Drill Drill all McSame can talk about is drilling!

Dear Obama Supporters:
I was sitting outside in beautiful downtown NYC eating dinner with my college roommate Toni visiting from LA, Renee,and my family and we were talking about Obama ,what else? Anyway, Toni mentioned she was surprised age hasn't come up and Brad said it is a big problem. We all chimed in about our concerns over his obvious memory difficulties. Kathy from MO sent a terrific e-mail below *** on just this subject and it is very concerning to many of us. It is confusing to say the least that more has not been made of this issue. McSame is showing himself to be forgetful , misspoken, angry ,and most of all he repeats himself all the time. I was amazed and pleased by Gail Collins Oped column, The Energy Drill, yesterday . She said all the things we have been talking about here in our group on line. It is JM's constant repeating of the same words and focusing only on offshore drilling that gets me. McSame seems to have embraced offshore drilling as if it is the only solution to our energy problems. IF this were the case we'd be in big trouble since this drilling wouldn't produce result for ten years at least. Collins says," ...he sees this as the key to salvation. Really, it's a little scary. You can't help wondering if he's been captured by some kind of drilling cult". McSame goes on to say as only he can, "We are not going to pay $4 a gallon for gas because we're going to drill offshore." He goes into his script over and over again, "We're going to drill here. We're going to drill now!" I am telling you he sounds like an angry crazed man who has to stay on program or he will get in trouble. Next up he rants ,my opponent doesn't want to drill . He wants to inflate your tires. Well, my gas station suggests this as well. It is a fact if you keep your tires inflated it could save as much oil as we could gain from off shore drilling. I don't get his point and again I worry that he is not capable of answering questions and remembering speeches and that his age is showing.
Two wonderful things occurred yesterday. I hopped in a taxi and was met by a terrific upbeat driver who saw my button(can't miss it) and started talking about Obama. He was outraged after eight years of losing jobs, and the pain of paying for gas now that anyone could vote for McSame. Every time McSame opens his mouth said he, he sounds almost as dumb as W and is just like him. He presents nothing tangible. When Obama talks it is easy to understand him and the way he answers questions with practical solutions is so impressive. I just sat there listening to this 50 year old African American taxi driver and wanted to shout bravo. He talked about the European tour and the respect shown Obama, and how well liked he was over there. I wish I had a longer ride but we were only going to Grand Central. When I was about to get out, I handed him a button and he was so thrilled he put it on then and there. I asked him if he talks about Obama with his customers. He said it is often his main topic and he would proudly wear his button. I must say he made my day. Then I cam home to about 58 e-mails and was a little taken aback.
I opened one from Val in Ohio(see below*** and then I was back on a roll again and feeling good. I am so proud of her and those other protestors in front of John Boehner's offices. They went to his conservative district to protest his energy solutions. They held up signs and had a reporter with them. This is what is called creative campaigning. They made their voices heard and he wasn't there but you know he will read about it in the paper. Also, it shows others that people have concerns about McSame's/GOP policies and they want to talk about this with him and get Obama's solutions across (if they can get him off the golf course) Note from Val, Did you see Boehner on Olberman tonight? Seems he was pushing to shut down the House insisting Congress should not be on vacation when they discovered he was playing golf in his district. Actually someone at the protest mentioned the country club where Boehner spends most of his time.. I believe this is how we can win this campaign small steps in pointing out the flaws, inconsistencies,hypocrisies ,lies, and political benefits of McSame and the GOP but no results for the public. I say you go girl to Val( a new grandma to Noah who will grow up to be very proud of his grannie for helping to get Obama elected!)
When asked how people can get involved in this campaign I answer immediately be creative, join a group like ours on line, e-mail your friends, learn the issues, and go out there and sell Barack Obama a man we believe in. To quote my taxi driver, Obama is a man who has tangible suggestions for change! I also suggest you take a lesson from Val and their group. You don't have to make a huge impact tiny steps are fine. Just make your voice heard in protest against McSame and the last eight years and help get Barack Obama's wonderful practical and caring ideas out there. Remember, one vote a day keeps the guy who wants to drill and is over the hill away!
Love,Sunny
A Mama 4 Obama



***From Kathy in KCMO:
I am worried about McCain's age. No one wants to talk about it...that would be ageism! I think we need to talk about it. The presidency is the most stressful job in the world, and we see how much every president has aged under the pressure. If you really watch and listen to him, he is not always tuned in. He has to read everything off of cards, even the price of milk and his stupid jokes! He can't remember his own voting record. He often responds when asked how he voted with "I'll have to get back to you on that!" He doesn't know his own policies to such an extent that his own surrogates had to say that McCain doesn't always speak for the McCain campaign! He mispoke several times last week on taxes, social security, and affirmative action and his own campaign said he did not speak for them! How can this not be reported in the mainstream media? They try to create "gaffes" and "missteps" for Obama and completely ignore that this man is losing it! The public needs to know what McCain is like mentally! Whether you agree or disagree with his policies, we need to ask if he is up to the job physically and mentally. The media also likes to point out how "fit" he is. Have you noticed that he almost never campaigns on the weekends and most sources say he does just one event per day. The presidency would be a part time job for him if these are his working hours! Also complicating the situation is we know he has had cancer. He was very secretive and gave limited access to his medical records. Remember, it was only certain reporters in a locked room for a short time, no copies to be made, and hundreds of pages to review. What else are they hiding?

