SAN FRANCISCO — California officials will investigate accusations that the Mormon Church neglected to report a battery of nonmonetary contributions — including phone banks, a Web site and commercials — on behalf of a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/us/politics/26marriage.html?_r=1&nl=pol&emc=pola1&oref=slogin
Here’s a great idea to spread the holiday spirit! When doing your Holiday/Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to the following address.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much would get.
Former GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will make four campaign stops in Georgia just one day before the state’s voters head to the polls in a runoff election that could determine whether Democrats win unfettered control of Congress.
The campaign of GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced Tuesday morning that Alaska Gov. Palin and Chambliss will hit the campaign trail together on Dec. 1.
“I was thrilled when I got the call that Governor Palin would be able to make the trip to Georgia to campaign with me the day before the runoff election,” Sen. Chambliss stated in a news release. “Julianne and I are honored that she would take the time to travel to Georgia to tell everyone how important this election is, and I know that she will receive an enthusiastic welcome everywhere we go.”
The campaign tells Newsmax that Palin and Chambliss will embark on a clockwise tour through the heart of central Georgia, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Augusta, with later campaign stops that in Savannah, Perry (near Macon) and concluding with a rally scheduled for 4 p.m. in north Atlanta. Chambliss is hoping a last-minute boost from Palin will build the momentum he needs to win the runoff.
JOIN THE IMPACT RALLY THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 IN FRONT OF THE COUNTY BUILDINGS, 701 OCEAN STREET, SANTA CRUZ!
The struggle for equal rights continues in earnest on Saturday, November 15, 2008, with anti-Proposition 8 and pro-Marriage Equality rallies slated for every state across the country including California. According to Join the Impact, at least 34 citiies in California will hold rallies at 10:30 a.m. (PST) to conincide with rallies across the country.
Cities in California holding anti-Prop 8 rallies including Bakersfield, Chico, Colton, Costa Mesa, Delano, Escondido, Eureka, Fairfield, Fresno, Irvine, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Moreno Valley, Napa, Oakland, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Pomona, Redlands, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Rafael, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Ventura, and Walnut Creek.
Check your local listing:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
Today, Begich campaign staff around the state monitored Division of Election (DOE) sites as the first 50,000 early and absentee ballots were counted. This evening the DOE is reporting that we have closed the gap between Mark and Ted Stevens and now lead by 814 votes - a 4000 swing in one day! We're excited about the latest count, but know with 40,000 absentee and question ballots out, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure every vote is counted.Mark released this statement on these preliminary results:
"I've always said that this would be a close race. After watching the votes today, I remain cautiously optimistic. As I have said before, we ran an aggressive campaign, especially when it came to early voting and absentee. From what we're seeing, thousands of Alaskans, like me, did come out and vote early. I'm confident that Alaskans, like the rest of the country, want a new direction in Washington, and ultimately that will be reflected in the results."
Please donate!
https://donate.begich.com/page/contribute/inthelead
Please remember to help support Jim Martin in Georgia for this very important Senate seat. Not only is Jim Martin the best man for the job, his election to the Senate will help the President-elect, Barack Obama, to enact the positive, pragmatic change that America needs at this crucial time. Please help me in contributing to Jim Martin's campaign by spreading the word and by making whatever modest donation you can to his fundraising effort.
http://www.martinforsenate.com/home.html
Thank you,
Julia of Irish Musicians for Obama
A symbolic win in North Carolina brings President-elect Obama's electoral college tally up 15 points!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/06/AR2008110601556.html
Dear Obama supporters and fellow Democrats:
While we bask in the glow from this beautiful win for President-elect Obama and for our political party as a whole, I wanted to remind you to keep an eye on three Senate races that are in need of our collective positive energy, if not our monetary contributions. The following three Democratic hopefuls could use a quick note of encouragement on their blogsites or a small contribution of money to boost enthusiasm. As we all know, a little bit of collective energy goes a long way in 2008!!
Thanks for your continued support!
-Mark Begich, running against convicted felon Ted Stevens in Alaska:
"This race is far from over!"
http://www.begich.com/home
-Al Franken, running in a tight race in Minnesota that is "too close to call:"
http://www.alfranken.com/
-Jim Martin, "headed to a runoff" against good ol' boy Saxby Chambliss in Georgia:
http://www.martinforsenate.com/
Much love and thanks to all who've participated as brothers and sisters united in this beautiful event!
http://blip.tv/file/1338283
The Associated Press reports that the state's 13 electoral votes go to Democrat Barack Obama. Virginia has not voted Democratic since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
For Obama, AP has called the District of Columbia and Iowa.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama built a formidable lead in his bid to become the first black president Tuesday night, pushing ahead of John McCain in a nation clamoring for change.
Obama had earlier followed up his big win in Ohio with his second red state victory in New Mexico, reported MSNBC, earning 5 more electoral votes. Every candidate who has taken Ohio since Abraham Lincoln has won the election and no Republican has ever won the presidency without the state.
