WORK FOR CHANGE

Work for Peace and Justice
WORK FOR CHANGE
Work for Interdependence
WORK FOR CHANGE
Work for Tolerance
WORK FOR CHANGE
Work like life depends on it
WORK FOR CHANGE
Hold the change that you dream of
Gently in the palm of your hand
As if it were a delicate flower
That you cultivate
Be the rain and warm breeze
Morning noon and night
WORK FOR CHANGE
WORK FOR CHANGE
WORK FOR CHANGE


I have been making phone calls over the last couple of days, mainly to volunteers in the Bay Area trying to get people to gear up for the final offensive in this campaign. Talking to people or leaving messages on machines does get you into a special zone. In the last 30 calls I made yesterday, I began ad-libbing a little from the written script. I had talked to a woman who said she had already voted. I thanked her, but I said, "Your personal responsibility has been taken care of, but if you come down and help out at a phone bank, you can leverage your vote every time you make a phone call and get someone in a battleground state to commit to volunteer on November 4th."

There is a massive get-out-the-vote campaign taking place over this last weekend and you can be a part of it. The idea is to make one million calls a day from California and other "safe" states, to the battleground states. This massive effort is geared to getting to people one on one. It will take only a few hours of your time. There are phone banks set up everywhere. Of course, there are other ways to help. If you do nothing else please forward this blog to your friends.

HOW TO HELP
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter?source=sidenav

East Bay
http://www.eastbayobama.com/

San Francisco
http://www.sf4obama.com/

South Bay
http://www.southbay4obama.com/

DAUGHTER OF SLAVE VOTES FOR OBAMA

109-year-old Bastrop woman casts her vote by mail.

By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, October 27, 2008

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.

The middle child of 13, Jones, who is African American, is part of a family that has lived in Bastrop County for five generations. The family has remained a fixture in Cedar Creek and other parts of the county, even when its members had to eat at segregated barbecue dives and walk through the back door while white customers walked through the front, said Amanda Jones' 68-year-old daughter, Joyce Jones.

For at least a decade, Amanda Jones worked as a maid for $20 a month, Joyce Jones said. She was a housewife for 72 years and helped her now-deceased husband, C.L. Jones, manage a store.

Amanda Jones, a delicate, thin woman wearing golden-rimmed glasses, giggled as the family discussed this year's presidential election. She is too weak to go the polls, so two of her 10 children — Eloise Baker, 75, and Joyce Jones — helped her fill out a mail-in ballot for Barack Obama, Baker said. "I feel good about voting for him," Amanda Jones said.

Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Joyce Jones said. The family owned more than 100 acres of land in Cedar Creek at one point, she said.

-- M O R E --

RESPONDELE A OBAMA

Latin music video to get out the vote for Obama. Music written and performed by Jose Conde. Video by Nicole Betancourt.

KENGE KENGE -OBAMA FOR CHANGE

Kenge Kenge symbolise all that is great about African traditional music; they are the guardians and masters of an ancient but living tradition. They breath new life into Kenya's Luo musical roots, continuing its evolution, from the hand-made instruments of the past, through the popular guitar-based benga. 'Obama For Change' is a song of support for Barack Obama in his bid to reach the Whitehouse in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Download the full song from iTunes:

THAT'S NOT WHO AMERICA IS, THAT'S NOT WHAT OUR FUTURE IS

WAKE UP EVERYBODY 2008

This is the 2008 remake of the 2004 election anthem which was a cover of the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 1975 classic
WAKE UP EVERY BODY. Try to say that fast.

FEATURING: Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Miri Ben-Ari, Eve, Faith Evans, Floetry, Ashanti, Wyclef Jean, Monica, Jadakiss, Musiq, Fabolous, Akon, Jamie Foxx, Babyface, Rev Run, Omarion, Jon B,

As a special treat for my old school partners... Here is the original!



Thanks to DA from the Town for this one!

MC HOWIE & JULIE K ~ ROCK, VOTE BARACK

This heres a song for Barack Obama
Its mostly comedy, with a little drama
But first, there are some things that we must explain
About the senior senator John McCain
He was John McNasty at the last debate
He was spitting venom, he was full of hate
He didnt seem presidential, he just looked irate
But maybe it was just pain from an enlarged prostate

Contrast that with our man, Obama
Props for takin jabs but staying calmer
Than Mahatma Ghandi or the Dalai Lama
Now here's a question mark and here's a comma
Baracks the man for the highest office
Maybe finally, we can get this country off this
Path, and our potential unlock
So dont just sit there, vote Barack!

Now, lemme talk a little 'bout Joe the Plumber
Tryin to win votes for Dumb and Dumber
Sayin Baracks tax plan is the worst
Well, maybe he should pay his own taxes first
Were on a mission, and we're wishin'
Someone can cure this economic condition
It sure wasnt Bush, it wont be McCain
And it wont be Sarah cause shes got no brain

Now the verdicts in on Troopergate
She abused her power in her very own state
She stings like a bee, she spreads lies like pollen
I dont like her, and neither does Colin
I love trucks from Tonka, I love Willy Wonka,
I love Barack Obama in La Casa Blanca
But don't stay home because you think it's a lock
Now dont just sit there, vote Barack!