Have you seen this video of him a few days ago at a press conference in FL? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfkKk2C1W1c&eurl=http://www.americablog.com/ He generally is confused and can't even keep straight what question was asked. This is scary. He is looking older and more out of it all the time. The press ususally edits this so you don't see all of the pauses and missteps. This was filmed from several angles making it more difficult to edit. We don't need this old man with his finger on the button. We don't need him at a time when our country is in crisis domestically and internationally. Whoever he picks for VP is truly a heartbeat away if he is elected.

Below are some good points made by Americablog on this subject.
This isn't a joke, and it isn't an attempt to mock McCain or elderly people. There's a reason that 72 year old men aren't professional football players or even commercial airline pilots (commercial pilots are required to retire at age 60). And there's a reason that there's no great uproar over the fact that senior citizens don't work in those professions. It's the height of political correctness to suggest that the presidency of the United States during war time requires less skill, stamina, and mental acuity than flying the friendly skies.

I've gotten feedback from some readers asking if McCain has had a "cognitive impairment" test. I'm told that everyone should get them as they get older, and that it's not clear from the medical records released (you'll recall that McCain only let a select group of reporters review his medical records in a sealed room for a few hours). I hope some reporters out there have the gumption to ask the McCain campaign for a specific answer to the question - has he recently taken a cognitive impairment test and what were the results?

We all need to be asking is this man physically and mentally up to the demanding job of the presidency! I am just sick that the country is not discussing this important issue. Oops, I forgot...we can't ask any questions about his fitness for office because he was a POW!

From Judy in Mamaroneck:
All I can say is Remember Reagan in his mental decline? We all saw it but nobody acknowledged it.. it was like watching The Emperor and His New Clothes. I think we are seeing that now with Mc Cain not knowing the difference between Shias and Sunnis and Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan borders.. and his mocking what he doesn't know and understand.... Very scary!

From Susan in North Carolina:
Susan here in NC. Well today saw McCain now admitting the tire gauge is actually quite useful - wonder what they will do with all those tire gauges!

Although I am out of the country until Sept 3rd our local group has plans. We believe right after Labor Day is perfect. Our group of 50 is meeting in September at our house for an "ENERGY NITE". So what is an "ENERGY NITE"?

Two things:

1. Saving energy........a.k.a. Green

2. Building energy - team energy to bring in the win for Obama in North Carolina.

SAVING ENERGY - we have a local expert on Conservation who does surveys in your home and advises how much each appliance is costing you for example (down to the light bulb). A complimentary Energy Review is offered via a draw for a donation to the Obama campaign. The main focus of the evening is to build a sense of team, belonging to a smaller group is very helpful as you likely know.

RNC Rep was in town today, "We haven't forgotten North Carolina", he was quoted as saying on local television. "We are here in force." [So when are they setting up local offices? Or more of them? In the coming weeks.]

So who is going to lose their Senate seat? Dole. Why? Great ads...how ineffective she is. Why is it resonating? Her record for the last 40 years - branded "ineffective. She was ranked 95th.

North Carolina is a battleground but should soon move to the Obama column.

Missed opportunity for the Obama campaign with women - McCain at the biker convention - offering Cindy for the Miss (whatever) contest. Sexist! So Hillary supporters - THIS is your alternative?

For the next few weeks, I will be 'reporting' in from Scotland.

From Judy in Mamaroneck:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 7, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
The Energy Drill
By GAIL COLLINS
“Tell them to come back and get to work!” John McCain yelled out. “Tell them to get to work!”

This was at a biker rally in South Dakota where McCain was wooing the crowd by demanding that Congress return to Washington and do something about the energy crisis. Demanding that Congress come back from vacation to do something is a time-honored political gambit. But is it the best line of attack for a senator who last showed up for a vote himself back in early spring? Perhaps not.

Also, there was the problem of tone. McCain has sometimes been charged with sounding like a cranky neighbor yelling at kids to get off the lawn. This time, he turned into a cranky neighbor who hires you to cut his grass and then follows you around, pointing out blades that you missed.

This is energy week on the campaign trail. In honor of the critical nature of the debate, let’s try to clear our heads of all thoughts of Paris Hilton ads, and questions of whether McCain knew, when he expressed a yen to see his wife compete in the bikers’ Miss Buffalo Chip beauty contest, that the contestants frequently went topless.

Issues. It’s all about issues.

