Just wanted to introduce myself, since I just joined a couple of groups today after finally making an account on the site last night. I'm a doctorate student in the sociology department at Bowling Green, and this summer I'm spending most of my time studying for my prelim exam in criminology in August and following the election fanatically. It's becoming very difficult for me to keep the two separate, and so, here I am.
I'm looking forward to getting to talk to (and hopefully volunteer and rally with!) all of you in the future so we can help bring the nightmare of the past 8 years to an end.
I live in northwest Ohio,Bowling Green actually.And last year the company i worked for moved our plant to Mexico.I had worked from the ground up for 6 years.I started as a assembly worker,and through tons of overtime,and hard work moved up to production manager.When I was laid off I was making 12.75 an hour with Health/dental,and 401k.Now the only job I could find for full time employment was for 7.00 an hour with no benifits.
I noticed in recent debates the discussion of illegal immigration was brought up by both parties.I think it is sad that we are talking about immigrant Americans as criminals seeing that is how we all started out here,with exception to "first Americans".The problem I see is not illegal immigrants taking jobs away,but American companies shipping jobs to countries to increase "bottom line"profits.This has not been brought up enough and I feel it is a huge problem.My grandparents both worked for Wagner Ware in Sidney OH. all their lives and retired from there.This seems impossible to do these days with the ability of companies to have foriegn workers do the job for pennies an hour in other countries.It takes the pride of employees and dreams and destroyes them.Instead of taking jobs away from immigrants I think we need to bring jobs back here and give everyone the chance to have a good paying job.
Next on my mind is these long running Senators running a campaign on what changes they are going to make when elected!I learned most of my understanding of politics from Mr. Russert,my mom(who lost her job and home after 9/11,she is a travel agent who lives in an apt. in Tampa just to keep her pention),and congress.org.I understand that congress makes laws not presidents,so if they were really to change america they have had plenty of time to do it.I almost feel like we are being played by Mc Cain and the likes.You had all these years to do something but failed to do so.Please if you can Mr. Obama let them know how we feel,and that we are not stupid enough to fall for these issues that they want to make relevent,instead of addressing the real problems.i find it hard to believe these senators think they can fool us.Sorry about my spelling and grammer I tried my best!
Get out the vote March 4th! This is the only chance marginalized voters have in making their voice heard. Get your friends to take the most important step in supporting Obama: Get to the polls and vote!
"Some of these statistics are amazing: In Tennessee the number of people between the ages of 18-to-29 who voted more than quadrupled. In Georgia, young voters tripled their turnout this year. And in California, more than 850,000 voters under 30 cast ballots."
I wrote this as an email to my Sister who attends BGSU. I wanted her to forward it to her friends. Then I figured there would be a BGSU group on barackobama.com and there is, of course. So I'm going to share this with you guys.
I honestly believe that one of the best ways we can help Obama get elected, as young people, is to help our friends get to the polls on March 4th. The people marginalized by the current politics-as-usual such as young people, african americans and others, need your extra help in getting them to the polls on March 4th. So please spread this information and do everything you can to get the people who count to the polls March 4th!
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Voter Look-up to find out if you're registered and where your polling location is:http://www.co.wood.oh.us/boe/VoterSearch.htm
Voting will take place March 4th Absentee Ballot Information:http://www.co.wood.oh.us/boe/Absentee%20Ballots.htmFor an Absentee Ballot first fill out the form attached to the email.
Mail the Completed Form to:
Absentee Applications
Wood County Board of Elections
One Courthouse Square
You will receive an absentee ballot back from the Wood County Board of Elections in the mail. You must have it mailed back to the Board of Elections by Saturday March 1st by 12:00 NOON.
We had an amazing time in SC. Check out my blog below!
http://notanothersportsblog.blogspot.com/
Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FFB998155B67038A
Let's do it all over again down in SC.
Ways you can help:
1. Go to South Carolina2. Encourage or help someone you know to go to SC3. Donate a small amount of money (whatever you can afford) to the campaign4. Attend Saturday's fundraiser5. Talk to anyone and everyone you know about Obama and his message of hope and change6. Wear Obama gear out in public/strike up a conversation with a stranger about Obama
The concept is simple: while the politicians are bickering, downplaying expectations and spinning, I wanted to prove to the world that we, the supporters of Barack Obama, can do some serious good. Don't you have any books on your shelves that are collecting dust and that you'll never read again? Or a couple of board games that you haven't played in years? My fiancee and I cleaned out our basement and with an assist from Nick and Rachel (also Columbus area supporters) donated nearly $700 worth of books, magazines, and clothes.