One of the few red states left is Oklahoma
I guess theyre not concerned about his melanoma
But you know what they say, were just a heart beat away
From Moose-alini as the Pres, and thats not OK
She likes to fish, and she likes to hunt
But you know what I think? It think shes just a
Kind of politician that John McCain
Chose as his VP for political gain

Yes, its clear that he picked her to get female votes
Shes cute, but shes a wolf in a Dall Sheeps coat
When she doesnt memorize her lines straight by rote
She cant produce a single answer from her neo-con throat
But study Barack, baby, if you can
Hes like Albert Einstein with a health care plan
If you listen you can hear this opportunity knock
So seize it, nation, vote Barack!

Now Baracks number two is our man Joe Biden,
Maybe he is not the most excitin
But great advice to Barak, hell be providin
And over the Senate, hell be presidin
Some of you might not have been alive
When John McCain was in the Keating Five
Senate ethics committee said his judgment was poor
Does that sound familiar? Iraq war.

Now were talking to you, if youre in a swing state
It could be up to you you gotta pull your weight
You gotta take control, get up and take a stroll,
Head over to the polls, man I love Tootsie Rolls
I dont care if youre Red, I dont care if youre Blue,
I dont care if youre Christian, Muslim or Jew
Lets show the world that our democracy is not a crock
So get out and vote, and vote Barack

Credit for this one goes to My Man SR ~ From Silver Spring Baby!

REP. GEORGE MILLER (D-CA) FOR THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

What is the Employee Free Choice Act(EFCA)

ALICIA WRIGHT, VETERANS RISE UP FOR OBAMA

WHASSSSSSS UP

"The "Wasssssup" Budweiser spots were -- for avid television watchers -- one of those memorable ad moments that had pop culture significance. Now, the very same characters are reprising almost identical roles in a short clip on behalf of the Obama campaign."

Sent by my friend HB a veteran who blogging for a change!

THE GREAT UNMASKING

17 October 2008

by Linda Burnham

Capitalism in crisis is a sight to behold. Most of the time the system seems to hum along quite nicely. Oh, maybe a passel of people loses their jobs when some big-headed suit at the top decides to up and move on to a cheaper labor market. And maybe a city or two, or even a whole region, goes bankrupt and destitute, shops boarded up, ghosts in the street. Maybe a generation of young people ends up poorly educated because nobody could figure out how to turn a decent profit schooling ten-year-olds, so it slid down to the bottom of the priority list. Maybe there’s an aberration here or there, like the positive incentive to filling up prisons. But overall, the thing has the reputation of the proverbial well-oiled machine, humming along and delivering the greatest good to the greatest number. And besides, it’s the only machine in town.

But then it breaks down. Spectacularly.

And it turns out that this highest possible form of human development has more than a few foundational flaws, the relevant one at the moment being that it is subject, inevitably and constitutionally, to periodic, devastating crisis.

At such moments the verities of capital are called into question, and not by the closet Marxists and nostalgic revolutionaries. No, the capitalists themselves, in deed if not in word, are heaving great chunks of their ideology overboard. Invisible hand of the market? Heave ho. Limited government intervention in business? Heave ho. Self-correcting system? Heave ho. Whatever it takes to re-stabilize the system, let’s do it. Principles be damned.

The pragmatic and temporary abandonment of core ideological beliefs is a great unmasking. And behind the mask – fear, befuddlement, bravado.

The lords of finance live in a universe in which they are rewarded for being both insatiable and delusional. With maximizing profits as their single imperative they toil daily at the task of turning every human relationship and every form of matter – animal, vegetable or mineral – into a monetized asset. The only limits on how many ways that monetized asset can be reconfigured and repackaged; the only limits on how many times it can be resold; the only limits on how many ways profit can be wrung out of it are the limits of the imagination. We’re human; our imagination is without limits. We’ve figured out how to buy, sell and lease the air space above buildings and the wind blowing across the plains. And here you thought “inherit the wind” was just a metaphor. But at least the air is a substance you can feel and hear and, on a crisp fall day, smell. Our boys are way beyond that, having long since abandoned the molecular to trade in the entirely immaterial.

So those are the rules they’ve been playing by. Did the current crop of players make up those rules? No, they are the rules of the reproduction of capital and the current players just happen to be in the game at a time when, abetted by the information superhighway and in the context of globalization, they’ve triggered a crisis that may yet turn out to be steeper, wider and deeper than any in recent history. As anybody standing on the corner could tell you, don’t hate the player, hate the game.

And the rest of us? What are we to them? We are the human embodiment of the capacity to carry and pay off debt. That’s it, that’s all. We are our credit scores. We might as well have them flashing on an LED display implanted in our foreheads.

We’ve been suckered, cajoled, manipulated and coerced into joining them in their world of delusion, ensnared as bit players in the grievous overproduction of imaginary wealth. And while the realm of the fictitious expanded infinitely, the realm of our real lives contracted and shrank. Our wages flatlined or fell; we lived in fear of acquiring an uninsured health problem; our mortgages turned into a leaden ball and chain. The loans and debts multiplied and the interest rates kept rising. One administration after the other enabled a regime of trickle up profits and trickle down pain.

So while they’re frantically hustling to salvage the system, let’s stop for a moment to consider where we stand.

We collectively face three major, inter-related crises: the global crisis of capitalism; the crisis of planetary sustainability; and the crisis of war, militarism and empire.

