Didn't expect it to happen, but I cried like a baby. I grew up in the 50's and 60's and saw all the injustice. Didn't think I'd live to see the day when this country would elect a Black Man as our President. To see tears streaming down the faces of Oprah, Jesse Jackson and others, black and white, caused the emotions I was feeling to spill over, as well. We will be entering a new era in our history and I can't be more pleased.
About Me
- VanLori1952
- Corsicana, Texas, United States
- I'm Irish, Dutch, French, German and had a Cherokee Great Grandmother. I'm a Granny of three boys. Mom of two. Fourth wife of second husband. Breeder of Yorkshire Terriers.
11/30/2008
10/24/2008
No Voter Left Behind
Article I found at No Voter Left Behind
KENNEDY TOWNSEND: ACORN SMEAR IS EFFORT TO COVER UP MASSIVE GOP PUSH TO
UNDERMINE 2008 ELECTIONS THROUGH COAST-TO-COAST VOTE SUPPRESSION
Democrats Urged to Volunteer, Contribute to NoVoterLeftBehind.net to Fight Republican Attempt
to Bar “Many Tens of Thousands” of Voters From Exercising Their Right to Vote.
WASHINGTON, D.C.///October 15, 2008///The ongoing Republican attack on the lawful voter registration
efforts of ACORN is a “desperate smokescreen maneuver” masking an extensive coast-to-coast GOP
push to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters through a wide range of vote suppression tactics,
according to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland and a
member of the board of advisors of NoVoterLeftBehind.net (http://www.NoVoterLeftBehind.net).
Urging concerned Americans to get involved through NoVoterLeftBehind.net, Kennedy Townsend said:
“The attack on the voter registration efforts of ACORN may go down in the record books as the
ultimate case of the ‘dirty’ pot calling the ‘clean’ kettle black. ACORN is being savaged for doing
its duty to openly self-report all cases where there may be any kind of issue with specific voter
registration forms. By contrast, the GOP is skulking around out of the public eye across the
nation in a sub rosa attempt to use a host of outrageous and desperate vote suppression tactics
to steal the election.”
She added: “For every potentially problematic ACORN voter registration form that will never
result in anyone casting an illegitimate vote, there are literally hundreds of voters who the GOP
will go to any lengths to keep out of the voting booth. This attack on ACORN is a sad and deeply
cynical tactic coming from a party that seems to have concluded that they can’t win the election
on their own, so they have to prevent the other side from voting.”
Kennedy Townsend said that NoVoterLeftBehind.net is seeking to raise the necessary funds and
volunteers (including legal experts) to fight the expected GOP challenges of the election outcome.
NoVoterLeftBehind.net is monitoring voter registration and the actual vote leading up to and on Election
Day in 2008. The campaign will shine a public spotlight on every last irregularity. The
NoVoterLeftBehind.net Web site shows interested Democrats how to donate to support the effort, where
to learn more about how Republicans steal elections and also ways to volunteer before and on Election
Day 2008.
EXAMPLES OF GOP SUPPRESSION ABOUND
ACORN has come under attack in Nevada, Missouri, Ohio and elsewhere by Republicans attempting to
block the many thousands of primarily low-income citizens that ACORN has registered. Under the law,
ACORN must report irregular registrations that result from its process. The GOP is seizing on these
entirely routine and voluntary reports as "fraudulent" filings, when in fact this is not the case at all. In
nearly every state, ACORN is required to turn in all completed applications, even the ones we know to be
problematic, and then to identify the ones involving possible concerns.
The ACORN situation pales in comparison the outright vote suppression efforts underway nationwide:
· In Florida and other states, ''no match, no vote'' law are being used by Republicans to strike as many
voters as possible from the rolls – based on the slightest inconsistency between voter registration
information and driver’s license data.
· Misinforming college students in Colorado, Virginia and South Carolina about their right to vote. For
example, the Republican clerk of El Paso County, Colo., informed local students: ''. . . if your parents
still claim you on their income tax returns, and they file that return in a state other than Colorado, you
are not eligible to register to vote or vote in Colorado.'' The same tactic is being used in other states
in sometimes even starker ways to keep young people from voting.
· The Philadelphia Daily News has reported that fliers showed up in African-American neighborhoods
of Philadelphia recently showed up warning residents that undercover cops would be prowling the
polling places, arresting would-be voters with so much as an unpaid traffic ticket on his or her record.
