Here's the challenge: Write new lyrics for your favorite Show Tune to reflect Democratic Victory in November!
The group DTP will vote on the winners after all entries posted.
1st Prize: Obama/Biden bumpersticker and special postage stamps for your fundraising letters!
2nd Prize: Obama/Biden bumpersticker and historic Hillary bumper sticker!
3rd Prize: Obama/Biden bumpersticker!
Next week, the happy hours move to Neighbours Bar and Grill. Onwards and upwards! A special shoutout to Cary Toland who is the co-host with the most- -his graphics for the LGBT Obama outreach efforts are awesome. And if Sally Clark ever runs for higher office--I'll be right there to support her the way she has supported my community.
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Read More »Clinton Distances Herself From Anti-Obama Hillraiser
July 16, 2008
Some former top Hillary Clinton fundraisers have received attention in recent days for thus far declining to help bundle donations for Barack Obama. But none of those figures was actively working against Obama's candidacy. Ricki Lieberman is another matter.
Also a former Clinton "Hillraiser" (meaning she raised more than $100,000 for the campaign), Lieberman is keeping her own private hope alive with a daily email blast to supporters, entitled "Electability Watch," which features a cascade of negative articles and other items about Obama as a means to argue that superdelegates should change their minds in Denver and crown Clinton the nominee instead. A tipster who described them as "disgusting" sent a batch of recent "Electability Watch" emails to the Huffington Post. Their authenticity was confirmed in a phone conversation with Ms. Lieberman, who said her only desire is to "see a Democratic president in the White House" next year.
Any Democrat, perhaps, except Barack Obama -- or "BO aka Bush 3," as Lieberman repeatedly refers to him. The emails sometimes go out of their way to parrot some of the most hardcore attacks on Obama, including comments comparing Obama's planned nomination speech to Nazi-era rallies in Germany. In one email, she quotes messages from apparent Holocaust survivors:
I have heard from many Survivors and their children about the symbolism and implications of use of rules to undermine our core democratic values. Ellen Mendel wrote that "I was born under Hitler in Germany, and reading about the plans for the Obama throng in the stadium in Denver and the implications which have been spelled out, gives me the chills...the DNC will deliver the country to Obama on a platter. I wonder when it will hit them what pawns they have been in this Faustian tragedy.
Another, "As someone who escaped from France during WW ll, I hope that I'm not being over dramatic when I'm more than uneasy with stuff like Obama's possible Denver stadium theatrics and the calibrated negotiations going on about the convention."
Other emails from Lieberman cite Obama's "alliances with a cast of characters include Louis Farrahkan," and urge people to contact the German embassy to protest "Obama's grandiose, inappropriate hope" to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.
In an interview, Lieberman said it is incumbent upon the party's superdelegates to take another cold, hard look at which candidate will be more electable in the fall. Given that neither Obama nor Clinton managed to win enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination, a switch from Obama to Clinton is a technical possibility that nevertheless seems highly improbable.
A spokesperson for Sen. Clinton implicitly distanced the candidate from Lieberman's effort, telling the Huffington Post: "Senator Clinton fully supports Senator Obama. She continues to urge all of her supporters to get behind him. ... She continues to do everything she can to rally folks behind him. We don't support any effort that doesn't."
Read More »I have several images to display, but I can't figure out how to copy pictures into the body of a post. Oh, well, if anyone can enlighten me with that information, I would much appreciate it. I will provide a website in my first comment on this post which you can follow to a wonderful website on contemporary Iranian culture.
FILM: The following is a review I wrote while a performing arts critic at Read More »
I have been struggling this past week with a vexing chronic illness, and spent 4 full days at Univ. of Washington Medical Center getting tests: one C.T. scan, 2 MRI's, lots of blood work and eight different doctor appointments.
Despite my occasional whining about my illness, I am very grateful to be alive and intact in 2008. I am always grateful after spending a day in the hospital: to patients I meet who are worse off than me and inspire me with their courage; to UWMC for being a World Class teaching hospital and for having Medical Insurance which makes wellness possible for me.