So, what are you waiting for? Anybody who can help should. Let's blow this thing up. We've already got a similar event posted in Dayton, Phoenix, AZ and Danville, VA. Soon, we should have Northwest and Northeast Ohio covered.
A few pics:
We put stickers on the items for a little free advertising and to connect the project to Obama.
We weren't just giving away crappy stuff here, but I knew I wouldn't read these books again, so why not give someone else the chance?
Putting on the stickers was a lot more fun than we thought it would be. I loved finding the O's in a book title and putting them there :)
This caused me to say, "Quit fooling around, and get back to work!" :)
Some of the stuff we gave...
Rachel, at the Nevada caucus party, pitching in. Nice hat!
Nick said, "Changing the world is easier than I thought" :)
If you want to help, http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vbw4
If you want to start your own event, e-mail me, fulch@yahoo.com
Breaking news from the conference call with Campaign Manager David Plouffe: A new online fundraising contest is being launched that will grant the members of the My.BarackObama.com groups that raise the most money through the end of the week the opportunity to participate in a personal conference call with Senator Barack Obama and Campaign Manager David Plouffe. Be on the lookout for more information from the My.BarackObama.com team.
State of the Campaign
Barack Obama's Schedule: On Monday, Barack Obama received the endorsement of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association. Tuesday, he’s speaking at Change to Win in Chicago. Wednesday, he can be seen live on the NBC/NECN/New Hampshire Public Radio/New Hampshire Democratic Party debate, which will be broadcast live on MSNBC at 9pm EST. Following the debate he’ll head to New York, where he’ll participate in a live interview on ABC’s The View at 11am EST on Thursday before leading a major rally in Washington Square Park. On Friday, he speaks at Howard University’s Convocation and participates in the CBC Issues Forum in Washington, DC.
by Shankar Gupta, Thursday, Feb 22, 2007 6:00 AM ET
AMERICANS ARE INCREASINGLY TURNING TO the Internet for political information, according to a survey released Wednesday by DoubleClick.
Forty-two percent of 1,047 U.S. adults surveyed by the company's Performics division said they intended to use the Web for information about the 2008 elections more than they did in 2004. Overall, that same proportion (42%) also said they currently use the Web as a source for political information. That group tends to skew young, with almost nine in 10 respondents (88%) between the ages of 18 and 34 saying they use the Web for election news, compared to only 25% of those 65 and older.
Of the respondents who turn to the Web for political information, 60% visit TV or news magazine Web sites, 42% go to search engines, 36% visit newspaper sites and 45% head to other online news sites, as among their top 3 choices. Web sites for individual candidates drew just 18%, while political action or issues-based sites garnered 11%, consumer groups attracted 9% and blogs were cited by just 5%.
Offline sources still remain the primary sources of political information, however. TV news and talk shows were listed as the primary means of getting political news by 41% of respondents, followed by local or national newspapers with 26%, radio news or talk shows with 14%, the Internet with 12% and friends or family with 5%.
I've been incredibly busy this past week or so; here's a quick rundown of the stuff that's been out there.
1) Barack Obama-Not black enough?
2) Congress can't even agree on a non-binding resolution.
3) Barack and Kerry shouldn't need to apologize over "slips of the tongue."
4) AT&T, wire-tapping, domestic spying, gitmo, blacksites, and detained journalists-oh my
okay-
1) Seems that after the barrage of pre-anouncement stories asking if America is ready for a black President, the tide has shifted in a completely opposite direction. Apparently, Obama is not "BLACK" enough for America. Along with Debra Dickerson's interviews on the Colbert Report, many minority leaders including politicians and local civi rights leaders right here in Chicago are saying that Obama's upbringing some how precludes him from the "black" experience.
While Obama answered this question pretty directly with Steve Kroft on CBS's 60 Minutes, it did little to sway what seems to me to be a political tactic to divide the African-American voting block. Also as Charlie Chaplin said, "I regret that I have not had the pleasure to be is such company." Therefore, I will not go into the socio-economic divisions that may be pushing the issue.
I'll only say, I'm on this site because I believe in Obama's message and voice for change in politics. If I wanted to concentrate on viable minority status instead of on policy and message, I'd be at BIll Richardson's or Hillary Clinton's site.
