ( in florida here is the link http://election.dos.state.fl.us/pdf/webappform.pdf )

Go and find 10 peoples and register them to vote

give each one of the 10 people you regirter 3 more application for anyone they might know.

I am posting this on 3 groups one of which has almost 21000 members. That is a potential of 84000 new voters. Do you know or can get 10 peoples to register? I am going to do my part .

The time is NOW!

Penna Omega — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:14:56 EDT

We have less than 60 days until Election day.

More importantly, we have less than 35 days to register people to vote!

I did not know during the primaries that when I moved, I would have to re-register. I had to fly to Los Angeles from San Francisco on Super Tuesday to vote for Barack Obama! My friend drove 45 minutes to her polling place from work, only to find out that she had been removed from the voter list because she didn't vote in the last election! WE CANNOT LET THIS KIND OF THING HAPPEN, NOT THIS YEAR!!!

I have created a .jpg image of some of the key swing states that we need (Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, etc.) with the deadlines for each for registering to vote. It's called REGISTER.jpg

Please download it ( http://www.pennaomega.com/obama ) and send it to EVERYONE you know, not only in those states, but to everyone... and ask them to send it on to all their friends and family who are supporting Obama/Biden who may not know if they are registered or not.

If you have any questions about the image or want me to make one for one specific state not shown, please post here and I will answer any questions and make one for you!

Penna

P.S. Going to Denver next week to register voters and going to Nevada 1st week of Oct. for the same!

Why Obama Will Win (Part 1): Obama Attracts More Voters Than McCain

FiredUpInCA — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:48:40 EDT

He will win because as a career total Obama has won more votes than McCain:

Obama: 2008 (presidential primary), 17,869,542
McCain: 2008 (presidential primary), 9,840,746

As a career total, Obama has won more votes than McCain:

Here's the numbers:

Votes McCain has received in his career:
2008 (presidential primary), 9,840,746
2004 (senate), 1,505,372
2000 (presidential primary), 6,061,332
1998 (senate), 696,577
1992 (senate), 771,395
1986 (senate), 521,850
1984 (house), 162,418
1982 (house), 89,116
= 19,648,806 votes

Votes Obama has received in his career:
2008 (presidential primary), 17,869,542
2004 (senate), 3,597,456
2002 (state senate), 48,717
1998 (state senate), 45,486
1996 (state senate), unknown
= 21,561,201 votes

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/obama-leads-mccain-in-total-vo.html

This weeks' voter Registration

Mike Conwell — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:34:12 EDT

Wednesday - 1 hr four voters plus a fifth from work

Thursday 2 hours - 16 voters and identified family affected by Suspense Voter even though they haven't moved

Friday - Night off for Chaz Palmanteri

Saturday - Identified over 20,000 purged voters in Harris County over the last eight years. Way to go Paul Bettencourt. I'm releasing the hounds.

Michael Moores Film - Slacker Uprising

Deb — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:08:52 EDT

Encourage everyone you know to go to www.slackeruprising.com where they can sign up for and spread the word about Michaels latest film. It can be downloaded free on Sept 23. It's being done this way to get young people to get out to vote. The trailer is great! "This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November." – Michael Moore

The way to win Independent voters . . .

Roy Nowlin Jr. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:52:59 EDT

As I worked to persuade voters this past week, their key sticking point in not supporting Barack is the belief that he plans to RAISE TAXES. When pressed, these people could not say which taxes they believed Barack would raise. This is signifies that the McCain campaign’s rhetoric is not specific, so we can defeat it. The reason this argument has traction is because of the Bush administration’s lack of fiscal responsibility.

Potential voters realize how much the government has spent on wars over the past 8 years, and they get as angry at the spending, as the misguided war. The strategy to defeat the “raise taxes” argument is simple: highlight Barack’s fiscal policies, and make the case that spending tax dollars wisely will prevent the need to raise taxes. We have to become familiar with the fiscal policies and tell everyone who asks what those policies are:

Young Voters of Southern California!

Katie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:57:54 EDT

Hey everyone! I would love to get together with young adults who are in support of Obama and his campaign. This is just a quick thought I came up with but any ideas or suggestions are very much welcome. I'd love to make this an event on the site and we can make it a bi-weekly meeting. I feel that we need more events for people our age so we can communicate and feel as if we aren't the only ones out there! We can meet up at a coffee shop and discuss our views, etc. Let me know what you all think, give me some ideas :)

Pop Gun Palin. . .

AC Parker Northern California--East Bay — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:18:49 EDT

a lot of noise. They are not even trying to win this race. Is there a crew or commitee or something ensuring that states and local communities will and can safeguard the rights of voters? How is headquarters being proactive in taking steps to thwart what might be the last resort of the JM campaign? What can I do? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can speak to this.