I am very grateful to the Democratic Party in 2008: Read More »
RHETORIC: "The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a 'super super jumbo.' Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates. Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama's rate could have saved him more than $300 per month." [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
REALITY: OBAMA DID NOT GET SPECIAL TREATMENT AND RECEIVED HIS RATE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CUSTOMER. HIS RATE IS CONSISTENT WITH RATES FOR OTHERS WITH HIS FINANCIAL PROFILE. REALITY: NORTHERN TRUST DOES NOT HAVE A PROGRAM TO PROVIDE DISCOUNTS TO PUBLIC OFFICIALSUnlike Countrywide Northern Trust Did Not Have A Program To Provide Discounts To Public Officials. "Unlike Countrywide, where leaked internal e-mails documented a special discount program for friends of chief executive Angelo Mozilo, Northern Trust says it has no formal program to provide discounts to public officials." [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
REALITY: NORTHERN TRUST TAKES INTO ACCOUNT EVERY PERSON'S OCCUPATION AND SALARY
Northern Trust: Any Person's Occupation And Salary Would Be Taken Into Consideration For A Mortgage. "'A person's occupation and salary are two factors; I would expect those are two things we would take into consideration,' said Northern Trust Vice President John O'Connell. 'That would apply to anyone seeking to get a mortgage at Northern Trust.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
REALITY: THE RATE OBAMA RECEIVED WAS CONSISTENT WITH INTERNAL NORTHERN TRUST RATES AT THE TIME
The Rate Obama Received Was Consistent With Internal Northern Trust Rates At The Time. "He added that the rates offered to Obama were 'consistent with internal Northern Trust rates at that time.' 'The bottom line is, this was a business proposition for us,' he said. 'Our business model is to service and pursue successful individuals, families and institutions.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
REALITY: CONSISTENT WITH NORTHERN TRUST POLICIES THE LOAN RATE WAS ADJUSTED TO ACCOUNT FOR A COMPETING OFFER
The Loan Rate, Consistent With Northern Trust Policies, Was Adjusted To Account For A Competing Offer From Another Lender. "Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said the rate was adjusted to account for a competing offer from another lender and other factors. 'The Obamas have since had as much as $3 million invested through Northern Trust,' he said in a statement…The Obama campaign called the rate 'consistent with Northern Trust policies, and it reflected the base rate set for that period discounted to address the competition for the account and other opportunities, such as personal financial services, that the relationship would bring to Northern Trust.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
RHETORIC: The Obamas bought the house for $300,000 less than the asking price of $1.95 million, while Rezko's wife, Rita, bought the neighboring lot for the full asking price of $625,000. Rita Rezko later sold a portion of the undeveloped lot to the Obamas, enlarging the senator's yard. [Washington Post, 7/2/08]
REALITY: OBAMA'S MADE THE THREE OFFERS ON THE HOUSE, INCLUDING THE HIGHEST; THE PRICE OF THE HOUSE WAS NOT CONTINGENT ON THE PRICE OF THE LOT
The Sellers Did Not Discount The Price Of The House Based On The Lot, Obamas Made Several Offers For The House Including The Highest. Bloomberg reported, "Burton said a campaign adviser discussed the sale with Wondisford by phone and followed up with an e-mail to Wondisford repeating his points. Wondisford responded: 'I confirm that the three points below are accurate,' according to the e-mail, provided to Bloomberg News and authenticated through records shown by the adviser. The e-mail says that the sellers 'did not offer or give the Obamas a 'discount' on the house price on the basis of or in relation to the price offered and accepted on the lot.' It also says that 'in the course of the negotiation over the sales price,' Obama and his wife, Michelle, 'made several offers until the one accepted at $1.65 million, and that this was the best offer you received on the house.'" [Bloomberg, 2/18/08]
Brown: "I See No Proof" That Obama Did Something Improper In The Purchase Of His House. Mark Brown wrote, "On the central question: Did Obama do something improper in the purchase of the house? I see no proof he did, other than that he had no business at all getting involved with Rezko in any personal financial transaction." [Chicago Sun-Times, 3/15/08]
Zorn: There Was No "Special Discount" And The Price Of The Lot Was Not Inflated. Eric Zorn wrote, "The Obamas did not get a special discount on the house" and "The sellers rejected two lower bids from the Obamas" and "The Rezkos did not pay an inflated price for the vacant lot."
[Chicago Tribune, 6/10/08]
AP: Obama "Has A Spotless Reputation" And "Has Been Accused Of No Wrongdoing Involving Rezko Or Anything Else." The AP reported, "Obama, who has a spotless reputation after 11 years in public offices, has been accused of no wrongdoing involving Rezko or anyone else." [AP, 1/22/08]
Read More Read More »But I know what she is saying...
"Now I've had countless conversations since the end of my campaign," she began. "And I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, energy and emotion -- just their entire being -- into any campaign or cause. ... When it is over, I know how difficult that is ... how challenging it is to turn on a dime. It is a process. It does take time for people to take a deep breath, to go forward. ... But anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack. ... It is critical that we join forces. The Democratic Party is a family -- sometimes a dysfunctional family -- but it is a family. We care about what is going to happen to health care [and education], and in Afghanistan in Iraq. ... That work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House!"
As she wrapped up her remarks and began to introduce Obama, Clinton said, "this is the man -- this is the one -- we should be voting for. ... Do it for your children. Do it for your jobs. Do it for the education of future generations."

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.
The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies. In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.
If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.
