Boilermakers For Obama
2009
Not only words this year..........let's move to save the Economy, the Peace and the International Relations.
These are the main facts we should reach, asap.
Fast, please !
Simone
(read more)Bodies pile up as Mugabe wages war on diamond miners
From my friends around the World ; liveSimone
Scores have been killed during a campaign of terror unleashed by Zimbabwe's rulers against illegal diggers in the east of the country
- Chris McGreal in Mutare
- The Guardian, Thursday December 11 2008
- Article history
The young miner already recognised the sound of dogs as a terrifying harbinger of death but the dull thud of the helicopter blades was something new.
Minutes later a Zimbabwean air force helicopter swept over the hundreds of fleeing illegal diamond miners and mowed down dozens with machine-gun fire. After that the police arrived and unleashed the dogs that tore into the diggers, killing some and mutilating others. The police fired teargas to drive the miners out of their shallow tunnels and shot them down as they emerged.
How many died in the assault two weeks ago is not clear but the miners say it was at least scores. Some bodies remain unclaimed and unidentified in Mutare hospital mortuary.
"First we heard the helicopter and we knew it wouldn't be good but I thought it would just deliver soldiers," said the young miner, a former student who gave his name only as Hopewell.
"Then it came over us and started shooting. There was a man next to me, he had been digging near me, and the bullet went right through his head. Everyone was in panic. People ran but they didn't want to leave their finds behind so they were stopping to grab them and getting shot ... The police were waiting for us with the dogs. I was lucky. A dog ran for me but there was this woman, she was slower than me and it attacked her. I don't know what happened to her. I went back to my diggings a few days later but she hasn't come back."
The police and military have for weeks been conducting a bloody campaign, which Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has described as "resembling a war", to drive thousands of illegal miners out of a recently discovered diamond field that some in the industry believe might be the richest in years.
The miners say hundreds have died. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says it has the names of 140 people killed although there is common agreement that many have been buried without a word.
Chris McGreal: 'Bodies have turned up riddled with bullets' Link to this audio
The diamond fields around Chiadzwa, about 20 miles north-west of the town of Mutare in Zimbabwe's eastern Manicaland province, are a collection of shallow tunnels and open gullies dug out after the discovery of gems close to the surface two years ago set off the rush.
Thousands of illegal diggers moved in - estimates run between 10,000 and 30,000 including foreigners from across southern Africa - spending days or even weeks to discover only tiny diamonds worth no more than a couple of hundred US dollars. But that is several months' pay for many Zimbabweans as their country collapses under the weight of hyperinflation.
Many of the miners are professionals, such as teachers and civil servants, who have abandoned jobs that do not pay enough to feed their families. Others are students who have dropped out of university in the hope of making a quick fortune and subsistence farmers whose land has not produced a crop in years. And some have got very rich.
Mutare, on the border with Mozambique, has taken on the air of a frontier town filled with brash young men touting US dollars and an air of menace. The hotels are filled with miners and dealers. Luxury cars prowl the streets. Shops have filled with imported goods sold for American dollars and South African rand. Spend any amount of time in a hotel bar and periodically someone will approach with diamonds for sale.
The governor of Zimbabwe's central bank, Gideon Gono, has estimated there are more than 500 syndicates handling more than $1bn a month in illegally dug diamonds that are swiftly smuggled out of the country.
Now Zimbabwe's government, or at least members of its discredited ruling elite, are apparently trying to take control. The military and police have moved in to try to drive the illegal diggers out of plots the miners say are claimed by Grace Mugabe, the president's wife, and Joice Mujuru, the vice-president. Both areas are now known by the women's names.
Legal and opposition political sources in Mutare say the prime mover behind the military assault is the Zimbabwean air force chief, Perence Shiri, the former commander of the notorious Fifth Brigade which massacred about 20,000 people in Matabeleland in the mid-80s.
Shiri oversaw the bloody military campaign of beatings and killings in Manicaland earlier this year that terrorised voters into supporting Robert Mugabe in June's presidential election.
He sent the helicopter gunships into the diamond fields three weeks ago. The police were already letting loose ferocious dogs, killing some miners and maiming others. One police tactic is to use teargas to drive them out of the tunnels, causing stampedes in which some have been crushed. The miners say that in some cases the police shoot down the men, blinded by teargas, as they flee.
One described how there is shooting nearly every day and particularly at night. "There were three of us mining together. In the night a policeman came and shot my friend, twice in the chest. We ran away but came back. He was still alive. We carried him to a hospital but he died," he said.
A policewoman working in Chiadzwa said she saw a pile of 50 bodies after one helicopter attack. "There were a lot of bodies. They were piled up. I don't know what happened to them. Some of the dead are just buried secretly," she said. "Miners are killed every day. The orders to the police are to shoot them if they find them digging but many of the police do not want to carry out those orders. These are ordinary people like us."
The situation has got so bad that some miners are now arming themselves and fighting back. The state-run press has reported that several police officers have been killed in shoot-outs.
But none of that deters the men who continue to work the diamond fields. "The risks are worth it," said Hopewell. "Some miners have run away but most of us don't leave for long. We hear stories of giant diamonds. I've already sold enough to make more money than I have made in five years. I have bought food for my mother and father. I have bought a television and a DVD from South Africa. Next I will buy a car. If they don't kill me," he says, and laughs.
A De Beers subsidiary held the exploitation rights to the fields but let them expire in 2006 because, according to industry sources, it believed the diamonds to be of poor quality. A British firm, African Consolidated Resources, bought the rights but it was ousted by the government when large quantities of high quality diamonds were discovered a short dig under the surface. Theoretically the diamond fields were then taken over by the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation but the illegal diggers moved in so fast it was unable to assert control.
Some economists speculate that Zimbabwe's rulers look on the diamond fields as a new source of US dollars now that the country's foreign reserves have largely been spent and the collapse of agriculture, industry and tourism means there is little new money coming in. But given the bitter experience of recent years Zimbabweans have little reason to believe that if the ruling elite gets control of the diamond fields, the revenues will be used to rescue the country.
(read more)
Jim Martin
My dear friend,
the adventure with Martin is finished....thanks for all the support. We finished strong...all we learned is in our background, now !
Be ready and fired, for next President !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)Parties around US
My dear friends,
Happy Thanksgiving Day !
Please pass my cheers to all your freinds and families met in your reunions !!
Your friend from Italy,
Simone
(read more)Team Fulton County in support of Martin
Please join the Fulton County Team in order to support Jim Martin as next Us Senator, on behalf of President Obama !
Your friend from Italy,
SImone
(read more)Picture of Fulton County Team
Dear Friends,
Hope you will enjoy this picture, in a italian online newspaper...
http://www.cronachemaceratesi.it/galleria/?album=5&gallery=23&pid=558
And of course support Martin, in the upcoming run-off !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)Obama store
Is it closed for good or what?? It's been down since Friday..:(
(read more)
Martin's Campaign, now
My dear all,
after a week (of partial rest) it is time to move again.
So, Martin's time.
Please help his Team and share your effort in order to elect him next Dec. 2nd.
This run-off is very special, and our President Elected will surely join us in this, visiting Atlanta very soon.
Come on!
Your italian friend
Simone
(read more)Time to Thanks (Simone)
Dear All,I wish to thank you all for what you did for me, and for the Obama Campaign, in the last 40 days.
As a visitor, a 'stanger'....you welcomed me and I felt at home here.
Thanks to all the friends at the Fulton County Campaign Office in Atlanta -GA-(Julma first -she was my Us' sister- then Dwayne, Bennett, Willie, Dolando, Stephanie, Stephanie, John -my roommate-, Naya, Ron Atkins, Tiffany,Heleen, Helen and all volunteers and friends I joined around).
A special thanks to a little friend called Amalia, who canvass with her uncle and me some days ago (we spoke about her favourite movie, Harry Potter, also my and my daughter's favourite movie)....it is MAGICAL when the adult's world join the kid's world (...yes, I really missed my family !).
YES, WE DID words will be remembered forever !
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone (read more)
Me, in the Age of Obama
Aided by a few hours sleep, energetic music, and my ever-present cup of coffee, I feel the need to commemorate this moment personally, beyond just tears or shouts of joy. Perhaps it will be a rough-draft manifesto of sorts, a kind of social New Year Resolution, a longer declaration of what this all means to me.
So what does this day mean to me? A lot of things, trivial and sublime. There’s having a young black man in the highest office, and I feel no shame in admitting my intense pride in that, but it’s more than that: it’s having a person of his caliber. In an age of culture wars, especially between populists and Ivory Tower types, we have a person who is intellectual, relatable, and empathetic. As I said before, Barack Obama is an American for all Americans. We’re talking about the man who gave the best assessments and reconciliation of the issues of faith and race in this nation; someone who can acknowledge the truths in different, and even inflammatory, perspectives without creating more division.
And when I say we can be example for the world, I don’t mean by strong-arming, covert ops, or unfair trade agreements. We can do it fairly.
I also believe American Christianity has a chance to be turned back to the light of peace and justice. I have watched as what began as a movement for the uplifting of all became the idolatry of a very narrow view of “Family Values”. I refuse to give back my baptism, because it is mine and under no one else’s oversight, but it has been most torturous to see the Pharisaical spectre raised as never before and have to wonder if even calling myself a Christian by the most liberal of definitions could be morally correct. As an American and a spiritual person, to say that my heart bled is an understatement.
Now, I will take a moment to mention abortion, since this is has been, and will continue to be, a divisive issue. I will state it plainly: I do not like abortion. No one does. I called my own children babies, not fetuses, from the moment the EPT stick had two lines. However, abortion is a desperate choice, and people will only be more desperate if more choices are taken away. I agree wholeheartedly with McCain’s concept of “a culture of life”, but you can’t say that you want to encourage adoption and then oppose same-sex couples adopting. You can’t pledge to support families after defining “family” in a very narrow way. This is what I want: Adoption to be normalized in our culture to the point that it is part of the family-planning discussion of most couples, for adoption to be normalized to the point that the process is quick, clean, inexpensive, and open for all sorts of alternative relationships for the birth parents. Remove the stigma, plain and simple. I want marriage and adoption equality. I want a basic, good, standard of living to be a human right. I want comprehensive sex education, and cheaper and safer birth control. I want unwed, poor, or young parents to be treated with respect and love. I want this culture to take a stand and assist against domestic violence. I can guarantee you, that if these things are fixed, abortion will take care of itself; it’ll become obsolete except for medical necessity. You give people better accessible choices, they will make better decisions. In fact, that to-do list will fix a great deal of social ills: they are all connected.
I am pro-choice because I am pro-life; All lives.
So many Obama supporters aren’t just walking with heads held high because “their candidate won”, but because those last shreds of fear are melting away. Yes, there is the social-psychological aspect of being on a “team” and winning. But look at the campaign, look at the people and their motivations, listen to their stories:
We didn’t wait for someone to come and unchain us; we unlocked the shackles with ourt voice and our vote.
It looks like Proposition 8 passed in California. I would normally be very angry, and indeed I am irritated. It is in my nature to gripe and rail against injustice, I will admit it. I can be quite the curmudgeon. However, in this moment, I have achieved the state of soul that is perhaps the ideal for my type, which is a nose for injustices buttressed by motivation and hope. My real reaction: “Game On”. I’m not itching for a fight anymore; I’m itching to get to work. The work of healing, fixing, and reconciliation. Let’s face it, we can be as angry as we want, and we deserve to be, but we also need to be multi-lingual in Hope. People vote for things like Prop 8 out of fear, just read the stories. Never has it been appropriate, never more affordable, never more necessary, to be Peace-Mongers.
I won’t pretend that this is all going to get fixed in one term, or even two.
Barack Obama is not a Hero because he will save us; he is a Hero because he will inspire and represent us. It is a very meager sampling of people that cannot see themselves reflected to some degree in him, his family, or his campaign. The bonus is that he did it by appealing to our inner-angels, not our inner-demons. He decried policy without demonizing people. For me, Barack Obama represents even better something that I’ve been complimented on before and what I really want to be: he’s a True Liberal. I differentiate this because it means that a person will seek the path of the most responsible freedoms, without dismissing tradition just because it’s tradition. When I know that someone won’t be an ideological genuflector, my trust in their leadership increases exponentially.
This election season brought us to the social edge, and an Obama victory was our deliverance. What do I mean by this? I suppose the best example I can give is an anecdote that Mary gave about local commissioner Kathleen Hudson several years ago. She said things about Jews and the LGBT community that were so vile and inflammatory, it brought people “to the edge” and made them peer into the ideological abyss. People could no longer be neutral, and they saw the slippery slope of what they could become by allowing such bigotry to masquerade as normalcy. Maybe these were things people thought at one time or another, but when they saw it take shape in a public forum, they shuddered at the reflection. That’s what this election was like for me to watch: I saw some of the most bigoted, racist, xenophobic, homophobic (not just heterosexist), and anti-Muslim spectacles in my lifetime. On this precipice, I was angry, but I knew that these undercurrents needed full exposure, so that people could look over that edge before unwittingly falling into that abyss. Those were the birth pains for this part of our history. Barack Obama’s election is the midwife to a new age.
There will still be pains, but we can no longer go back. We not only saw a battle between base-minded fearful populism and the empathetic examination of justice and mercy, we saw the victory of the latter. This may not be THE Mountaintop, but it is one of them.
Look at the vista spread before us: this is America. My parents promised me this day would come. Someone told me that nothing would change except their taxes. If that becomes so, then I swear it will not be because of a lack of effort on my part.
I believe.
We will have justice.
We will have freedom.
We will have mercy.
For all.
Yes We Can.