Both McCain and Barack Obama have spent the last few days wandering around the country, scowling at gas pumps and talking up their energy plans. McCain dubbed his The Lexington Project. Obama’s seems to be called New Energy for America. If these guys really cared, wouldn’t they have come up with better names? But we digress.

Much of the debate has focused on offshore drilling. This is not actually all that critical a concern, but it has the advantage of being fairly simple. The alternative is trying to figure out whether Barack Obama’s promise to wean us from Middle Eastern and Venezuelan oil in 10 years is more prone to breakage than McCain’s vow to build 45 nuclear power plants by 2030.

Obama was against ending the current ban on offshore drilling, but now he’s sort of open to it, if it’s part of a bigger energy-independence deal. This has upset a number of his supporters who desperately want a president who will adhere firmly to his positions, even when they become totally irrational.

While McCain was never violently opposed to offshore drilling, he has now embraced it as if it is not only the solution to our energy problems, but also the key to eternal salvation. Really, it’s a little scary. You can’t help wondering if he’s been captured by some kind of drilling cult...Read the rest on line:Click here: Op-Ed Columnist - The Energy Drill - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

From Val in Ohio:

Yesterday, I attended a book signing for a book written by Bryant Welch. The author is the Executive Director of Professional Practice for the American Psychological Association. The book entitled, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind, is a must read for this political season.

The author grew up in a suburb (Kettering) of Dayton, OH where his dad served as the first city manager. It's a conservative community so I knew many of the people in the audience would not be Obama supporters. I sat next to an older lady who started a conversation about the PBS program that recently aired on the topic of the brain. She shared her concerns about being diagnosed with Alzheimer's as some point in her life. Since just the other day, I read Sunny's blog and viewed some You Tube speeches delivered by Mc Cain, I suggested to the lady that McCain might be showing some early signs. That led her to tell me how she could not vote for Obama because he was too far to the left. I asked what led her to that opinion and she said she had been reading a book about him. Without asking her to name the book I cautioned her to be careful about drawing conclusions from what someone writes without getting verification of the book's accuracy. I did recommend both books written by Obama. She went on to voice her belief that people needed to help themselves without relying on the government. I asked if she had heard any of Obama's speeches about personal responsibility. She had heard him speak on this topic and she was impressed. Her next rant was about our failing education system. I reminded her that education systems serve the students from the community and poor communities present very challenging products. That observation seemed to resonate with her. While I would have enjoyed going toe to toe with her for a full evening, the book discussion began.

Here's a brief summary of what the book addresses:

There are a myriad of differences from which people construct reality.

The mind is a chaotic enterprise

If and when one allows the mental state to become fragmented, mental illness occurs

For that reason, people integrate events into a reality that they can comprehend

There are 3 areas that can challenge ones mental state:

(1) The politics of fear can be utilized when ones physical space is invaded by a foreign force. It's a violation of our boundaries that can trigger paranoid mechanisms of the mind. That is why 9-11 continues to be a powerful influence in shaping our politics.

(2) Our nation maintains a state of sexual perplexity. The gay marriage agenda was exploited in the 2000 election with pictures of gays kissing in public that proved nauseating to the heterosexual community. The Republicans portrayed their party as the "protector" of our value system.

(3) A generalized sense of deprivation can lead to expressions of resentment. Adulation can lead to envy particularly if the adulation is perceived as undeserved. Maureen Dowd's column, Green Eyed Monster, addressed this very point. Negative campaign ads have been developed to subtly tap into our subconscious human envy.

The author went on to discuss other means of manipulating voters. He made the observation that Democrats have not been players in this game but they serve as "default candidates." Rove & Co. do not wait to assess which way the wind is blowing but they determine which way the wind is going to blow so they can get out in front of it.

There's a chapter in the book on religion and how religious experiences have now reached an ecstatic fervor with Messianic overtures.

There's a chapter about Fox News and how Roger Ailes, who runs Fox News, was George Herbert Walker Bush's public relations man. He's famous for the Willie Horton ads when the other Bush was running for office.

During the Q&A session, the older man in the audience admitted to a visceral hatred toward the Clintons asking if his views were a product of the manipulation cited in the book. While the author didn't defend Bill's sexual proclivities, he did point out his focus on policy during his tenure in the White House and how the country, as a whole, had benefited from his intelligence. He aborted on the country's upward mobility during the Clinton era when another questioner attempted to diminish the two candidates (McCain/Obama) to Tweedle-dee vs. Tweedle-dum. Through a non partisan lens, he was able to diffuse that argument.

I think we need to increase our awareness of how the political process has been molded and shaped so we can become players. The influence of the media is also discussed in an article I read this morning with the worrisome title: Why Obama Could Be In Trouble (View this story on line at:http://www.alternet.org/story/94030/) I also think it's important to find ways to plant ourselves in "mixed company" so we can engage the Rethugs and undecideds in civil conversation to point out the errors in their thinking. Thanks to all of you who contribute to Sunny's blog. It's one of my best sources of information.