The crisis of capitalism will be temporarily resolved. On our backs, to be sure, and it will undoubtedly take a while, but the markets will stabilize, borrowing and lending will resume, and profit-taking will be back on track. The mask, now in the repair shop for a custom remodel job, will be back in place, firmly affixed to once again show the face of capital triumphant. And capital triumphant will have firmly in hand the one chunk of ideology that was never tossed – there is no alternative, or TINA.

Which brings me to the fourth crisis, hardly acknowledged and barely discussed, at least here in the U.S.: the crisis of the political impotence of the left.

We stand at the brink of multiple disasters in the howling absence of an alternative vision for sustainable, people-centered human development, or an alternative platform for deep reform, or an organized base capable of challenging and shifting power.

And so this moment – the great unmasking – should serve as an urgent reminder that we have a multi-generational project at hand. That is, to construct a viable politic and effective organizational forms capable of acting on the belief that it is possible to build a society that lifts up that which is generous and creative and humane while curbing the greedy, the short-sighted and the predatory. There must be an alternative.

Otherwise we, and generations to come, will remain at the mercy of the players and their game.

©2008, LINDA BURNHAM, All Rights Reserved

Used by permission

100,000 GREET OBAMA IN DENVER 10/26/2008

We have coverage of the Denver event starting with a video story from from Denver CBS affiliate CBS4Denver.com. We also link back to their web page for a detailed web story Keep scrolling for a Concise one minute video and the entire speech segmented into five parts.

CONCISE VIDEO


FULL SPEECH
PART 1 of 5 (see the others below)

___________________________________________
PART [2] ~ PART [3] ~ PART [4] ~ PART [5]

___________________________________________

UPDATE: Photo Essay from the Washington Post

IN DEFENSE OF ACORN ~ FROM BRAVE NEW FILMS

John McCain and Sarah Palin have singled out ACORN for special abuse in this election. With all of the heated rhetoric it has been hard to sort out the truth and the fiction. This video points out not only what is not true in the right wing critique, it also tells how that critique is not to subtly feeding into voter suppression.




Thanks to SC. , for sending the link to thought provoking piece on Acorn. A TV producer and a person who has been fighting for the common good for many years.

BLOCK THE VOTE

BLOCK THE VOTE
Rolling Stone Magazine
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST

Not feeeling anxious enough about the election? 

Try this one on for size.


"These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort to deter fraudulent voting. For Maez, the shock was especially acute: He is the supervisor of elections in Las Vegas.

"Maez was not alone in being denied his right to vote. On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county's voters were absent from the rolls. With their status in limbo, the voters were forced to cast "provisional" ballots, which can be reviewed and discarded by election officials without explanation. On Super Tuesday, more than half of all provisional ballots cast were thrown out statewide.

"This November, what happened to Maez will happen to hundreds of thousands of voters across the country. In state after state, Republican operatives — the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics — are wielding new federal legislation to systematically disenfranchise Democrats. If this year's race is as close as the past two elections, the GOP's nationwide campaign could be large enough to determine the presidency in November. "I don't think the Democrats get it," says John Boyd, a voting-rights attorney in Albuquerque who has taken on the Republican Party for impeding access to the ballot. "All these new rules and games are turning voting into an obstacle course that could flip the vote to the GOP in half a dozen states."

-- M O R E --

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS ENDORSES SENATOR OBAMA

Anchorage Daily News
OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

Palin's rise captivates us but nation needs a steady hand
Published: October 25th, 2008 07:37 PM

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, ALASKA'S LARGEST DAILY NEWSPAPER, TODAY ENDORSED SENATOR OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT.

 
"It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove."

Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but also to the state she leads.

Alaska's founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery. 

-- M O R E --

THANKS TO THE INTREPID LV FR THE LINK!

IT COMES DOWN TO THIS ~ GET OUT THE VOTE

Can't take time out of your busy schedule to make a couple of phone calls?



Here are some things you can do:

RON HOWARD WIGS OUT FOR OBAMA IN LATEST FILM

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Director and icon of wholesome television entertainment Ron Howard takes viewers on a journey back through his iconic career—and goes briefly, tastefully topless—in an effort to drum up support for Sen. Barack Obama. Costarring old pals Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler, this film is not yet rated.


THANKS TO PS & RKH FOR THIS MOST EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION

OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO -- TODAY IS THEIR DAY BUT OUR DAY IS ON THE WAY

COMPUTER FRAUD IN THIS ELECTION

Mark Crispin Miller talks with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman. Mr. Crispin is professor of media culture and communication at New York University. He is the author of several books, most recently Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. His previous book is called Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too.

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Stephen Spoonamore is a conservative Republican, a former McCain supporter and, most importantly, a renowned and highly successful expert at the detection of computer fraud. That's his profession. He works for major banks. He works for foreign governments. He works for the Secret Service. Those are his clients.
He knows personally the principal players in Bush-Cheney's conspiracy to subvert our elections through electronic means since 2000, and he has named these principal players. Specifically, he has named a man named Mike Connell. Mike Connell, according to Spoonamore, is Karl Rove's computer guru. This is the guy who has helped Bush-Cheney fix election results through computers since Florida 2000, in Ohio in 2004, also in the stolen re-election of Governor Don Siegelman in Alabama in 2002, also in the stolen re-election of Senator Max Cleland in Georgia in 2002.