(read more)PER LE STRADE DI ATLANTA (GA)
Ieri è stato molto divertente! Siamo saliti in un camion scoperto, bardato di insegne di Obama, e con la musica a tutto volume abbiamo girato per le strade di Atlanta incitando gli elettori a recarsi a votare prima possibile (oggi è l'ultimo giorno utile, per il voto anticipato ! )Davanti alle sedi elettorali (5 di cui 3 installate d'urgenza, a causa l'altissimo numero di persone che si stanno recando alle urne) ieri c'erano file lunghissime...qui ci si attrezza con libri o giochi passatempo quali cruciverba e sudoku, nell'attesa!), dove erano anche presenti i famosi Uomini-Sandwich (indossano i cartelli con la dicitura del candidato, come pubblicità), la nostra voce si è fatta sentire, eccome !
Con gli altoparlanti che sparavano le musiche della campagna elettorale di Obama (tra le quali c'era anche la canzone Georgia-ma non mi ricordo chi la canta...Nat King Cole?, più l'intramontabile Tina Turner) e il nostro speaker che urlava "Obama, Obama, facciamo ritornare la Georgia Blu, per voi, per le vostre famiglie, per il futuro dei vostri figli.. è stato molto divertente e appassionante...e abbiamo riscosso molto sostegno (gli automobilisti sostenitori di Obama facevano un gran baccano con i clacson, al nostro passaggio).
Siamo agli sgoccioli...oggi è l'ultimo giorno per votare anticipatamente...dovrò recarmi all' Ufficio elettorale più tardi, spero di fare qualche bella foto.
Ciao a presto, Simone (read more)
Remarks of Senator Obama, Indianapolis, IN, Oct. 23, 2008
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama (Indianapolis, IN) Indianapolis, IN | October 23, 2008 It is fitting that we meet today on the mall of the American Legion, surrounded by monuments to our nation's heroes. Because on this day, 25 years ago, the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed. 241 Americans laid down their lives for this country and for the peace they were there to protect. We revere their service. We honor their sacrifice. And we keep their families in our prayers.
We will never forget them.
Indiana, in just 12 days, you'll have the chance to elect your next President. And you'll have the chance to bring the change we need to Washington. That's the good news. But we're going to have to work, and struggle, and fight for every single one of those 12 days to move our country in a new direction.
I am hopeful about the outcome. We were thrilled this weekend when a great American statesman, General Colin Powell, joined our cause. But we cannot let up. And we won't.
Because one thing we know is that change never comes without a fight. In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over. We've seen it before. And we're seeing it again today. The ugly phone calls. The misleading mail and TV ads. The careless, outrageous comments. All aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change.
Well, what we need now is not misleading charges and divisive attacks. What we need is honest leadership and real change, and that's why I'm running for President of the United States.
Now, more than ever, this campaign has to be about the problems facing the American people - because this is a moment of great uncertainty for America.
We're facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The Dow plummeted again yesterday, threatening the job security, retirement security, and economic security of millions of ordinary Americans. Indiana lost 4,500 manufacturing jobs in September alone. And just today, we learned that more and more Americans are filing for unemployment. Home values are falling. Foreclosures are rising. Wages are shrinking. And the cost of health care and college tuition has never been higher.
And that's what this election is all about - because John McCain and I have real differences about how to get us out of this economic mess. You see, Senator McCain thinks the economic policies of George W. Bush are just right for America. In the Senate, he's voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Said earlier this year that we've made "great progress" over the last eight years. And while Senator McCain says now that he's different from President Bush, you sure couldn't tell by the policies he's proposing.
Just yesterday, Senator McCain strongly defended the Bush policy of lavishing tax cuts on corporations that ship American jobs overseas. He made the peculiar argument that the best way to stop companies from shipping jobs overseas is to give more tax cuts to companies that ship jobs overseas. More tax cuts for job outsourcers. That's what Senator McCain proposed as his answer to outsourcing.
He said that's - quote - "simple fundamental economics."
Well, Indiana, my opponent may call that "fundamental economics," but we know that's just another name for the Wall Street first, Main Street last economic philosophy we've had for the past eight years - and that's fundamentally wrong.
If Senator McCain wants to defend tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, that's his choice. But I say, let's end tax cuts for companies that ship American jobs overseas, and give them to companies that create good jobs right here in Indiana - in the United States of America.
If he wants to defend free trade agreements designed to protect the profits of multinational corporations and a trade policy that lets countries like China tilt the playing field against our workers, that's up to him. But I say, we need a trade policy that protects the dreams of hardworking Americans.
If he wants to defend a tax code that's more than 10,000 pages long and filled with loopholes written in by corporate lobbyists like the ones running his campaign, he's got every right. He has every right to defend offshore tax havens that let companies avoid paying taxes here in America. But I say, it's time to close corporate loopholes, shut offshore tax havens, and restore balance and fairness to our tax code.
By the way, did you know that there's a building in the Cayman Islands that supposedly houses 18,000 corporations. That's either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record. And I think we know which one it is.
That's the system my opponent defends. That's the system he wants to preserve. Well, Indiana, we've tried it John McCain's way. We've tried it George Bush's way. And we're here today to say enough is enough. We can't afford four more years of their "fundamental economics." That's why I'm running for President of the United States of America.
You see, I have a different notion of fundamental economics than my opponent. Because where I come from, there's nothing more fundamental than a good-paying job. There's nothing more fundamental than being able to pay your health care bills, put your kids through college, or retire with dignity and security. There's nothing more fundamental than the American dream - and that's the dream we can reclaim if you stand with me on November 4.
I know we can do this. I know we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. Because I believe in you. I believe in the American people.
We are the United States of America. We are a nation that's faced down war and depression; great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen to meet these challenges - not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans. With resolve. With confidence. With that fundamental belief that here in America, our destiny is not written for us; it's written by us. That's who we are, and that's the country we need to be right now.
But Indiana, I know this. It will take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight years. And that's why I'm running for President of the United States.
It's time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street but ended up hurting both. We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom-up, so that every American, everywhere, has the chance to get ahead. Not just the person who owns the factory, but the men and women who work on its floor. Because if we've learned anything from this economic crisis, it's that we're all connected; we're all in this together; and we will rise or fall as one nation - as one people.
The rescue plan that passed the Congress was a necessary first step to easing this credit crisis, but if we're going to rebuild this economy from the bottom up, we need an immediate rescue plan for the middle-class - and that's what I will do as President of the United States.
Nine months ago, I called for a stimulus plan to provide immediate relief for states, along with tax rebates to get money directly to middle class families and a foreclosure prevention fund to help people keep their homes. Senator McCain's advisors openly mocked the stimulus plan before Congress - one referred to it, and I quote, as "borrowing money from the Chinese and dropping it from helicopters." Another dismissed it as "junk."
Just this week, after nine straight months of job losses, when our Federal Reserve Chairman supports another stimulus to get our economy moving, Senator McCain said he doesn't think we need to pass this stimulus immediately. Well, the working families who've been hard hit by this economic crisis - folks who can't pay their mortgages or their medical bills or send their kids to college - they can't afford to go to the back of the line behind CEOs and Wall Street banks. They need help right here, right now - and that's why I'm running for President of the United States.
I've proposed a new American jobs tax credit for each new employee that companies hire here in the United States over the next two years. And I'll help make sure the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built not just in South Korea or Japan, but right here in Indiana.
Few have been harder hit by our credit crisis than the workers who make our cars and the companies that supply their parts. Now, when it came to rescuing Wall Street, Washington didn't waste a minute. But now that auto-workers are suffering, Washington's put on the breaks. It turns out it could take a year for the auto industry to get the loan guarantees we passed a few weeks ago.
Well, the workers who are being laid off and the companies that are seeing their sales drop - they can't afford to wait a year, they need help right now. That's why I've called on Washington to fast-track those loan guarantees and provide more as needed - because that's how we'll secure our auto jobs and save our auto industry.
I'll also help small businesses by eliminating capital gains taxes and giving them emergency loans to keep their doors open and hire workers. I'll put a three-month moratorium on foreclosures so that we can give homeowners the breathing room they need to get back on their feet. And I will create a Jobs and Growth fund to help states and local governments save one million jobs and pay for health care and education without having to raise your taxes.
These are the steps that we must take - right now - to start getting our economy back on track. But we also need a new set of priorities to grow our economy and create jobs over the long-term.
It starts with tax relief. There's been a lot of talk about taxes in this campaign. And the truth is, my opponent and I are both proposing tax cuts. The difference is, he wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. I want to put a middle class tax cut in the pockets of 95% of workers and their families. My opponent doesn't want you to know this, but under my plan, tax rates for middle class families will actually be less than they were under Ronald Reagan.
It's true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans and go back to the rate they paid under Bill Clinton. John McCain calls that socialism. What he forgets is that just a few years ago, he himself said those Bush tax cuts were irresponsible. He said he couldn't "in good conscience" support a tax cut where the benefits went to the wealthy at the expense of "middle class Americans who most need tax relief." Well, he was right then, and I am right now.
Let me be crystal clear: If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year - which includes 98% of small business owners - you won't see your taxes increase one single dime. Not your payroll taxes, not your income taxes, not your capital gains taxes - nothing. That is my commitment to you.
For the last eight years, we've given more and more to those with the most and hoped that prosperity would trickle down to everyone else. And guess what? It didn't. So it's time to try something new. It's time to grow this economy from the bottom-up. It's time to invest in the middle-class again.
If I am President, I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new, green jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators.
I'll also put two million more Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, schools, and bridges - because it is time to build an American infrastructure for the 21st century. And if people ask how we're going to pay for this, you tell them that if we can spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can spend some money to rebuild America.
If I am President, I will finally fix the problems in our health care system that we've been talking about for too long. This issue is personal for me. My mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 53, and I'll never forget how she spent the final months of her life lying in a hospital bed, fighting with her insurance company because they claimed that her cancer was a pre-existing condition and didn't want to pay for treatment. If I am President, I will make sure those insurance companies can never do that again.
My health care plan will make sure insurance companies can't discriminate against those who are sick and need care most. If you have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums. If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves. And we'll invest in preventative care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the entire economy. That's the change we need.
And if I'm President, we'll give every child, everywhere the skills and the knowledge they need to compete with any worker, anywhere in the world. I will not allow countries to out-teach us today so they can out-compete us tomorrow. It is time to provide every American with a world-class education. That means investing in early childhood education. That means recruiting an army of new teachers, and paying them better, and giving them more support in exchange for higher standards and more accountability.
And it means investing in agricultural education. From seeing all those blue corduroy jackets in the crowd, I know there's a Future Farmers of America convention here in Indianapolis. And I want you to know that if I'm elected President, I will fight for you - because America's farmers are America's future. And it's time we had a President who understood that.
We need to make sure every American who has the drive and the will but not the money can go to college. My opponent's top economic advisor actually said that they have no plan to invest in college affordability because we can't have a giveaway to every special interest. Well I don't think the young people of America are a special interest - they are the future of this country. That's why I'll make this deal with you: if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. No ifs, ands or buts. You invest in America, America will invest in you, and together, we will move this country forward.
Now, make no mistake: the change we need won't come easy or without cost. We will all need to tighten our belts, we will all need to sacrifice and we will all need to pull our weight because now more than ever, we are all in this together.
At a defining moment like this, we don't have the luxury of relying on the same political games and the same political tactics that are used every election to divide us from one another and make us afraid of one another. With the challenges and crises we face right now, we cannot afford to divide this country by class or region; by who we are or what policies we support.
There are no real or fake parts of this country. We are not separated by the pro-America and anti-America parts of this nation - we all love this country, no matter where we live or where we come from. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women from Indiana and all across America who serve on our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
We have always been at our best when we've had leadership that called us to look past our differences and come together as one nation, as one people; leadership that rallied this entire country to a common purpose - to a higher purpose. And I am running for President of the United States of America because that is the country we need to be right now.
This country and the dream it represents are being tested in a way that we haven't seen in nearly a century. And future generations will judge ours by how we respond to this test. Will they say that this was a time when America lost its way and its purpose? When we allowed the same divisions and fear tactics and our own petty differences to plunge this country into a dark and painful recession?
Or will they say that this was another one of those moments when America overcame? When we battled back from adversity by recognizing that common stake that we have in each other's success?
This is one of those moments. I realize you're cynical and fed up with politics. I understand that you're disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what's been asked of the American people in times of trial and turmoil throughout our history. I ask you to believe - to believe in yourselves, in each other, and in the future we can build together.
Together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can't afford to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves.
We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had grandparents or parents who said maybe I can't go to college but my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but my child can. I may have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son can be president of the United States of America.
Now it falls to us. Together, we cannot fail. And I need you to make it happen. If you want the next four years looking like the last eight, then I am not your candidate. But if you want real change - if you want an economy that rewards work, and that works for Main Street and Wall Street; if you want tax relief for the middle class and millions of new jobs; if you want health care you can afford and education that helps your kids compete; then I ask you to knock on some doors, make some calls, talk to your neighbors, and give me your vote.
In Indiana, you can vote early right here, and right now. To find out how, just go to voteforchange.com. And if you stand with me, I promise you - we will win Indiana, we will win this election, and then you and I - together - will change this country and change this world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.
(read more)Pass this on. Enough is enough.
The McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee launched a massive robocall campaign on Thursday designed to alarm voters about Barack Obama's past association with former radical Bill Ayers. The committee may be violating state law in the process.http://www.youtube.com/v/ManvViFZ4l4
This goes beyond the limits of spin and smear.
It wasn't enough to bring up Ayers, wasn't enough to bring up Jeremiah Wright, and then imply that Barack Obama "isn't like other Americans" who love the U.S.
It wasn't enough to challenge a voter registration group, and then imply that
Obama himself was committing voter registration fraud
After saying at the last Presidential debate that he "didn't care about some old washed up terrorist", McCain is now endorsing a mass-voicemail campaign about Ayers to make people afraid of Barack Obama.
Terrorism by definition is the attempt to coerce through fear.
No matter who you vote for, it's time to say "enough" to the politics of fear. (read more)
John McCain is not George W Bush!
In the third presidentail debate, John McCain said that he's not President Bush. Apparently this is shocking news for the Obama campaign. A campaign representative made the following statement: "We had based our whole campaign on the premise that John McCain is actually the same person as George W Bush. Now that he said this isn't the case, we have no idea what to do. We are at a complete loss."