#2 ****I went to a protest at John Boehner's office today. It was a gathering in an ultra conservative district but we did get news coverage and a few honks when we held up signs along the road. The organizer had researched alternative energy processes and she came armed with info on a major discovery from MIT on solar energy (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html). There was another lady in the group who was an MIT alum so she added her 2 cents for the benefit of the press. We had one reporter who went into Boehner's office with us and she was asked to leave. Boehner wasn't even there because he was somewhere promoting the McCain energy proposal.

I'll keep you posted on happenings in Ohio. Keep on keeping on

Did you see Boehner on Olberman tonight? Seems he was pushing to shut down the House insisting Congress should not be on vacation when they discovered he was playing golf in his district. Actually someone at the protest mentioned the country club where Boehner spends most of his time.

I just got this:Dear Val, Thanks so much for participating today at Boehner's office. The woman who organized it was Carol Stewart and her email address is carolst@one.net if you want to have her get in touch with you directly the next time something comes up quickly. I went to the McCAin event at the country club in Mason and they had a little over 30 people there. Several camera crews so that was a great thing to be a part of also. The 30 people at the country club were protestors. It was great to be with that protest group as well as our earlier gathering at Boehner's office.


From Susan in Rye:

Sunny,
As usual, your blog has tons and tons of great links and information. I particularly enjoyed Hank's assessment of the Bush "legacy." At least we can keep our sense of humor. However, I am also very troubled by the wackiness of McSame after watching the youtube video of him at the Sturgis bike rally. He is really scary. Why are people saying they're scared of Barack Obama? McSame is a totally confused person with anger management issues and someone like that is NEVER ready to be President. I know that the Obama campaign can't attack him on his age and they are trying to keep to the issues and stay on the high road, but this is seriously scary stuff.

The David Brooks op-ed was so backwards and I think today's letters in response were excellent because they addressed the whole point of who this special once-in-a-lifetime candidate is. He's not an empty celebrity or a person who is "in but not of." He is brilliant and the sheer fact that he is not allied to any one special interest group is what makes him a unique candidate. Maybe that is why he is drawing huge crowds and has raised so much money from small donors. He is truly more "of the people," than any candidate has been.

# 2 From Susan:
You are the energizer bunny with all your activities. I hope you'll take a few days off before the convention and relax a bit. After that, it will be a sprint to Nov. 4th and non-stop motion. Thanks for your complement about my writing. When I am passionate about a topic, I like to write about it and I am so passionate about this election. I thought the Huffington Post's blog yesterday by Drew Westen was excellent regarding Obama's message and how his personal narrative must be emphasized in contrast to McSame's narrative: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-westen/why-voters-say-they-dont_b_117238.html. The best part is:
"The average American actually doesn't know Barack Obama, despite all the media attention. They know that he's a gifted, charismatic man with a winning smile, a keen mind, and a tendency to alternative between RFK on the stump and Michael Dukakis in interviews and debates. Most people haven't read Dreams from my Father or The Audacity of Hope, and their only exposure to either will be in Republican attack ads using his words against him. Most white people who worry that he doesn't share their values don't know that he grew up in a family much like theirs, with a white mother and blue collar white grandparents. Most people don't know that he cares so much about the absence of black fathers from the lives of their children not only because he understands the destructiveness, particularly to boys, but that he understands it firsthand, and was only saved from its more destructive impact by the presence of a loving (if sometimes overly fun-loving) maternal grandfather..."

"While getting smacked repeatedly with the charge of elitism, the candidate with the humble roots hasn't mentioned that perhaps McCain is so out of touch with the concerns of everyday Americans because he was born with a silver spoon in his hand, is a poster child for affirmative action for the wealthy and well connected (having both gained admittance to and barely survived the Naval Academy at the bottom of his class as the son and grandson of four-star admirals), and that maybe he should speak more with the servants in his eight homes if he wants to know what the energy crisis or health insurance crisis or mortgage crisis he's been part of the problem in creating in the Senate for three decades actually feels like to everyday Americans."

When you talk to people involved with the campaign, do they discuss this? I know all of us are frustrated that so many people in this country still don't really know Obama. His books should be required reading for every American this summer!
Take care,

From Hank in NYC:

Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:35 AM
To: 'letters@nytimes.com'
Subject: To The Editor

“The Energy Drill” – Op/Ed – August 7, 2008

John McCain’s outburst to the biker’s group sounded strangely reminiscent of Howard Dean’s primal scream during the 2004 presidential campaign. Like Governor Dean who felt John Kerry pulling away from him, Senator McCain is ranting and whining because Senator Obama is more popular and has better judgment. Drilling for more oil, offshore or anywhere else is exactly the opposite of what America and the rest of the world needs to do. Barack Obama is willing to accept offshore drilling only as part of a broad, comprehensive plan to develop alternative sources of clean and sustainable energy. Even T. Boone Pickens, the oilman’s oilman, has started to drink the Koolaid and understands we cannot drill our way to energy independence.

