Thursday, August 20, 2009

This reminder came in the mail today

Organizing for America<http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/email/organizing_america_email_header.jpg>     

Reminder: The President is holding a National Health Care Forum TODAY for all Organizing for America supporters.

The forum begins at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT/12:30 p.m. MT/11:30 a.m. PT and should last approximately 90 minutes.

Sign up now to participate:

http://my.barackobama.com/forum <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13da3/504c6431/25c5b216/11885957/364052534/VEsH/>

This is an incredible opportunity to huddle with the President, ask questions, and discuss how we're going to pass real health insurance reform this year.

Talk to you very soon,


 

Mitch


 

Mitch Stewart

Director

Organizing for America


 

P.S. -- At 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, go here to watch the forum live:

http://my.barackobama.com/watch <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13da3/504c6431/25c5b216/11885956/364052534/VEsE/>

Donate <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13da3/504c6431/25c5b216/11885951/364052534/VEsF/>

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

In the mail today

Organizing for America<http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/email/organizing_america_email_header.jpg>     


 

President Obama is holding a live strategy meeting on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time for all Organizing for America supporters. I hope you can join us, online or by phone.


 

The President will update us on the fight to pass real health insurance reform -- what's happening in D.C. and what's happening around the country. He'll lay out our strategy and message going forward and answer questions from supporters like you. And we'll unveil the next actions we'll organize together.


 

This is a critical time in this President's administration, and in the history of our country. I hope you can join us.


 

Here are the details:


 

What: Organizing for America National Health Care Forum


 

When: Thursday, August 20th, 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time


 

RSVP and submit a question for the President. <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d84/504c6431/2685b241/118856cf/3961630455/VEsH/>


 

<http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d84/504c6431/2685b241/118856cf/3961630455/VEsE/>


 

The President wrote to us a few weeks ago to ask us to go the extra mile this month in the fight for health insurance reform. And so far, you've stepped up in a big way: Last week, an astounding 60,000 Organizing for America volunteers stopped by representatives' and senators' local offices. You told your health care stories to staffers and members of Congress -- of losing insurance after getting laid off, of being denied coverage upon finding out about a serious illness. And you thanked those supporting real health insurance reform for all the work they've done so far.


 

But these local office visits were only part of the story. The D.C. media has been trumpeting coverage of town halls disrupted by angry opposition to reform. But the reality on the ground is very different. Organizing for America supporters are showing up in huge numbers at these meetings all across the country -- outnumbering opponents of reform, often by overwhelming margins.


 

You've organized 11,906 local events in all 50 states -- from press conferences to community discussions -- since we launched our big campaign for reform in June. And you've made hundreds of thousands of calls to Congress.


 

Your work so far has been incredible. But the special interests and partisan attack groups who oppose reform will not let up, and they will tell whatever lies they can to spread fear. There's a lot more work for all of us to do. This Thursday's meeting is our chance to huddle as a team, get the latest information and talk about how we're going to achieve this victory. You don't want to miss it.


 

Click here to RSVP and submit a question for President Obama:


 

http://my.barackobama.com/forum <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d84/504c6431/2685b241/118856cf/3961630455/VEsF/>


 

Hope you can make it,


 

David Plouffe


 

Donate <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d84/504c6431/2685b241/118856c8/3961630455/VEsC/>


 

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.


 

To unsubscribe, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/unsubscribe <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d84/504c6431/2685b241/118856a9/3961630455/VEsD/>


 

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

I Think He Hit a Single

I received this request from Vice President Biden today. As you would expect from him it is extremely wordy. What is sure to be unique with Judge Sotomayor's confirmation process is that there are to be far fewer 10-minute questions now that the Vice President is no longer a member of the Senate.


 

What astounds me is that it ends with the statement "This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee." If the Vice President didn't authorize it, then why is he sending it?


 

President Obama hit a home run with his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court -- and not just because she's the "woman who saved baseball" by ending the strike in 1995, nor simply because she would be the first Latina ever to serve on the high court.


 

It was a home run because in her three-decade career as a prosecutor, judge, private litigator and law professor, she has time and again earned bipartisan praise as one of America's finest legal minds. And it was the right choice because Judge Sotomayor -- herself born and raised in a South Bronx housing project -- has summed up the American dream in her own incredible story and never once forgotten how the law affects our daily lives.


 

Now her historic nomination goes to the Senate. I know that process well, and I can tell you that the debate of the coming weeks and months will be shaped by the public response in the next few hours and days. It's critical that the Senate and the public clearly see where the American people stand.


 

Will you add your name to the growing list of Americans who are pledging to "Stand with Sotomayor" today? Your name and comments will become part of a public display of support at this crucial time.


 

<http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13fd8/504c6431/2b553b49/11884eab/370145501/VEsH/>


 

Stand with Sotomayor <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13fd8/504c6431/2b553b49/11884eab/370145501/VEsE/>


 

I've followed Judge Sotomayor's remarkable journey for years. I voted for her when President George H.W. Bush nominated her for the District Court in 1992, and I was proud to vote for her again when President Bill Clinton nominated her for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1998.


 

Born to a Puerto Rican family, Sotomayor grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. She was an avid reader from an early age, and was first inspired to pursue a legal career by the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Driven by her mother's belief in the power of education and her own relentless work ethic, she excelled in school. She won a scholarship to Princeton University, graduated summa cum laude, and then went on to attend Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the prestigious Yale Law Journal.