2) Quickly, 56-34 in the senate-please! Congress can't even agree on a resolution that essentially means nothing. Yes, it would be a first step to actually exerting the rights of the legislature against an out-of-control executive branch, and yes it might send a message that the American people want a change. But come on, after over four and a half years of lies and damned lies you'd think congress could grow a few.
3) Relatedly, Kerry's gaff and Obama's recent misstep, illustrate how easy it isfor right wingers to obfuscate and alter national opinion.
To Kerry-While there are some rich white families with patriotic sons and daughters enrolling in the military, I have very good friends in such families, it is no stretch of the truth to say this war is fought primarily on the backs of the poor. Even though there is no official draft, mostly because the backlash would immediately kill any military policy, recruiting and enrollment occur disproportionatly in poorer communities. To put it simply recruiters are at the Wal-mart not the Starbucks.
As for Obama's "wasted" remark the noble lives of our troops has been wasted on an unjust war built on lies and now in a sectarian melt-down of a civil war. The problem is, and this relates to the non-binding resolution and war funding, any action or statement from the"left" is turned into America and troop hating, hippy, pinko commy rhetoric by the "right". It is a simple minded tactic that unfortunately works with an extremely large portion of Americans and THAT IS TOTAL B.S.! If I had more faith in an electorate that votes as much on hair style as it does international policy, I'd say that cheap shots like these don't matter,but I don't. Democrats need to go on the attack and not just apologize to defend themselves. Say decisively, this administration is wrong, always has been and the only anti-american thing here is our sons and daughters dying every day. I know Obama has said it before, but the entire party must keep have a unified front to break the conservative blockade.
4) Finally, this week Josh Wolf, a vlogger and politically active journalist, made the saddening record of being the longest jailed american journalist in history. He is being forced to name names from his protest coverage in a trial that somehow was sneeked up to Fderal court (an FBI tail light was broken during the riot) by the Dept. of Homeland Security.
That and apparently, AT&T has been actively allowing the NSA to monitor all US communications, not just foreign communications(dubious in its own right.) I'd shit a brick if I didn't already assume this was happening. So, to the monitors perusing the net, I love America. I'm not a terrorist but you are. Investigate yourself like the good John Birchers you are.
Oh, and Judith Miller / Bob nNvak leaking are just the tip of the iceberg. 2008 can't come soon enough. Accountability Now!
Dear Obama '08 supporter,
I'm writing to all of you with a simple request. Today is the 15th of the month and many of you got paid today and be thankful. Maybe you are retired and your income comes once a month. Whatever your situation, I send this out to you with one request request - make a donation tonight. As you sit down to look at your budget and pay bills, start to look at the financial investment you can make on a monthly basis to Obama ‘08 as an investment in our future.
There’s been a tremendous amount of interest in the last week as we've all seen the number of groups in this social networking portal grow. We're all feeling pretty good about the hope and promise of Sen. Obama's candidacy, and many of us are having a good time networking with each other too! This is important stuff, and one of the things that will give the Obama campaign "legs" to sustain itself over the next 18 months is the financing to continue. Even if you’ve already made a contribution, make another one tonight.
The Obama campaign has made some smart investments like this site to help build the grassroots infrastructure and given us easy to use tools to make a contribution. Making a contribution online is just like paying a bill online and you can do it in less than 1 minute.
I'm certain the Obama '08 media team is already developing the strategy for how they will target markets for TV ad support. Despite the effectiveness of social networking tools like this as well as other forms of user generated media (YouTube, blogger relations and other social networking tools), The Obama campaign still needs to play with the big boys which means he needs to build a cash war chest to buy expensive TV time, pay his staff and open offices. People are betting their lives and livelihoods on putting Sen. Obama in the White House.
Take a minute and make a contribution now. If you can only donate $5, do it. If you can afford $10, $25 $50 or more, do it. Like many of you I’m a working parent with two small children. I donated what I could, but I plan to do the same the next time I get paid and twice monthly from here on out just like paying a bill. Just like I save for college, my children's future rides on changing our current tide. I can't afford to not support Obama '08. Donating now is more about the principle than the amount. It will strengthen your belief about what we're trying to accomplish together, and you can tell others with conviction you've put your money where "your mouth is".
Here’s the link Pay Forward – Donate to Obama’08 NOW!