AMY GOODMAN: How?

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Well, basically, they use a kind of architecture that's called Man in the Middle, and it involves shunting election returns data through a separate computer somewhere else. This is something that computer criminals do all the time with banks. Spoonamore explains that the Man in the Middle setup is extremely effective and basically undetectable as a way to change election results.
Now, the scariest thing is that Connell told Spoonamore that the reason why he has helped Bush-Cheney steal these elections for the last eight years has been to save the babies. See? We have to understand that there's a very powerful component of religious fanaticism at work in the election fraud conspiracy. We saw a little bit of that in Greenswald's film, where Paul Weyrich was talking about how we don't want people voting.

MORE AT DEMOCRACY NOW In addition to the transcript of the interview there is a video of this interview on the Democracy Now web site

THIS STORY WAS SENT TO US FROM FROM DA A DECISION LIST READER IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA He is a computer programer who consults businesses in computer networking and security.
______________________________________

RELATED STORIES

RACHEL MADDOW ~ TALK ME DOWN ~ They Will Try To Steal Your Vote!


New article finds "High turnout and new rules could lead to Election Day problems in many states from the Mercury News"
WASHINGTON — What if they gave an election and everybody came? We're about to find out. Election officials around the action predict a huge turnout Nov. 4. Voters galvanized by the presidential campaign should prepare for long waits, disputes over eligibility, new rules and great strains on new voting systems. The 2008 election may not produce a debacle like Florida in 2000, but problems at the polls could lead to delayed vote counts, confusion and litigation.

From the Brennan Center: Possible Election Trouble in Key Swing States
With less than two weeks before Election Day, substantial barriers remain that will continue making it difficult – and occasionally impossible – for some eligible voters to vote, and to be certain that their votes will count. The past year has seen a spike in challenges facing voters – from no match-no vote policies, to partisan challenges to voter eligibility, voter purges, misguided voter matching policies, and voter intimidation. Additionally, other systemic problems, including problems with ballots and voting technology, continue to plague the elections process. In light of this developing story, the Brennan Center has compiled a comprehensive synopsis of current voter suppression incidents around the country. The stories are categorized by theme, and this document will be continually updated in the days prior to the election.

Patterns of Touch Screen Voting Machine Fraud Identified and Documented in Florida, Ohio, New Mexico and Elsewhere in 2004

Activists investigating the 2004 Presidential election have identified hundreds of preceincts in Florida, Ohio and other states where the voting results do not match the exit polls. These inconsistencies occurred primarily in precincts where electronic voting machines with no paper trail were used. In Florida, these discrepancies appear to have amounted to enough to have been responsible for George Bush's statewide "victory" margin. Many of them were in precincts with a strong Democratic majority. Some media commentators have explained the gap between the exit polls and the final vote counts by claiming that the exit polls were flawed. However, in those precincts where there was a machine that produced a "paper trail," the exit polls almost exactly matched the actual vote and there were few discrepancies giving George Bush extra votes. When a voter casts his or her ballot for someone other than the candidate they intended to vote for, this is called a "misvote." Misvotes in Ohio,Florida, and New Mexico appear to have given George Bush his winning percentage. (Misvotes favoring George Bush reached as high as 40% on some vote machines in some Florida, Ohio and New Mexico precincts. There were also high misvote totals in other states.)

BLOCK THE VOTE - NYT OP/ED

Earlier this week former employees of Sproul & Associates (operating under the name Voters Outreach of America), a firm hired by the Republican National Committee to register voters, told a Nevada TV station that their supervisors systematically tore up Democratic registrations.

The accusations are backed by physical evidence and appear credible. Officials have begun a criminal investigation into reports of similar actions by Sproul in Oregon.

-- M O R E --

NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR

Jill Biden talks about reaching out Neighbor Neighbor.
.

If you would like to call from home you can use this handy internet tool! Don't like calling, you can also have an impact on this election from your own community. Here are some other ways to help. This is a vital election and you can do something to influence it! This isn't an event this is a process!

Personal contact is the glue that binds us together in the pursuit of our political goals. This country has made amazing strides forward because of people like you, your friends and neighbors. There is a sacred tradition in union halls, in living rooms, in barbershops and beauty parlors, and in campaign headquarters -- of individuals reaching out to each other to bring about change. This is done one handshake, one knock on a door and one phone call at a time. Sometimes one act can be the difference between a friend, a relative or a complete stranger going to the polling place and making their vote count. Just a little bit of your time can have a major impact, on the change that you desire.

This week I decided to do something concrete instead of just fretting over the election. I got my cell phone, a charger and headed down to a call center at Obama headquarters. It is an easy process, the volunteers gave me all of the materials I needed a little training, then the rest was up to me. After the first couple of calls I was into the swing of things. My wife and I made over 200 calls and we're not through yet! I had the pleasure of talking to people in New Mexico, one of the key battleground states. There were several swing voters that were perplexed about the issues and the materials I was provided helped me field questions. Two or three times my fellow volunteers hearing that I was in a little trouble, passed me notes. Yes you get some hang ups and one or two of my phone lists were filled with answering machines. But none of that mattered when I actually got people on the phone the feeling was magical, the conversations turning to the decisions that we willl soon make, decisions that turn on real issues. Yes you can get on a bus and go to a neighboring state and knock on doors. Or you can stay close to your home and work and reach out across the country!