An avalanche of states closed their polls at both 8 and 9 o'clock (EST), pushing the number of electoral votes in play well past the 270 need to win. But neither candidate has managed to steal a state from the other.
The latest round of closures were in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming bringing their balloting to an end. Those states are worth 159 electoral votes.
Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming went to John McCain, reports MSNBC, while Barack Obama picked up Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and New York. Barack Obama currently leading McCain by 175 to 70 in electoral votes.
McCain's victory in North Dakota was the first toss-up of the night to be declared.
The next round of closures comes at 10, with Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah shutting it down.
As the 8 o'clock hour (EST) rolled around, a number of states closed their polls and winners were declared in several more.
Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and D.C. were all called for Barack Obama by MSNBC, just minutes after the senator from Illinois was awarded Pennsylvania and New Jersey. John McCain just picked up Tennessee. Obama now leads John McCain 103 - 34 in the Electoral College, with 270 votes needed for victory.
Despite the early lead for Obama, this thing is far from over, as McCain has yet to to lose any of the states Bush won in 2004.
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Florida all remain in play with 147 electoral votes at stake.
Arkansas had the spotlight to itself at 8:30, when it alone closed its polling. It's at 9 o'clock, however, when things will start to get interesting, with Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming bringing their balloting to an end. Those 14 states are worth 156 electoral votes and could potentially be enough to crown a new commander in chief.
With the clock striking 8, 15 states -- Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida -- and the District of Columbia closed their polls with a total of 171 electoral votes on the line.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey have just been called by MSNBC, with both going to Barack Obama, giving the senator from Illinois a 39 - 16 lead in the Electoral College, with 270 required for victory
The two previous rounds of closings encompassed Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. Those nine states represent 98 electoral votes.
Arkansas will have the spotlight to itself at 8:30, when it alone closes its polling. It's at 9 o'clock, however, when things will start to get interesting, with Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming bringing their balloting to an end. Those 14 states are worth 156 electoral votes and could potentially be enough to crown a new commander in chief.
John McCain made an 11th-hour plea to Colorado voters earlier, encouraging them to ignore the pundits and polls that have predicted an inglorious defeat for the Arizona senator.
"America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here," the GOP nominee told his final rally of a marathon campaign.
WASHINGTON — Long lines, voting machine failures and registration glitches hampered balloting today in precincts in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey and Florida, as Americans flocked to the polls to elect a new president.
Early voting by nearly 31 million people eased congestion in many states, but machine malfunctions forced the temporary closures of some polling stations in Virginia, which is considered a presidential battleground state after decades in which Democratic candidates all but conceded the state.
A civil rights coalition reported that thousands of Virginia voters may have given up in the face of long waits. Leaders of the coalition complained that a polling place that serves nearly 6,000 voters, mostly Virginia Tech students, is at a church six miles away from the university.
The key battleground state of Virginia along with Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont were the first states in the country to complete their polling, with balloting coming to a close at 7 p.m. (EST). The six states represent 58 of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs tonight, the winner needing at least 270 votes.
Virginia, Indiana, South Carolina and Georgia are too close to call, reports MSNBC. Additionally, the network is calling Vermont's 3 electoral votes for Barack Obama and Kentucky's 8 electoral votes for John McCain.
The next round of closings comes at 7:30, when North Carolina, Ohio and West Virgina call it a day.
A scary economy isn't the only fear voters carried to the polls Tuesday. Two-thirds fret about how to pay for health care and at least as many worry that terrorists will attack the U.S. again.
Still, the economy weighed heaviest on their minds. Six in 10 voters picked it as the most important issue facing the nation, according to preliminary polling. None of the four other issues listed by exit pollsters — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10 people.
Almost everyone agreed the economy's condition is either "poor" or "not good." And more than eight in 10 said they were worried about the economy's direction over the next year.
Half of voters said they're very worried the current economic crisis will harm their families, and another third were somewhat worried about that. One reason: about two-thirds of voters have stock market investments, such as retirement funds.
Yet there was room for optimism — nearly half predict the economy will get better over the next year.
NEW YORK - I was sitting in David Plouffe’s spartan office at Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago.
This horserace has been an interesting one, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Instead, I asked the campaign manager about decision-making.
A lot of the campaign's choices have been better than good.
Record numbers of voters flocked to polling stations across the nation Tuesday, energized by a historic election in which they would select either the nation’s first black president or its first female vice president.
Barack Obama, a first-term Democratic senator from Illinois, led in nearly all public opinion polls over John McCain, a veteran Republican senator from Arizona. Both campaigns launched get-out-the-vote efforts that led to long lines at polling stations in a contest that Democrats were also hoping would help them expand their majorities in both houses of Congress.
Heavy turnout was reported across the nation, and even as polls began closing in areas of Kentucky and Indiana at 6 p.m. ET, the identity of the next president was not expected to be known for many hours.