Obama supporters are not the only ones caught off guard by the news. John Doodie, a republican from Ohio said: "I thought John McCain was a second coming of George W Bush, our greatest president ever. I am really disappointed." Virginia republican Jane Bling also expressed her concern: "I was hoping for a third Bush term, now there is nothing for me to look forward to. I am not sure if I'll be able to bring myself to vote for someone who is not President Bush."
Of course now the real question is this: If McCain is in fact not Bush, then who is he? Vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin was quick to address the issue: "I think it is really important for American people to know who the real John McCain is", she said on Thursday. The question remains to be answered.
(read more)More Ayers and ACORN
A radical Ayers allegationBy Alexander Lane
Published on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 05:29 p.m.
SUMMARY: The McCain campaign ratchets up its attempt to connect Barack Obama to former '60s radical William Ayers.
For most of the election, Sen. John McCain's campaign has been somewhat subtle about trying to tie Sen. Barack Obama to the former '60s radical William Ayers.
No longer. A 90-second Web ad released Oct. 8, 2008, features sinister music, side-by-side photographs of Obama and Ayers, and a series of dubious allegations about their past connections, including this one:
"Ayers and Obama ran a radical education foundation together."
Ayers was a founding member of the militant Vietnam-era anti-war group the Weathermen. He was investigated for his role in a series of domestic bombings, but the charges were dropped in 1974 due to prosecutorial misconduct. He is now an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and actively engaged in the city's civic life.
The McCain campaign said the "radical education foundation" to which they were referring is the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a charity endowed by publishing magnate Walter Annenberg that funded public-school programs in Chicago from 1995 to 2001.
We'll look at whether the foundation was radical. But first we have to grapple with whether Obama and Ayers ran it.
Obama served on the foundation's volunteer board from its inception in 1995 through its dissolution in 2001, and was chair for the first four years. So an argument can be made that he ran it, though an executive director handled day-to-day operations.
Ayers, who received his doctorate in education from Columbia University in 1987 and is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was active in getting the foundation up and running. He and two other activists led the effort to secure the grant from Annenberg, and he worked without pay in the early months of 1995, prior to the board's hiring of an executive director, to help the foundation get incorporated and formulate its bylaws, said Ken Rolling, who was the foundation's only executive director. Ayers went on to become a member of the "collaborative," an advisory group that advised the board of directors and the staff.
However, Ayers "was never on the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge," and he "never made a decision programmatically or had a vote," Rolling said.
"He (Ayers) was at board meetings — which, by the way, were open — as a guest," Rolling said. "That is not anything near Bill Ayers and Barack Obama running the Chicago Annenberg Challenge."
Now, was the foundation radical?
The McCain campaign cited several pieces of evidence for that allegation, including a 1995 invitation from the foundation for applications from schools "that want to make radical changes in the way teachers teach and students learn." The campaign appears to have confused two different definitions of the word "radical." Clearly the invitation referred to "a considerable departure from the usual or traditional," rather than "advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs."
The campaign also cited two projects the foundation funded, one having to do with a United Nations-themed Peace School and another that focused on African-American studies.
"That is radical in the eye of this campaign and we imagine in the eyes of most Americans," said Michael Goldfarb, a spokesman for McCain. "It is a subjective thing, and there are going to be people in Berkeley and Chicago who think that is totally legitimate."
Teaching about the United Nations and African-American studies may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's hardly "radical" in the same way Ayers' Vietnam-era activities were. Moreover, most of the projects the foundation funded (more on that below) were not remotely controversial.
The McCain campaign also cited an opinion piece by conservative commentator Stanley Kurtz in the Sept. 23, 2008, Wall Street Journal as evidence of the foundation's radicalism. Kurtz wrote that Ayers was the "guiding spirit" of the foundation, and it "translated Mr. Ayers's radicalism into practice."
But Ayers' views on education, though certainly reform-oriented and left-of-center, are not considered anywhere near as radical as his Vietnam-era views on war. And even if they were, there was a long list of individuals involved with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge whose positions provided them far more authority over its direction than Ayers' advisory role gave him.
Let's look at a few, starting with the funder. Annenberg was a lifelong Republican and former ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Richard Nixon. His widow, Leonore, has endorsed McCain. Kurtz might just as plausibly have accused Obama and the foundation of "translating Annenberg's conservatism into practice."
Among the other board members who served with Obama were: Stanley Ikenberry, former president of the University of Illinois; Arnold Weber, former president of Northwestern University and assistant secretary of labor in the Nixon administration; Scott Smith, then publisher of the Chicago Tribune; venture capitalist Edward Bottum; John McCarter, president of the Field Museum; Patricia Albjerg Graham, former dean of the Harvard University Graduate School of Journalism, and a host of other mainstream folks.
"The whole idea of it being radical when it was this tie of blue-chip, white-collar, CEOs and civic leaders is just ridiculous," said the foundation's former development director, Marianne Philbin.
The foundation gave money to groups of public schools – usually three to 10 – who partnered with some sort of outside organization to improve their students' achievement.
In his opinion piece, Kurtz puts a sinister spin on this: "Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with 'external partners,' which actually got the money...CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or ACORN)."
Rollings said the foundation tried to fund the schools directly, but doing so proved to be a "bureaucratic nightmare." But any external group that received money had to have created a program in partnership with a network of public schools.
And though ACORN is considered a liberal organization, the vast majority of the foundation's external partners were not remotely controversial. Here are a few examples: the Chicago Symphony, the University of Chicago, Loyola University, Northwestern University, the Chicago Children's Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
Had Kurtz chosen to accuse Obama of carrying water for the conservative Annenberg, he might have written: "CAC disbursed money to various business-friendly entities, such as the Museum of Science and Industry and the Commercial Club of Chicago."
See how easy it is?
The programs the foundation funded were designed to allow individuals from the "external partners" – whether the musicians in the symphony or the business leaders in the commercial club – to help improve student achievement. They were along the lines of mentoring by artists, literacy instruction, professional development for teachers and administrators, and training for parents in everything from computer skills to helping their children with homework to advocating for their children at school.
This last activity – something suburban parents practice with zeal – is also suspect in Kurtz's view: "CAC records show that board member Arnold Weber was concerned that parents 'organized' by community groups might be viewed by school principals 'as a political threat.'" That is typical of Kurtz's essay – relatively innocuous facts cast in the worst possible light. That's appropriate for an opinion piece, perhaps, but hardly grounds for a purportedly factual political ad accusing the group of radicalism.
We could go on and on with evidence that the Chicago Annenberg Challenger was a rather vanilla charitable group. For example, under the deal with Annenberg every dollar from him had to be matched by two from elsewhere. The co-funders were a host of respected, mainstream institutions, such as the National Science Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Chicago Public Schools.
In short, this was a mainstream foundation funded by a mainstream, Republican business leader and led by an overwhelmingly mainstream, civic-minded group of individuals. Ayers' involvement in its inception and on an advisory committee do not make it radical – nor does the funding of programs involving the United Nations and African-American studies.
This attack is false, but it's more than that – it's malicious. It unfairly tars not just Obama, but all the other prominent, well-respected Chicagoans who also volunteered their time to the foundation. They came from all walks of life and all political backgrounds, and there's ample evidence their mission was nothing more than improving ailing public schools in Chicago. Yet in the heat of a political campaign they have been accused of financing radicalism. That's Pants on Fire wrong.
-----------------
Thank You Politifact!
(read more)Host a Debate Watch Party
<img src=”http://www.barackobama.com/images/email/08/oct/debatewatch3_e.jpg”>
The final presidential debate is this Wednesday, October 15th, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
It's the last chance for undecided voters to see Barack and John McCain side-by-side and determine who will bring the change this country needs.
You can make the most of this opportunity by bringing your friends, family, and fellow supporters together to watch.
Sign up to host a Debate Watch Party. We'll make sure you have everything you need to make the event a success.
If you've hosted an event before, you know how powerful they can be to help grow our movement. If you haven't, it's a terrific way to show your support, and we'll be with you every step of the way to help.
We're having a special conference call for Debate Watch Party hosts next week. We'll give you ideas for how to get your guests involved in the rest of the campaign.
In these final weeks, each of us needs to do whatever we can to keep growing our movement and encourage undecided voters to cast their vote for change.
Sign up to host a Debate Watch Party now:
http://my.barackobama.com/debate-watch-party
Thanks,
Jon
Jon Carson
National Field Director
Obama for America
Change We Need Rally in Indy
Am I glad I signed up for barackobama.com! I got an e-mail invitation for the rally, RSVP'd for Dante and myself, and waited excitedly for morning to come. I happened to not have class at all, and the 12:00 start time was ideal since the baby doesn't have to be picked up from daycare until 6pm, so plenty of travel time. Dante was excused from school, and he found out he wasn't the only one!
I don't think I've left the house early or on time since I became a mom, and Wednesday was no exception. However, we did arrive in the area of the Fairgrounds at 10:20, and the doors opened at 10, so we weren't doing badly. I had to park on the street a few blocks away, and there were lots of sidewalk booths selling Obama merchandise. Dante got a lot of compliments on his shirt as we walked.
This line stretched around the arena but moved quickly. Everyone there was very excited, and it was easy to chat up people in the line. Lots of kids.
We didn't get very "good" seats, all the way in the back of the bleachers, but I'm still glad we went. The place was absolutely packed. The Star said there were over 12,000 people. Evan Bayh gave a wonderful introductory speech and got more than few standing ovations.
Finally, the police escort with Barack Obama arrived (just on time) and he took the stage. I knew I wasn't going to hear too much more than what's already being said on the stump, but it we were excited anyway, and it was important to me that Dante have this opportunity to see Sen. Obama in person, even at a distance. More important that the speech perhaps was the comaraderie of the crowd. Everyone was happy. During the music that played before and after, people danced in the stadium. I know that I was not the only one sans dry eyes when Barack took the stage and then again during the wrap-up.
And that was the thing: the joy. It was palpable. At least in my section, there was no anger. A couple mentions of McCain or Bush got the collective boo, but nothing got nasty. Everyone was just happy to be there. I think it was important that Dante saw that, even if he didn't understand everything being said or if his attention wandered; here was someone that wasn't just unique in the history of the presidency because of their ethnicity or policies, but because of the kind of crowd he drew, the quality of the people supporting him, and his ability to be pragmatic and inspiring at the same time.
Everyone took note when he said "if" he got to be President, and a few contested this loudly. He laughed, saying he was "superstitious".
I saw every kind of person there, from every class, heritage, and religion. Sikh men walking unbothered with dignity, and women in beautiful hijab in a crowd of size and demographic that could have made them nervous. WASP professors clasping arms with young guys in baggy pants and do' rags. I only know those details because like I said, we were all friends there.
The presence and ideas of Sen. Obama don't toss the meat of contention to the mob. He shows hope and empowerment. I will say, personally, that he lends some dignity to those years when I was on one sort of public assistance or another, either being called white trash directly, or having someone who didn't know better talking to me about "lazy people sponging off the system" (and the look of shock when I showed them my Food Stamp card).
Obama speaks of everyone's struggles. He highlights problems that sociologists have been writing about for decades, but that until now have been ignored by what I consider the politicizing of humanity. People are not policy and sound bites. They are people, and they all have potential. Sometimes they need help and hope. Everyone does at one time or another.
I like a person that can talk about class problems without inciting class warfare. At one point Barack Obama pointed out that McCain was a man who stood against government-sponsored health insurance when he himself receives his insurance from the government! His point that helping people financially and educationally, trying to level the playing field, wasn't about "redistribution"; it's about fairness.
The immense diversity of the crowd jumping, clapping, and cheering for this man, as well as the mood of joy and hope, makes Obama's quality as a human being and as a leader apparent. Well, at least to me, the 12,000 people in attendance, and everyone across America that are ready to, and already are, fighting for change and dignity.
(read more)Ultimo giorno di 'Voter Registration Drive' in Us
Carissimi amici,
Oggi e' l'ultimo giorno per la registrazione del 'voto anticipato' in tutti gli Stati Uniti.
Tantissimi volontari sono fuori per le strade di Atlanta alla ricerca di coloro che ancora non sono registrati....ultime ore decisive ai fini di questo scopo !
Ieri ho fatto parte del gruppo di 7 volontari diretti a East Lake (Sud Atlanta), vicino al Campo di Golf degli Us Tournaments.
Abbiamo ottenuto fantastici risultati !
Forza...ultime ore per il Vote Registration Drive !!!
Ciao da Atlanta, GA
Simone
(read more)My letter to the J&C (in case it doesn't get published)
Connie Basham is right. Sarah Palin is an amazing woman; how she shovels so much dirt with nary a smudge on her nose is an absolute miracle. And she has indeed earned her political career the old fashioned way, as we have seen from the McCain campaign's acknowledged decision to smear and attack any way possible in the days leading to the election.McCain and Palin shamelessly defend the lies even when confronted by the press. Oh, I'm sorry, the "media elite". As an "elitist" member of the working poor, a wife, and a mother, I am ashamed to even share a chromosome with Palin.
However, I vote for Obama for one reason, and it is not because I loathe the McPalin campaign (I do), or because I'm a Democrat (I'm not). I'm voting for Obama because he is an American who will stand up for all Americans. He is the president my parents promised me would come. And the time is now. (read more)
Dwayne Marshall our Captain !
Dear Friends,
we are ready to depart, right now, to start the Voter Registration Drive !
Our 'captain', Dwayne, is teaching all necessary tips for a fast start!
We all are firing, now!
Go on, GO OBAMA !
Your italian friend, in Atlanta
Simone
(read more)In Atlanta,GA !
Dear Friends,
I'm in Atlanta right now to support all Obama Staffer here !
Come on ! Time to move is now !
Your italian friend, in Atlanta
Simone
(read more)Eric from Indiana supports Barack!