OK LIGHTEN UP ~ NEWSFEED Takin' it Back with Barack Jack! (For Swing voters!)

This just in:


Get YOURS here
______________________________________________


Our readers write, JT sent this in and I can just hear her say lighten up a bit. OK I'll take your suggestion and share it.



Hate to see the nation being run by a hack
Dig the situation that he dug in Iraq
Half the population wants to give him the sack
And now he’s lookin’ round for somebody else to attack
We need somebody great to get us back on the track

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Woo woo, we can achieve it
Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Now that global warming is a matter of fact
The only real question is just how to react
The new administration needs the guts to enact
Drastic legislation, leave the planet intact
We can’t be foolin’ round with some Republican Mac

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo….

He only gets his money from your regular macs
Doesn’t take a penny from some whackity PAC’s
For bringin’ folk together he’s the man with the knack
And he’ll supply the hope and inspiration we lack
Cause he’s the best we got and did I ….mention he’s black?

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

STILL WANDERING ~ STILL DREAMING

WHILE DOING some research for the article below I watched a couple of informative videos and poured over a few interesting articles.

My friend Marty wondered why no one had done a study on what effect the Oakland Raiders had on the Bradley Effect --"No one has ever polled Raider fans in the Bay Area like myself who simply did not mark the spot next to Bradley's name. He shined on Lionel Wilson when Lionel asked him to let Lionel negotiate with Al Davis and of course the Raiders left. Look at the numbers in Alameda county. Bradley was way down from what Democrats would normally get in this area...." mp.

Take a moment please take the survey.

At one point while surfing around, I landed by chance on a couple of very interesting sitea:

Princeton Election Consortium
A first draft of Electoral History
&
And a Newsweek Story
How Your Brain Looks at Race

Here are some others I picked up along the way:

What is the Bradley Effect? -- UCLA



The role of the Bradley Effect on Election Day -- UCLA


Racism in the South? Bradley Effect? Whites won't Vote Black? Part1


Oberman / Lewis
"


Oberman Harris MSNBC Keith Oberman - The Bradley Effect Discussion



Will "the Bradley effect" hurt Obama on election day


Will Racism Have an Impact at the Polls? - John Zogby
>

Congressman says McCain Camp Are Sowing The Seeds Of Hatred



Please take the survey there is a very diverse group of people. On the other hand please invite more folks to this site!

RACE AND THE RACE

10/9/08 - On The Rachel Maddow Show, Melissa Harris-Lacewell and Rachel discuss the Bradley Effect and how McCain and Republicans are setting the stage for the Bradley Effect. Please take a look at the video above and tell me what you think about the "Bradley Effect" and its impact on the presidential race.

"The conception of people acting against their own best interests should not startle us. We see it occasionally in sleepwalking and in politics, every day."

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon

Two weeks from today, election 2008 will be over. The common wisdom is that on November 4th, Senator Obama will be giving away 4-5 points just to break even. Knowing this, I think the McCain campaign continues, in its commercials, to portray Obama as an outsider. Coupled with relentless attacks projected to hungry crowds along the campaign trail, they try to open up a wound on Obama like a clever prize fighter. They are trying to head butt, low punch and land kidney blows in the clinches. Then when caught and challenged they jump back and cry foul as if they are the real victim. Through innuendo like “This is not a man (Obama) who sees America like you and I see America,” Governor Palin, at a recent rally, whipped her crowd into a frenzy. Who, may I ask is this US? Is it the diverse crowds at Obama rallies or is it the mostly homogeneous crowds at Palin/McCain meetings?

In the next couple of days, I am going to explore that question and a related one: Are McCain and company trying to manufacture enough Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt in the minds of white Americans to implant the racism that will re-create a Bradley Effect come the 4th of November? The McCainiacs are finding that sometimes when you pour gasoline on a fire, it can find its way right back to the can. As pop icon Mr T used to say:





I am not trying to play the race card here; I am sorry that card has already been dealt. It sits there on the table staring blankly back at us. It is the red queen, the queen of diamonds, and its sharp corners cut like a razor. McCain has stooped to playing with a forced deck.

Check out the New York Times transcript and video of the third debate. Look around 28:34 to 31:24. This is the reference to Rep John Lewis (D) GA.

By the way, Lewis just this past Saturday backed off a little from his original statement that included an allusion to Governor George Wallace. “I think it checked some of the things that had been going on. I don’t think you’re going to see people making reference to a young man who is the nominee of his party as running around with terrorists. I don’t think you’re going to have that anymore,” Lewis said.

According to CNN, Lewis said a comparison that wouldn’t have injected racial images would have been the McCarthy era of the 1950s, and the accusations of “guilt by association” that marked that period.

Finally, here is Obama laying out what is at stake:


If you would like to leave a comment, please click on the link below that says "COMMENTS. I am very interested on how you feel about this or any article in Decision List.

JON FROMER ~ GONNA TAKE US ALL

Jon Fromer is an award-winning singer/songwriter whose music is a special blend of folk, blues and country that has been at the center of movements for peace and social change in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades. Jon is known for his rich soulful voice, rhythmic guitar style, and poetic lyrics that capture the human condition.

