Saintless

If you know anyone who lives in Oregon, give them a call – today, right now!

Ask them if:

• They’re not registered to vote
• They’ve moved since last registering
• They’re not registered as a Democrat
  or
• It’s been more than 5 years since they were at the polls

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, and they want to vote in the upcoming Presidential Primary on May 20, ask them to go register. (Tell them I said hi, and that I hope they’ll vote for Barack Obama!)

They can download a registration form now, but they’ll need to drop off the form today at their county clerk’s office or an official ballot drop site. Find their county clerk’s office here. More information is available on the Barack Obama web site.

Tags: voter registration

Hillary Clinton just showed us what she’ll do if she’s the recipient of one of those 3 am phone calls of hers. She’ll join in with a knee-jerk reaction, and cause more problems, just like she did when she voted for the Iraq War.

Let’s think about this for a moment, shall we? John McCain wants to win an election, and conveniently enough, gas prices are a major issue for nearly every American. Some people are predicing $8 or $10 per gallon for gas this summer. Ouch! So, John McCain thinks that we should nix the gas tax for the summer. The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents a gallon. So, instead of $3.50 per gallon, I’d be paying $3.31 or so. On an 18 gallon tank of gas, I’d go from about $63 for a fill up to $59.58. WOW! What a savings! Or, as Barack Obama puts it (below), that might save me about half a tank of gas over 3 months.

Sounds fine and dandy, right?

Hillary jumps on the bandwagon, saying this is a brilliant idea, destined to revive the economy and have God Himself come down and save us from every other ill. Oh, and we’d pass the cost on to the gas companies as a “windfall profits tax”. Uh-huh. Right. Because they wouldn’t pass that back on to consumers, with a little more on top to cover their headaches, right?

Here’s what the ever-sensible Barack Obama has to say about it:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acI9u-6I8bs]

Hillary Clinton would be a disaster as President. Her repeated knee-jerk reactions to the problems we face could lead us into worse things than we’ve seen under former Governor of Texas, George W. Bush. At least his distasteful manipulations of the American public had a goal – albeit one of profit and greed for him and his oil buddies. Clinton’s manipulations would also have a goal – to prove herself as the first female president.

Dammit, I’d love to see a woman as POTUS. But, I want a woman there who actually can do as well as the guys – one who isn’t trying to prove something, who shows wisdom in her judgment, and will lead our country to better times. Clinton just isn’t it, and this latest reaction from her proves it.

I love what Barack had to say in the video above. He is showing the sound wisdom of a great leader, as he has repeatedly in the past. I want someone like that in the White House when some other disaster strikes.

Tags: wisdom

According to DoNotMail.org, we average about 8 months out of our lives opening junk mail, and that’s not counting the stuff we throw away unopened.

I am going to give their service a try, and hopefully that will save a few trees. But, I’m also for a National Do Not Mail Registry list.

Local post office officials declined to comment directly on the registry, but did say a decrease in deliverable junk mail would have a negative impact on the postal service, since the majority of the mail the post office handles is what people term “junk mail.”

According to the Washington Post, our United States Postal Service has come out against the idea:

The agency has printed 3,000 “information packets” about the economic value of standard mail, with specific data for each of the 18 states that have considered a Do Not Mail Registry. It has dispatched postmasters to testify before legislative committees around the country.

“The Postal Service has come in and clobbered legislators,” said Todd Paglia, executive director of ForestEthics, an environmental group that has collected 289,000 signatures on an online petition to Congress that calls for a National Do Not Mail Registry. “It’s really a people-versus-special interest kind of battle.”

I’m sure that many mega-corporations find the idea harmful. But, that’s their problem. If they can’t come into the modern age where wasting resources is bad, and all things digital are good, the businesses deserve to go the way of the dodo bird.

It looks like there are a lot of resources online to try to rid yourself of junk mail, but since none of them appear to be all-inclusive, a person might waste 7 of the 8 months they’re trying to save! I like the idea of a voluntary do not mail registry.

Tags: National Do Not Call Registry

For All of Us
by Jesse Jacobs, Denise Osso, Brian Occonel, Merilee Newman, Derreck Janniere

A wide spectrum of voters speak about what they are looking for in a candidate and what inspired them to vote for Barack Obama. The ad also expresses the confidence in Obama as the best candidate to address the various crisis facing the nation. The economy, the Iraq War, Heathcare, and the turbulence in the mortgage industry. The overall message is one of optimism, hope, and unity.

I love MoveOn! I saw this video on the local Utah for Obama group, and I think it rocks! Go vote for your favorite Obama in 30 Seconds ad and help get it aired.

Tags: grassroots

Man, this campaigning thing can kill a person! My feet already ached from last night’s Spaghetti Dinner, and I’m just too vain to dress down.

This is my first blog at my new home, here on WordPress. It doesn’t look so great, yet. But, all my old posts are here, along with comments. I do need to consolidate my tags, as Jeff pointed out when I showed him.