After you make a donation, check your email and copy the receipt in a blog post and post it to the groups that you belong to. Also send this out as an email to all your "Obama friends" with the subject line “Pay It Forward – America 4 Obama” and show every group you belong to you are serious about electing the next president of the U.S. Let’s plaster this portal with donation receipts!!!!! Let Sen. Obama know we’re serious and not all talk.
Everyone can not afford to attend a $500 dinner; just do what YOU can afford. Do something. Do it on a monthly basis if you need to. Pay it forward. Do it now.
Best regards,
Kelly
Kelly McCoy Williams
Chair, Episcopalians for ObamaLink>and a member of several other groups
feel free to cc me on your email...... :)
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Dear Kelly,Thank you for your generous donation of $50.00.Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our country and our politics for the better.Looking for more ways to get involved?Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future of this campaign in your hands:Link>On My.BarackObama.com you can...... build your own profile and connect with supporters near you... find or create your own local or national group... create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress... find events near you or plan your own... chronicle your campaign experience on your own blogThere will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your support.Thank you again for your donation.
I look forward to meeting the New York City Obama '08 group. I live in Chicago but travel to NYC frequently on business. I am a member of the Hyde Park Obama group so it will be great to be able to network in both cities and bring information to the team in New York about activities and updates happening in the base camp.
Does anyone know if there are any trainings scheduled yet or are we working from shear excitement and natural organizing skills? Either way, determination appears to be the common denominator of all the groups.
I'd like encourage those of you who have blogs on Blogger (especially), TypePade, Wordpress etc to add back links to you GROUP PAGES with very specific anchor text. Instead of "link here" or "read more", use keywords like "Hyde Parkers For Barack Obama" . If thousands of people do this it will improve the way Google views the site and more interior pages with show up in the search results. As more people search for information about the campaign they will land on pages that contain specific content about the campaign. This will help grow sign-ups, participation, fundraising...it is a snowball.
I'm excited to be a part of the Obama campaign and even more excited about the technology we have at our disposal. I am among the generation that does not have affinity with Myspace despite understanding its power. Social networking for a cause has a tremendous draw and the app used by the Obama campaign is one of the best I've seen.
Clearly the Obama campaign will benefit from the “long tail” effect as the number of small niche groups will grow organically. The load time for searching through the various groups has been slow but that is probably a good sign. I’ve elected to participate in a number of groups including my alma mater (Bowling Green State University), several Chicago local groups, a parents group and I have started a group for Episcopalians for Obama. I’ve set a fundraising goal of $10,000 and look forward to exceeding this goal over the course of the campaign.
I am wife, mother of two beautiful girls and an executive in the digital marketing space. I work for a leading search engine marketing company and it is great to be able to witness the interplay between emerging media in the corporate sector and what is happening in the Obama ’08 political campaign. There are so many things about the Obama platform that resonates with me so I look forward devoting what little extra time I have to helping to elect the next president of the U.S.
I was encouraged by the press coming out of Australia today - that the Labor party is now condemning Prime Minister Howard for his criticism of Sen. Obama.
Suggestion – for those of you who want to broaden your scope of news – go to Google and set up “Alerts” based on specific keywords. If you want to capture information from the global press and blogsphere about Senator Obama add his name as an alert. I personally track over 400 keyword alerts on a daily basis.
The Episcopalians for Obama group will launch with a conference call next week and discuss ways to expand the group and map out our plan for organizing and mobilizing voters in our local areas. Stay tuned, stay focused and keep pushing……
kellymccoywilliamsATgmailDOTcom
As a former journalism student biding my time in the advertising realm, mostly because sustainable paying, entry level editorial jobs are nill to none, I am very interested in this so-called new media push. The e-campaign and e-reporting fascinate the tech-nerd in me, but I'm worried how this will affect other voting blocks. Let's face it, young people vote substatially less often then older populations. And the young people are the ones online. I'm worried if this leaves behind my father's generation, those blue collar dems who helped push progressive agendas in the 60's. While he is interested in these new movments as they build and reflect his previous experiance in politics, he is afraid and embarrassed at his lack of computer skills. He is not alone. I believe that this election will signal a media divide greater than the Kennedy-Nixon debates.
The image I'm getting from watching PBS -right now-and the image I get from dailykos, current.tv, or gawker are completely different;not to mention the totally different interpretations that come from our actual newspapers and radio. I believe that this will be the final great push into a digital media environment, I just wonder how we can bring the knowledge and wisdom from the last great political generation along.
