New Energy For America

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Going Green is the thing and its about time!

While the important issues, like energy, have been down played by diversionary tactics and the same ole politricks… some of us remain focused on the issues. I think the record high gas prices we endured this year has us all convinced that alternative energy is a must!

As we get closer to election day, we should all make sure we know where the presidential candidates stand on issues that impact our daily lives and the future of our planet!

The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:

»Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump

»Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.

»Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.

»Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.

»Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.

»Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. (more»)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Who Would You Vote For?

My sister Terri sent this one via email, enjoy!

If You were The Boss… which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc.,

This is an unusually critical election year.

Let’s look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class)

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
Nort h Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most influential nation in the world?

~Original Author Unknown~

Popularity: 1% [?]

Does Sarah Palin Know That I Am A Community Organizer?

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.” —Sarah Palin

I understand that Sarah Palin’s remarks were an attempt to discredit Barack Obama while showing that she’s qualified to be John McCain’s running mate, but to scoff at community organizers in the process was out of line and indicative of her ignorance and/or disregard of American history.

If it hadn’t been for community organizers Sarah Palin wouldn’t even be where she is today! Hello, the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement were lead by who? COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS…people that believed in change and were determined to make a difference.

Community organizers have always been instrumental in righting wrongs and taking on the responsibilities that elected officials (including small town mayors) have either ignored, swept under the rug, or were unable/unwilling to handle.

Sarah Palin is wrong to suggest that community organizers have no actual responsibilities.

The responsibility that community organizers accept and assume comes down to: Am I My Brothers Keeper? The community organizer says YES I AM! The community organizer actively addresses social disparities and fights to make a positive difference.

While a small town city mayor might be concerned with banning books in local libraries, a community organizer is concerned with empowering people with knowledge, resources, self help programs, and more!

Whereas a former small town mayor turned governor might use a line-item veto to cut funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live, the community organizer works diligently to meet the needs of even struggling teen mothers.

Community organizers have always spearheaded change in this country. Many of America’s greatest leaders to date were and/or are community organizers! I am a community organizer.

Sarah Palin can sleep on the efforts of community organizers if she wants to, but it will be community organizers that will make sure that she does not occupy an office or even sit behind a desk in the White House!

Thank you Ms. Palin for further inspiring me to attend Camp Obama and become a Deputy Field Organizer as an effort to Get Out The Vote.

Sarah Palin Facts:

In Sarah Palin’s speech she said “Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons…The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.” Well she didn’t leave the city of Wasilla better than she found it so why would we want her any where near the White House?

»As mayor, Sarah Palin left the city of Wasilla with almost $20 million in long-term debt.

»Sarah Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is “God’s task.” She’s even admitted she hasn’t thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.”

»Sarah Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Sarah Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to “keep up the good work” and “wished the party luck on what she called its ‘inspiring convention.’”

»Sarah Palin doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being manmade.”

»Sarah Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP.

»Sarah Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn’t even support abortion in the case of rape or incest

»As mayor, Sarah Palin tried to ban books from the library. Sarah Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, “news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.”

»Sarah Palin DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). She claimed that she said “thanks, but no thanks” to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Sarah Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Race Card & Barack Obama On Race In America

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” — Geraldine Ferraro

For those that thought race was no longer an issue in America its been a rude awakening. While America has made great strides in race relations we still have a long way to go. I believe that despite how things may look, we are evolving, changing our thinking, and healing. It is not an easy or quick process but I see it happening. Is there a 12-step program for America’s race issues? Should there be one?

Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race in America courageously goes where people don’t want to go (at least it seems not in mixed company conversations for fear of political incorrectness). I think that many people forget (or don’t realize) that Barack Obama is biracial (he’s black and white). He identifies with way more people than Hillary Clinton and John McCain combined. So when people accuse the Barack Obama Campaign of playing the race card I think its ridiculous! Are there two race cards, a double sided race card, and/or a half and half race card and which one is his campaign supposedly playing?

“…I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.

I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters.

I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one…” —Barack Obama

It seems that Barack Obama opposers are the race card playing culprits. Through imagery, symbolism, word play, clever semantics, and audacious statements the Clinton campaign has been using race card tactics since hmmmmm South Carolina. As an American I am ready for change. The more I see and learn about Hillary Clinton the more she represents the same. As a human being I am ready to embrace fellow human beings and breakdown racial divides, this is the change we need. Once again, Barack Obama demonstrates that he represents and believes in the very same change I believe in.

“…I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren…” —Barack Obama

Popularity: 3% [?]

Voting For Barack Obama

I just took another step towards owning a piece of the political process by making my first donation to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Perhaps this seems like no big deal…but “for the first time in my adult life I am really proud of my country.” Michelle Obama has been criticized and accused of being unpatriotic for making that very statement, but I share and understand her sentiment.

I have never been as excited about the political process, politics, or U.S. presidential elections as I am now. After the 2000 presidential election fiasco with Bush/Gore and the hanging chads… I felt betrayed, voiceless, and like my vote (the American people’s votes) didn’t matter. I had pretty much concluded that ‘they’ put who ‘they’ want in the white house…. (You know who ‘they’ are, the invisible omnipresent nameless powers that be).

The last two presidential elections were demoralizing and brought out the pessimist in me as it relates to American politics. The George Bush reign had dried up all hope. When I heard that Hillary Clinton was running for president, I thought to myself…hmmm, I don’t know…When I heard Barack Obama was running for president, the words of the late great Tupac Shakur came to mind, “we ain’t ready to see a black president.”

Yes, me, the Living Life Abundantly, Change Your Thinking to Change Your Life lady was initially skeptical about whether a woman or an African American could win the Democratic Nomination and the presidency.

Admittedly, I spent too much time thinking about all of the wrong things including what ‘they’ would do to thwart the efforts of a Hillary or Barack. I was reluctant to get emotionally involved for fear of getting my hopes up. I followed the debates and news to stay in the know, while questioning whether or not the Democrats had a chance.

But I found myself getting angry. The mere thought of another 8 years of the same was too much for me. The anger and hurt I felt in 2000 welled up in me like it was yesterday. I asked myself, if you want change, what are you doing to bring about change? I thought about one of my favorite quotes:

“If You don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”

That was my cue to change my entire thought process about this election. As a person that understands the power of thoughts, words, faith, and prayer, I recognize that some of mine were counter productive. (Let that be a lesson to those afraid to vote for Barack Obama for fear of an assassination attempt).

I decided not to spend any time worrying or thinking about things that I didn’t want to happen; realizing that the law of attraction works even in politics.

I kicked that defeatist attitude and replaced it with:

• Pride
• Determination
• Resilience

The YES WE CAN in me emerged! I am Fired Up, Ready to Go, inspired, encouraged, hopeful, and have a renewed faith in not just the political process but in my fellow Americans. People of all ages, races, and genders are proactively, eagerly, and purposefully participating in the election of our next president! I am proud to be one of millions stepping up, taking ownership, and responsibility in getting the candidate ready on day one elected!

My time and energy is better spent thinking about the type of president I want in the white house when Bush is finally out! I want a president that believes in government for the people and by the people. I want a president that will look out for the best interests of all Americans. I want a president that has the audacity of hope and represents change for the better. I want Barack Obama to be the the next president of the United States of America.

There is action behind my words. The “Change You Can Believe In” movement is in full effect. Change begins with individuals like you and me. If you want change, what are doing to bring about change?

Join My.BarackObama.com:

• Build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
• Find or create your own local or national group
• Create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress
• Find events near you or plan your own
• Chronicle your campaign experience on your own blog

 

Popularity: 2% [?]

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