Senator McCain would be thrilled to drill, but it would yield almost nil. John McCain is simply over the hill.

From Ohio Joe:


I am doing all grassroots this election........we just got back from Portland, Maine attended some Obama meetings there.....this country must get better...things are so bad in Maine that lobster is $4.90 per pound.

When I emailed you about the numbers in Ohio this came from an Obama campaign person.........and I am shocked at the DEMS who supported Hillary who have McCain signs....this makes me mad as hell. From past experience I can do more good as grassroots


I will be in touch....Hope all is well with you. I sat here yesterday and thought.....HOW F_____ will we be if the day after the election McCain is president. Just think about it........really.......ask those who question Obama, can they stand FOUR MORE YEARS ???
PS......there are days that I could shake my parents for moving from Brooklyn to Ohio......but I guess my dads job.......there is a reason for everything.
There are even blacks who support McCain because they feel Obama is too WHITE....this is OHIO. OSU FOOTBALL, FASTFOOD and STUPID PEOPLE.

From Susan in North Carolina off to Edinburgh:

I am involved in a smaller group of about 100 folks, not working directly with the offices. This is allowing us to work in our own neighborhoods. After we have our 'meeting' at our place, we will be ramping up to helping folks get to the polls. As I cannot vote, I can be of most help making sure Obama gets EVERY vote.

Thanks for keeping in touch Sunny, I know you are super busy!

On to Edinburgh!



From Kathy in KCMO:

Below is a great MoveOn Ad that the public needs to see. Please pass it on! McCain is good at accusations and falsehoods that he repeats over and over. Remember: he is operating with the Rove crew on the assumption that if you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes the truth. Pretty ironic that he is telling Congress to get back to work when he has missed more votes than any other senator. Many of these were votes on key issues that he supposedly supports! People need to know the truth about this guy. I hope MoveOn keeps hammering McCain on his record and hypocrisy! I also would encourage everyone to keep writing to the TV networks and newspapers with the truth about McCain. Whether they print it or not, it gives them an idea of what the public is thinking and can affect the way they cover this campaign.



Dear MoveOn member,
At the world's largest motorcycle rally, John McCain angrily accused Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi of skipping out on votes to solve the energy crisis. "Tell 'em to get to work!" he shouted.


This from the man who has skipped more votes than any other senator.

McCain even missed two key votes to repeal Big Oil tax breaks and ramp up solar and wind power—both of which lost by a single vote!


We put together a short video overnight to call McCain's bluff. Please check it out, then pass it on.



Watch the video

If you like this video, it'd be great to donate so we can keep countering McCain's false attacks on Obama.


John McCain and the Republicans think demonizing Obama and the Democrats over high gas prices is their ticket to victory. We need to get the word out—when it comes to the energy crisis, McCain is all talk.

Thanks!

–Noah, Justin, Daniel, Marika and the rest of the team

P.S. Here's the link to the video:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4015&id=13424-4506833-iwc8yFx&t=3

From Vicki in KCMO:

Hey gang!
I have been invited to be on the pundit panel on Nick Haines' KC Week in Review on the PBS channel KCPT Channel 19 (11 on Cable) tomorrow night - Friday, Aug. 8, at 7:30pm. It re-airs on Sunday at 11am. They will be talking politics, elections, and voting. I'm scared poopless - so if you want a great laugh! Tune in. I'll be with Mike Mahoney, Steve Kraske and Jack Cashill.



Vicki Walker
KC Media Watchdogs
90.1 FM KKFI Kansas City Community Radio
Read me on eKC - www.kcactive.com
From Lee in NYC in order to find out how to work in campaign and where to go to find headquarters and people in charge:

All the offices are listed on the campaign's website. The information is really easy to find.

Go to the website: www.barackobama.com

Go to the state section: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/statepages

Choose the state you want.
Each state has a link for either "Visit our Campaign HQ" or "Find Your Local Field Office"

That's where you find the list of offices. All the information is available for people. They just need to go get it.


From Women for Obama:

Women for Obama Newsletter

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Countdown to Election Day: 90 DAYS!

WIN A COPY OF THE “BLUEPRINT FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES” SIGNED BY MICHELLE OBAMA!

Michelle Obama has been traveling the country, talking with families and leaving behind copies of the comprehensive Blueprint for Working Women and Families (which you can read by clicking here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4194155/Barack-Obamas-Plan-to-Support-Working-Women-and-Families)

YOU have the opportunity to win a copy of the Blueprint personally inscribed by Michelle Obama! The first 50 women to recruit and sign up FIVE new women to join Women for Obama will receive a signed copy in the mail. All you need to do is have them sign up at http://my.barackobama.com/womenforobama, then send your completed list of names and contact info to us at women@barackobama.com.

In case you missed it, you can check out a video of Michelle’s remarks at the Chicago luncheon, the day the Blueprint was launched, by clicking here: http://women.barackobama.com/blueprintvideo. Please take a moment to watch, and to share the video as well as the Blueprint with everyone you know – men and women!



