Friends of Barack Obama
To celebrate the election of Barack Obama as President of the U.S.
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News From the Obama Campaign
13.03.2010
12.03.2010
Yesterday, hundreds of OFA volunteers and allies in North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois rallied to make it clear to their members of Congress that constituents support health reform -- and want their representatives to vote 'yes' on the President's plan. In each state, supporters of reform chanted, marched, and held signs, vastly outnumbering opponents of reform.And check out some of the news from the events in North Carolina and Michigan:The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina):Meanwhile, Organizing for America, an arm of the national Democratic Party, has been conducting phone banks, letter-writing campaigns and other efforts to convince Etheridge and other Democrats to support the president. Their most recent project, called "The Final March for Reform," is designed to get members of Obama's former campaign organization in North Carolina to volunteer for legislators who support health care. So far, 284,605 volunteer hours have been pledged for U.S. House members from North Carolina who voted for health care. The message seems clear: Help the president with health care, and we'll watch your back at election time. Lindsay Siler, state director of Organizing for America, said she thinks there has been a shift since the town hall meetings of last summer, which were dominated by opponents of the Democratic health care proposals. She said now she sees little opposition as she travels the state. "We are packing rooms with people ready to get involved."North Carolina NBC 17 Raleigh:The political push is on in Raleigh to sway Congressional votes on health care reform. Ralliers both for and against the current proposal demonstrated outside U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge's office Thursday afternoon. Approximately 50 tea partiers organized by the group NC Freedom chanted: "Bob say no!", "Bob say no!" Across Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, slightly more than 200 supporters of President Obama's grassroots organization Organizing For America responded with: "Thank you Bob! , Thank you, Bob." Congressman Bob Etheridge has voted in favor of reform, but the bill has changed during reconciliation.Michigan WILX:For the second time, hundreds of people gathered outside Congressman Mark Schauer's Office, each with differing opinions. There are those who say the current health care system is broken and needs to be fixed. The plan on the table is the way to go. "This will expand access and introduce competition into the system," Erin Knott of Michigan Citizen Action said. "No longer will insurance companies be able to exclude people due to pre-existing conditions." "Heath care decisions should be made by people and doctors, not by insurance companies," Aletheia Henry, the state director of Organizing for America, said.Michigan Jackson Citizen Patriot:Supporters of the plan moving through Congress led chants using megaphones, and others carried homemade signs or picked up professionally made signs on the sidewalk near Schauer's office. Supporters were rallied by groups including Organizing for America, the Laborers' International Union of North America and Health Care for America Now. The crowd filled all four corners of the N. West Avenue and W. Ganson Street intersection, and passing drivers slowed down or honked.This weekend, as the next step in the final march for health reform, OFA supporters are gathering at volunteer phone banks across the country. With a vote on health reform coming as soon as next week, they’ll be calling voters in critical districts, asking them to reach out to their representatives and express their strong support for reform. Click here to join an event near you.
12.03.2010
41. That's the number of leading economists -- including three Nobel Prize winners -- who sent a letter to President Obama and Congress yesterday urging swift passage of health reform to rein in out-of-control costs. It is also the percentage of adults under age 65 who struggled with medical debt, had trouble paying medical bills, or faced both during a recent year. In his speech earlier this week in Pennsylvania, President Obama talked about one person who's part of that 41%:“Laura Klitzka -- this is a friend of mine, somebody I met when I was campaigning in Wisconsin -- Green Bay, Wisconsin. She’s a young mother; she’s got two kids. She thought she had beaten her breast cancer but later discovered it had spread to her bones. She and her husband had insurance, but their medical bills still landed them with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. And now she spends her time worrying about that debt when all she wants to do is spend time with her children. I just talked to Laura this past weekend, and let me tell you, she knows that the time for reform is right now.”Today's number is the fourth in the White House's series of a number released each day to make the case for why we need to pass reform. If you're on Twitter, you can spread the word by changing your icon to today's number and updating your status here. You can also check out some of the previous numbers from the White House's "Health Reform By the Numbers" campaign.12.03.2010
From Jeremy Bird:
The Final March for Reform is going strong -- yesterday, OFA supporters made the phones ring off the hook in Congressional offices on Capitol Hill and across the country. But for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill -- and the upcoming vote is still too close to call. So in these crucial, final days, we must make sure the voices of constituents break through the lobbyist attacks. And here's the plan to make it happen: As the next step in the Final March for Reform, OFA supporters like you will be gathering at volunteer phone banks across the country. We'll be calling supportive voters in critical districts nationwide, asking them to reach out to their representatives and express their strong support for reform. A local OFA organizer will be on hand at every event, and no experience is required. Here's how to join in: First, find and RSVP for an event near you. Before you go, make sure to invite friends to come with you, or help them find an event in their area on our website. Then join with local supporters at your event and reach out to as many voters as you can -- each call makes a vital difference. Click here to get started.