I support Barack Obama because he has the vision to achieve US energy independence; the integrity to rebuild environmental protections dismantled over the past eight years; and the demonstrated leadership to reach across the partisan divide to represent the entire American public. I have spent more than twenty years as an advocate for sound energy and environmental policy and an advisor teaching about long-term sustainable development. I began working on energy policy while I was still in college in Missouri, and now continue my work as an environmental law professor in Indiana. I recognize the importance of preserving and expanding jobs even while we develop energy alternatives and protect public health and the environment; this is a need that people in the Midwest understand better than most. Meeting this need calls for innovation and cooperation, and Barack Obama is a proven coalition builder and leader. From the time he was a community organizer and state Senator in Illinois, Obama has moved beyond the special interests and animosity of the past. He has offered detailed energy and environmental policies that will move our country forward after too many years of delay. I trust him to lead a new administration that will value – just as we in the Midwest value – good jobs, energy independence, and environmental sustainability.
(read more)
McCain takes on NPR and Factcheck.org
McCain Mentions UsIt wasn’t exactly in a favorable light, per se.
On NPR’s “Morning Edition” today, anchor Steve Inskeep asked Sen. John McCain about balancing honor and winning in a campaign that Inskeep called “brutal.” In their conversation, Inskeep asked about a particular ad that we found to be “false”:
Inskeep: Have you come back to your advisers at any point and said, “That ad,” like for example the ad that ran with your name on it saying that Barack Obama supported comprehensive sex education for primary school students, something that FactCheck.org said was wrong. Have you ever gone to your staff and said, “Take that ad off, it’s not right”?
McCain: It was factually correct. It’s absolutely factually correct. And it is, and you can go on my Web site and you can see the exact language of the bill that Sen. Obama sponsored. But the point is if he had agreed to town hall meetings that I asked him to do all around the country like Jack Kennedy and Barry Goldwater had once agreed to do, the tenor of this campaign would be dramatically different. … I’m proud of the campaign we’re running. The ads are factually correct, and if someone named FactCheck.org or anybody else doesn’t agree with it, I respectfully disagree with their conclusion.
(You can listen to the interview here. This exchange begins at the 7 minute mark.)
For the record, Obama didn’t sponsor the bill, as McCain says. He wasn’t even a cosponsor. Yet the ad claimed that “Obama’s one accomplishment” in the realm of education was “legislation to teach ‘comprehensive sex education’ to kindergarteners.” That’s false. We pointed out several actual legislative accomplishments Obama has had in the area of education — bills he did sponsor or cosponsor.
Also, what Obama supported was “age-appropriate” sex ed for grades K-12, and that stipulation appears in the bill. The implication that he called for explicit sex ed for kindergarteners is also false. You can read the exact language of the bill from a link in our article on the ad as well.
The fact is, many of the ads from both camps have not been “factually correct.” If they were, our Web site would be empty.
We do appreciate the media mention, however.
Posted under Barack Obama, Education, FactCheck.org, John McCain, Presidential Election 2008
This post was written by Lori Robertson on October 1, 2008
(read more)Bail-out or not...
I'm curious as to what everyone's thoughts are on this???
Personally I dont think we should pay for this bail out....
(read more)
First Debate -Repost from Mary Fox's Blog, September 27, 2008
Post from Mary Fox's Blog:
My Analysis of the First Debate:"Heaping Live Coals Upon His Head"
By Mary Fox - Sep 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am EDT
Also listed in: 10 groups
For those of us who saw the first presidential debate last night, many of us were hoping that Obama would slam McCain during several of the moments that presented themselves. I originally was disappointed about this too. But I have had a night to sleep on my reaction and consider why the undecideds seemed to prefer Obama's style.
I have decided that Obama presented himself as strong opponent - yet a gentleman with sportsmanship. At one point he said "fair enough" and graciously took being cut off. He kept looking over at McCain and addressing him, but McCain would not reciprocate and look in his direction. At one point toward the beginning of the debate, in McCain's expression I saw glaring evil angry eyes and I thought he wanted to kill Obama. I extrapolated that that was the reason McCain wouldn't look Obama in the face - he was holding back from jumping across the stage and attacking him.
This debate was truly a battlefield for McCain - but a battle that Obama won. Every time Obama said "You're right, John," John's face on the TV looked like he was blinking hard as if he had just received a painful whiplash - like Obama was "heaping hot coals upon his head" (Proverbs 25:22).
This is a very interesting dynamic indeed. For those of us unfamiliar with this biblical proverb, it says that by being nice to an enemy it will be as if you are "heaping hot coals upon his head". I think that is what we saw last night - a very stateman, kind, and gentle, cool and collected Obama and an angry, abusive and agressive old white man. Anyone in the audience who thought Obama's race was a problem for them, now are facing the option of a very angry, scowling, ranting old white man for the next four years or a very kind and diplomatic black man.
On a more personal note, I find myself drawn to what I am calling Obama's "Daddy Factor". As a (white) daddy's girl, I see in Obama's vision for this country everything my father conveyed to me as the reason he loved our great nation - a nation where the "American Dream" actually happended - a land of the free and the brave. When I see Obama with his daughters, being a kind, gentle, loving father, I transfer all of my tender familial feeling for my father onto Obama. He is the kind of man my father tries to be - and sometimes is. He is the sportsman that my father taught my brother to be (in his semi-professional status as a tennis athlete). If I were to pick which candidate I would want as a father - I know I do not want the scowling McCain for my father - and I know I would want the kind, loving Obama to be my dad. A knowledgable, loving dad who could protect me and solve my problems.
Maybe this is what the polls are showing us. Obama's kindness was the real secret weapon which made him the champion of the hour. He showed himself to be statesman, sportsman, gentleman, and even - I will add - a Christian in his demeanor and behavior. He is the kind of man I would want to be related to. The kind of man I would want to lead our great nation. A much better person than I, who was routing to see blood in the arena, currently am.
God Bless the United States of America
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds. -- Bob Marley
P.E.A.C.E.(PositiveEducationAlwaysCorrectsErrors)
-Martin J. Wade
I HAVE A DREAM
My Friends,
my dream is to see Sen. Obama in the White House, as Commander in Chief...you too ?
Let's support the Change !
Simone
(read more)Election Day clothing
Kimberli from GA wish to share this message to all Obama family :
Just for clarification, here's the Federal law:
'It is not a violation of law for a voter to wear into the polling place a
button, tee-shirt, hat or other article of clothing with a campaign message on it, so long as the
voter leaves the polling place promptly after voting. No Challenger or Watcher may wear such
campaign paraphernalia in the polling place. Election judges or any other person who is
authorized to remain in or near a polling place for an extended period of time is prohibited from
wearing political paraphernalia while inside the polling place.'
HOWEVER, because we expect 'politics-as-usual' tactics, we are recommending that you do not wear your Obama gear to the polls.
Canvassing
What a positive experience! Of course, maybe I cheated just a bit by bringing my son along, because no one's really going to shut the door in an 8 year-old's face.
It was heartening to see so many Obama yard signs, even in what would be called a "typically Republican" suburb. One lady had a very prominently displayed No Soliciting sign, but an Obama yard sign as well, so when she warily answered the door I gave her an invitation to an economy roundtable being held tomorrow at Purdue. This cheered her up quite a bit, and when I asked her how she would describe her voting preference on Obama, she stated firmly "There is no other candidate. Period".
After checking back in at the field office, and on our way back to our car, I saw another parent from my son's school, and he crossed the street to speak with me about my car, the Barackmobile (If you've seen it, you know why). He asked how I thought things were going, and how I thought things would go even after the election. He seemed pretty wary, so I thought "McCain guy", but I launched into my Obama tribute anyway, highlighting among other things that he was the guy I wanted speaking with other head's of state, and that no matter what specifics got accomplished during his term, it would be a leg in the door for integrity and dignity, and more would follow.
He asked me if I thought people would accept him getting elected. I was like, "what?", and he explained under his breath, "ya know, because he's black" (I think I should explain at this point that my conversation partner was also a black man.) And I understood his hesitancy.
I said, "I know what you mean, I mean Dante had this little kid come up to him and say that's why he didn't know if he would vote for Obama if he was a grown-up."
And the guy said "See what I mean? Even little kids..."
But then I said, "I'll tell you what though: This is the president that, when I was a little girl, my parents promised me would come around. And from the first time I heard him speak, I knew that this might be the only chance, and I would be remiss if I didn't do what I could to help him get into office. Heck, my Dad was on the Barack website first, and invited *me* of all things. I've talked to a lot of positive people, and even one lady who said Obama was the only candidate, period. And that we were all in trouble if he didn't win. People are seeing it."
He lit up at that, and said "That's really cool. See, now you've inspired me, because I've been walking around, feeling all down. I don't think McCain can beat him, but you know..."
And when we parted ways, this man was visibly happy.
I wish, I just wish, that everyone could see the light in the eyes of people who support Obama. They're not afraid, they're not trying to hold on to something, to money, to prestige, nothing. It's just hope. Just the notion of having Barack around has made so many people visibly joyful. I saw that look in two little kids, probably just old enough to read, and they heard Barack was in town, and they gasped, like it was Christmastime and someone had promised them toys.
Barack does things that only the very rare heroes can do: he inspires, he mobilizes, he energizes, and all without demonizing. His charisma isn't superficial; it's to-the-bone confidence, and knowledge, and level-headedness. He's running for office not to control, but to inspire.
I see that look in people, and I know, we can be a better country. We can be better, and keep getting better. We just need this start. This is our shot to start pulling it all together. I don't want to wait another 4 years. I don't even want to wait until November.
This is for everyone. And the time is now.
(read more)NEXT CHANGE
Dear Friends,You know more than me :
NEW YORK (Sept. 15) - A stunning makeover of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks falling precipitously Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials sliding 500 points in their worst point drop since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Investors reacted badly to a shakeup of the financial industry that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. (Aol report)
Now is the time for the Campaign to move closer to Us citizen !
Economy is real, not only stocks falling !
Your supporter,
Simone (read more)
The Economy Voice
My friends,The World Economy is waiting for a CHANGE....From Italy,
Simone
Aol reports :
Greenspan Says McCain Tax Cuts Bad Idea By GLEN JOHNSON WASHINGTON (Sept. 13) - Alan Greenspan says the country can't afford tax cuts of the magnitude proposed by Republican presidential contender John McCain — at least not without a corresponding reduction in government spending. "Unless we cut spending, no," the former Federal Reserve chairman said Friday when asked about McCain's proposed tax cuts, pegged in some estimates at $3.3 trillion. (read more)
Hitler's "Pro-Life" and Defense of Marriage Act
From another's web article: ---------------------------------------------- "The woman has the task of being pretty, and of bringing children into the world. That is not such a crude and old-fashioned idea as it sounds. The female bird cleans herself for her husband, and cares for the eggs. And in exchange, the male bird takes care of bringing home dinner. He also stands watch and fights away all enemies." - Joseph Goebbels Adolph Hitler's staunch anti-abortion policies are summarized by one historian: "On May 26, 1933, two pieces of penal legislation . . . prohibit[ed] the availability of abortion facilities and services, . . . resulting in a 65 percent increase in yearly convictions between 1932 and 1938, when their number reached almost 7,000. From 1935 on, doctors and midwives were obliged to notify the regional State Health Office of every miscarriage. Women's names and addresses were then handed over to the police, who investigated the cases suspected of actually being abortions. In 1936 Heinrich Himmler, head of all police forces and the SS, established the Reich's Central Agency for the Struggle Against Homosexuality and Abortion, and in 1943, after three years of preparation by the Ministries of the Interior and of Justice, the law entitled Protection of Marriage, Family, Motherhood called for the death penalty in 'extreme cases There is a difference between being anti-abortion and being pro-life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We still don't have eyes to see, and the fact that Palin is not only on the ticket, but that they're getting the votes provesw it. This country is on the road to a nightmare. We have all the ingredients: just haven't built the camps yet. We need Barack Obama: not to tell us how to live, but to ensure that we have the freedom to do it. (read more)TO ALL GROUPS !
My dear friends,
this Group will play a crucial role in the Campaign.
Let's work togheter on behalf of Sen. Obama. Fiat lux !
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)I See Dead People
“I see dead people” is, of course, a line from the 1999 psychological horror film, The Sixth Sense. The movie tells the story of a frightened boy (Haley Joel Osment) , who claims to be able to see and talk to the dead, and his equally troubled child psychologist played by Bruce Willis who in a surprise plot twist really is dead.
That line came briefly to my mind this past week just after the Republican Convention ended. Suddenly, and for the first time since the primary elections were held here in Indiana I had a brief moment of panic or maybe despair. I’m not sure what set it off, but I think it was the sudden realization that John McCain had probably produced a miracle that might well save his campaign if Democrats fail to take his new team mate seriously.
Time to roll up my sleeves, I thought, as I logged onto http://my.barackobama.com to see if there were any local campaign activity with which I might connect. Horror of horrors…I found a half dozen “groups” that had been formed in this area during the primary season, but little or no apparent activity that seemed recent…the website, in vivid bright blue, had the quiet ambiance of a morgue.I believe the site has the backbone structure to be an awesome tool for the campaign to reach supporters as well as a vehicle for supporters to come together. Perhaps I did not understand the purpose of the website, but all I saw indicated it be being horribly under utilized by supporters.
Now I’m wondering…is this organization ready for the next two months? I can’t answer for you, or the organization…but I know when I am giving everything I can to make sure George Bush’s term ends in Jan 2009. Are you giving everything? Don’t under estimate the appeal of the McCain-Palin ticket here in the heartland. Under estimating them would be a deadly mistake for Democrats.
The Campaign for Change needs your time, your talent, your enthusiasm, courage, and your dollars….most of all it needs your time. Please call the Campaign for Change office here in Lafayette at 765-429-5137 and volunteer. The office has moved since the primary, but it is still easy to find at 514 Main Street. On the Trolly route from Campus.
The clock is ticking.
(read more)OUR CLEAR LINE
My dear all,
It is clear now ! The GOP is losing "consensus"...