 

Like President Obama, Sotomayor passed up many more lucrative opportunities after law school to put her degree to work for the public good. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, tackling some of the hardest cases facing the city, including robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality, and child pornography. Her growing reputation for fearlessness and legal brilliance prompted her first nomination to the federal bench, and she's only continued to soar.


 

If confirmed, she would start with more federal judicial experience than any Justice in a century, more overall judicial experience than any Justice in 70 years, and replace David Souter as the only Justice with firsthand experience as a trial judge. She has participated in over 3,000 panel decisions and authored roughly 400 opinions, expertly handling difficult issues of constitutional law, complicated procedural matters, and lawsuits involving complex business organizations.


 

In her years on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has earned acclaim from legal scholars and experts from both sides of the aisle for her intellectual toughness, her probing oral questioning, and her ability to issue decisions that hold both factual details and legal doctrines in equal measure. And she's never failed to apply a steady, common-sense analysis of how the law touches our daily lives.


 

Her story is incredible. Her qualifications are undeniable. And her judgment will serve us all well on the highest court in the land.


 

Please join me in becoming a part of this historic moment for the Court and our country. Add your name now to publicly show that you, too, "Stand with Sotomayor." In these crucial early hours, let us leave no doubt about the people's support for this extraordinary nominee.


 

http://my.barackobama.com/sotomayorstand <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13fd8/504c6431/2b553b49/11884eab/370145501/VEsF/>


 

Thank you,


 

Vice President Joe Biden


 

Please donate <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13fd8/504c6431/2b553b49/11884eaa/370145501/VEsC/>


 

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

You said how much?

The 2010 proposed federal budget has mandatory and discretionary spending estimated at $3.552 Trillion dollars. In order to put this into more understandable quantities I have decided to break this number down in various ways.

$3,552,000,000,000.00     2010 Federal Spending Budget

$9,731,506,849.32     Each Day

$405,479,452.05     Each Hour

$6,757,990.87         Each Minute

$112,633.18         Each Second

$11,592.22         Each US Citizen

Friday, May 8, 2009

Obama = Putin

Is there any difference between the treatment Russian oligarchs received and the treatment that bondholders are now receiving?

I think not. Both trampled the law. Both rely on judges they have in their pocket.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What will Congress do?

Now that the EPA has ruled that CO2 emissions are an official pollutant does this mean that we will have to never exhale again? If so, what about flatulence, or even belching?

The thought of never being able to exhale beguiles me. Are CO2 filtration masks (CFMs) going to be part of the new cap and trade scheme on which Congress is currently holding hearings? If we are to be forever confined by CFMs, they will have to enable us to speak, right? If not what is Congress to do?

I mean, think about it, talking is all that Congress does. They cannot balance a checkbook, even though they are in charge of the federal purse. It seems that they cannot even read.

Therefore, if they are also limited by their CFMs I see that they have only three choices. First, but most difficult, would be for them to learn English as a Second Language (ESL). This is a daunting task. However, there are many resources out there to help them achieve this goal. Second, and the route that I would expect cynical politicians to opt for, would be for Congress to change the law by which the EPA was forced, by the Supreme Court, to make this ruling. Lastly, and the option which I believe they will ultimately choose, is to exempt themselves from the rules.

Jim Coburn

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Is Twitter a Social Ponzi Scheme?

I recently joined Twitter and soon came to wondering whether it is a social Ponzi scheme? Moreover, if it is a social Ponzi scheme, will it collapse?


 

A Ponzi scheme is one of the more widely known versions of a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes rely on an ever-expanding roster of new participants so that the original participants may receive the benefits promised them upon joining. This layering of larger bases of participants creates its defining name.


 

If you are not familiar with Twitter (but is not everyone by now), according to Wikipedia, it is a "free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers)."


 

Yesterday I was selecting fellow twitterers to follow. I began to notice that as the number of twitterers that I began following increased so did the number of twitterers following me increase. The two groups, those twitterers I was following and my twitterer followers were nearly symmetrical in their growth patterns. My first thoughts were akin to having just bought a lottery ticket, if I were to win, what would I do with the winnings. Only as a twitterer, my thoughts went more, and more, towards whether I could achieve those lofty follower numbers of the great twitterers, such as aplusk, cnnbrk, or even britneyspears. Could I get hundreds of thousands, or even a million, followers? What would I have to do to join the ranks of the elite? Would I have to sell my soul?


 

As yesterday progressed into last night, my thoughts began to evolve. I learned quickly that when you gain a follower it is common courtesy on Twitter to return the favor, that you also follow your follower. Thus, I quickly surmised I could never achieve the mass of followers that those great twitterers have. They began their twittering before me and therefore there was an extra layer, or most probably layers, of a twittering pyramid between us. The only way for me to achieve those lofty heights were if I were somehow able to move up the pyramid. I sincerely doubt that I would be able to find a secret elevator inside the pyramid. Maybe, if I were to channel my Indiana Jones I could battle all the odds and find the Holy Grail.


 

Alas, I have resigned myself to the fact that I became a participant in this social Ponzi scheme to late to achieve Twitter greatness. My only hope now is that the pyramid does not collapse until I have had a bit more fun with it. I think I will go and search for Harrison Ford. Better yet, I will keep a vigilant eye out for the next hot social networking tool and get in on its' first layer.


 

Jim Coburn