As we speak, insurance-industry lobbyists are deploying from their emergency base at the D.C. Ritz-Carlton, banging down the door of every Congressional office on Capitol Hill to derail reform and preserve their ability to jack up premiums and deny care to those in need.In the old Washington, that would have been an unstoppable barrage. But thanks to your unprecedented organizing, the lobbyists have finally met their match: the American people. So let's get out there, and make sure the people's voice is heard. Please sign up to join the Final March for Reform event in your area:http://my.barackobama.com/FinalMarchRSVP Let's finish this, JeremyJeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America
The Final March for Reform is going strong -- yesterday, OFA supporters made the phones ring off the hook in Congressional offices on Capitol Hill and across the country. But for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill -- and the upcoming vote is still too close to call. So in these crucial, final days, we must make sure the voices of constituents break through the lobbyist attacks. And here's the plan to make it happen: As the next step in the Final March for Reform, OFA supporters like you will be gathering at volunteer phone banks across the country. We'll be calling supportive voters in critical districts nationwide, asking them to reach out to their representatives and express their strong support for reform. A local OFA organizer will be on hand at every event, and no experience is required. Here's how to join in: First, find and RSVP for an event near you. Before you go, make sure to invite friends to come with you, or help them find an event in their area on our website. Then join with local supporters at your event and reach out to as many voters as you can -- each call makes a vital difference. Click here to get started. As we speak, insurance-industry lobbyists are deploying from their emergency base at the D.C. Ritz-Carlton, banging down the door of every Congressional office on Capitol Hill to derail reform and preserve their ability to jack up premiums and deny care to those in need.In the old Washington, that would have been an unstoppable barrage. But thanks to your unprecedented organizing, the lobbyists have finally met their match: the American people. So let's get out there, and make sure the people's voice is heard. Please sign up to join the Final March for Reform event in your area:http://my.barackobama.com/FinalMarchRSVP Let's finish this, JeremyJeremy BirdDeputy Director
Organizing for America
12.03.2010
Barack Obama Pictures
Friends of Barack Obama on Amazee
Blog
18.01.2009, Scott Cobb, 1 Comments
Information from Texas for Obama
http://blog.texansforobama.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=719381F54DA73FC17...
"Inauguration Watch Party"
Tuesday, January 20
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Scholz Garten
1607 San Jacinto Blvd
Austin, TX 78701
Free admission
::
"A Dream Realized"
Tuesday, January 20
7:00 p.m. - midnight
Monarch Event Center
Lincoln Village
6406 North I-35
Austin, TX 78752
Come walk on the red carpet at our gala celebrating Barack Obama's inauguration - Texas style. Big screens, food and music. Attire is semi-formal. General admission tickets get you complimentary snacks, cash bar and DJ music. VIP tickets get you complimentary appetizers, champagne and live music. A professional photographer will be on hand to capture the excitement.
TICKETS:
General - $25
VIP - $50
Click here to RSVP
Contact Gerry or Tom for more information, (512) 371-1711.
::
"All Y'all's Inaugural Ball"
Tuesday, January 20
6:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Mercury Hall
614 Cardinal Lane
Austin, TX 78704
The All Y'all's Inaugural Ball is a formal fancypants ball for all y'all that want to celebrate the Inauguration of our 44th president. Tuxes and ball gowns encouraged but if you don't have anything to wear, then put on your boots and come anyway. Children are welcome for free. In order to make this event cheap and affordable, it's BYOB.
TICKETS:
Advance - $10
General - $15
Click here to RSVP
::
"Texas Presidential Inaugural Celebration/Gala"
Tuesday, January 20
6:30 p.m. - midnight
Four Seasons Hotel
98 San Jacinto Boulevard
Austin, TX 78701
The Texas Presidential Inaugural Celebration/Gala is a celebration of democracy and marks the beginning of a historic journey for the 44th President of the United States, President-Elect Barack Obama. This gala event is presented by 360 Media & Over The Top Events in conjunction with the National Women's Political Caucus-Texas and the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies (ACC). The Mistress of Ceremonies will be Judy Maggio, Anchor/Managing Editor at CBS KEYE-TV (Maggio has covered three presidential inaugurations). Dress is Texas Glam/Black Tie Optional.
Also, the Four Seasons is offering a special discounted room rate of $150 for the evening so come on over and enjoy the hospitality, food and drink. We will have live music so stay late and dance the night away. Wide screens with official inaugural activities will be featured. Also, that evening an original artwork of President Obama will be given away, value over $1,000.
The Host Committee includes:
Ada Anderson, Willie Mae Kirk, The Honorable Mark Strama, The Honorable Bruce Elfant, Fr. Senator Gonzalo Barrientos and Emma Barrientos, John and Charlotte Sharp, Bruce Todd and Elizabeth Christian, Ian Davis and Amy Everhart, Malcomb and Toni Gardner, Peck Young, Brenda Burt, Alicia Del Rio, Bob Cash and Linda Young.
TICKETS:
General - $80
http://blog.texansforobama.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=719381F54DA73FC17...
"Inauguration Watch Party"
Tuesday, January 20
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Scholz Garten
1607 San Jacinto Blvd
Austin, TX 78701
Free admission
::
"A Dream Realized"
Tuesday, January 20
7:00 p.m. - midnight
Monarch Event Center
Lincoln Village
6406 North I-35
Austin, TX 78752
Come walk on the red carpet at our gala celebrating Barack Obama's inauguration - Texas style. Big screens, food and music. Attire is semi-formal. General admission tickets get you complimentary snacks, cash bar and DJ music. VIP tickets get you complimentary appetizers, champagne and live music. A professional photographer will be on hand to capture the excitement.
TICKETS:
General - $25
VIP - $50
Click here to RSVP
Contact Gerry or Tom for more information, (512) 371-1711.