No plans, no programm, no way ; just attack the opposite Party (Obama-Biden) !
Means we have to work hard as usual, until the US Presidency.
Simone
(read more)THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS
Insanity. Albert Einstein is credited with describing insanity as “Doing the same thing over, and over again and expecting different results.” By that definition I certainly must be insane. Each day for months now I have turned on my television, switched the channel to CNN or it’s sister CNN Headline News hoping to hear some news coverage of current events and each day I can stomach about five minutes of coverage before I want to vomit. To be fair, much of what I am about to say could be said of many other network and cable news organizations.I don’t know exactly when it happened, but some time ago “the media” decided that what American viewers wanted was entertainment, not news. Programs like “Entertainment Tonight” were born. They were plugged into time slots near or next to “the news”, I guess in hopes that some “newsiness” would wear off on it and that viewers might begin to confuse the “entertainment” with real coverage of important current events. Well it comes on just before the local news so it must be news too! It seems to have worked. The coverage given to “Hollywood gossip” is now quite interchangeable with any “news” program….stories cross from entertainment to news without anyone even noticing. What is Paris doing? What’s wrong with Tom Cruise? Which glamour girl is cheating on which boyfriend? Who kissed who. Who needs to be in drug rehab and who is in trouble with the law? WHO CARES?
I don’t object to a program devoted to this trash….er, uh….I mean these kinds of stories, but I do object to those same stories being foisted upon viewers of News programs. What terrifies me the most isn’t the fact that I see these stories reported regularly on CNN Headline news, what really frightens me is I think many viewers believe these kinds of stories ARE news or that they are important enough to report along with stories about real issues that affect millions of people.
Be afraid, be very afraid….the media would have us believe that viewers would rather hear about Paris Hilton’s latest antic than to see coverage of human rights violations in places like the Saudi kingdom, or genocide in Darfur.
The coverage of both of our major political party conventions speaks volumes on what is wrong with Television news coverage. There has been much hand wringing from both the right and the left about the media. They are too liberal, Fox News is too conservative, the media gave the current administration a free pass on all kinds of issues, they treat Barack Obama like a rock star, they don’t ask John McCain the “hard” questions, they give McCain a free ride, and on and on. You know what? I think it’s all true, all of those charges are true because journalists no longer know how to be journalists. Journalism has been replaced by entertainment.
The most trusted name in news has provided us with hours and hours of something they call analysis. Analysis is performed by placing two or more (but always an equal number of each opposing view) entertainers on stage at the same time and then allowing them or encouraging them to, make faces at each other, interrupt one another, yell back and forth, talk at the same time, and in general act in ways that would warrant a spanking if they were our children. Seriously now, if our children behaved like that there would be punishment involved. Wouldn’t there?
While hurricane Gustov approached the mainland U.S. just as the GOP was preparing their extravaganza in the Twin Cities there began to be talk among the pin heads about what would be “appropriate” for the GOP to do. Naturally the GOP opted to “look worried” to wring their hands and assure every one that the administration was on top of things and that they would put the safety of our country first over the party being held in the Twin Cities. hmmmmm??? Our President decided to stay in Washington so that he would be in a position to take necessary action in case of a calamity.
I can’t help but remember what the leaders of the GOP were doing on THE VERY DAY that Katrina struck New Orleans.
That’s right….they were having a party at a posh exclusive country club in Phoenix. They didn't look very concerned about hurricane victims during that party. Seems the mainstream journalists have forgotten all about this. Gee...what an inconvenient picture this photo op has turned out to be. So....One wonders, what was all the hand wringing about this time around? (read more)McCain team
Time’s Joe Klein believes the McCain team's attacks on the media are simply a tactic meant to thwart inquiries into Palin's history.Source :AOL
I assume her VP ticket is a nice move. Probably she will attract 2% more voters...(the good looking figure always helps, considering Sen. McCain ages). What do you think about ?
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)
Why I Was a Republican
This whole election cycle has had me thinking a lot about my own politics, trying to figure out why I ever thought I was or should be a Republican. I had to dig really deep to come to some understanding of this on a personal level.I guess some of what I figured out applies to a lot of people. You hear so many people say they would rather die than support a (fill in the blank). They throw out the terms "liberal" or “conservative” as a negative adjective. Two perfectly good words reduced to gutter language. Supporting a party that for the most part works against your own self interest. That's the kind of thing that just doesn't (or didn't) make a lot of sense to me. I can understand someone supporting a party when the policies that it espouses would be a direct benefit ....it is the others who seem to go into the voting booth suffering from what amounts to political schizophrenia that I wonder about. (read more)
Remember these words, please !
Palin Shakes UpPresidential Race 'It's Going to Be a Wild Ride'
My friends,
I completely disagree with Mrs Palin words, naturally.
We should move different, we shoud demonstrate to Us citizen and to the World who we are.
We are the remedy and the only choice to CHANGE ! So, patience, smile and hard work !! GO OBAMA, GO !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)
Thanks to all !
My dear all,
I wish to thanks all people who reached me this evening for the Event held in Urbisaglia (Italy).
The Major of Urbisaglia, all staff members and all people who kindly supported me and our Group.
Welcome also to the new members....we are becoming as a large family !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)
History in the making....
I cannot believe that I have been lucky enough to see this.....
When I was a kid, I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I saw several moon launches and landings, as well as the splash-downs that followed. I still remember seeing body counts on the evening news with good old "Uncle" Walter Cronkite as reports from Vietnam came in. I remember MLK and RFK being shot. I remember when Elvis died. I remember when Nixon resigned. I remember when Jimmy Carter said he had "lust in his heart"and that he had seen a UFO (and I remember his brother Billy, too---still have a can of Billy Beer!) I remember the Iranian hostage crisis, and how it ended abruptly when Reagan took office. I remember when Squeaky Fromme took potshots at Ford, and when John Lennon was killed. I remember when some loser tried to impress Jody Foster by shooting Reagan. I remember the Colts midnight move to Indy (SORRY BALTIMORE!!!!) I saw Mondale speak when he ran for President with Geraldine Ferraro as his VP candidate. THAT was exciting for an independent, emancipated woman like me....
But, I never thought I would see what happened in Denver last night. Last night, I think I saw our country begin to grow up. It's about time. For a country that was founded, allegedly, on the idea of tolerance, we have been one of the most intolerant nations on earth....intolerant of race, religion, sex, height, weight, differences of opinion. Our ancestors, those who came here of their own free will, came here for a change....yet, so many people in this country are afraid of just that, change. "It's always been that way, so just leave it," "If it was good enough for my mom and dad, it's good enough for me, " and so on and so on. But, last night, with one loud, clear voice, projected out into a clear, cloudless beautiful Denver sky, a group of diverse people.....different colors, different sexes, different religions, all came together and asked for CHANGE.
That, in itself, was amazing enough. But the most amazing part is the man they asked to help them achieve it. After centuries of placing the most powerful office in our country into the hands of one type of man, a different type came forward. He was not like all the others before him in appearance, but in heart and soul, he was much more like those early leaders and founders of our country than most of the recent leaders of our nation have been. He cares more about US, the people, than himself or his friends. His name is Barack Obama.
A funny name, yes. His father, Kenyan. His mother, Kansan. Of course, you know all that by now. Oh, but many of you say, I have read/heard/been told he is a Muslim, because his father was/is!!!! No, he is not. He is a Christian, and attends a United Church of Christ. Well, he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin, or participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. To the first part, he does, on occasion, wear the flag pin. Do YOU wear a flag pin every day? Does that mean YOU love your country any less? My father was a WW II veteran and never wore a flag pin a day in his life. Does that mean he was unpatriotic? No, it was a personal choice. An outward sign of patriotism does not always mean the heart is in the right place. As for the Pledge, if you are referring to a photo passed around and around on the internet, that photo was taken during the singing of the National Anthem, and none of the folks in that photo are looking at the flag behind them. Really hard to judge what they are looking at. But, what about him being sworn in on the Quran? That is completely false. A Minnesota Congressman named Keith Ellison, who is a Muslim, chose to carry a Quran instead of a Bible, since he would not actually be sworn in on a Bible anyway. And, the Quran he carried had been owned by Thomas Jefferson.
There are many other concerns out there about Obama....but on this night....this one night....the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's stirring "I Have A Dream Speech," Americans, some Americans, enough Americans, finally began to " judge not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character." And how appropriate that Dr. King even said, "Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!"
For those who felt Obama did not give enough information early on in his campaign as to what he wanted to do and how, he spelled that out last night. Strangely enough, much of it is what he said to a small group, gathered in a room for lunch, back in April this year. I even felt he used some of our words last night, and was honored. He wants to work for you, for me, for all of us out here trying to merely make a living, raise our children, and be good people. He is NOT going to work for the oil companies, the polluters, the insurance companies turning us away without care. He IS one of us....he knows our lives, and he wants to help. As a man from Indiana who spoke last night at the Convention said, "we need a government who puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney."
Yes, I believe. Yes, I think together, we CAN! And it is going to take all of us, together. This will not be an easy fight. Today's news is a good indicator. John McCain, for whom I have the utmost respect for his service to our nation, but who I feel is far too much like GWB and too set in the ways of the conservative Republicans who have let our country go down the drain so far, has chosen a young, unknown woman governor as his running mate. Interesting choice. Trying to get the women's vote, obviously. Trying to reach out to young people, ok. But, this is pandering. Choosing someone just because of her sex and age is an insult, a slap in the face. No, I don't think he should have chosen Hillary, but to me this just shows his desperation and fear of Obama and the power of those who KNOW it is time for a drastic change in Washington.
It is time for change. Our country does need to grow up. How many other nations have had minority or female leaders since the mid-60's? Dozens. The Unites States is stuck in the Older White Male Syndrome, preferably the Older White Male with Lots of Money Syndrome. Why do we think this is the person who best understands us, or who will act in our best interest, or will act quickest when that is necessary? This is generally a person who has acted on their own behalf more often than not. Effective business leaders are generally younger, more energetic, more active. Why do we want our Presidents to be older, more sedentary, and more out-of-touch with regular Americans?
I am inspired. I am going to do what I can, talk to people, call, help in whatever way I need to, to let people know that John McCain, unfortunately, represents the same economic policies that have been bringing my poor little hometown to a standstill. I will be working for change. I will be doing what I can for Barack Obama, and history. I am glad I am lucky enough to see this, and that my children are, too.....I just wish my dad would have...
(read more)
Welcome on board, Mr Biden !
My dear all,
me and my Group (Urbisaglia-Italy-with Obama) are pleased to welcome Mr Biden, as Obama running mate.
Togheter we can, yes !
From Italy,
Simone
(read more)South Ossetia
My friends,maybe the O.Games distract us from the huge problems in Russia....last news reported that Russia stopped diplomatic relations with Nato (with us or vs. us, said Russian fonts).
In my opinion is not the time to stay quite...when people are in danger, it is a World problem !
From Italy,
Simone
Here the last update from Aol :
US-RUSSIA-GEORGIA
ORLANDO, Florida - President George W. Bush, pushing back against claims by Russia, says the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of pro-Western Georgia and that Washington will work with allies to insure Georgia's independence and territorial integrity.
(read more)
The Pope today
My dear friends,
let's the World hear the words of the Pope :"IMMEDIATE STOP TO ALL THE WARS !"
The only difference between animals and humans is the light of reason : as civil people we have to act in the sign of freedom, against all wars.
This is not a politic fact : human life is the MOST important thing. Regardless origins, Countries, attitudes, skin colour, religion.
From Italy,
Simone
(read more)
Please condamn the terrible facts in Georgia !
My dear friends,
worldwide we are VERY worried for the terrible facts in Ossetia !
"Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday in a major escalation of the conflict that has left scores of civilians dead and wounded.
Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, responded by sending in armed convoys and military combat aircraft." news reported...We should move togheter, and condamn all this happening now ! Stop all wars ! From Italy,Simone
(read more)
Democrats Abroad is moving...what about YOU ?
Dear Friends,have a look to this video, held by Democrats Abroad, and share it with your friends !
VOTE ! VOTE ! VOTE ! Every VOTE counts !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amukRM9SSoo
From Italy,
Simone (read more)
ENERGY AGAIN
My dear friends,
on the newspapers the news of the day is that Sen. McCain will propose a mass reduction of the oil price, due of the problems Us citizen have now with gas prices.
So, more explorations near the borders, with the propose to find new oil resources...
Money are very important now, and people are very concerned about that !
It will be the task of this Presidential Campaign...maybe the Power of Dreams VS. the Power of Money (Obama VS. McCain).
We will see...
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)Wait time (without waste time !)
My Friends,
this is the period of the wait...we all are waiting the Denver Convention, before start with energy the last months of the Campaign.
So, let encourage our friends in joining us in this great adventure !
Thousands of people are not registered to vote,yet...we have to move, right now !
Parties, Barbecues...every moments to share our big effort in this Presidential Campaign, our campaign for Obama.
Your italian friend and supporter (firing to reach Us soon)
Simone
(read more)
GMG in Sydney 08
Lots of news from Sydney (Australia) during the GMG (Catholics Young General Meeting).
The huge community that reach this far Country comes from...USA !
More than 15.000 Us catholics, guided by Cardinal Francis George (tomorrow he will celebrate a Mess for all Us citizen) reached Sydney, about 1.140 groups from all over US.
With them, a selected group of 22 (17 girls and 5 boys) who will pass the news to Home, as they learned in a lamp course of journalism how stay tunes with the thousands at home, posting blogs through Internet in My Catholic Voice.
In the last visit in USA the voice of the Pope was been very clear : stop the bad things in the World !
Your italian friend, from Australia
Simone
(read more)Christians seek justice
Lots of problems, yesterday in Bombay.
In the Maharashtra State christians activists organized a manifestation to protest against intimidation Faith Schools are submitted by MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena).
In the heart of hindu nationalism the situation of minority is becoming difficult, and the MNS Party would enter in all Faith Schools because the quality is higher.
