Yes, you have to make the time to read & watch. No speech, no matter how good, could cover policy details. We owe it to ourselves to be informed & be proactive in spreading these specifics to the masses. For new supporters, these links are the best place start. The media has proven itself to be a useless outlet to get factual information, so go straight to the source.
Familiarize yourself with his policies, here: link
MUST WATCH! This was Obama’s roundtable meeting with NH Editorial Board waaayy back in Oct’07,still applicable now: link He discussed Iraq, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Healthcare, Veterans & a whole slew of issues in details. Watch how he thinks. He spoke when he was still competing against Sen. Clinton, John Edwards and others so there’s small distinction on healthcare, but very respectful.
WATCH his Foreign Policy Forum in New Hampshire - Barack Obama & his Foreign Policy Team: link
To know more intimately on Sen. Obama’s thought process, PLEASE READ OR LISTEN TO HIS TWO BOOKS:“Dreams From My Father” & “The Audacity of Hope”. With smears out there spreading false quotes from the books, we need to arm ourselves with knowledge of exactly what’s written.
Obama's records as State Senator: link
IMPORTANT! Get familiarized with what he's doing as Illinois Senator: link
LISTEN to his podcasts as a Senator from WAAAYYY before he ran for presidency (my favs & no other candidates do this!): link RECENT PRIORITY: Strengthening government transparency on spending working with Tom Coburn, Round 2: link
In 110th Congress Sen. Obama is a PRIMARY sponsor of 124 bills & resolutions: link and co-sponsor 476 of them, totaling 601(I have problem w/ the url on the result), but you can click his name here: link
He’s the 1st to make his earmarks public: link I know that McCain said the best thing isn't to ask for earmarks at all. Well, when the government is wasting money left & right to corporations in disguise of a war, Senators need to ask for infrastructure money for their states so long as they're done openly.
LASTLY, here are tips for talking to people & engage new comers: link.I use this all the time & it’s been a success!
BONUS!When I feel discouraged or frustrated at our country’s current political state let alone at our ability to repair our standing in the world, I watch this: link and recently I add this to the list: link. There’s nothing like watching & listening to a Kenyan boy sharing his inspiration to be Barack Obama & Barack Obama inspiring his staffs & volunteers after winning the primary that brings me right back to HOPE!
It was fun indeed. I dragged the whole family there & they had a great time. I..., on the other hand, HAD A BALL!!! Local FOX channel was there, got to see ourselves at local SD 6 o'clock news, but the coverage wasn't very positive. The reporter said, there's nothing special about this particular gathering - it's just like any other campaign office openings. Blah...Blah...Blah....
I was there and it didn't feel like just any other campaign office opening. We're the first presidential campaign office opened in San Diego. So, it showed that we're organized & don't take any states for granted. The energy was terrific & I got to meet a whole lot of people who support Obama like I do. The Jostens' 3 year old son opened the event with his voice singing the National Anthem, clinging to dad for moral support. I wish all of you were there listening to little Jack, his voice would melt your heart. Then their 5 year old daughter, Hailey came up and sang My Country ‘Tis of Thee, just as adorable as her brother. By the time these two youngens finished singing we were hollering, cheering & clapping like crazy. Speeches followed. Edith Ramirez, Obama's Latino Outreach Director, gave us some encouragement to keep volunteering & organizing to be ready to receive momentum from early states. Do you know that Edith knew Obama since his Harvard's days? Then we're treated with an elaborate modern African dance that was just - what's the word? - O...ya... STUNNING!! Those dancers CAN MOVE!! Jazz filled the air while everyone mingle till the event ended.
Here are the pictures (I was there behind the camera): Link to Slideshows
Now, do they look like any other presidential campaign office openings to you?