::
"All Y'all's Inaugural Ball"
Tuesday, January 20
6:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Mercury Hall
614 Cardinal Lane
Austin, TX 78704
The All Y'all's Inaugural Ball is a formal fancypants ball for all y'all that want to celebrate the Inauguration of our 44th president. Tuxes and ball gowns encouraged but if you don't have anything to wear, then put on your boots and come anyway. Children are welcome for free. In order to make this event cheap and affordable, it's BYOB.
TICKETS:
Advance - $10
General - $15
Click here to RSVP
::
"Texas Presidential Inaugural Celebration/Gala"
Tuesday, January 20
6:30 p.m. - midnight
Four Seasons Hotel
98 San Jacinto Boulevard
Austin, TX 78701
The Texas Presidential Inaugural Celebration/Gala is a celebration of democracy and marks the beginning of a historic journey for the 44th President of the United States, President-Elect Barack Obama. This gala event is presented by 360 Media & Over The Top Events in conjunction with the National Women's Political Caucus-Texas and the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies (ACC). The Mistress of Ceremonies will be Judy Maggio, Anchor/Managing Editor at CBS KEYE-TV (Maggio has covered three presidential inaugurations). Dress is Texas Glam/Black Tie Optional.
Also, the Four Seasons is offering a special discounted room rate of $150 for the evening so come on over and enjoy the hospitality, food and drink. We will have live music so stay late and dance the night away. Wide screens with official inaugural activities will be featured. Also, that evening an original artwork of President Obama will be given away, value over $1,000.
The Host Committee includes:
Ada Anderson, Willie Mae Kirk, The Honorable Mark Strama, The Honorable Bruce Elfant, Fr. Senator Gonzalo Barrientos and Emma Barrientos, John and Charlotte Sharp, Bruce Todd and Elizabeth Christian, Ian Davis and Amy Everhart, Malcomb and Toni Gardner, Peck Young, Brenda Burt, Alicia Del Rio, Bob Cash and Linda Young.
TICKETS:
General - $80
21.12.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
Amanda Jones was Central Texas' oldest voter
Daughter of slave dies days after her 110th birthday.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Amanda Roberts Jones, who was the daughter of a man born into slavery and who lived long enough to vote for the country's first African-American president, died in her sleep about noon Thursday, two days after her 110th birthday, her family said Friday.
Jones, who had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia, was preparing for a birthday party Sunday afternoon that was expected to be a standing-room-only event at a downtown Austin hotel. On her birthday, Tuesday, Jones became a member of a small group of supercentenarians — people who live to 110 or older, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which validates claims of extreme old age.
"She lived awful long," Jones' granddaughter Brenda Baker said. "It was a full life, and her faith in God helped her live a long life."
The middle child of 13, Jones was part of a family that had lived in Bastrop County for five generations. Her father, Emmanuel Alfred Roberts, worked as a slave for a rancher before he was emancipated at age 12.
When she mailed in her ballot for President-elect Barack Obama in late October, Jones became a minor celebrity.
Eloise Baker, 75, said she had taken her mother to vote for Obama in the March primary. Area election officials said Jones was probably the oldest active registered voter in Central Texas. When news of her vote spread, Jones was profiled in the American-Statesman and later on National Public Radio and ABC News. More than 200 people signed an online petition to send her to Obama's inauguration. Birthday cards from around the country arrived at her home, Baker said.
During a life that touched three centuries, Jones worked as a maid, a farmer and a stay-at-home mother of 10 while keeping a deep faith as the cornerstone of her life, Baker said. Jones attended the Inspiration Pentecostal Church in Bastrop for more than 30 years, Baker said.
"She went every Sunday she was able," Eloise Baker said. "She always said that she had lived so long because she followed Christ and because she was obedient, and she taught us to do the same."
Jones had voted for more than 70 years — even when it meant she had to pick cotton to save money to pay a poll tax, her daughter said.
Daughter of slave dies days after her 110th birthday.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Amanda Roberts Jones, who was the daughter of a man born into slavery and who lived long enough to vote for the country's first African-American president, died in her sleep about noon Thursday, two days after her 110th birthday, her family said Friday.
Jones, who had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia, was preparing for a birthday party Sunday afternoon that was expected to be a standing-room-only event at a downtown Austin hotel. On her birthday, Tuesday, Jones became a member of a small group of supercentenarians — people who live to 110 or older, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which validates claims of extreme old age.
"She lived awful long," Jones' granddaughter Brenda Baker said. "It was a full life, and her faith in God helped her live a long life."
The middle child of 13, Jones was part of a family that had lived in Bastrop County for five generations. Her father, Emmanuel Alfred Roberts, worked as a slave for a rancher before he was emancipated at age 12.
When she mailed in her ballot for President-elect Barack Obama in late October, Jones became a minor celebrity.
Eloise Baker, 75, said she had taken her mother to vote for Obama in the March primary. Area election officials said Jones was probably the oldest active registered voter in Central Texas. When news of her vote spread, Jones was profiled in the American-Statesman and later on National Public Radio and ABC News. More than 200 people signed an online petition to send her to Obama's inauguration. Birthday cards from around the country arrived at her home, Baker said.
During a life that touched three centuries, Jones worked as a maid, a farmer and a stay-at-home mother of 10 while keeping a deep faith as the cornerstone of her life, Baker said. Jones attended the Inspiration Pentecostal Church in Bastrop for more than 30 years, Baker said.