The Salt Lake County Democrat’s Spaghetti Dinner went very well! I couldn’t believe how many people were there. Some had to eat standing up, so I guess next year it’ll be moving to a larger facility. All my photos of the dinner were crappy, so I won’t bother posting them.

Today was the Convention, which was absolutely packed. And with the number of people running for National Delegate, I’m surprised there was room for anyone else. Just in my district, Congressional District 2, there are 24 women running for 2 female Obama delegate positions. It looks like Josie Valdez has a very strong campaign going, and because she’s well known, probably has a lot of support. Julie Day had her entire family there passing out flyers, so she might be in the running.

It’s difficult to campaign against people who are not only my friends, but who have also put a lot of effort into the Obama campaign. Janet Hurley and Gail Turpin are also competing for those 2 spots, and I definitely feel a loyalty to them because of their friendship and hard work.

Since Kelly Ann Booth is no longer in the race, Brian King is the nominee for my District (28). I think he’ll do a really good job as our Legislator, and I plan to help him in the General Election as much as possible. I had lunch with him a few weeks ago, and was impressed with not only his goals, but his attitude about working with the R’s once he’s elected. Although, his web site needs some work. It’s next to impossible to find via Google. I’ll have to offer some suggestions to Chris about getting better search results.

I’m fairly certain that Luz Robles won the nomination, replacing incumbent Fred Fife. I didn’t stay long enough to confirm it for myself, but she had tons of support, and I’m really excited for her. She’ll do good things, if she wins the General election.

Most of my time today was spent passing out these flyers:

I got to talk to a lot of people, and I really enjoyed it. I really suck at remembering people’s names, so I had a few awkward moments. But, I think I still connected with a lot of people.

I only made it to 4 of the caucuses. First was the Stonewall Democrats. I totally lost it at the end, mumbling something about that being all, and I tried to crawl in a hole as I shuffled out of the room. I get so nervous speaking to crowds, and so I hope they’ll forgive my inexperience at it. I’m better than I used to be, and the next three went more smoothly. After leaving the Stonewall Democrats, I headed next door to the Health Care Caucus. I guess things had been getting pretty heated, and someone later told me I’d saved the day when I spoke up. I went with my message about how Barack listens to people at the grassroots level, and encouraged them to submit their ideas through Obama’s MyPolicy page. I followed that theme through the Environmental Caucus and the Progressive Caucus, because I think that the people at these caucuses are likely to have some really great ideas, and if they present a unique and beneficial idea that gets used, that benefits everyone. And so few people know about MyPolicy. I threw in a little plug about myself at the end of addressing them, since that was supposed to be why I was there in the first place. At the Environmental caucus, I got an extra plug after I was finished by Bill Keshlear, which made me both feel really good and really embarrassed. As much as the point was supposed to be promoting myself, I still get embarrassed about it.

Also interesting was meeting Mark Towner. I couldn’t hit him up for a vote, unless I don’t make CD 2, and go for the At-Large spot. But, I did have a brief conversation, and I’m pretty sure that he’s sincere in his desire to work with the Democrats.

Nikki Norton took some video of me, so I can make a “campaign video”. I just got that from her, so I need to see about editing it and putting something fun and cool together.

After that, I have the task of finalizing my letter to the delegates, as well as calling as many as possible. I wish I’d have written down the people who said they were supporting me, so I could follow up to confirm. Ah, well. You live, you learn. Right?

Tags: National Delegate

I should have blogged this one earlier, but well…I’ve been too busy planning the damn thing to tell anyone about it.

So, Utah for Obama is taking part in the 50-state Voter Registration Drive on May 10. Since the date happens to correspond with Utah’s Democratic State Convention, Wayne Holland has been nice enough to let us mix it up with the convention. Of course, that is because Democratic voter registration benefits the party, and not just the Obama campaign. Hell, if Obama were to disappear into a black hole, leaving Hillary to get her hands on the Democratic nomination, that would mean voter registration would benefit her, too.

Anyway, the really great thing about this is that on one of the planning conference calls for this event, I got to hear the Deputy Campaign Manager talk about why the Obama campaign is doing this. They still have the last few straggler states to get votes in, so why worry about the General Election this early? Well, it’s because Obama isn’t trying to win the office of President. He’s got much grander plans than that, and it involves you and me, and every level of the Democratic Party across the country. He’s very serious about making sure that Democrats win every seat and office available to them in the nation, because that will help us to accomplish our goals. Registering voters is just a first step in that.

And registering voters on May 10 is just the first time, we’ll continue registering voters through the fall.

So, if you want to volunteer for this event, please let us know. I’ll be posting more information about this soon, but since it’s already making news, I thought I’d at least blog the basics. We’re still setting up the committee that will handle this event, and the ones in the future, so all the details aren’t available quite yet.