· U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith, a Reagan appointee, has approved a GOP lawsuit
demanding that the state give county boards of elections great leeway in attacking new voter
registration forms. The decision would allow Republican challengers access to data from the Bureau
of Motor Vehicles and the Social Security agency to challenge new voters. Smith noted that Ohio law
permits challenges to absentee ballots, thousands of which have been pouring in to elections boards.
If allowed to stand, it could give the GOP the right to shred ballots already cast in the Buckeye State,
with the precedent possibly being used to further enable a GOP nationwide disenfranchisement
campaign.
· The New York Times has reported that boards of elections in at least nine crucial states, including
Ohio, have violated federal law in conducting purges and have been illegally using Social Security
data bases as part of those purges. The Times quotes Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman as
asking the Colorado Attorney-General to review how some 2,500 citizens were removed from the
registration lists there. The Times has cited purges in Colorado, Louisiana and Michigan that have
apparently been conducted within 90 days of the upcoming November 4 election, violating federal law
that allows states to expunge only those who have been convicted of a felony, moved out of state or
died. The Times has also reported that boards of elections in Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan,
Indiana and Ohio have illegally used federal Social Security databases to flag and possibly eliminate
voters whose registration applications were suspected of irregularities.
· A CBS News report has revealed organized vote caging attempts by the GOP to eliminate registered
voters from the rolls in 19 states.
(The preceding examples are based on or, in some cases, quote directly from articles appearing at
http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_10707178 and
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2008/3229.)
On October 8, 2008, three leading former elected officials from Maryland, Illinois and Oregon called on
every state attorney general and every state election head to come out publicly against any “lose your
home, lose your vote” strategy that might be used to keep home foreclosure victims from exercising their
right to vote. Organized by NoVoterLeftBehind.net (NVLB), the outreach effort was undertaken by:
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of
Illinois and a 2004 presidential candidate; and Barbara Roberts, former governor of Oregon and also a
onetime Oregon Secretary of State. In a September 17, 2008 news release, NoVoterLeftBehind.net
emphasized the four things every American going through home mortgage foreclosure needs to know
about their vote in the face of an expected “lose your home, lose your vote” suppression campaign by the
GOP.
ABOUT NOVOTERLEFTBEHIND.NET
Launched on August 29, 2008, NoVoterLeftBehind.net is a project of Democrats for America’s Future
(www.americasdemocrats.org). In his appeal to Democrats launching NoVoterLeftBehind.net, Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr. writes: “No more 2000s and 2004s! … The Republican Party mounted a coordinated,
criminal campaign to steal the 2004 Presidential election -- and it worked. Now, as another
election approaches, you and I need to stand together to make absolutely certain it doesn’t
happen again … We need your support to raise the funds now to make sure that ‘no voter is left
behind’ on Election Day!”
ABOUT DEMOCRATS FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE
Democrats for America's Future (http://www.americasdemocrats.org) is dedicated to getting everyday
Democrats involved in returning the Democratic party to its roots – and success at the ballot box.
Democrats for America's Future makes a difference by: recruiting grassroots Democrats across the
country and providing them with up-to-date information; urging Democratic leaders to stand up to
President Bush and his right-wing allies; and educating the public about the Bush Administration's true
record. Membership sign-ups and member donations are accepted through the Democrats for
America's Future Web site at http://www.americasdemocrats.org.
The DAF board of advisors consists of: James Carville; former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich;
Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois and a 2004 presidential
candidate; Donald L. Fowler, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; David Bonior,
former Michigan member of Congress and majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives; and
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, (703) 276-3265, or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com.
KENNEDY TOWNSEND: ACORN SMEAR IS EFFORT TO COVER UP MASSIVE GOP PUSH TO
UNDERMINE 2008 ELECTIONS THROUGH COAST-TO-COAST VOTE SUPPRESSION
Democrats Urged to Volunteer, Contribute to NoVoterLeftBehind.net to Fight Republican Attempt
to Bar “Many Tens of Thousands” of Voters From Exercising Their Right to Vote.
WASHINGTON, D.C.///October 15, 2008///The ongoing Republican attack on the lawful voter registration
efforts of ACORN is a “desperate smokescreen maneuver” masking an extensive coast-to-coast GOP
push to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters through a wide range of vote suppression tactics,
according to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland and a
member of the board of advisors of NoVoterLeftBehind.net (http://www.NoVoterLeftBehind.net).