"She went every Sunday she was able," Eloise Baker said. "She always said that she had lived so long because she followed Christ and because she was obedient, and she taught us to do the same."
Jones had voted for more than 70 years — even when it meant she had to pick cotton to save money to pay a poll tax, her daughter said.
19.11.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
President-elect Obama today chose Eric Holder as his pick for U.S. Attorney General. He would become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to Newsweek.
In an interview with the New York Times in 1997, Holder separated his personal opposition to the death penalty from his professional responsibilities:Mr Hatch questioned Mr. Holder about his views on the death penalty in general and in particular about a case in which Mr. Holder initially did not seek the death penalty for someone who was accused of killing a District of Columbia police officer.
''I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us,'' Mr. Holder said.
Mr. Holder said that at first he had not thought the crime met the legal conditions for the death penalty. But he said he changed his mind after a conversation with Attorney General Janet Reno. ''I hope that the committee would feel very assured that even with those statutes that have death penalty provisions will be fully enforced by me,'' he said.Janet Reno, Attorney General for 8 years under Bill Clinton, was also personally opposed to the death penalty, although she sought the death penalty in some prosecutions.
In an interview with Jim Leherer, Reno explained her position:JANET RENO: I was personally opposed to the death penalty, and yet I think I have probably asked for the death penalty more than most people in the United States.
JIM LEHRER: Was that difficult for you to do?
JANET RENO: I had concluded when I was the prosecutor that I would vote against the death penalty if I were in the legislature but that I could ask for it when I was satisfied as to guilt and to the proper application of the penalty.Given that there is more recognition today about the problems with the death penalty and the risk of executing innocent people, we expect that any attorney general under Obama would support significant reform of the federal death penalty and increased support for states that need federal support for reforms at the state-level, such as increased funding for innocence programs.
In an interview with the New York Times in 1997, Holder separated his personal opposition to the death penalty from his professional responsibilities:Mr Hatch questioned Mr. Holder about his views on the death penalty in general and in particular about a case in which Mr. Holder initially did not seek the death penalty for someone who was accused of killing a District of Columbia police officer.
''I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us,'' Mr. Holder said.
Mr. Holder said that at first he had not thought the crime met the legal conditions for the death penalty. But he said he changed his mind after a conversation with Attorney General Janet Reno. ''I hope that the committee would feel very assured that even with those statutes that have death penalty provisions will be fully enforced by me,'' he said.Janet Reno, Attorney General for 8 years under Bill Clinton, was also personally opposed to the death penalty, although she sought the death penalty in some prosecutions.
In an interview with Jim Leherer, Reno explained her position:JANET RENO: I was personally opposed to the death penalty, and yet I think I have probably asked for the death penalty more than most people in the United States.
JIM LEHRER: Was that difficult for you to do?
JANET RENO: I had concluded when I was the prosecutor that I would vote against the death penalty if I were in the legislature but that I could ask for it when I was satisfied as to guilt and to the proper application of the penalty.Given that there is more recognition today about the problems with the death penalty and the risk of executing innocent people, we expect that any attorney general under Obama would support significant reform of the federal death penalty and increased support for states that need federal support for reforms at the state-level, such as increased funding for innocence programs.
05.11.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081117/greider_election
From "The Nation" - the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the US, founded by abolitionists in 1865.
By William Greider
We are inheritors of this momentous victory, but it was not ours. The laurels properly belong to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and all of the other martyrs who died for civil rights. And to millions more before them who struggled across centuries and fell short of winning their freedom. And to those rare politicians like Lyndon B. Johnson, who stood up bravely in a decisive time, knowing how much it would cost his political party for years to come. We owe all of them for this moment.
Whatever happens next, Barack Obama has already changed this nation profoundly. Like King before him, the man is a great and brave teacher. Obama developed out of his life experiences a different understanding of the country, and he had the courage to run for president by offering this vision. For many Americans, it seemed too much to believe, yet he turned out to be right about us. Against all odds, he persuaded a majority of Americans to believe in their own better natures and, by electing him, the people helped make it true. There is mysterious music in democracy when people decide to believe in themselves.
Waiting for the results, we all felt nagging tension, even when we were fairly sure of the outcome. I heard from a newspaper friend, a wise old reporter who never gave in to Washington cynicism. "This election eve night," he wrote, "I feel myself tingling about the prospect of a nation which used to lynch blacks during my lifetime electing a black man president. I so hope it happens, believe it would electrify the world. I think he is the bravest man in the world, perhaps the most foolish one as well.... I worry about him like a Jewish mama."
We heard from another family friend, an African-American woman who teaches law in North Carolina. She reported weeping involuntarily when she saw Obama's picture. Did she know why? She said she saw her adolescent son's face in Obama's. Great moments in history give emotional definition to our lives and we carry those feelings forward with us, our own private meaning of events.
In this way, Obama redefined the country for us, but our responses involved generational differences. For younger people, white and black, his vision seemed entirely straightforward. It is the country they already know, and they expressed great enthusiasm. Finally, they said, a politician who recognizes the racial differences that are part of their lives and no big deal. For young blacks and other minorities, Obama's place at the pinnacle of official power lifts a coarse cloak that has blanketed their lives and dreams--the stultifying burden of being judged, whether they succeed or fail, on the basis of their race.