The Bombay Catholic Sabha asks for a equal law to protect all Schools Institutes.
In God we trust (and in the help of the International Community)..
From Italy,
Simone
(read more)XXX Urgent ! Vote on Aol.com !
My dear friends,we cannot leave this off! Please reach AOL.COM and cast your vote in favour of our Candidate.
A big start is half of the race...
From Italy,
Simone
Poll Finds Obama Still Faces Racial Gap
AOL Posted: 2008-07-16 12:13:13 Filed Under: Elections News, Barack Obama (July 16) -- For the first time, a major political party will field an African-American in the presidential race. That's a sign that the United States' racial divide is getting narrower, right?Not necessarily, according to a new New York Times/CBS News poll.
The poll finds major disparities in the way black and white voters view Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. While 83 percent of black respondents had a favorable view of Obama, only 31 percent of whites did, for example.
Whites and blacks also hold widely differing views on the state of race relations in the country, the poll suggested. (read more)
After November 4th
My dear friends,
I'm pretty sure now...
After November 4th we could have rest (a bit).
After November 4th we could relax (a bit).
BUT NOT NOW !! NOW IS THE TIME TO SHARE OUR COMMITMENT TO SEN. OBAMA. NOW IS THE TIME TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY IN THE CAMPAIGN !
GO OBAMA ! YES, WE CAN
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)BB and AB (Before Barack and After Barack)
Dear Friends,
very interesting, the article I read today about our Obama !
Seems in Us (and Worldwide) folks are speaking about history considering the periods as BB (Before Barack) and AB (After Barack)...
Means naturally that our leader is more than a person who appears for a while in our life...is becoming a truly inspirator of people!
HOPE for the best !
Your friend and supporter from Italy,
Simone
(read more)CHINA TODAY
My dear all,Do you think it is possible today, in 2008, that people are severed knocked because followers of a religion ?
"Asia News" reports that the Chinese Catholic Community of Fanzhi (Shanxi) they lived such a experience !
After 50 years, and they still have not a place where to pray God, because locals sell their building, all this without any respect of the law !
Nowdays China is investing millions to organize the Olympic Games, but they have no respect to folks !
Wasn't better to invest in the school system, or in social affairs, to "knock out" the ignorance ??
I think sport comes after religion..or I'm wrong ?
Your friend from Italy,
Simone (read more)
ORA, LEGE ET LABORA
Dear Friends,
A solution to exit from this economic "empasse", in my little opinion, is the verb written by St. Benedict ORA, LEGE ET LABORA; so the cross, the book and the plow nowdays are the praises, the studies and the works.
Without any comparison from the past, the past came again to help us in these difficult moments.
Just focus in these 3 little points...we will discover new frontiers inside us. As the benedectines monks, we will walk through the World with a new infinite light.
Maybe there will be difficulties in the start (so many connections to break !) but I am pretty sure that the light we have inside will help our way, and the way of our fellow.
St. Benedict, The patron of Europe (today is his memorial day) will help us again !
From Italy,
Simone
(read more)
Last Aol pool about Obamas
Dear Friends,last Aol pool is about the focus of Media in Obama and Michelle daughters. As parent and Tutor I completely agreee with them. What is your opinion ? From Italy,Simone NBC
Don't get used to seeing Barack Obama's young daughters on television. The Democratic presidential candidate and his wife, Michelle, allowed the cable show 'Access Hollywood' to interview their daughters, Malia and Sasha, as Malia celebrated her 10th birthday. Afterwards, Obama said he had second thoughts after seeing how much attention the interview had received. AOL News has the details.
(read more)Denver Convention
Hi everybody !What a great message, the last from Campaign Manager Plouffe !
We will have an OPEN Convention, to address all people the Obama's speechs.
Let's support with donations this BIG EVENT ! We can, Y E S !
Your italian friend,
Simone (read more)
Obama Staffer Coming to Kentland!
The Obama Campaign for Change '08 is sending its Lafayette, IN coordinator Tricia Ben-Davies to Newton County this Wednesday, July 9 for a 1pm CDT meeting with local Obama volunteers. E-mail me or comment below for info. You're invited!Ben-Davies will be opening Obama's Lafayette headquarters this Saturday, July 12 and she invites all area voters to be there to show our support and enthusiasm. Obama carried Tippecanoe County in the primary and she is there to help him win this area in November. Her territory includes Newton, Jasper, Benton, Warren, Tippecanoe and other counties and we intend to help her all we can.
The July 9 meeting in Kentland will also unveil our first local Obama campaign materials, so don't miss it!
It is a Big Deal for Newton County to be included in a presidential campaign. Obama won 855 votes here in May, and we can increase that number dramatically this fall with the help of Clinton supporters, loyal Democrats and disaffected Republicans. By increasing our hometown visibility, we can make it safe for Obama voters to come out and make our views known; 855 neighbors already have!
We need change in this election in Kentland, Goodland, Brook, Ade, Morocco, Lake Village, Sumava and Roselawn. We need a real economic stimulus package, not just a temporary giveaway. We need jobs and healthcare here in rural Indiana. We need our soldiers out of Iraq and back home where they belong, where they can live in peace and raise their families and get decent jobs. We need a president who moves beyond the cynical politics of Washington and actually gets things done. The other guy can't do that; Barack Obama can and will.
But he needs us to help him; he can't do it alone, he needs our help to toss out the special interests and start governing for the benefit of all Americans.
He needs the help of the people of Newton County. From Thayer to Conrad, Mt. Ayr to Foresman, Obama needs us to take back Washington and give it a Midwestern makeover.
That's why he's sending staff to Kentland--because he needs us.
Can we do it? Can the people of Newton County remake America and get it back on track after 8 years of disaster?
By ourselves, no; but together with friends and neighbors who care about Newton County, who care about Indiana and our way life--who care about our country--the answer is plain: YES WE CAN.
Send me an e-mail or comment below. Let's welcome Tricia to the Real America, right here in Kentland, Indiana.++ (read more)
NY Post
Dear Friends,last articles from NY Post about Obama and his convinction on Iraqui war are not very linear.
Krauthammer wrote about a very CHANGE, but only in opposition of our Democratic leader. This journalist said Obama is changing his view, so not "STOP THE IRAQUI WAR", but maybe "the war will continue longer then 16 months".
I believe this is not fair. I believe in Sen. Obama speechs. Are you ?
Your friend from Italy,
Simone (read more)
Obama Meetups in Newton County? Yes we can!
Newton County for Obama is starting to organize for the fall campaign. Our first event will be a meetup/picnic for Obama supporters to be held in Kentland; no date yet but keep your eyes peeled. Theresa B. and I are the convenors. Once we learn how to do this in Kentland, we also plan Obama picnic meetups in Goodland, Brook, Morocco and maybe more.Working with the NewCo Democratic Party and local candidates, our purpose is to identify Obama's grassroots supporters here, get to know each other, tell our stories, and figure out ways to increase Obama's visibility in this county.
In the primary two months ago, despite no organization, 855 Newton County voters chose Obama to be their next President. We want to reach all 855 Obama voters and invite Sen. Clinton's supporters to join us. We want to capture the momentum for Democrats up and down the ticket. It's time for Change We Can Believe In right here at home.
Contact me at josh@dailyoffice.org to be part of this historic campaign. We will soon have Obama magnets, cards, T-shirts and will take orders for yard signs and other publicity materials. If all the Obama supporters in our county come out, register and vote, we can help put Indiana's 12 Electoral College votes in play in the race for the White House.
We need you! Contact me today, join with hundreds of your neighbors who are already committed to Obama and help us reach others waiting to hear from us. An Obama picnic in Kentland? Yes we can! (read more)
EUROPE STANDS FOR OBAMA
My friends,will be a pretty nice occasion for all and each of us, during next Obama trip into Europe, to share our passion on his way.
Are we ready ? Yes, we can !
Your italian friend,
Simone (read more)
SEN. OBAMA AND THE POPE
My dear friends,rumors I heard worried me.
I knew Sen.Obama will reach Europe, next July, but will not reach Italy...I think it is a mistake !
I'm thinking at 67 millions Catholics in Us, and their effort in this match. I know perfectly that we need to keep politics facts and Religion separated, but I expected to see Obama in Italy.
Without enter in our leader's priorities (he will visit GB, Germany and France, before reach the Middle East) a fact like this will sign another milestone in his Campaign...visit Benedict XVI.
Please don't forgot the motto "Roma Caput Mundi" !
Your friend from Italy,
Simone (read more)
Barack Evening Buzz - 6-25-08
Barack Evening Buzz - 6-25-08On to Victory in November
(1) Obama Disagrees with Supreme Court Decision on Child Rape Case
Sara Kugler-Associated Press
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_el_pr/obama_child_rape_case_9
(2) While Fundraising, Bush Mounts Attack on Obama
Dan Eggen-Washington Post-The Trail-Daily Diary of Campaign 2008
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/25/while_fundraising_bush_mounts.html?hpid=topnews
(3) Obama Campaign Manager Argues Electability
Washington Post-The Trail-Daily Diary of Campaign 2008
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/25/obama_campaign_manager_argues.html
(4) Obama Defends Bill Clinton
Maria Gavrilovic-CBS News-From The Road
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/06/25/politics/fromtheroad/entry4210621.shtml
(5) Obama and Clinton Beat Path to Unify to Heal Rifts
Tom Baldwin-TimesOnline-UK
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4214830.ece
(6) Obama and Clinton Campaign Together
Linda Feldmann-Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0626/p02s02-uspo.html
(7) No Bad Blood-Obama Dismisses Talk on Tension with the Clintons
FOXNews
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/06/25/obama-dismisses-talk-of-tension-with-the-clintons/
(8) Obama-Clinton-Nightmare for GOP?
Gregory Roberts-Seattle Post Intelligencer
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/142016.asp
(9) Obama Tackles Clinton Campaign Donors' Hurt Feelings
Glenn Thrush-Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-uscamp0626,0,5692561.story
(10) Obama Rejects Nader Claim on White Talk
Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jo4VvScpnpZwFSEeYip0tStkHXsgD91HC8Q80
(11) Does Obama Really Have a Double Digit Lead?
Andrew Romano-Newsweek-Stumper
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/06/25/does-obama-really-have-a-double-digit-lead.aspx
(12) Bush Makes Rare Public Campaign Fundraising Appearance
Jeremy Pelofsky-Reuters-Tales from the Trail
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/06/25/bush-makes-rare-public-campaign-fundraising-appearance/ (read more)
Congrats Indiana
Obama is ahead in the polls there for the first time!
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=d62471d9-b9f8-4274-8312-16c1006a5764
I am currently in California, but moving to Lafayette in August, and am excited to help campaign!
Jason
(read more)Great New Green T-Shirts!
We are happy to offer you what you've been asking for - an Obama t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support of the greenest candidate to ever run for president. Enjoy!
(read more)NEW PEOPLE FOR OBAMA
My friends,
to grow up the Party, and help Sen. Obama to the final stage (Nov. 4th), I kindly suggest you this tip :
Lots of former classmates you met in High School or University are waiting your call !
reach them out from your personal Agenda (find also the old ones), then contact them and explain them you and your Group are creating something very special : help the next Us President, Barack Obama.
Hundreds of people are waiting your call...don't lose a minute!
Your friend and supporter from Italy,
Simone
(read more)Senior Working Group
My Friends,
We all welcome the new group that will work on behalf of Sen. Obama as Democratic Nominee.
Mr Warren Christopher, Mrs Madeleine Albright, Mr William Perry, Mr Jim Steinberg, Mr Antony Lake, Mr Richard Danzing, Mr Eric Holder, Mr Greg Craig, Mrs Susan Rice.
I'm sure this group will help our leader during the difficult and leading CHANGE we need, Worldwide.
Togheter WE CAN.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)OIL POWER, NEW PROBLEM ?
My dear Friends,I wish to focus today to one of the most dangerous and troubling problem of our days...oil price.
After the peak of months ago (100 $/barrel) seems now the price will never stop !
This is an URGENT problem !
Every single product will increase (or is already increased) the price, and we will have just the money for a cuppa of coffee, in our pocket !
2 weeks ago the first problems in large stores and supermarket food retailers, here in Europe, with a limit quantity for person (2 packs) of RICE....the rice, my friends....we will combat next war for the rice (or other primary product) !!!!
Considering we are not in Africa, I suppose is a very important argument !
So, solutions ??
Your friend from Italy,
Simone (read more)
Powell...power
My friends,
My intelligence reports to me that Mr Powell, a strong Republican active member, will endorse our Obama...what a fantastic end of Spring's news !!
It is not only a colour matter (riddiculus, today) but a very interesting thing in the Presidential Campaign. Means that a big CHANGE is in act !
CHANGE and HOPE, Barack's words and our words.
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)IRAN VIEW...
Dear Friends,
on international newspapers I read the titles "Obama : stop Iran is a must".
This after HRC endorsement, so when he become the Democratic Nominee. So, he starts to speak as President also in International Affairs, or not ?
Some change of view in his political move ??
Explain me more, would you, please ? Only because these are the same words of Mr. Bush...you know !
Your italian supporter and friend,
Simone
(read more)Dream Ticket part.2
Friends,
Thanks so much for all the nice comments of my previous one....I really suppose the great choice is Mrs. Sebelius as VP.
But, naturally, these are all speculations ! I presume the game is over, and Sen. Obama will choose (or already selected) the right person as his second.
It is politic, at the end...probably will be the politic of a real CHANGE, to finalize the best GOAL ever !
To each and everybody of you, from Italy,
Simone
(read more)Obama and McCain jumpin on religion!
Hold onto your hymnals. The Obama campaign is launching its latest offensive to take religious voters away from the Republicans. It is called the Joshua Generation Project, and it will use the internet, parties, concerts, and fliers to reach out to the church crowd. And with John McCain already treading water with conservative religious types, this could get bumpy.