Urging concerned Americans to get involved through NoVoterLeftBehind.net, Kennedy Townsend said:
“The attack on the voter registration efforts of ACORN may go down in the record books as the
ultimate case of the ‘dirty’ pot calling the ‘clean’ kettle black. ACORN is being savaged for doing
its duty to openly self-report all cases where there may be any kind of issue with specific voter
registration forms. By contrast, the GOP is skulking around out of the public eye across the
nation in a sub rosa attempt to use a host of outrageous and desperate vote suppression tactics
to steal the election.”
She added: “For every potentially problematic ACORN voter registration form that will never
result in anyone casting an illegitimate vote, there are literally hundreds of voters who the GOP
will go to any lengths to keep out of the voting booth. This attack on ACORN is a sad and deeply
cynical tactic coming from a party that seems to have concluded that they can’t win the election
on their own, so they have to prevent the other side from voting.”
Kennedy Townsend said that NoVoterLeftBehind.net is seeking to raise the necessary funds and
volunteers (including legal experts) to fight the expected GOP challenges of the election outcome.
NoVoterLeftBehind.net is monitoring voter registration and the actual vote leading up to and on Election
Day in 2008. The campaign will shine a public spotlight on every last irregularity. The
NoVoterLeftBehind.net Web site shows interested Democrats how to donate to support the effort, where
to learn more about how Republicans steal elections and also ways to volunteer before and on Election
Day 2008.
EXAMPLES OF GOP SUPPRESSION ABOUND
ACORN has come under attack in Nevada, Missouri, Ohio and elsewhere by Republicans attempting to
block the many thousands of primarily low-income citizens that ACORN has registered. Under the law,
ACORN must report irregular registrations that result from its process. The GOP is seizing on these
entirely routine and voluntary reports as "fraudulent" filings, when in fact this is not the case at all. In
nearly every state, ACORN is required to turn in all completed applications, even the ones we know to be
problematic, and then to identify the ones involving possible concerns.
The ACORN situation pales in comparison the outright vote suppression efforts underway nationwide:
· In Florida and other states, ''no match, no vote'' law are being used by Republicans to strike as many
voters as possible from the rolls – based on the slightest inconsistency between voter registration
information and driver’s license data.
· Misinforming college students in Colorado, Virginia and South Carolina about their right to vote. For
example, the Republican clerk of El Paso County, Colo., informed local students: ''. . . if your parents
still claim you on their income tax returns, and they file that return in a state other than Colorado, you
are not eligible to register to vote or vote in Colorado.'' The same tactic is being used in other states
in sometimes even starker ways to keep young people from voting.
· The Philadelphia Daily News has reported that fliers showed up in African-American neighborhoods
of Philadelphia recently showed up warning residents that undercover cops would be prowling the
polling places, arresting would-be voters with so much as an unpaid traffic ticket on his or her record.
· U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith, a Reagan appointee, has approved a GOP lawsuit
demanding that the state give county boards of elections great leeway in attacking new voter
registration forms. The decision would allow Republican challengers access to data from the Bureau
of Motor Vehicles and the Social Security agency to challenge new voters. Smith noted that Ohio law
permits challenges to absentee ballots, thousands of which have been pouring in to elections boards.
If allowed to stand, it could give the GOP the right to shred ballots already cast in the Buckeye State,
with the precedent possibly being used to further enable a GOP nationwide disenfranchisement
campaign.
· The New York Times has reported that boards of elections in at least nine crucial states, including
Ohio, have violated federal law in conducting purges and have been illegally using Social Security
data bases as part of those purges. The Times quotes Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman as
asking the Colorado Attorney-General to review how some 2,500 citizens were removed from the
registration lists there. The Times has cited purges in Colorado, Louisiana and Michigan that have
apparently been conducted within 90 days of the upcoming November 4 election, violating federal law
that allows states to expunge only those who have been convicted of a felony, moved out of state or
died. The Times has also reported that boards of elections in Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan,
Indiana and Ohio have illegally used federal Social Security databases to flag and possibly eliminate
voters whose registration applications were suspected of irregularities.
· A CBS News report has revealed organized vote caging attempts by the GOP to eliminate registered
voters from the rolls in 19 states.
(The preceding examples are based on or, in some cases, quote directly from articles appearing at
http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_10707178 and
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2008/3229.)