For others of us at an advanced age, Obama's success is more shocking. We can see it as a monumental rebuke to tragic history--the ultimate defeat of "white supremacy." That vile phrase was embedded in American society (even the Constitution) from the outset and still in common usage when some of us were young. Now it is officially obsolete. Racism will not disappear entirely, but the Republican "Southern strategy" that marketed racism has been smashed. Americans will now be able to see themselves differently, North and South, white and black. The changes will spread through American life in ways we cannot yet fully imagine. Let us congratulate ourselves on being alive at such a promising moment.
From "The Nation" - the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the US, founded by abolitionists in 1865.
By William Greider
We are inheritors of this momentous victory, but it was not ours. The laurels properly belong to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and all of the other martyrs who died for civil rights. And to millions more before them who struggled across centuries and fell short of winning their freedom. And to those rare politicians like Lyndon B. Johnson, who stood up bravely in a decisive time, knowing how much it would cost his political party for years to come. We owe all of them for this moment.
Whatever happens next, Barack Obama has already changed this nation profoundly. Like King before him, the man is a great and brave teacher. Obama developed out of his life experiences a different understanding of the country, and he had the courage to run for president by offering this vision. For many Americans, it seemed too much to believe, yet he turned out to be right about us. Against all odds, he persuaded a majority of Americans to believe in their own better natures and, by electing him, the people helped make it true. There is mysterious music in democracy when people decide to believe in themselves.
Waiting for the results, we all felt nagging tension, even when we were fairly sure of the outcome. I heard from a newspaper friend, a wise old reporter who never gave in to Washington cynicism. "This election eve night," he wrote, "I feel myself tingling about the prospect of a nation which used to lynch blacks during my lifetime electing a black man president. I so hope it happens, believe it would electrify the world. I think he is the bravest man in the world, perhaps the most foolish one as well.... I worry about him like a Jewish mama."
We heard from another family friend, an African-American woman who teaches law in North Carolina. She reported weeping involuntarily when she saw Obama's picture. Did she know why? She said she saw her adolescent son's face in Obama's. Great moments in history give emotional definition to our lives and we carry those feelings forward with us, our own private meaning of events.
In this way, Obama redefined the country for us, but our responses involved generational differences. For younger people, white and black, his vision seemed entirely straightforward. It is the country they already know, and they expressed great enthusiasm. Finally, they said, a politician who recognizes the racial differences that are part of their lives and no big deal. For young blacks and other minorities, Obama's place at the pinnacle of official power lifts a coarse cloak that has blanketed their lives and dreams--the stultifying burden of being judged, whether they succeed or fail, on the basis of their race.
For others of us at an advanced age, Obama's success is more shocking. We can see it as a monumental rebuke to tragic history--the ultimate defeat of "white supremacy." That vile phrase was embedded in American society (even the Constitution) from the outset and still in common usage when some of us were young. Now it is officially obsolete. Racism will not disappear entirely, but the Republican "Southern strategy" that marketed racism has been smashed. Americans will now be able to see themselves differently, North and South, white and black. The changes will spread through American life in ways we cannot yet fully imagine. Let us congratulate ourselves on being alive at such a promising moment.
04.11.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 4, 2008; A06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR200811...
Better plan on an early dinner tonight.
It is possible that, at 7 p.m., network anchors and their map manipulators will make projections that strongly suggest Sen. Barack Obama is on his way to winning the presidency. But if Obama fails to capture a handful of key states by 8 p.m. or so, then John McCain has a shot at getting to the magic 270 and everyone could be in for a long night.
For those keeping score, the biggest early bellwethers are the once reliably Republican states of Virginia and Indiana -- where polls close at 7.
"These are canaries in the coal mine," said Charlie Cook, the veteran analyst and NBC contributor. "When they start dying, there are huge problems for the Republicans."
"If Obama wins Virginia, he's won the election," said Tad Devine, who worked for John F. Kerry and Al Gore. "It says Obama was able to do something we only dreamt of four years ago."
Mike Murphy, a former McCain adviser, said his onetime boss "has basically got two strikes and you're out. Any two bad things happen -- losing Virginia and North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, Virginia and Ohio -- and it's over . . . I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I know where my crying towel is."
Network executives say they will be cautious about making projections, given the undeniable problems with exit polls in the past two White House contests. Obama, for instance, might be ahead in Virginia, but by a small enough margin that the networks hold off on awarding him its 13 electoral votes.
Down-ballot races could provide a clue, analysts said. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is expected to prevail in Kentucky, where polls close by 7 p.m., but if he is trailing it would be a bad omen for McCain. The same goes for Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia, another 7 p.m. state where Cook thinks Obama has an outside shot.
Since the networks' policy is to refrain from calling any state until all its polls have closed, the trick is to listen for code phrases. If Obama appears headed for victory, said Paul Friedman, CBS's senior vice president, "you'll hear a lot of language, from all of us, 'It's going to be very difficult for John McCain to pull this out.' "
Television's latest touch-screen maps, which can turn every correspondent into a hyperactive John Madden diagramming a flea-flicker pass, will be a colorful blur. The handicappers say Obama has a reasonably firm hold on the blue states carried by Kerry four years ago, so nearly all the action is in the red states won by President Bush.
The two largest red-state prizes that McCain needs are Ohio, where polls close at 7:30, and Florida, an 8 p.m. state. If the Republican nominee loses either, the airwaves will be filled with chatter about how his path to victory has dramatically narrowed.