The power of conservative Christian voters has been so omnipresent (shall we say?) that it has played a critical role in every Republican presidential victory since Ronald Reagan. It is practically a GOP commandment: Thou shalt not win with moderate voters alone.
But for several months now Dems have been making noise about challenging the Repubs claim on this voting block. Why do you think Clinton and Obama were so happy to sit down for those discussions of their faith on TV? The Dems realized that for too long they have retreated from any public admission of their own faith and have essentially given that part of the political battlefield to the opposing party.
No more. Now they have a presumptive nominee who actually likes talking about his faith in public, looks comfortable doing it, and they want to make it clear that they have as much in common with church-going folks as the Republicans do.
They know they can’t win with everyone. Obama supports abortion rights, and we all remember the screaming headlines some weeks ago about his former pastor. He stands little chance of making headway with older, seriously conservative Christians.
So he is taking aim at the younger ones; people who oppose the war, think America should do more about world poverty and hunger… that sort of thing. These are folks who might find religion in Obama’s positions, and be willing to overlook their differences with him, especially if they can’t find a spiritual link to John McCain.
(read more)Dream Ticket
Dear Friends,
after my last blog post (VP bet) seems people likes to partecipate to decision...but probably all is done !
I expected Mrs. Sebelius as VP, but today in Europe's newspapers appears the news that Mrs. Kennedy will be in this position (or is expected to become).
Doesn't matter !
After this long Primary sessions we need a couple of days of relax, so, now, why not ME in the desk of VP ???
A bit of laugh, tomorrow we will concentrate in our next mission, the Campaign for Nov. 4th.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)VP BET..
My dear friends,these days were unexpected...seems we are in a "limbo", waiting...
Could I bet the name of the VP ? I expect a real CHANGE, I expect someone different, I expect MRS SEBELIUS, Kansas Gov.
And about the Campaign,are we ready to restart ? YES, sure !
Yes, we can.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone (read more)
THANKS TO SEN. CLINTON
Thank You Senator ClintonSenator Clinton made history over the past 16 months -- not just because she has broken barriers, but because she has inspired millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to causes like universal health care that make a difference in the lives of all Americans.
These words comes from Obama...because UNITED WE STAND (L'UNIONE FA LA FORZA) !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)THANKS TO ALL FOR THIS VICTORY !!
My dear Friends,
this is my first post, after the great Victory of yesterday. I'm really excited about the opportunity of a real CHANGE in our minds !
Thank you so much to be here, thank you so much for your support to our leader, now the Democratic Nominee to the White House!
Lots of work to do, lots of things to think, from now.
Did we reach the end ? No, this is a fantastic new start, 'till Nov. 4th.
Your friend and strong supporter from Italy,
Simone
(read more)OUR POWER
MY DEAR FRIENDS,
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Obama supporter, says just now that the contest is the victory in November, with the unify of the Democratic Party ! That's absolute true...I'm very confident on OUR POWER.
Let's focus now on next contests, Montana and Puerto Rico, we are 49 delegates to nominee !!
And to secure the nominee, we have to work very hard, on behalf of Sen. Obama !
Our power is not only the power of dreams, but it is the power of facts.
Are we ready ? Yes we can.
Your friend from Italy,
Simone
(read more)Last moments !
My dear friends,
we are approaching a fantastic final on the race...OUR GOAL !
Come on...another 3 calls each, to support our leader.
Yes, we can !
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)OUR JOB, NOW..
My dear Friends,
Days are ending....in 5 days we have to focus our job in the last States, PR -Montana- S.Dakota.
So, what are we waiting up ?
What we can do as his
supporters is to continue reaching out to residents in the remaining primary
states/provinces via phonebanking and doorknocking.
Me and my group (Urbisaglia-Italy-with Obama) we'll start in 3 hours -due of time zone- our phonebanking session.
IT IS THE ONLY IMPORTANT THING !
Help us in the CHANGE.
Your friend from Italy,
Simone
(read more)
Fox pundit wishes for Obama assassination... and Laughs!
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/FOX_Pundit_Wishes_for_Obama_Assassination_Laughshttp://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.html
Senator Clinton has once again crossed the line of decency. Even if one wishes to give her the benefit of the doubt with her assassination ‘gaffe’, her lack of historical accuracy makes this a 'Bosnian sniper fire' level discrepancy. Her husband had, in fact been, assured of the nomination with Paul Tsongas withdrawal in March of 1992. Further recent history has shown that those campaigns which fight on into the convention always lead to general election losses. These facts coupled with her previous effective endorsement of Senator McCain’s qualifications over Senator Obama’s, along with the not so very subtle racism of her campaign, make her utterly unfit to be Senator Obama’s Vice-President.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.html (read more)
International voices..
Dear Friends,To let our voice counts I sent to Mrs Pelosi a nice mail to show my support to Sen. Obama.
Please help me in this contest and mail your view to her at :
AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
(this is her contact address, if you are writing outside her District)
Togheter WE CAN !
Your italian friend,
Simone (read more)
Reject Clinton for VP
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.htmlSenator Clinton has once again crossed the line of decency. Even if one wishes to give her the benefit of the doubt with her assassination ‘gaffe’, her lack of historical accuracy makes this a 'Bosnian sniper fire' level discrepancy. Her husband had, in fact been, assured of the nomination with Paul Tsongas withdrawal in March of 1992. Further recent history has shown that those campaigns which fight on into the convention always lead to general election losses. These facts coupled with her previous effective endorsement of Senator McCain’s qualifications over Senator Obama’s, along with the not so very subtle racism of her campaign, make her utterly unfit to be Senator Obama’s Vice-President.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.html (read more)
Reject Clinton for VP
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.htmlSenator Clinton has once again crossed the line of decency. Even if one wishes to give her the benefit of the doubt with her assassination ‘gaffe’, her lack of historical accuracy makes this a 'Bosnian sniper fire' level discrepancy. Her husband had, in fact been, assured of the nomination with Paul Tsongas withdrawal in March of 1992. Further recent history has shown that those campaigns which fight on into the convention always lead to general election losses. These facts coupled with her previous effective endorsement of Senator McCain’s qualifications over Senator Obama’s, along with the not so very subtle racism of her campaign, make her utterly unfit to be Senator Obama’s Vice-President.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ER052408/petition.html (read more)
SO, NOW...
My Friends,
as we are waiting Sen. Clinton next move (I previously said you all she is waiting a good LEAVING-BONUS), what will be our next step ?
Very simple, just focus our energy in Puerto Rico's Primary !!
Lots of delegates in this Us Territory...we could achieve it!
I suggest, starting for now, to add in our Groups the Groups for Obama in P.R., a strong signal, in my opinion, about their rilevance on this race...would you?
So, finalizy our acts, till the end !
Yes, we can.
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)Re: "There is always a way"
I just read a GOTV calls post about calling voters in Kentucky.
(http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGBDrf)
In it, Steph talks about how she called a voter in Kentucky who suffered from a recent stroke and couldn't find a way to get to the polls to vote. Steph coordinated for a volunteer to give the voter a ride to the polls and she says it was the most rewarding call she had made that day.
That reminds me of what happened to me on Election Day here in Indiana. While campaigning outside a major polling place in Lafayette, IN, a homeless man went stomping out of the polling location because he was refused the right to vote, even though he was properly registered. While my friend and I kept him engaged and talking for a few minutes, I called the voter hotline and finally got a legal professional on the line to help him out.
We didn't even know who he wanted to vote for until he later volunteered the information, but it didn't matter to us because the most important thing in that moment was correcting the injustice that had been done to him. In the end, we went back in with him and cleared up the issue and he finally had the opportunity to exercise his voting right. It was probably the most rewarding part of the whole day for me.
I'm raising $1000 for Barack Obama! Donate to my fundraising effort!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/donpablohahn
(read more)
COME ON ! TODAY IS THE DAY...
Dear Friends,
are u knocking doors or phonebanking ?
From Italy me and my group we made hundreds phone calls to Kentucky and Oregon, in support of our leader.
A new beginning, starting from tomorrow !
YES, WE CAN
Simone
(read more)WHY WE NEED OBAMA
AMERICA IS A DEMOCRACY NOT A DYNASTY – WE NEED OBAMA -THE WORLD NEED OBAMA !
George H. Bush -Vice President: 1981-1989
George H. Bush - President: 1989 - 1993
William J. Clinton - President: 1993 - 2001
George W. Bush - President: 2001-2009
Hillary R. Clinton - President: 2009 - 2017 ??????????????? NOOOO!!!!
*36 years of the same two families holding the executive office of the United States of America.
*28 years of the same two families serving as
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)
CRUCIAL MILESTONE !
My dear friends,we are really near our goal...to secure the nomination for Obama !
Seems we need another 20 elected delegates; WE CAN DO THIS !
Let's speak to the people about what will mean, for Us and for the World.
This is our momentum, this is our voice.YES.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone (read more)
Michelle is Right, Barack's No Angel
I am disappointed, more than 24 hours after the California Supreme Court announced its decision on marriage, that there is still nothing on the Obama home page taking note of this.
It is a momentous event for Lesbian and Gay people worldwide. In historical importance it ranks one notch below Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark civil rights decision in 1954. Both cases came down to one principle: "separate but equal" is unequal.
All three presidential candidates are doing their best to change the subject. They all issued very brief statements to the mainstream media, saying they support separate, unequal civil unions instead of Gay marriage.
Thus McCain, Clinton and Obama will do nothing to disturb the stigma put on Gay people. This isn't exactly "a new kind of politics," Barack.
I understand not wanting to rock the boat; I don't want the marriage issue turned into the latest cable news trivia obsession either. But there is a way to touch LGBT voters, to reach out to us on a day of great celebration for millions of Gays and Straights alike, without tipping over the boat. An e-mail to supporters would suffice, especially to those of us on the LGBTs for Obama lists, but instead we're getting the same old, tired boasting and fundraising appeals.
You too are playing the same old politics of fear on this issue, when there isn't a dime's worth of difference between you and Hillary on this issue. McCain isn't far away either; whose votes would you lose, the Bigot Caucus's? Man, you're not getting votes from them anyway.
Worse, you're letting progressives down all over the country. Do you think your college students didn't notice your silence? What's your message to Millennials the past 24 hours? You don't have one.
What are your plans for Lesbian and Gay Pride Day? It's coming up in less than a month, and there won't be any primaries left by then, all the voting will be done.
I'll be watching. If all you do is phone it in, I'll know your "new kind of politics" is really just "new and slightly improved from the old kind." Certainly my enthusiasm for your campaign will drop, because I won't see any "fierce urgency of now."
Axelrod isn't the messiah, either. Stop following the old politics of duck and weave and divide!
(read more)THEN...DID WE SCORE OUR GOAL ?
My loved friends,
nothing happened in the past days (apart Mr. Edwards endorsement..)!
Are all groups sleeping ! We still have not anything in our basket...why seems we stopped ?
Let's wake up and be ready for next move, in Kentucky and Oregon.
Your friend from Italy,
Simone
(read more)WHAT SEN. CLINTON IS WAITING (BUON' USCITA)
My dear Friends,
All reporters worldwide are writing about the huge result of Sen. Clinton in WV. And all are asking about her next move...
I'm pretty sure she is only waiting for a good LEAVING-BONUS (BUON' USCITA in italian), as she can't afford to continue the Presidential race.
Maybe the VP ticket? Or a good position in the Democratic Party...we will see.
Surely she will endorse our leader, next.
This is the political view of Us facts at now.
OUR step is continue the race till the end, in support of Obama. So, ready to move for KY and OR?
Yes, we are. Yes, we can.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)WHERE IS THE HOUSE YOU (WE) WILL BUILD ?
My lovely Friends,
This title came from "Judgment and Hope", from Isaiah.
Hope...Obama's first and last word in every speech.
2 days on for another Primary...we have to move! Let's move togheter, with canvass and phonebanking. Focus on it, please, then we will have time to feast! Go,go,go!
Your friend and italian supporter,
Simone
(read more)Analyzing the Indiana Vote by County
As a Hoosier I find it fascinating to look at the Indiana results county by county, knowing this state much better than the talking heads on TV. I suppose they were reasonably well-prepared, but the best advice to tourists is still "Eat where the locals eat." Dan Abrams on MSNBC particularly annoyed me…
No one in Indiana was surprised when Lake County waited till midnight to report. They always want to be the kingmakers to prove how important their non-Hoosier county is, so they always wait; the mayors hold back their results till they know what all the other cities have—in case they need to find 300 more votes for their candidate. The longtime mayor of East Chicago finally got ousted for bribing voters in a concrete-pouring scandal; new sidewalks and driveways for supporters, nothing for homeowners who wouldn't trade their votes. Even the Catholic Church went along and got a new parking lot out of it. Lake County is all about bribes and corruption, which is why it isn't Hoosier at all.
Still, Lake is only 26% Black, yet Obama carried 57% of the vote; that's some White people! So what if they're in Chicago's media market? They like the guy.
Clinton won the White rural vote downstate. She was seen as the conservative candidate. The difference in her margin in the rural counties shows a geographic split; 60-40 in the north (2-1 in my home county of Newton, one south of Lake) and up to 75-25 in southern Indiana. I suspect some of that southern support has a racist tinge, as the Clintons repeatedly played the race card. (Maybe that's true in northern rural counties too, but I hope not.)
Obama won the cities by amazing margins: Indianapolis better than 2-1. He got a lot of White votes in Marion County, which is only 26% Black. He also picked up two collar counties, Boone narrowly and rich, White, fast-growing Hamilton County 61-39. That Hamilton result stunned every Democrat in the state.
Obama won Fort Wayne, the second largest city, with 56%; it's a mostly-White city, only 12% Black, with a Republican mayor. Doesn't fit the pundits' profile; Obama in a landslide.
He dominated the big college towns (Purdue and Indiana) in Tippecanoe and Monroe; that's the youth and faculty vote joining the townies. He won South Bend, with a much smaller university (Notre Dame) and a large industrial base. He won neighboring Elkhart County, which is industrial and agricultural; Elkhart County has $121 million in assessed ag value, ranking #2 in the state.