On October 8, 2008, three leading former elected officials from Maryland, Illinois and Oregon called on
every state attorney general and every state election head to come out publicly against any “lose your
home, lose your vote” strategy that might be used to keep home foreclosure victims from exercising their
right to vote. Organized by NoVoterLeftBehind.net (NVLB), the outreach effort was undertaken by:
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of
Illinois and a 2004 presidential candidate; and Barbara Roberts, former governor of Oregon and also a
onetime Oregon Secretary of State. In a September 17, 2008 news release, NoVoterLeftBehind.net
emphasized the four things every American going through home mortgage foreclosure needs to know
about their vote in the face of an expected “lose your home, lose your vote” suppression campaign by the
GOP.
ABOUT NOVOTERLEFTBEHIND.NET
Launched on August 29, 2008, NoVoterLeftBehind.net is a project of Democrats for America’s Future
(www.americasdemocrats.org). In his appeal to Democrats launching NoVoterLeftBehind.net, Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr. writes: “No more 2000s and 2004s! … The Republican Party mounted a coordinated,
criminal campaign to steal the 2004 Presidential election -- and it worked. Now, as another
election approaches, you and I need to stand together to make absolutely certain it doesn’t
happen again … We need your support to raise the funds now to make sure that ‘no voter is left
behind’ on Election Day!”
ABOUT DEMOCRATS FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE
Democrats for America's Future (http://www.americasdemocrats.org) is dedicated to getting everyday
Democrats involved in returning the Democratic party to its roots – and success at the ballot box.
Democrats for America's Future makes a difference by: recruiting grassroots Democrats across the
country and providing them with up-to-date information; urging Democratic leaders to stand up to
President Bush and his right-wing allies; and educating the public about the Bush Administration's true
record. Membership sign-ups and member donations are accepted through the Democrats for
America's Future Web site at http://www.americasdemocrats.org.
The DAF board of advisors consists of: James Carville; former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich;
Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois and a 2004 presidential
candidate; Donald L. Fowler, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; David Bonior,
former Michigan member of Congress and majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives; and
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of the state of Maryland.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, (703) 276-3265, or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com.
10/17/2008
Post Debate: Obamas stay to meet all 80 voters McCains leave
This is one reason I am voting for Obama.
8/02/2008
'The Low Road'
| Lorraine -- A few hours ago John McCain, the same man who just months ago promised to run a "respectful campaign," said he is "proud" of his latest attack ad. That's the one attacking your enthusiasm, comparing me to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and making false claims about my energy plan. Now, we're facing some serious challenges in this country -- our economy is struggling, energy costs are skyrocketing, and families don't have health care. Given the seriousness of these issues, you'd think we'd be having a serious debate. But instead, John McCain is running an expensive, negative campaign against us. Each day brings a desperate new set of attacks. And they're not just attacking me. They're attacking you. They're mocking the desire of millions of Americans to step up and take ownership of the political process. They're trying to convince you that your enthusiasm won't amount to anything -- that the people you persuade, the phone calls you make, the donations you give, the doors you knock on are all an illusion. They believe that in this election the same old smears and negative attacks will prevail again. They're wrong. |
Thank you,
Barack
You know, this is a very valid point that Barack has made. If we get excited about a candidate, McCain is actually saying we are deluding ourselves.
I am so sick of McCain saying that Barack is a Elitist! Especially since he lives the life of a Billionaire, buys $500.00 shoes, lives in a Mansion and now his wife's company is buying out Cuban beer, against our embargo on Cuban products.
I had a lot of respect for McCain's service to this country, until I found out that he was critical of his first wife, because she managed to survive a serious accident and said, "She wasn't the same woman he had married." Well, her shortened legs were nothing compared to the trauma McCain's body went through, after being a prisoner of war. His arm motion was limited and he walked with a pronounced stoop.
Mccain's first wife campaigned heavily on working on getting her husband back from the Vietcong prisoner camp and stood by his side and remained faithful. Her reward? She no longer looked like the model he had married, so he started cheating on her with a super pretty Billionairess.
Two weeks after their divorce was finalized, he married Cindy, yet he lied about when he began to first started dating her and how long it was after his divorce before he married Cindy. Why? Because the real situation made him look bad and was bad for his political career, especially with the religious right of his party.
I am against his oil policy for these reasons:
- It will take years before we will see any relief, if they do will drilling rights.
- They have thousands of acres that they already have leases to, so let them start drilling in those areas.
- There is no guarantee that once they get a working oil rig to produce, that the oil will be sold to our country. It could well land up being sold to China, Japan, North Korea, Africa, etc.