Check out our profile of IN State Director Emily Parcell, the first in our series of highlighting key women staff on the campaign! http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/annebrewer/gG58VH



NEWS & VIDEO
* READ: Connie Schultz’s column in the Plain Dealer about her interview with Michelle Obama (8/3/08): http://women.barackobama.com/page/community/post/annebrewer/gG5zzx. The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist sat down with Michelle and talked at length about how life in the national spotlight has impacted her and the Obama family – and how she balances her first priority (her daughters) with the demands of “auditioning for first lady.”
* WATCH: Barack Obama’s new campaign ads highlighting his New Energy for America Plan:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nationalpriority_ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJPo5IGTd0A
You can also read Sen. Obama’s remarks to launch the Plan in Lansing, MI below…

WHAT YOU CAN DO

How YOU can Help Barack This Week:

· JOIN the National Women for Obama MYBO group and become a part of the nationwide Women for Obama movement: http://my.barackobama.com/womenforobama

· Volunteer in your local field offices on WOMEN’S WEDNESDAYS! Bring a friend along! You can go out and canvass, register voters, or make phone calls. Click here to find out where your local Obama campaign office is located: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/statepages. If no campaign office exists in your area, you can search grassroots groups in your area by clicking here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter

SEN. OBAMA TAKES A STAND ON ISSUES IMPACTING WOMEN

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the 15th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act

Chicago, IL -- “Fifteen years ago today, working families everywhere achieved a victory when the Family and Medical Leave Act went into effect. This groundbreaking law helps guarantee that America's workers shouldn't have to choose between their jobs or their health and the health of their families.

“Because of the FMLA, more than eighty million people have been able to take needed time off work to care for themselves or family members. Because of the FMLA, mothers and fathers can take time off work to care for a new baby without fear of being replaced by their employer…”

Click here to read Barack Obama’s plan to expand the FMLA, as part of his broader work-family balance agenda: http://obama.3cdn.net/c44c41eb942c97377b_u1pwmvnfl.pdf

Senator Obama Praises the House of Representatives’ Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a measure that would strengthen women's ability to fight pay discrimination in the workplace. Senator Obama commented:

“Throughout my life, I have seen first-hand how women struggle with balancing work and family and issues of fairness. I saw my grandmother, who helped raise me, work her way up from a secretary at a bank to become one of the first women bank vice presidents in the state. But I also saw how she ultimately hit a glass ceiling - how men no more qualified than she was kept moving up the corporate ladder ahead of her. And throughout my time in public service, I have heard from women who are struggling to make ends meet and still seeing their male colleagues make more than they do. Those stories reflect the fact that women still make just 77 cents for every dollar men make - black women and Latinas make even less. That doesn't just hurt women, it hurts families who find themselves with less income, and have to work even harder just to get by. In 2008, a time when more and more women are supporting their families, we should all hope that the pay gap would be a thing of the past. But it's not. And that's why today's vote in the House is so important.”

Click here to read more on this: http://women.barackobama.com/page/community/post/ellenblogs/gG5kRM

SENATOR OBAMA UNVEILS PLAN TO END THE AGE OF OIL
New Energy for America

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama (as prepared for delivery)
Lansing, MI – Monday, August 4th, 2008

We meet at a moment when this country is facing a set of challenges greater than any we've seen in generations. Right now, our brave men and women in uniform are fighting two different wars while terrorists plot their next attack. Our changing climate is placing our planet in peril. Our economy is in turmoil and our families are struggling with rising costs and falling incomes; with lost jobs and lost homes and lost faith in the American Dream. And for too long, our leaders in Washington have been unwilling or unable to do anything about it.

That is why this election could be the most important of our lifetime. When it comes to our economy, our security, and the very future of our planet, the choices we make in November and over the next few years will shape the next decade, if not the century. And central to all of these major challenges is the question of what we will do about our addiction to foreign oil . . .

Now, increased domestic oil exploration certainly has its place as we make our economy more fuel-efficient and transition to other, renewable, American-made sources of energy. But it is not the solution. It is a political answer of the sort Washington has given us for three decades.

There are genuine ways in which we can provide some short-term relief from high gas prices - relief to the mother who's cutting down on groceries because of gas prices, or the man I met in Pennsylvania who lost his job and can't even afford to drive around and look for a new one. I believe we should immediately give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate, and we should pay for it with part of the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.

Click here to read the full remarks and Senator Obama’s Plan: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gG5zCW

WHAT’S AT STAKE!
Senator McCain’s health care plan would make health benefits taxable for the first time ever, representing a huge tax increase for working families and giving an incentive to businesses to cut benefits or end insurance altogether. Senator Obama’s plan would cut the cost of health care by $2500 per family on average.

Did you know? – Women tend to have higher healthcare costs than men: nearly 40 percent of women report struggling with medical bills, compared to 29 percent of men, and one-third of women spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket health costs, compared to 18 percent of men.