I have known Jon for years. He is one of those people who is quiet and self deprecating, until he straps on his Martin and starts to sing. We have played together at several union events. He is like a juke box of union songs, civil rights tunes and traditional music. Then he plays his own music--some of it very personal and touching, some of it designed to lift us above our everyday concerns, and some of it meant to cut through a bar crowd and ROCK THE HOUSE. One of his well known hits is WE DO THE WORK! Jon is a life long activist who learned his trade on the march from Selma to Montgomery; on countless picket lines; and in clubs from coast to coast. For me he is a role model-- one who uses his God given gifts in the service of humanity.

On his web site you can sample some of his musical fare: http://www.jonfromer.com/

To get your copy of his new album check him out at CDBABY

POWELL ENDORSES OBAMA ~ THE AUDACITY OF HOPE

FROM NBC NEWS MEET THE PRESS 10/19/2008

1. INTRO FRAMING COMMENTS


2. THE ENDORSEMENT


3. AP ~ THE PRESS CONFERENCE


"I have come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities and you have to take that into account, as well as his substance. He has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful president. Being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming in to the world, on to the world stage, on to the American stage and for that reason I'll be voting for Barack Obama." You can view Transcript of entire interview: HERE

In September Former Bush Secretary of State Gen Colin Powell (Ret.), told CNN, “I have been watching both individuals, I know them both extremely well, and I have not decided who I am going to vote for. And I'm interested to see what the debates are going to be like because we have to get off of this ‘lipstick on a pig’ stuff and get into issues,” he said.

Today citing the negative tone of Senator John McCain's Campaign, Gen Colin Powell said, "This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate."

At another point he said "I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?

"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions."

IN August General Powell told CNN that "he likes and admires John McCain, and that would be a factor in anything he does if he decides to get more involved. But on Meet the Press today he went out of his way to answer another more unstated question about Obama

BROOKAW: And you are fully aware that there will be some--how many, no one can say for sure--but there will be some who will say this is an African-American, distinguished American, supporting another African-American because of race.

GEN. POWELL: If I had only had that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, 10 months ago. I really have been going back and forth between somebody I have the highest respect and regard for, John McCain, and somebody I was getting to know, Barack Obama. And it was only in the last couple of months that I settled on this. And I can't deny that it will be a historic event for an African-American to become president. And should that happen, all Americans should be proud-not just African-Americans, but all Americans--that we have reached this point in our national history where such a thing could happen. It will also not only electrify our country, I think it'll electrify the world.

This endorsement may in fact pull undecided voters into the Obama camp because of Powell's involvement in the Iraq war. On the other hand it is sure to alienate some of Obama's more progressive supporters who remember Powell' famous U.N. speech, which ushered in the war. It does illustrate that Obama's theme of uniting this country as he did in his speech to the Democratic Convention in 2004. He has now found common ground with Bush's Former Secratary of State.

It appears that the Obama campaign learned about the endorsement moment before Powell released it on Meet the Press. As Reported in ZeeNews.com: "Obama communications Director Robert Gibbs said the two men spoke for 10 minutes at 10 am, and that the candidate thanked Powell for his endorsement and said, "he looked forward to taking advantage of his advice in the next two weeks and hopefully over the next four years."

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the campaign had not been told of the endorsement, "We didn’t know until General Powell spoke on 'Meet The Press' ."

As quoted in the New York Times: On “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. McCain shrugged off the endorsement by Mr. Powell.“Well, I’ve always admired and respected General Powell,” he said. “We’re longtime friends. This doesn’t come as a surprise. But I’m also very pleased to have the endorsement of four former secretaries of state” — Henry A. Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander M. Haig — “and I’m proud to have the endorsement of well over 200 retired army generals and admirals. I respect and continue to respect and admire Secretary Powell.”

VOTER SUPPRESSION ~ NOW YOU SEE IT...

CBS NEWS SPECIAL REPORT


BY ANY OTHER NAME
Why did John McCain, in the the run up to the final debate, and in the debate itself so ferociously focus on ACORN the community organizing group that has registered more than a million new voters this year? Perhaps his repeated references to ACORN might be a calculated strategy that will dovetail with the Republican plans to suppress voters in the coming election. These plans are already well documented and well underway. It appears that the strategy works like a one two punch. Read John McCain's remarks at the second debate:

McCain: "We need to know the full extent of Sen. Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."

One, make a "logical connection" Barack Obama was a community organizer. The voter registration workers from ACORN are community organizers. For a second it is like a saxophone riffing through a phrase by the quick punctuation of the notes it as if you hear the tones as a complete chord. You hear your self wondering if Barack was an organizer FOR ACORN (no he wasn't). This is straight out of Karl Rove's playbook, cloud the perception of the listener while attacking your opponents strengths.

Two, by maligning ACORN McCain seems to be beginning the softening up process by using terms like "voter fraud" he creates a terrifying image which eventually can be used by the legion of lawyers to force election officials to disqualify voters. In the 2004 election cycle, the Bush/Rove machine used these tactics successfully to kick thousands of voters off the voting rolls in key Battleground states.


VoterSuppression.net


LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW ELECTIONS ARE STOLEN
CHECK OUT THE Voter Suppression Wiki
Thanks to the good people at:
Jack & Jill Politics

Here is what you will find at the Voter Suppression Wiki Site:

1. What Is Voter Suppression. Many people don't know the wide variety of tactics being used to limit people's votes.

2. Incident Tracker. This section is where you can report or view reports of suppression activity. There's a standard template for each report and discussion thread.