The one blue state that the McCain camp hopes to steal is Pennsylvania, where polls close at 8. Such an upset would unleash waves of punditry about a closer-than-expected race -- that is, according to expectations set by the media. Missouri is another key 8 p.m. state.
Even if McCain holds his strongholds plus Virginia, Florida and Ohio -- but loses Iowa, where Obama is ahead -- he would be 10 electoral votes short of victory. McCain would have to win two of these three Western states: Nevada (five electoral votes), New Mexico (five) and Colorado (nine). Polls close in Colorado and New Mexico at 9 p.m. Eastern time and in Nevada an hour later. If the race isn't settled by 10, when Iowa voting also ends, viewers might want to haul out more snacks.
The 11 p.m. states -- California, Oregon, Washington -- are all solid bets to be bathed in blue. So if the country is up late, the election will probably revolve around the three Mountain West battlegrounds that went for Bush last time.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 4, 2008; A06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR200811...
Better plan on an early dinner tonight.
It is possible that, at 7 p.m., network anchors and their map manipulators will make projections that strongly suggest Sen. Barack Obama is on his way to winning the presidency. But if Obama fails to capture a handful of key states by 8 p.m. or so, then John McCain has a shot at getting to the magic 270 and everyone could be in for a long night.
For those keeping score, the biggest early bellwethers are the once reliably Republican states of Virginia and Indiana -- where polls close at 7.
"These are canaries in the coal mine," said Charlie Cook, the veteran analyst and NBC contributor. "When they start dying, there are huge problems for the Republicans."
"If Obama wins Virginia, he's won the election," said Tad Devine, who worked for John F. Kerry and Al Gore. "It says Obama was able to do something we only dreamt of four years ago."
Mike Murphy, a former McCain adviser, said his onetime boss "has basically got two strikes and you're out. Any two bad things happen -- losing Virginia and North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, Virginia and Ohio -- and it's over . . . I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I know where my crying towel is."
Network executives say they will be cautious about making projections, given the undeniable problems with exit polls in the past two White House contests. Obama, for instance, might be ahead in Virginia, but by a small enough margin that the networks hold off on awarding him its 13 electoral votes.
Down-ballot races could provide a clue, analysts said. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is expected to prevail in Kentucky, where polls close by 7 p.m., but if he is trailing it would be a bad omen for McCain. The same goes for Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia, another 7 p.m. state where Cook thinks Obama has an outside shot.
Since the networks' policy is to refrain from calling any state until all its polls have closed, the trick is to listen for code phrases. If Obama appears headed for victory, said Paul Friedman, CBS's senior vice president, "you'll hear a lot of language, from all of us, 'It's going to be very difficult for John McCain to pull this out.' "
Television's latest touch-screen maps, which can turn every correspondent into a hyperactive John Madden diagramming a flea-flicker pass, will be a colorful blur. The handicappers say Obama has a reasonably firm hold on the blue states carried by Kerry four years ago, so nearly all the action is in the red states won by President Bush.
The two largest red-state prizes that McCain needs are Ohio, where polls close at 7:30, and Florida, an 8 p.m. state. If the Republican nominee loses either, the airwaves will be filled with chatter about how his path to victory has dramatically narrowed.
The one blue state that the McCain camp hopes to steal is Pennsylvania, where polls close at 8. Such an upset would unleash waves of punditry about a closer-than-expected race -- that is, according to expectations set by the media. Missouri is another key 8 p.m. state.
Even if McCain holds his strongholds plus Virginia, Florida and Ohio -- but loses Iowa, where Obama is ahead -- he would be 10 electoral votes short of victory. McCain would have to win two of these three Western states: Nevada (five electoral votes), New Mexico (five) and Colorado (nine). Polls close in Colorado and New Mexico at 9 p.m. Eastern time and in Nevada an hour later. If the race isn't settled by 10, when Iowa voting also ends, viewers might want to haul out more snacks.
The 11 p.m. states -- California, Oregon, Washington -- are all solid bets to be bathed in blue. So if the country is up late, the election will probably revolve around the three Mountain West battlegrounds that went for Bush last time.
04.11.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
Joan Cheever reports on The Huffington Post in an article entitled "Fifty Years later, the Oldest Survivor of Death Row USA Casts Ballot for Obama" that Moreese "Pops" Bickham is voting for Barack Obama. Ms. Cheever accompanied Mr Bickham to our 2007 Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. He is pictured at left with some of the students.
From Joan Cheever's article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-cheever/fifty-years-later-the-old_b_1...
Moreese Bickham spent 13, 695 days behind bars; 37 years and six months in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He stayed 14 years and 10 months on Louisiana's death row.
But the 91 year-old Bickham is not looking back. He's focused on living in the Free World in a country he hopes will soon be governed by the first African American president .
"In all my life, I never thought I'd see this day. A black American going to be the next president of the United States of America," Bickham said. "I am the grandson of a slave. Born in Tylertown, Mississippi and farmed my grandma's land. And then we had the poll tax."
Between 1889 and 1910, 11 Southern states adopted a poll tax, targeted to disenfranchise black Americans. The poll tax wasn't eliminated until 1964 when the 24th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
But one month ago, on a crisp fall afternoon in late September, I drive Mr. Bickham to the Obama headquarters in the small Pacific Northwest town where he currently resides, to make sure he is registered to vote. I have known Moreese Bickham since 1996, the year he was released from prison. He is a subject in my book, Back From the Dead: One woman's search for the men who walked off America's death row. (John Wiley & Sons 2006).
