Hi FriendThere is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6eUnited Against Racism
posted by David Apperson
Uebaha caheba cjainaj
Nabrha cjay ajsye askrba yebajs cyeja cbaj
Ians adbyaad xnua
ebrajs duebah
Uenajda
Iaadn adjalajn
Ie baahsb shaya hsab
November 3, 2008
On Sunday, November 2, we - seven Armenians for Obama volunteers from Massachusetts - drove to Plymouth, a small town in the swing state of New Hampshire, to canvass and get out the vote for Barack Obama. It was a 2 hour ride, but the beautiful fall landscape on one hand, and David Sedaris’ audio books on the other, made for a pleasant drive.
Driving into Plymouth, one would not guess that history was about to be written in its quiet streets. But once on Main Street, we felt we were part of an important moment; a father and his young daughter waving signs, a young man stacking yard signs in his van, a group of volunteers on a coffee break. On a bright Sunday morning, people of all ages were out in the streets, working hard for change.
We were greeted by a group of enthusiastic organizers, who, within minutes, trained and dispatched us to various areas of town to knock on doors of undecided voters, to get out the vote for Barack Obama. Our experiences varied; many of the doors knocked did not open, some of us got into lengthy conversations, while others were asked to leave. Most of us ended up speaking to fewer people than we had hoped for, but someone had to go out and knock on these doors, and we did it. In the end, we were there for just one day in a very long campaign, and what our presence meant mattered more than what it achieved.
Sharing her impressions of our trip, my friend Megan Rees wrote to me: “My biggest contribution was showing support for the campaign organizers who have been working tirelessly on our behalf. I wanted to canvass because it's important that we all participate in our democracy.”
Learning Obama has the support of the Armenian-American community surely energized the tireless organizers in Plymouth. They loved the red-blue-orange Obama logo on our T-shirts, so we left a couple with them. They, in turn, gave us giant posters and stacks of stickers. Needless to say, we left with much more than that.
As we left Plymouth and joined the busy highway back home, I felt privileged and confident; privileged to have participated in a movement that ultimately strives for fairness, justice, and truth. And confident that the energy and enthusiasm we witnessed will ensure we elect the leader we deserve. We deserve Barack Obama, and we are going to elect him tomorrow.
Alik Arzoumanian
The New Hampshire towns of Dixville Notch and Harts Location had 100% turnout, the small New England towns are the first to vote in America election day. Barack Obama won by a wide margin in those communities. Let's all rise to the occasion, and make this happen. United YES WE CAN, the peoples movement is in motion.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27528804/
Meet Hannah and Jonna:
Meet a pair of extraordinary volunteers who live in Vermont, and have been canvassing in swing-state New Hampshire every weekend -- since July.
Every weekend.
Since July!
Here's the story in Jonna's own words:
Hannah and I had never met before but went out together each weekend to canvass, and Hannah went from being a shy, retiring canvasser to a star. Now she's helping to staff the new Enfield office. Today, volunteers streamed in all day. Hannah did back-to-back training sessions, and I took two packets and canvassed all day. As always, I visited with many truly nice people, including some died-in-the-wool Republicans voting for Obama -- and a true NH Independent, who makes his decisions one at a time. He is voting for Obama. It was a great day -- we were out in archetypal, conservative New Hampshire country, and it's becoming Obama country! We are almost there. In this brand new Enfield office the stream of volunteers was never-ending, all day. Many people I talked to want to vote in this historic election. They are voting for themselves, as well as for Obama. The only thing that can defeat us now is complacency. As we saw in the New Hampshire primary, we lost when we thought we were winning. We can’t assume anything. We must do everything now to get out the vote for Obama. The campaign is so well-organized – it is all GOTV now. You can even put signs on doors at 4 a.m. to get out the vote if you’re busy during the day. GOTV is easy; anyone can do it. So don’t just worry about whether he wins. Get out there and help the campaign bring in a landslide mandate for this inspiring, honorable, brilliant man. I’ll be out all weekend and at the polls all day helping the campaign do what’s necessary to put him over the top, and I know there are hundreds of thousands of people all over this country doing exactly the same thing.
Hannah and I had never met before but went out together each weekend to canvass, and Hannah went from being a shy, retiring canvasser to a star. Now she's helping to staff the new Enfield office.
Today, volunteers streamed in all day. Hannah did back-to-back training sessions, and I took two packets and canvassed all day. As always, I visited with many truly nice people, including some died-in-the-wool Republicans voting for Obama -- and a true NH Independent, who makes his decisions one at a time. He is voting for Obama. It was a great day -- we were out in archetypal, conservative New Hampshire country, and it's becoming Obama country!