3. Action Center. This is where you do more than get angry. Here you'll find groups and specific campaigns that are working to protect voters and their votes.

4. Planning and strategy: pages about us, including Help wanted! for people interested in getting involved, a sketch of our organizational and communications structure, talking points, a list of coverage, Wiki Promotion Tools to help spread the word, and of course a FAQ.





A VIDEO FROM GREG PALAST ON STEALING VOTES - THE ROVE WAY


Greg Palast investigates how they're stealing your vote... And tells you what you can do to steal it back! With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. www.stealbackyourvote.org

___________________________________________

LINKS:
Republican Dirty Tricks, Secret Purges Aimed at Suppressing Votes AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
A new report released by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law finds that states are secretly purging roles with no supervision or national standards. As a result, the cleaning up of voter rolls is not as precise as it should be and eligible voters are often wrongly removed.

If Joe the Plumber Were a New Voter, Ohio Ruling Could Block Him from Voting ~ Brennan Center for Justice
Politico's Ben Smith makes the connection that if Joe registered this year, he could be purged from the rolls under a 6th Circuit Court ruling on Tuesday.

That's because on Tuesday, following a lawsuit by the Ohio republican party, the court ordered Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to disclose to local election officials the names of 200,000 new registrants whose names didn't match with state motor vehicle or federal Social Security databases. This list could be used by local election officials and party operatives to prevent these voters from casting ballots that will count. As Secretary Brunner knows and the Brennan Center demonstrated in the brief, almost all mis-matches are the result of typos and administrative errors—like in Joe's case.

Why Media Can't See the Trees for the ACORNs ~ Editor & Publisher
The media attention granted the right-wing attacks on ACORN begs the question: Why does it seem to be a greater sin to be suspected of voter registration mistakes than to publicly engage in voter suppression efforts?

No Voter Meltdown on Election Day ~ Black Voice News Online
We are demanding that all election officials uphold their duties and do what is necessary now and all the way to Election Day to prevent any infringements on voting rights.

We are calling on governors to verify that they have contingency plans for all foreseeable problems associated with the predicted massive turnout. And we are urging the President and both political campaigns to announce a zero-tolerance for voter suppression.

The Truth About Voter Fraud and the U.S. National Debt is now 9.849 trillion. ~ American Chronicle
As the 2008 election process draws near -- and with early voting in many states having already begun -- conservatives are raising a great hue and cry about the threat of voter fraud. Attacks have centered on the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the "nation's largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people," whose workers have registered 1.3 million new voters this year. Conservatives like Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell have seized on reports of improperly filled-out forms as evidence of "lawlessness" and "voting fraud," which will lead to "the kind of chaos you expect from a category-five hurricane." But mass voter fraud is just a conservative myth used to justify increasing the difficulty of the voting process.

WHAT'S YOUR TAX CUT?

YA WANNA KNOW WHAT YOUR TAX CUT WILL BE UNDER OBAMA/BIDEN? GO TO: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/

JOE THE PLUMBER ~ CLEARING THE DRAIN

I could easily write a couple of paragraphs on this but rather than tell you what you are seeing watch these interviews. I will say that the missed opportunity last night was asking Joe whether we were talking about his gross or his Adjusted Gross Income. $250,000 can buy a great accountant Joe. Check these out:

THE ORIGINAL FOOTAGE



KATIE CORIC INTERVIEW



BIDEN ON JOE


Some Links:

Joe the Plumber' says he has no plumbing license - Yahoo AP
HOLLAND, Ohio - Joe the Plumber said Thursday he doesn't have a license and doesn't need one. Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, the nickname Republican John McCain bestowed on him during Wednesday's presidential debate, said he works for a small plumbing company that does residential work. Because he works for someone else, he doesn't need a license, he said.

Joe The Plumber Admits He Wasn't Undecided After All ~ Daily Kos Article
We don't know much about Joe The Plumber, but we do know this: he made up his mind who he was voting for before last night's debate.

Speaking with Katie Couric, "Joe" said that he "wasn't swayed" by the debate last night, yet pretty much knew who he was going to vote for. So if (a) he wasn't swayed by the debate and (b) knows who he is going to vote for, then (c) he had already made up his mind before the debate.

Off the Bus ~ Huffington Post
Cable news gave the impression that the man is just Samuel "average Joe" Wurzelbacher, from Holland, Ohio, who is looking to expand his business and believes that Barack Obama's proposed tax plan will actually cause him to lose money if he does so.

Texas' Joe the Plumber Gains Reflective Fame ~ FoxNews
DALLAS: An Amarillo, Texas, plumber who happened to have the right Web site address -- Joetheplumber.com -- is seeing interest in his work skyrocket as a result of the presidential debate.

Joe the Plumber: Republican Plant and Relative of Charles Keating? ~ CrooksAndLiars
If you watched the third and final presidential debate last night you know that there were many mentions of "Joe the Plumber." Joe is actually Joe Wurzelbacher, an 'everyman' who appeared out of a crowd at an Obama campaign appearance and asked the senator about his economic plan. Joe says his American Dream is being able to provide for his family and send his son to college. But some are saying that Joe isn't who he appears to be.