In the past 18 months, Mr. Bickham and I have often talked of the 2008 presidential election. During a fishing trip in mid-June, after the Democratic primary, our conversation turned to the very real possibility of an Obama presidency. And the impact it would have on all Americans.
After the recent media reports of voter intimidation, especially in regards to convicted felons, I became alarmed that this former Death Row inmate might not be allowed to vote - a man who survived seven execution dates, three heart attacks, prostate cancer, and a questionable conviction for murder, in the first place.
Three weeks after visiting Mr. Bickham, with more news of voting list purges and intimidation primarily in six swing states, I call a family meeting and tell my two teenagers and husband, that we must make an emergency trip to North Carolina. That's how we ended up last week in the Cary, NC Obama office for our dual "family political vacation" and on site civics lesson.
But on the afternoon with Mr. Bickham, he does not share my fear about whether he can vote. He knows that he can. He voted in the 2004 presidential election. He has confidence in the 2008 electoral process and the patience of a 91-year-old African American.
The campaign office is empty when we walk in at 3 pm. Angela and Ann, Obama volunteers, are busy organizing stacks of campaign literature.
"Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Bickham. Moreese Bickham," he says, and tips his black felt hat. "I'm here to make sure I'm registered to vote. Was born in Tylertown, Mississippi in 1917."
The two women jump up and grab a folding chair, opening it and asking the World War II Navy veteran to sit down.
"I got here my Veterans Administration ID card. Now here's my Social Security card. Miss Joan here told me to bring proof of address. So I have."
Mr. Bickham became eligible to vote the day he was released from prison. He has never been on parole. In January 1996, he walked out as a free man, after serving almost 40 years. During his time inside, Mr. Bickham had an no disciplinary infractions; he received his GED and became an ordained Methodist minister. During the last two years in Angola, Mr. Bickham worked as the caretaker of the prison cemetery. On the last day in Angola, he went to a funeral for a fellow inmate.
Mr. Bickham was sent to Death Row for the July 12, 1958 murders of two white police officers in Mandeville, Lourisiana, an area where Jim Crow segregation prevailed in the 1950s and where there was an active chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
In the early morning hours of July 12, Mr. Bickham and his girlfriend got into a fight at Buck's Bar in Mandeville; one of the officers broke up the fight and gave Mr. Bickham's girlfriend a ride home. The then 41-year-old Bickham, who had no prior record, said the officer called him a "Nigger" and threatened to kill him. But prosecutors maintained that Mr. Bickham returned to his home and waited to ambush the two officers.
Mr. Bickham says when they arrived, he put his hands up to surrender. But one of the officers shot him in the chest and then both officers continued to shoot. He then returned fire and moments later, both officers were dead.
"I pray all the time for forgiveness. It always weighs heavy on my mind. I didn't feel like I had a choice that night. It was me or them."
Mr. Bickham was more surprised that he was still alive on the day of his trial.
"My two great grandfathers were lynched. So I was surprised that I didn't end up at the lynching tree."
In closing arguments, his own lawyer called him "a darky on a Saturday night." The all-white male jury took only two hours to find Moreese Bickham guilty and sentence him to death.
Joan Cheever, with Moreese Bickham in background, at the 2007 Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break.
Visit Joan Cheever's Website for her book "Back From the Dead".
http://backfromthedeadcheever.com
From Joan Cheever's article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-cheever/fifty-years-later-the-old_b_1...
Moreese Bickham spent 13, 695 days behind bars; 37 years and six months in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He stayed 14 years and 10 months on Louisiana's death row.
But the 91 year-old Bickham is not looking back. He's focused on living in the Free World in a country he hopes will soon be governed by the first African American president .
"In all my life, I never thought I'd see this day. A black American going to be the next president of the United States of America," Bickham said. "I am the grandson of a slave. Born in Tylertown, Mississippi and farmed my grandma's land. And then we had the poll tax."
Between 1889 and 1910, 11 Southern states adopted a poll tax, targeted to disenfranchise black Americans. The poll tax wasn't eliminated until 1964 when the 24th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
But one month ago, on a crisp fall afternoon in late September, I drive Mr. Bickham to the Obama headquarters in the small Pacific Northwest town where he currently resides, to make sure he is registered to vote. I have known Moreese Bickham since 1996, the year he was released from prison. He is a subject in my book, Back From the Dead: One woman's search for the men who walked off America's death row. (John Wiley & Sons 2006).
In the past 18 months, Mr. Bickham and I have often talked of the 2008 presidential election. During a fishing trip in mid-June, after the Democratic primary, our conversation turned to the very real possibility of an Obama presidency. And the impact it would have on all Americans.
After the recent media reports of voter intimidation, especially in regards to convicted felons, I became alarmed that this former Death Row inmate might not be allowed to vote - a man who survived seven execution dates, three heart attacks, prostate cancer, and a questionable conviction for murder, in the first place.
Three weeks after visiting Mr. Bickham, with more news of voting list purges and intimidation primarily in six swing states, I call a family meeting and tell my two teenagers and husband, that we must make an emergency trip to North Carolina. That's how we ended up last week in the Cary, NC Obama office for our dual "family political vacation" and on site civics lesson.