DEMOCRATS 08 AND BEYOND!
Have any of you who bitch about being censored ever stopped and just lurked in here for a few days or a week or two? It is a joke! Moreover, it is sickening!
All the current die-hard Hillary people who refuse to do what their candidate has asked them to do along with all the puma crap bitch the most about our constitutional right of Freedom of Speech and being Censored, yet they are the first ones to start bitching and crying when anyone else voices something that they don’t like.
You bitch when any one says anything about either Bill or Hillary Clinton, even when it is TRUTH with sources. Do any of you stop and think how much actual dirt there is on the two of them that people could actually start blogging in here about? I know many who bitch the most are old enough to remember. Yet how many people do you see doing that in here? Yes, it did happen yesterday but there was nothing said that was not backed by many vetted sources and it was done to prove a point.
You bitch when people bring up religion and post their beliefs.
You sit back and cheer on your little groupies as they continue to bring up lies and twist words to fit what they want people to believe. When asked for sources and links they tell people to check the internet or listen to the news because it was just on. Why? Why do you all continue to support this crap?
If you don’t want to support Obama that’s your right. If you want to disagree with Obama that too is your right. If you want to spread lies and half-truths and not back up your words with actual sources that people can read for themselves then you have no right at all to bitch and cry. The fact is Senator Barack Obama is our Presumptive Nominee and will be our Democratic Nominee.
This is supposed to be a Democratic blog site; instead, what it has become is a bash the Democratic Presumptive Nominee site by people who continually say they have been lifelong Democrats. Some of you claim to be working locally for various candidates but do none of it in here. The people that do try to build our party are lost as soon as they appear. The people that want to work on unity have to continue to fight the lies and half-truths. When are you all going to wake up, stop your bitching and do something constructive in here for OUR Democratic Party?
I made life-long friends on that campaign. There was something so exciting and heady to be in the campaign that first demonstrated the power of the internet and small individual donations. There were so many innovations. The blog was INCREDIBLE.
Dean for America is now Democracy for America, and I belong to that site as well. After Dr Dean became Chairman Dean, I put his name on a google alert so I could read every day his interviews across the country as he travelled for his 50-state strategy.
Dean was never popular with the press. They went as negative on him as they went negative on Hillary this election cycle. Even after the 50-state strategy was so successful in 2006, the pundits gave the credit to Rob Emmanuel. Now I like Emmanuel enough, but it was simply a lie that he was responsible for the Dem wins in congress in 2006.
Now in 2008, the successful local candidates supported by the 50 state strategy are able to step into statewide elections and Federal elections. It was a brilliant idea that Dean had.
Here's my confession: I was so disappointed when Dean lost the primaries, that I didn't vote for Kerry, who used most of Dean's talking points without ever giving him an ounce of praise or encouragement. Dean told us to work for Kerry, but I didn't. I moped. I bitched. I railed against the Universe. And the worst part of my confession follows: I didn't vote at all in the Presidential election of 2004. I sat it out, and the day after the election I had a talk with a good friend and started feeling really awful for not voting. I mean, I vote in EVERY election, even school board special elections. But I sat out 2004, depriving not only Kerry, but the down ticket candidates who could have benefited from my vote. Read More »

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.
The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies. In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.
If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.
Following are other favorites of mine. To me, these people are all true Party Builders, as they build the Democratic Party, not tear it down. My motto on my blog is "Democrats of all types, all stripes" I love and cherish the diversity of our Party.
Here goes: Read More »
"It's time to live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. Let's enact federal civil rights legislation to outlaw hate crimes and protect workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Let's repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and demonstrate that the most effective and professional military in the world is open to all Americans who are ready and willing to serve our country. Let's treat the relationships and the families of LGBT Americans with full equality under the law."
But actions speak louder than words, and his commitment to our community goes beyond the rhetorical. Read More »
Teddy Roosevelt said:
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. ... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic. ... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else."
Roosevelt failed to mention (alphabetically) African-Americans, Arab-Americans, Asian-Americans, Australian-Americans, Canadian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Indian-Americans, Iraqi-Americans, Israeli-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Latin-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native-Americans, Russian-Americans, Swiss-Americans, etc. After all, he was a self-proclaimed "Progressive Republican" (another hyphen) and a separatist. I'm not suggesting we return to his vision of America, just using it to portray a partial view.
Within all of the hyphenation, there is even further division by gender, sexual preference, political party affiliation, religion, income and an entire hosts of things we use to define our individuality.
Read More »Thank you for your donation
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:18 pm
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your generous donation of $25.00.
Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our
country and our politics for the better.
Looking for more ways to get involved?
Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future
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http://www.barackobama.com
On My.BarackObama.com you can...
... build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
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There will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your
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Thank you again for your donation.
Obama for America
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