My uncle & his family just came to visit from Holland on a 3 week vacation and we spoke about Obama a lot. It's fascinating to hear the frustration in their voices when they're talking about America & it's current leader. But I also feel their hopefulness that Americans would be able to do the right thing by making the right decision in electing our next one. People all over the world pay attention to our presidental election because who Americans decide to lead the country will eventually effect them all. My uncle said to me "I hope Americans realize how lucky they are that they're given Barack Obama as one of the choices to be their leader. It amazes me how blind a lot of Americans are because they can't see something sooo good staring them in the face. This country is known as the land of opportunity and now when they have the opportunity to elect a GREAT leader, not just a good leader, BUT A GREAT ONE, they're struggling to decide. I hope they'll have the courage to open their eyes in time to make the right choice. Because if it's on any other countries in the world, their people would jumped at the chance in an instant to elect somebody like Barack. There wouldn't even be a competition." It's the idea that people who live in places where opportunity for greatness are so rare, they can spot it right away when it's there. Americans have totally the opposite problem, we have so many opportunities to be GREAT, we're having probems selecting the right path to get there. It's such a profound conversation, I think about it everytime I talk to people about Barack. This is why we do what we do, knock on doors, make phone calls, talk about Obama to perfect strangers, volunteer, get out of our comfort zones, to help people see & separate the GREAT from the GOOD. To help people grab that "opportunity of a lifetime" instead of just "opportunity".My aunt said "You're helping people to spot THE ONE DIAMOND imbedded in a sea of CUBIC ZIRCONIAS!" They all have the sparkles, but ONLY one is THE REAL THING. Boy, do we have our work cut out for us!! :-)
Since the day Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the President of the United States, the press has been all over him with all kinds of not so complimentary articles. Headlines about his inexperience, race, hopefulness, religion, lapel pins, and him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, are regular headings on Google, newspapers, and on mainstream media daily talks. So, this week has been uncharacteristically good for our candidate when I see positive coverages of him clustered together in a short period of time. It's a perfect time to put all the positive articles and video clips on my favorite to share with my friends and colleagues. I like to have them handy for rebuttals of negative rumors (negative rumors - isn't that redundant?)
Anyway, I came across this video clip from staffofhope.org about JAMES – a Kenyan boy – who dreams to be BARACK OBAMA and I can’t help but be inspired by his honesty and his hopefulness of providing a better life for him and his mother regardless of the hardships he faces. James sees the potential of his dream, of what he can be. This boy HEARD about what Senator Obama has done and is doing (he didn’t meet him, he didn’t see him on TV, he didn’t go to a ceremony where Obama was attending) and yet you can see the twinkle in his eyes when he talks about wanting to be JUST LIKE OBAMA. I’m so lifted at the thought of the many JAMESes out there in America and the rest of the world.
Senator Obama on his campaign trails and on interviews often says “The day I’m inaugurated as the President of The United States the world will look at this country differently.” Well, to tell you the truth, it’s hard to fully grasp the depth of that statement, to see it in concrete tangible evidence where we can fully understand what he’s talking about, until of course you see this video. the influence Obama has on the hearts and minds around the world is such a powerful thing to see. This clip reaffirms me why America needs Barack Obama to lead right now, not 4 years from now, not 8 years from now, BUT NOW!!! Just like at the successful JJ dinner last night in IOWA, where he said “OUR MOMENT IS NOW!” Those words rang sooo true because it is NOW - before it's too late - that we have this narrow window of opportunity to present a BETTER AMERICA in this country and beyond our own borders.
No presidential candidate can inspire the way he does. It’s GOD’s gift and it’s up to us to make sure we give ourselves that gift and share it with the world. See for yourself (it's worth 14 minutes of your time):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2896167136122123303&q=obama&total=13946&start=80&num=10&so=1&type=search&plindex=7
OBAMA'08
Oh what a day!! I finally did it guys...I PASSED my citizenship test.The test itself wasn't that difficult, it's way..too easy quite frankly. After October 2008 the US has put revisions to the citizenship test which is desperately needed. When you have to read "David and Susan goes to the market" as your reading test and write "I drive a blue car to work" as your written test, I know America left plenty of room for improvements. The US history questionaires were much better and I'd love if they put more of them. We have to start requiring more of our citizens - native born and naturalized, reading "David and Susan goes to the market" and writing "I drive a blue car to work" aren't going to cut it.
Mostly it's the journey to get to the test day that's been quite challenging to say the least. INS lost my application the 1st time around and it took years for them to officially declared it lost. They cashed my $470 check that accompanied the application, but couldn't find the darn thing to save their lives. They looked & searched - they said - to no avail. So, I had to start the process all over again, repay the $470 and reapply which of course took more time. I'm just so relieved that it didn't get lost again and I made it to the test day and passed. I'm one step closer to cast my vote for Barack Obama.
INS told me I'll be receiving a letter letting me know when to attend the naturalizaiton ceremony, it should be the middle or the end of this month. I CAN'T WAAAAIIITTT!! The first thing I'd do after the ceremony is REGISTER TO VOTE.
The day of my going to the booth to cast my very first vote for a candidate I truly believed-in will be one of the most important day in my life, right up there with getting married & child bearing. I love this country, for the good, the bad and everything in between, and I'm honored to finally be able to call myself an American.