Update: The campaign’s announcement about this is now out. Check out this video with Barack talking about the importance of voter registration.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px1Ut433xPU&hl=en]

I’m absolutely appalled that America is just standing by and watching as the children and parents of the FLDS are treated as criminals. Here’s what I know of the situation (please enlighten me on anything I might be missing):

• A woman calls in and lies about who she is, saying she’s being abused
• Texas “authorities” round up babies, toddlers, teens and mothers as if they were cattle
• Nursing babies are abused by those authorities by being separated from their mothers
• Toddlers are abused also, although at least they haven’t had their only chance at nursing ended
• The whole community is being paraded in the news as a circus spectacle

And then, they’re all subjected to DNA tests to figure out how the community fits together?

This is the worst violation of basic human rights that I can imagine our country coming up with, short of declaring these people to be “3/5 human”! If there are abuses going on, and I’m sure that there are, is the way to prevent this to round up hundreds of the victims themselves and subject them to massive human rights violations? I fully consider depriving the infants from their mother’s milk to be an aggressive act of abuse.

This is America. We sit in our warm, cozy houses thinking we have the perfect country, where our human rights are protected more than anywhere else in the world, and watch this debacle unfold on television, where it seems more like an HBO special happening to fictitious characters than something horrible happening to US citizens.

This is not right. And the most I’ve seen anyone suggest that I can do about it is sign an online petition sure to get ignored. I don’t want to sit on my hands about this. Yet, what else can I do? This is a sad day for Democracy.

Update 1: Well, if you think that the Houston Rockets basketball team are responsible for the FLDS mess, there’s another option. KSL reports that some are planning to protest the Jazz vs Rockets game, along with stalking the players at their hotel rooms. Brilliant!

Tags: FLDS

The Utah for Obama group is looking for as many Obama lawn signs as possible. We need to borrow them for the SL County Convention this Saturday.

If you can loan yours to us, please put your name and phone number inside the sign, so we can return it to you.

You can email me at saintless@gmail.com or call 386.7729 if you’re able to help.

Dimitri recently organized a group of Utahns who support Senator Obama to participate in the MS Walk. Nikki took her camera down and got a really good interview with him, and another supporter, Brooke.

Listen to Dimitri, and tell me that you can continue ignoring healthcare issues in this country. I dare you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KOYIGze7PI&hl=en">

Tags: Universal Health Care

Michael Moore made some excellent points in his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President. My favorites are in bold:

My Vote’s for Obama (if I could vote) …by Michael Moore

April 21st, 2008

Friends,

I don’t get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn’t get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.

So, if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote — and yours — on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?

I haven’t spoken publicly ’til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don’t give a rat’s ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there’s a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word “Democratic” next to the candidate’s name.

Seriously, I know so many people who don’t care if the name under the Big “D” is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.

Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I’ve watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name “Farrakhan” out of nowhere, well that’s when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the “F” word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama’s pastor does — AND the “church bulletin” once included a Los Angeles Times op-ed from some guy with Hamas! No, not the church bulletin!

This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!

Yes, Senator Clinton, that’s how you sounded. Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity. How sad that I would ever have to write those words about you. You have devoted your life to good causes and good deeds. And now to throw it all away for an office you can’t win unless you smear the black man so much that the superdelegates cry “Uncle (Tom)” and give it all to you

But that can’t happen. You cast your die when you voted to start this bloody war. When you did that you were like Moses who lost it for a moment and, because of that, was prohibited from entering the Promised Land.

How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come — but it won’t be you. We’ll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).

There are those who say Obama isn’t ready, or he’s voted wrong on this or that. But that’s looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.

That is not to take anything away from this exceptional man. But what’s going on is bigger than him at this point, and that’s a good thing for the country. Because, when he wins in November, that Obama Movement is going to have to stay alert and active. Corporate America is not going to give up their hold on our government just because we say so. President Obama is going to need a nation of millions to stand behind him.

I know some of you will say, ‘Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?’ That’s a damn good question. In November of ’06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?

I’ll tell you why. Because I can’t stand one more friggin’ minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I’m almost at the point where I don’t care if the Democrats don’t have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain’t “Bush” and the word “Republican” is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that’s good enough for me.

I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That’s why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters — that big “D” on the ballot.

Don’t get me wrong I lost my rose-colored glasses a long time ago.

It’s foolish to see the Democrats as anything but a nicer version of a party that exists to do the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgement and a hope that one day we will have a party that’ll represent the people first, and laws that allow that party an equal voice.

Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, “Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for ‘spiritual counseling?’ THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!”

But no, Obama won’t throw that at her. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be decent. She’s been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

That’s why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That’s why he’ll take us down a more decent path. That’s why I would vote for him if Michigan were allowed to have an election.

But the question I keep hearing is… ‘can he win? Can he win in November?’ In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it’s possible to hear the words “President McCain” on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She’s counting on it.

Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only “three fifths” human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com

Tags: Michael Moore