But on the afternoon with Mr. Bickham, he does not share my fear about whether he can vote. He knows that he can. He voted in the 2004 presidential election. He has confidence in the 2008 electoral process and the patience of a 91-year-old African American.
The campaign office is empty when we walk in at 3 pm. Angela and Ann, Obama volunteers, are busy organizing stacks of campaign literature.
"Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Bickham. Moreese Bickham," he says, and tips his black felt hat. "I'm here to make sure I'm registered to vote. Was born in Tylertown, Mississippi in 1917."
The two women jump up and grab a folding chair, opening it and asking the World War II Navy veteran to sit down.
"I got here my Veterans Administration ID card. Now here's my Social Security card. Miss Joan here told me to bring proof of address. So I have."
Mr. Bickham became eligible to vote the day he was released from prison. He has never been on parole. In January 1996, he walked out as a free man, after serving almost 40 years. During his time inside, Mr. Bickham had an no disciplinary infractions; he received his GED and became an ordained Methodist minister. During the last two years in Angola, Mr. Bickham worked as the caretaker of the prison cemetery. On the last day in Angola, he went to a funeral for a fellow inmate.
Mr. Bickham was sent to Death Row for the July 12, 1958 murders of two white police officers in Mandeville, Lourisiana, an area where Jim Crow segregation prevailed in the 1950s and where there was an active chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
In the early morning hours of July 12, Mr. Bickham and his girlfriend got into a fight at Buck's Bar in Mandeville; one of the officers broke up the fight and gave Mr. Bickham's girlfriend a ride home. The then 41-year-old Bickham, who had no prior record, said the officer called him a "Nigger" and threatened to kill him. But prosecutors maintained that Mr. Bickham returned to his home and waited to ambush the two officers.
Mr. Bickham says when they arrived, he put his hands up to surrender. But one of the officers shot him in the chest and then both officers continued to shoot. He then returned fire and moments later, both officers were dead.
"I pray all the time for forgiveness. It always weighs heavy on my mind. I didn't feel like I had a choice that night. It was me or them."
Mr. Bickham was more surprised that he was still alive on the day of his trial.
"My two great grandfathers were lynched. So I was surprised that I didn't end up at the lynching tree."
In closing arguments, his own lawyer called him "a darky on a Saturday night." The all-white male jury took only two hours to find Moreese Bickham guilty and sentence him to death.
Joan Cheever, with Moreese Bickham in background, at the 2007 Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break.
Visit Joan Cheever's Website for her book "Back From the Dead".
http://backfromthedeadcheever.com
02.11.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
Gallup's Daily Tracking Poll says "Voters' presidential preferences remain favorable to a Barack Obama win on Tuesday, with 51% of traditional likely voters supporting the Democratic nominee for president, and 43% backing John McCain. An additional 1% say they support some other candidate, leaving 5% undecided.
Click the image for a map on How to Watch the Election Returns.
Click the image for a map on How to Watch the Election Returns.
30.10.2008, Scott Cobb, 0 Comments
I just saw one of the early voting locations in Austin Texas and there was a very long line. Tomorrow is the last day of early voting in Texas. Austin is located in Travis County in Texas.
The Travis County Clerk's office says:
Travis County voters broke previous Early Voting turnout records Wednesday. More than 229,500 voters have cast a ballot, topping the 2004 record of 222,085. More than 15,000 votes had been cast mid-way through the voting period Thursday.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said that vote totals are steadily climbing toward what she expects to be a fantastic finish to the Early Voting period on Friday.
"We won't be surprised to see 50,000 voters on the final day--about twice the first-day turnout," DeBeauvoir said. "We're still trying to spread the word that voting early is going to be more convenient than voting on Election Day."
USA Today reports that "Brisk early voting in Texas has surpassed the state's 2004 presidential election total of 2.4 million early voters in the state's 15 largest counties.
The Secretary of State's Office, which tracks early voting in the 15 most populous counties, reported Thursday that in those counties 2.7 million people have cast early ballots. That includes 2.5 million early ballots cast in person and 186,803 by mail."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-30-texas-earl...
The New Statesman reports: "Of the five most widely-distributed newspapers in Texas—all of which endorsed 'native' son George W. Bush in 2004— the Austin American-Statesman, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle endorsed Obama this year. (The Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News backed McCain.)"
The Travis County Clerk's office says:
Travis County voters broke previous Early Voting turnout records Wednesday. More than 229,500 voters have cast a ballot, topping the 2004 record of 222,085. More than 15,000 votes had been cast mid-way through the voting period Thursday.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said that vote totals are steadily climbing toward what she expects to be a fantastic finish to the Early Voting period on Friday.
"We won't be surprised to see 50,000 voters on the final day--about twice the first-day turnout," DeBeauvoir said. "We're still trying to spread the word that voting early is going to be more convenient than voting on Election Day."
USA Today reports that "Brisk early voting in Texas has surpassed the state's 2004 presidential election total of 2.4 million early voters in the state's 15 largest counties.
The Secretary of State's Office, which tracks early voting in the 15 most populous counties, reported Thursday that in those counties 2.7 million people have cast early ballots. That includes 2.5 million early ballots cast in person and 186,803 by mail."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-30-texas-earl...
The New Statesman reports: "Of the five most widely-distributed newspapers in Texas—all of which endorsed 'native' son George W. Bush in 2004— the Austin American-Statesman, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle endorsed Obama this year. (The Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News backed McCain.)"
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