We are almost there. In this brand new Enfield office the stream of volunteers was never-ending, all day. Many people I talked to want to vote in this historic election. They are voting for themselves, as well as for Obama.
The only thing that can defeat us now is complacency. As we saw in the New Hampshire primary, we lost when we thought we were winning. We can’t assume anything. We must do everything now to get out the vote for Obama. The campaign is so well-organized – it is all GOTV now. You can even put signs on doors at 4 a.m. to get out the vote if you’re busy during the day. GOTV is easy; anyone can do it. So don’t just worry about whether he wins. Get out there and help the campaign bring in a landslide mandate for this inspiring, honorable, brilliant man. I’ll be out all weekend and at the polls all day helping the campaign do what’s necessary to put him over the top, and I know there are hundreds of thousands of people all over this country doing exactly the same thing.
Please join Jonna, Hannah, and hundreds of thousands of volunteers in this historic movement for change.
Help get out the vote now:
Governor Howard Dean returned to the great state of New Hampshire today to rally students at UNH – Durham. UNH – Durham is the largest university in the state of New Hampshire, so the student population has the potential to play a deciding factor in this upcoming election. With early voting over, students in New Hampshire can still register and vote on Election Day through same day registration. Governor Dean encouraged all the students in attendance to make their voice heard by showing up and registering to vote.
Also appearing at the event were two young women who recently graduated from college themselves – Molly Shaheen (Jeanne Shaheen’s daughter) and Kathleen Shea-Porter (Carol Shea-Porter’s daughter). Governor Dean urged students to not just vote for Senator Obama, but to vote for the whole Democratic ticket, all the way down including former Governor Shaheen and Congresswoman Shea-Porter. Barack will need help as President, and we need to keep New Hampshire blue to give him the Senators and Congressmen he will need to get our country back on track.
Dean told the students assembled that they were taking part in a historic election – one that will witness a passing of the torch -
In many ways this election is similar to the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Kennedy was running on a promise of hope and change while Nixon was running as the status quo…and we all know what happened in that election and Kennedy’s historic inauguration.
Dean wrapped up by reminding students what a great country we live in and urging the UNH students to knock on doors and make phone calls and do everything they can to help the Democrats win. You can help too. Find your local office. Sign up to Get Out The Vote. This is OUR TIME.
This guest blog was written by Josh Levine, Director of Veterans Outreach for the New Hampshire Campaign for Change
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a strong supporter of Senator Barack Obama, met with veterans and military families Tuesday at the Public Library in Portsmouth, NH. Dr. Albright, who teaches at Georgetown University, spoke about our current national security situation and the failure of President Bush's approach to foreign policy over the last eight years. During her remarks, she described what she saw as the major issues facing the next President of the United States, and why she believed Barack Obama was uniquely qualified, in knowledge, demeanor, confidence, and judgment to begin the tough work of solving these complex problems. Following her remarks she fielded questions from the forty-person audience. She spoke about the need for the United States to begin disengagement in Iraq, both to force the Iraqi government to solve its lingering political issues and so that we can focus on Afghanistan, the real immediate threat to American security. She endorsed Senator Obama's plans for dealing with Iraq through a multilateral regional solution and for intensifying efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and help Pakistan to stabilize itself. Other topics included restoring America's standing in the world, dealing with Iran, the world financial crisis, rethinking the use of the National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current and future roles of NATO. On each issue, Dr. Albright described her views and discussed with the audience Barack Obama's deep thoughtfulness, clear thinking, and confidence to lead our country through these tough times. She said that not only is Senator Obama the right man to address our great concerns abroad, but that he "will talk to us, tell us the truth" so that we as a nation can work together to meet our challenges at home.
Following her remarks she fielded questions from the forty-person audience. She spoke about the need for the United States to begin disengagement in Iraq, both to force the Iraqi government to solve its lingering political issues and so that we can focus on Afghanistan, the real immediate threat to American security. She endorsed Senator Obama's plans for dealing with Iraq through a multilateral regional solution and for intensifying efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and help Pakistan to stabilize itself. Other topics included restoring America's standing in the world, dealing with Iran, the world financial crisis, rethinking the use of the National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current and future roles of NATO.
On each issue, Dr. Albright described her views and discussed with the audience Barack Obama's deep thoughtfulness, clear thinking, and confidence to lead our country through these tough times. She said that not only is Senator Obama the right man to address our great concerns abroad, but that he "will talk to us, tell us the truth" so that we as a nation can work together to meet our challenges at home.
If you're tired of the same failed foreign policies of the past and are ready for America to have a better standing in the world, sign up to help Get Out The Vote now.