7/19/2008
McCain says Obama trip to Iraq may be soon
DETROIT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend. But McCain's spokesman...What is McCain trying to do, make Obama a target. He, of all people, should remember the old Navy saying, "Loose lips sink ships." I can't believe the media lets him get away with such antics. This is so irresponsible of him, but apparently not beneath his dignity. Shame on you McCain. If anything happens to Obama or those traveling with him, God forbid, I wonder if he will sleep well at night? That is, if he has a conscious. This is not playing politics. This is risking other human's lives. What would the GOP say if Obama's camp, or Obama himself decided to leak when President Bush (who has taken a couple of unannounced visits to Iraq, for security reasons) was due to land in a war zone. I would be able to hear their outrage all the way from Washington D.C. to Texas, where I live!!! Fox news would have a field day. Come on media, you only hint in this article that this may not have been a good idea for McCain to verbalize, on camera or anyplace else for that matter, when Obama planned to be in Iraq. You fuzzy it up by reporting that the McCain camp says that he really doesn't know Obama's itinerary. Where is your outrage? Are you afraid to say what people will think? Well, I'll say it, if you won't. "What is McCain trying to do, get Obama killed? I pray that wasn't the case.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
7/11/2008
McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship -
The nature and timing of his divorce from Carol Shepp alienated key friends -- and his version doesn't always match that in court documents.If this man lies about his personal life, why should we then trust him to run our country? I think, NOT! As a woman who was married to a cheating man, I know how ruthless, devious, amoral and hurtful this type of man can be. They only care about their own needs. Forget how the wife or kids may be affected! Carol remained faithful to him while he was a prisoner of war, yet he found her "Not the same woman I married", due to her car accident which shortened her legs by a few inches. Yet, his body had changed greatly due to his untreated broken bones and injuries he sustained as a POW. Did she leave him because he wasn't the same man that she had married? NO! There is no way I could vote for this man now, knowing this. No woman could or should. MHO
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
6/12/2008
Why does Murdoch support Obama?
Why does Murdoch support Obama?
From the Real News Network
(click on recent news tab)
http://therealnews.com/
Large CEOs like Murdock know that the American child is not being educated to prepare to join the work force of today. We are still educating our children based on a curriculum designed in the late 1940's. I hope that we can, not only reward companies that stay based in America with tax breaks, but can make them partners in education. For them donating computers, adding machines, etc. to inner city schools or poorer districts, then taking on students as apprentices, we can truly educate today's child for tomorrow's work force. More in next post.
How about large companies offering scholarships to those students who will sign on to work for a company a certain amount of years? There are so many scholarships out there for those good in sports, but hardly any that reward those getting straight A. My sister's child has never, in her whole history of school gotten less than 100 on a test. Yes, she won a scholarship to both Harvard and Yale, yet even with Yale offering 3/4% paid for, my sister could not afford the other 1/4%. We, also need to bring back the ARTS to the curriculum. Our children and our society is suffering from a lack of trained musicians, dancers, artists, singers, etc. Many of these talented children have to fore go a higher education, so that they can pursue doing what they love to do and many kids land up in prison, if they are not academic geniuses, because they cannot see another way to make a livelihood. Business, the Government, The Arts and we parents really need to understand that the future really is in the hands of our children and we all are dropping the ball.
From the Real News Network
(click on recent news tab)
http://therealnews.com/
Large CEOs like Murdock know that the American child is not being educated to prepare to join the work force of today. We are still educating our children based on a curriculum designed in the late 1940's. I hope that we can, not only reward companies that stay based in America with tax breaks, but can make them partners in education. For them donating computers, adding machines, etc. to inner city schools or poorer districts, then taking on students as apprentices, we can truly educate today's child for tomorrow's work force. More in next post.
How about large companies offering scholarships to those students who will sign on to work for a company a certain amount of years? There are so many scholarships out there for those good in sports, but hardly any that reward those getting straight A. My sister's child has never, in her whole history of school gotten less than 100 on a test. Yes, she won a scholarship to both Harvard and Yale, yet even with Yale offering 3/4% paid for, my sister could not afford the other 1/4%. We, also need to bring back the ARTS to the curriculum. Our children and our society is suffering from a lack of trained musicians, dancers, artists, singers, etc. Many of these talented children have to fore go a higher education, so that they can pursue doing what they love to do and many kids land up in prison, if they are not academic geniuses, because they cannot see another way to make a livelihood. Business, the Government, The Arts and we parents really need to understand that the future really is in the hands of our children and we all are dropping the ball.
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