Down south he won Switzerland County, which is 99% White, 3-1, while next-door neighbor Ohio County (98% White) went 4-1 for Clinton. I don't know anyone with an explanation for that—unless some great volunteers in Switzerland County made the difference.
Obama won rural Steuben County (98% White, Angola's the county seat) in the northeast corner 56-44, another anomaly. Yay, Steuben and Switz!
Thus world-famous Hillary Clinton won backward Indiana by 11,000 votes out of 1.26 million cast, a week after Barack Obama hit rock bottom. Not an impressive showing for the kitchen-sink strategy of the Gentlewoman from Arkansas and New York.
You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool Hoosiers all of the time. The next President of the United States is Barack Obama.++
IT IS NOT THE TIME TO FEAST !
My friends,
Seems we reach the end...but it is not ! It is just a start...Obama moved fantastic on Tuesday the 6th...but the match is still not finished.
We have to continue his steps, we have to support him 'til the last. So focus in WV now, because a big victory in this State will put an end to Mrs. Clinton'race.
Yes we can.
Your italian friend and supporter,
Simone
(read more)Hillary on ticket??
I believe that Hillary would hurt B.O. if she was on the ticket for VP. I can't see it happening... What everyones thoughts??. (read more)Indiana DID decide the nomination! (with a huge boost from NC)
It's 2 a.m. Central Time Wednesday morning here in Northwest Indiana, and Sen. Clinton won the state by a hair. Good for her, she ran a smart campaign; not a good campaign, but a smart one. The Clintons are total pros.
Sen. Obama won North Carolina by a landslide, despite Bill Clinton's showing up in every two-bit town in the state; the networks called that contest the minute the polls closed. So all eyes turned to Indiana.
I've said for months that Indiana would decide the nomination. And even though Barack lost narrowly, Hard Hat Hillary lost too.
She had him where she wanted him, on the defensive, Rev. Wright and yadda yadda. "I will fight for you," despite the fact that she and her husband pulled in $109 million since they left the White House. Annie, get your gun.
Hoosiers didn't buy it, even at the lowest point of Obama's campaign. She obviously can't close the deal, even when her opponent is on the ropes.
And now the math becomes inexorable. She cannot win; he cannot lose. Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
I live in a rural county just south of late-reporting Lake. Hillary won here, as she won every rural county. She lost Indianapolis big, Fort Wayne big, South Bend and Elkhart big, Bloomington and Lafayette/West Lafayette big. She lost in Boone County and Hamilton County, White enclaves north of Indy. She lost Lake County, the most racially segregated county in Indiana.
She eked out just enough redneck votes to carry the state; just enough. The candidates split the delegates. Meanwhile Obama's got a commanding lead nationally.
Indiana was her last best chance, but she couldn't close the deal. Hoosiers saw through her quarter-and-a-nickel gas tax giveaway. Her own voters knew she was pandering. So why did they vote for her?
Well, she's a woman, and that's a positive thing. Plus she's White; that's worth some votes in rural Indiana.
Obama almost beat her anyway. Despite his advantage in Northwest Indiana, he had almost no presence in rural areas. And for all his vaunted campaign organization, it's way too reliant on the internet and TV. It doesn't exist on the ground in many places. What kind of candidate runs out of T-shirts and yard signs? It's free advertising!
Outside my polling place in a town of 1800, Obama had two used yard signs, obviously salvaged from Iowa. Hillary had a table of lady volunteers. Obama had no organization in my county, none. I was surprised the weatherbeaten yard signs showed up.
Obama's internet whiz kids need to stop reading their reviews and start making merchandise available to local organizers. There is a definite elitist aspect to Obama's campaign, and it doesn't come from the candidate, but from his over-confident staffers.
They carried Purdue, IU and Notre Dame, and to everyone else they said, "Not the right demographic." Hey kidz, every vote counts the same—and you lost Indiana!
Obama needs to be very careful about whom he hires among his campaign staff for the White House, because I was not the least impressed by his Indiana organization. They sliced and diced this state just like Clinton did, and I find that offensive. College students are not enough to win an election. Neither are Black folk.
Despite all these problems, we have a transcendent candidate. I'm sure he knows the internal shortcomings of his campaign. So much gets left undone; he could have won this state by broader utilization of his volunteers. It's a tribute to the candidate, and not his staff, that he did as well as he did here, losing by a hair. He let the kidz lose Indiana, just like he's let Annie Oakley hang around after her time.
But they've all done just well enough to limp into Denver and the Democratic nomination. The superdelegates will fall Obama's way and victory will be ours in the fall. The close race in Indiana proved that even when Obama is on the ropes, he's in the fight. He's a champion.
Last thought: ditch the phrase, "a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged." Substitute "this disastrous war in Iraq that Bush-Cheney lied for, our children are dying for and Hillary Clinton voted for."
That one line would have carried Indiana in a landslide.++
(read more)
Chicago Tribune Endorsement: Indiana, Go with Obama
I live in Northwest Indiana, south of Gary and Hammond, on the farthest edge of Chicagoland. I grew up watching Chicago TV; the Cubs are still my baseball team. (I like the White Sox too.) I'm about 100 miles from the Loop and 100 miles from Monument Circle in Indianapolis. This is farm country, "the real Indiana," and my neighbors grow lots and lots of corn.
When I was a kid I used to get up early on Sunday mornings to sell newspapers at the old-time drugstore where my mother was a pharmacist. I had to put the papers together by hand; they arrived by bus in sections. I sold The Indianapolis Star, the Lafayette Journal and Courier, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune was the biggest paper of all; not my best-seller, but a lot of people wanted their Tribune.
I didn't like it back then; it was this old, conservative Republican mouthpiece, Col. McCormick's house organ, "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN." It was the paper of big business and big money, while the Sun-Times was the scrappy voice of the people. Well, times have changed. Chicago's a completely Democratic town and the Tribune read the writing on the wall. The Trib gradually moved to the center and the Sun-Times moved to the right in response.
So imagine my glee today to read this lead editorial from the Sunday Tribune:
Indiana, Go with Obama
Not since Robert F. Kennedy's short-lived presidential campaign has the first Tuesday in May mattered so much. That's cause for excitement in Indiana, a state that is typically an afterthought in presidential primary politics. With the race between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton threatening to last until August's national convention —and the candidates running neck-and-neck in Indiana—Hoosiers have a big role to play in picking the 2008 Democratic nominee.In February, when Illinois voters faced the same choice, this page urged them to support Obama. "He is the Democrat best suited to lead this nation," the editorial said. We remain convinced of that as our Indiana readers head to the polls on Tuesday.
One benefit of the prolonged primary campaign is that Americans have had a better look at the candidates than in most years. In a race that many Democrats believe should have been conceded long ago, Obama has maintained his composure against an opponent whose desperation strategy is to hang in there and lob spitballs at the front-runner long enough to do an end-run around voters.
At times, the historic contest between the first viable female presidential candidate and the first viable African-American has threatened to devolve into just another ugly race between ordinary pols whose positions on the issues are largely the same. But in recent weeks, Obama's personal and political mettle have been sorely tested— and have been proven.Inflammatory statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for 20 years, raised questions about the candidate's long association with a man who views America as irredeemably racist. Obama sought first to make this a teaching moment: In a remarkable speech in Philadelphia, he spoke with grace and eloquence about our nation's racial divisions, defended the minister's right to speak his mind and suggested that understanding the source of such pain is essential to healing.
But Wright's rants only escalated. Obama was forced to publicly denounce the man who presided at his wedding, baptized his daughters and supplied the title for his book, "The Audacity of Hope."
By putting him in this difficult position, Wright may have unwittingly done Obama a favor. Moved to passionate restatement of his beliefs, Obama reminded a lot of people of what they found so appealing in him in the first place.
By contrast, look what we've seen from Hillary Clinton's campaign in recent weeks. Her embellishments about the purported danger of a 1996 trip to Bosnia. Bill Clinton's statement that the Obama campaign "played the race card on me"—and Clinton's later, laughable denial that he had used those words. We've seen a campaign that has sought to tear down its opponent and pander to voters. The Clinton campaign is playing just the kind of politics that Americans say they detest.
We need a president who can forge consensus and compromise among ideological foes. Barack Obama is that kind of Democrat; Hillary Clinton is not.
In our original endorsement, we noted that "the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish Barack Obama." His performance in the three months since that editorial have only reinforced that opinion.
Indiana Democrats, your choice should be clear: Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, the Post-Tribune of Merrillville and Gary weighed in this way:
Obama Represents Best Hope for Change
The buzz word in the race for the Democratic nomination for president has been “change” — change from the failed policies of President Bush, who has little positive to hold on to as he approaches the end of his presidency.
Barack Obama has taken the crusade for change a step further, calling for a change in the politics and policies of Washington and the country as a whole.
We recommend a vote for Obama because he potentially represents more of what is new than Hillary Clinton, who is part of the inside crowd in Washington.
While Obama and Clinton have very similar views on many of the key issues — health care, tax revision and ending the war in Iraq — true change and government reform can be brought about only through the unity of Republicans and Democrats across the country, but particularly on Capitol Hill.
Obama, in part because of his newness, represents the best hope for change. Should he be the nominee, Obama’s first task will be to unite the Democratic Party, fractured by many months of acrimonious campaigning. Should he succeed, it bodes well for what he could do for the country, bruised by the economy and the war, and left lacking in confidence of the government.
Obama, too, has pledged to take back Washington from the corporate PACs that he says made $470 million in political contributions to those in Washington during the last election cycle. We also are impressed that Obama largely has kept his campaign focused on the future and what he wants to accomplish, rather than attacking Clinton.
While Obama still needs to spell out more of the particulars for his plan for change, we see him as his party’s choice to do so. Still, should he not unite the party, then the voters likely won’t give him a chance to lead the country.
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2 days left
Dear Friends,
In Italy and Worldwide we are firing up ! After the goal in Guam, now we are expecting to win the World Cup of the Elections...IN and NC !!
Just 10 phone calls each... Go Obama, Go ! Yes, We Can.
Your italian friend,
Simone
(read more)Clinton, Bayh Lean Hard on County Chairs, Dividing Indiana
The primary election is in 3 days; where does it stand now? The race is too close to call. Obama leads nationally and insurmountably, but Clinton presses on, dividing the party and the state of Indiana. Meanwhile John McCain has opened an edge against both Democrats—Old Man McCain of "100 more years in Iraq" fame!
Ryan Nees of the must-read Howey Politics Indiana reported May 1 on Evan Bayh's squeeze job on Democratic county chairs and district chairs to fall in line with Hillary Clinton, or else. It's fascinating reading, and one conclusion I get is that Evan Bayh is no Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, whose party apparatus delivered the Keystone State to Mrs. Clinton.
Since Bayh the Colorless wisely dropped his own presidential bid before it got off the ground, and then jumped on Clinton's turnip truck, he's been pressuring statewide Democrats to endorse her so he can get the veep slot. Heaven knows he needs a mammoth booster shot if he's ever going to become a national figure. (You know that's what he wants; just like George W. Bush, Evan has a need to prove Daddy wrong.)
But what Hoosier Democrat would want Evan Bayh anywhere near the White House? He's the man for whom the "Republicrat" tag was invented.
Turns out, according to the Howey report, that Bayh's Buddies are now threatening to withhold support from on-again, off-again Rep. Baron Hil's re-election campaign for having the audacity to endorse Sen. Obama. Here's the quote from HPI:
The ninth district has become especially volatile. District Chairman Mike Jones sought permission to endorse Clinton from his district’s county chairs at three organizational meetings in a row, getting rebuffed each time, according to Jefferson County Chair Jim Melton. Finally Jones endorsed yesterday anyway, departing on the same day from Baron Hill, the congressman whose interests Jones is primarily tasked with looking after, but who bucked Bayh to announce his endorsement of Obama.
Bayh fundraiser Dean Boerste immediately began the retribution against Hill, distributing a mass e-mail to party insiders that angrily accused Hill of "defying all political logic" and threatening "damage to Congressman Hill’s re-election efforts." The message encouraged recipients to call Hill’s office and express their "concerns of [Hill] making any endorsements," advising the congressman to "stay focused on his re-election."
Retribution. It's not just Clinton, it's suck-up Evan Bayh too.
But even that wasn't enough to sway Congressman Hill, and it may not be enough for Hoosier Democrats either. This weekend's polls say the presidential primary is tied, and the momentum has swung back to Obama. What could you buy with Hillary's "quarter and a nickel" gas tax pander?
If she loses, so does Bayh. Which reminds me of a post on my personal blog two months ago, warning that he would pull these shenanigans, America be damned.
Face it, Evan, your Daddy (Sen. Birch Bayh) lost in 1976 not because he was too liberal, but because he got beat by a better candidate who understood the post-Watergate times, who said "I will never lie to you." His name was President Jimmy Carter.
This year, it's Barack Obama who understands the times, the people, what's wrong and what can be made right with America again. While Clinton promises four years of bitter partisanship, Obama offers four years of hope, cooperation and problem-solving.
Maybe Hillary will still manage to pull off Indiana; if so it will likely be by the slimmest of margins, no big victory. If she loses here and in North Carolina, she's done.
And Evan Bayh will have his own re-election to worry about.
Three days, folks. Let's end this race in Indiana with some Hoosier common sense.
(read more)
Senator Barack Obama Loves You, INDIANAPOLIS!
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA IS IN INDIANAPOLIS !!!
See Barack TODAY AND TOMORROW!
He Hopes to Get to See All of You!
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All in one, all in Obama !
Dear Friends,what I learned in these months is that our action WORKS !
Thousands people worldwide is moving in our direction, in the direction of our leader. Noone could stop us, noone could ventures a word with us ! Our words have supported those who stumbled.
Before Guam, IN & NC vote we have to move as a impact mass, all in one, all in Obama. Call friends ! Our time is now.
Your italian friend,
Simone (read more)