Women for Obama:

An interview with Michelle Obama will air tomorrow morning (Thursday, Aug. 7) on ABC’s Good Morning America during the first half hour of the show, and an extended version of the interview will air on ABC’s Nightline tomorrow evening.

Check local listings for times and stations: http://abc.go.com/site/localstations.html?lid=ABCCOMGlobalFooter&lpos=STATIONS

And check out a preview of Michelle’s interview here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=5529046-----------

Visit our website: women.barackobama.com

Join the National Women for Obama group: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/WomenforObama

From Brave New Films Team:




1. Watch the video
2. Teach O'Reilly a lesson
Dear sunny,

It's back-to-school time! Parents are starting to shop for their children's school supplies: notebooks, pencils, crayons, and of course, Bill O'Reilly's book, "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids." Talk about one of these things being NOT like the others!

O'Reilly thinks he can teach our children proper behavior, and we can't think of a worse father figure than an angry, hate-filled shock jock notorious for telling guests to "Shut up!" We wondered what would happen if kids read O'Reilly's book and then saw the real O'Reilly for themselves. So we put together a video to illustrate O'Reilly's duplicity.

Watch the video.

O'Reilly's bullying antics show he never learned the lessons the rest of us were taught in school. Send this video to all the teachers, parents, parents-to-be, and anyone who has contact with kids, and don't forget to Digg it! Tell us what your teachers taught you that O'Reilly should have learned about how to be a responsible grown-up, or what your kids' teachers have taught them. We'll put all your suggestions together and send the list to O'Reilly at FOX News.

It's bad enough O'Reilly spews hate-filled lies on his shows to grown-up audiences, do we really want our children to be exposed to the same behavior? Do we really want this angry adult influencing our kids? While we only subjected the kids in our video to a few minutes of O'Reilly in order to prevent permanent damage, imagine the harm his children's book could do!

Yours,

Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Team


From Heather Hussein F in DC(both she and Justy changed their middle names in honor of Barack!:

Top Ten Crooked Things About McCain From This Phoenix Alt-Weekly ArticleDo you have time to read a 45-page-long first-person alt-weekly newsfeature about John McCain’s long life of being a political crook in Arizona and how everyone there fears and hates him? Of course not! Lucky for you, Wonkette has a team of offshore article readers, in Bangalore, who go through this stuff and whittle it down to a simple Top Ten list. You are welcome for this Service Journalism.
1. Back in 1994 when this reporter was doing a feature on McCain, she went to his house before dawn, for some reason, and Cindy was doing a whole fake routine of cooking eggs for the kids, even though it was still nighttime.
2. Sometimes John McCain would be a guest host on talk radio, and he’d be polite to the callers but then say terrible stuff about them, off the air.
3. Before that whole campaign-finance reform stunt, McCain was totally against any changes to the campaign-finance system, and in fact repeatedly voted against reforms in the 1980s.
4. This is because he got all his money from lobbyists and corporations, especially the crooked Savings & Loan run by McCain’s best friend, Charles Keating, who would also take McCain on sexy free vacations to the Bahamas, which Keating owned.
5. Ha, nobody even remembers the Keating Five scandal anymore, even though the GOP candidate for president was one of the Five senators deeply involved in the crooked Savings & Loan scandal,which almost destroyed America forever and wound up=2 0costing taxpayers $125 billion dollars.
6. Cindy’s dad the Budweiser Brewery kingpin also has special dealings with Keating.
7. When Rose Mofford, a nice old Democrat lady who was Arizona’s secretary of state, wound up serving out Ev Mecham’s term as governor — the whackjob Mecham was forced out of office in 1988 — McCain conspired to shame Mofford during a brief appearance before Congress. Asked why, he cackled and said, “I’ll embarrass a Democrat any time I get the chance.” Minutes later, he swears to reporters that he’d “never do anything like that.”
8. McCain is always mentioning Arizona’s political greats, as if he’s one of them, too. But Arizonans say McCain shouldn’t even be allowed to talk about Barry Goldwater, beloved conservative senator, and Mo Udall, beloved liberal congressman. “It drives some people here nuts. Particularly those who know, or knew, all three men.”
9. Goldwater distanced himself from McCain once it became clear that Arizona’s new senator was a conniving little crook. After being scammed into attending a McCain fundraiser disguised as a “tribute” to Reagan, Goldwater insisted that McCain give half the take to the state GOP party, but of course it didn’t happen. “You will recall during my speech at the dinner for the president in Phoenix, I announced that you were going to give half of the funds you raised to the State Republican Party,” Goldwater wrote to McCain. “I am told by the Party, that you still owe them $35,000, and unless you pay all20of it, or most of it, they cannot meet their payroll next Wednesday.”
10. The guy who worked for Cindy’s charity and caught her stealing a million pills wrote this in his journal, at the time: “During my short tenure at AVMT, I have been surrounded by what on the surface appears to be the ultimate all-American family. In reality, I am working for a very sad, lonely woman whose marriage of convenience to a U.S. Senator has driven her to: distance herself from friends; cover feelings of despair with drugs; and replace lonely moments with self-indulgences.”
Baker’s Dozen Bonus No. 11. And now RNC private investigators are chasing that guy, Tom Gosinski, even though he long ago moved to another state and started a totally different career and has had nothing to say about the McCains since the pill-addict scandal, which he only told the DEA about because he was scared of going to prison if he covered up Cindy’s opiate scandal.
Postmodern John McCain: the presidential candidate some Arizonans know — and loathe [Phoenix New Times] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-frank/put-your-john-hussein-han_b_89358.html
From Judy in Mamaroneck:

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August 8, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Know-Nothing Politics
By PAUL KRUGMAN
So the G.O.P. has found its issue for the 2008 election. For the next three months the party plans to keep chanting: “Drill here! Drill now! Drill here! Drill now! Four legs good, two legs bad!” O.K., I added that last part.

And the debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Republicans, once hailed as the “party of ideas,” have become the party of stupid.

Now, I don’t mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don’t mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism — the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”

In the case of oil, this takes the form of pretending that more drilling would produce fast relief at the gas pump. In fact, earlier this week Republicans in Congress actually claimed credit for the recent fall in oil prices: “The market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Representative John Shadegg.

What about the experts at the Department of Energy who say that it would take years before offshore drilling would yield any oil at all, and that even then the effect on prices at the pump would be “insignificant”? Presumably they’re just a bunch of wimps, probably Democrats. And the Democrats, as Representative Michele Bachmann assures us, “want Americans to move to the urban core, live in tenements, take light rail to their government jobs.”

Is this political pitch too dumb to succeed? Don’t count on it.

Remember how the Iraq war was sold. The stuff about aluminum tubes and mushroom clouds was just window dressing. The main political argument was, “They attacked us, and we’re going to strike back” — and anyone who tried to point out that Saddam and Osama weren’t the same person was an effete snob who hated America, and probably looked French.

Let’s also not forget that for years President Bush was the center of a cult of personality that lionized him as a real-world Forrest Gump, a simple man who prevails through his gut instincts and moral superiority. “Mr. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average American man,” declared Peggy Noonan, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2004. “He’s not an intellectual. Intellectuals start all the trouble in the world.”

It wasn’t until Hurricane Katrina — when the heckuva job done by the man of whom Ms. Noonan said, “if there’s a fire on the block, he’ll run out and help” revealed the true costs of obliviousness — that the cult began to fade.

What’s more, the politics of stupidity didn’t just appeal to the poorly informed. Bear in mind that members of the political and media elites were more pro-war than the public at large in the fall of 2002, even though the flimsiness of the case for invading Iraq should have been even more obvious to those paying close attention to the issue than it was to the average voter...(Read rest on lineClick here: Op-Ed Columnist - Know-Nothing Politics - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com)

From Herb in KCMO:

To: cablefilms@kc.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: We did it!




We did it!

Dear Friends,

Last week, Congressman Dennis Kucinich delivered a petition bearing more than 100,000 names to the Speaker of the House urging that impeachment proceedings begin into the conduct of President Bush. In a special video message, Dennis is asking for your help to deliver an even more powerful message to Congress when it reconvenes in September.

With new disclosures that the Administration tried to "cook the books at the CIA" by creating a phony, forged link between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, "We cannot step back and let this President escape accountability."

If you have already signed the impeachment petition at www.kucinich.us, thank you. If you haven't, please do. And, in the next few weeks, please ask just one more person to sign so we can let the members of Congress hear our collective demand that they meet their obligation to uphold the Constitution.

Thank you.
The Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee





From Eileen in KCMO:

just got this

Planned Parenthood Action Fund wrote:
Subject: New rule: don't tell the truth

Trouble viewing images? Read our e-newsletter on the web instead:
http://www.ppaction.org/network/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=14609045




Dear Eileen,
We've heard the rumors for weeks, but newly surfaced documents have confirmed the unthinkable — the Bush administration is considering a politically motivated new rule that deliberately confuses contraception with abortion, allowing providers to cherry pick the information they give women and cut off access to some of the most commonly used forms of birth control. In less than 48 hours, Planned Parenthood supporters sent more than 25,000 messages to President Bush voicing their opposition. Thank you! And if you haven't done so already, please take a moment now to give the White House a piece of your mind.
While we battle the current administration's dangerous decisions, we are also working harder than ever to make sure the next U.S. president believes in women's health. When Sen. McCain was asked whether he believes insurance companies that cover Viagra should also cover birth control, he reacted like he'd been hit by a stun gun. See our ad with actual footage of this interview.
Stay tuned — we won't stop asking McCain about his position on birth control until he has an answer for us.
Sincerely,

Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Action Fund











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