UH... MAYBE NOT

MANIFEST OBAMA

A friend of mine sent this to me it brightened my day so much I thought why not share it. Please take this idea and run with it. Millions of our fellow citizens here in the U.S. are trying to create a sweeping change. Check out ManifestObama.com for a fuller explanation. You gotta love creative people they can make us see the future with a simple well executed idea. You can help by VOTING EARLY


THANKS LV


From the email....

About two weeks ago, I got an idea for this site --> ManifestObama.com which would help people visualize Obama being president. We felt that people seemed to be focusing on what they DIDN'T want, paying alot of attention to the other side's 'low-road' behavior & especiallyPalin's shortcomings. And their poll numbers were going up, b/c so much (negative) attention was focused on them. We strongly believe that 'what you focus on grows' - we've seen this over & over again in our lives & the world around us - and wanted to help ourselves& our friends change our focus to what we DO want. Which is peace,prosperity, leadership, hope & change - all possible if Obama wins on November 4th.

It seemed very improbable 2 weeks ago that we could find time in our seriously overcommitted schedules to make any kind of viral video or website. Where would we get any compelling footage - wandering around downtown Asheville? Who would make the video - we don't know anything about videography - and make it something worth watching? How would we find the time & resources to get this thing done? But we just hada sense that it was going to happen somehow, and decided not to focus on the questions, but instead to visualize it being complete.

Things started 'magically' falling into place - Jamie's scheduled barbershop chorus competition last weekend got canceled, so I had time to work on it;Patrick Scully - Jamie's dear buddy, boss & graphic design genius - had an unexplainable hole in his production schedule; he had just bought a digital video camera he lent us. Then Obama announced he would be preparing for the second debate IN ASHEVILLE of all places and would be speaking at a rally that weekend. Who were we to question at that point? We packed up the kids and got in line 5 and a half hours before the speech, with video camera in hand.

The energy at the rally was unlike anything I've experienced. People smiling, making friends, comparing stories about why we're so energized, and admitting we've never been so devoted to any political cause in our lives. The emotion was palpable. When Obama finally took the stage, with an estimated 28 thousand supporters packed in &around Asheville High football field, I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. It was a day that all six of us will always remember.

We got just the right footage, and Jamie & I stayed up till 2am onTuesday night editing it down with iMovie. The next day, we got the gracious permission of Billy Jonas to use his recording of 'Sanctuary'as the soundtrack. Patrick created an amazing design. Jamie spent most of yesterday programming the website. Even though it's been a while since he has done it, everything fell into place.

What are we asking from you? Email a link to the site to everyone you know who might be receptive, and ask them to do the same. If you know how,use social bookmarks/media (Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook...) to promote the site to people we don't know. Blog about it, link to it, tell people about it - spread the word in any way you can. It only takes a minute, and every person who feels it, even a little bit, will have a ripple effect in their thoughts & actions. We've got to use the power of visualization and let it spread. Let the smile on your faceas you say 'President Obama' spread to others as if you were handing them a flower. This really works, and we've got to do it.

Jamie and I strongly believe that this is the most important election in our lifetimes, and that the stakes are extremely high. We believe that Obama is the leader we need right now - he has emerged against the odds for a reason. Please, join with us in holding the image of President Obama in our minds & hearts, until we watch him take the Oath of Office together on January 20th.

ManifestObama.com we can do this.


Much love & many blessings,

Lauren

OBAMA ~ McCAIN ENTIRE 2ND DEBATE

Here is the FactCheck.org summary of the debate:



For more analysis from factCheck.org on the second debate go to.
FACT CHECKING DEBATE TWO

AN AMERICAN RECLAMATION PROJECT

October 6th, 2008

Bruce Springsteen speaks to 50,000 people at a Vote for Change rally in Philly, for Barack Obama. Wonderful, powerful, poetic statement and a of course a heartfelt rendition of The Rising. All I can say is BRUCE BRUCE BRUCE!

From backstreets.com

Thanks to our musical correspondent RS for this one... Rock On!


For more video of the event Click Here

I've spent 35 yrs writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence.

These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise, and that reality, has never been greater or more painful.

I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I think he understands in his heart the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning.

After the disastrous administration of the past eight years, we need somebody to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel around the world, and I occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, whereever I go, that America remains a repository of peoples' hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain for many, many people this house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

They will, however, be leaving office -- that's the good news. The bad news is that they'll be leaving office dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, it's been looted, and it's been left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs a citizenry with strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again.

But most importantly, it needs you. And me. It needs us, to rebuild our house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. Because that is where our future lies. We will rise or we will fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I know that I want my house back, I want my America back, and I want my country back.

So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising.

KEATING ECONOMICS

FROM THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN

As the nation rocks from the 700 Billion plus "bailout" or "recovery" attempts in the past weeks, it may be time to take a quick look back to one of the seminal financial scandals of our times -- the collapse of Lincoln Savings. John McCain then and now an aggressive proponent; and beneficiary of deregulation, played a central role. Recently the McCain campaign has been railing against looking backwards, perhaps this is why.

WATCH THE TRAILER


WATCH THE ENTIRE MOVIE


Once again thanks to our media editor RKH for this.

SEND THIS TO 5 FRIENDS - BUT REALLY DON'T VOTE

Hey thanks to my media editor RKH go baby we can win this thing. Keep your eyes on the prize ~ hold on!

More at www.declareyourself.com/