Presidential Proclamation--Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2010

The White House - Office of the Press Secretary - January 15, 2010
Presidential Proclamation--Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-martin-luther-king-jr-day
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., challenged our Nation to recognize that our individual liberty relies upon our common equality. In communities marred by division and injustice, the movement he built from the ground up forced open doors to negotiation. The strength of his leadership was matched only by the power of his words, which still call on us to perfect those sacred ideals enshrined in our founding documents.
"We have an opportunity to make America a better Nation," Dr. King said on the eve of his death. "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land." Though we have made great strides since the turbulent era of Dr. King's movement, his work and our journey remain unfinished. Only when our children are free to pursue their full measure of success -- unhindered by the color of their skin, their gender, the faith in their heart, the people they love, or the fortune of their birth -- will we have reached our destination.
Today, we are closer to fulfilling America's promise of economic and social justice because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Dr. King, yet our future progress will depend on how we prepare our next generation of leaders. We must fortify their ladders of opportunity by correcting social injustice, breaking the cycle of poverty in struggling communities, and reinvesting in our schools. Education can unlock a child's potential and remains our strongest weapon against injustice and inequality.
Recognizing that our Nation has yet to reach Dr. King's promised land is not an admission of defeat, but a call to action. In these challenging times, too many Americans face limited opportunities, but our capacity to support each other remains limitless. Today, let us ask ourselves what Dr. King believed to be life's most urgent and persistent question: "What are you doing for others?" Visit www.MLKDay.gov to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.
Dr. King devoted his life to serving others, and his message transcends national borders. The devastating earthquake in Haiti, and the urgent need for humanitarian support, reminds us that our service and generosity of spirit must also extend beyond our immediate communities. As our Government continues to bring our resources to bear on the international emergency in Haiti, I ask all Americans who want to contribute to this effort to visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/HaitiEarthquake.
By lifting up our brothers and sisters through dedication and service -- both at home and around the world -- we honor Dr. King's memory and reaffirm our common humanity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2010, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service programs in honor of Dr. King's life and lasting legacy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA

See our presidents, listen to Ravel

Here's the link, thanks to a friend:

http://www.flixxy.com/presidents-morphing.htm

I note that Grover Cleveland was our last bearded president.

Adopt five people and get them to vote

In case you're living in a cave and not receiving Obama campaign emails, here's one of their better ideas.

Adopt five people and encourage them to vote for Obama.

And make sure you click through to this My.BarackObama.com link and read the one simple page enumerating five types of people who should be voting in greater numbers.

You know some of them. You know five of them. Ask them if they're voting early. Ask them until they give up and do it.

First votes for Obama will come after camping out at polling place

A guest blogger reports:

Dara Schoenwald and Dave Doebler lend new meaning to the phrase "opposites attract." Schoenwald, 32, is petite, red-headed cultural anthropologist for an advertising agency. Among her passions are outdoor music festivals, dancing barefoot, and participating in the emerging local arts scene. Doebler, 36, is a 6-foot-3 software sales executive. He enjoys reading, barbecueing, and rare, fine wines.

However, Schoenwald and Doebler agree on their pick for the upcoming presidential election. In fact, the couple has made a pact to camp outside the steps of the Miami Beach City Hall Sunday night Oct. 19, in hopes that they will be the first Floridians to cast their votes for Obama, when the early voting polls open on 7a.m. Monday.

"I don't want to wait until November 4th," says Doebler. "By voting early, we get to beat the long lines. Also, we are already taking Election Day off from work to volunteer by driving people to the polls. We are very excited to be the first ones in Florida to pull the lever for Senator Obama."

Schoenwald credits the Obama campaign for producing a groundswell of support in South Florida, especially among young people. "I believe in Obama's message of change for our country." says Schoenwald. "No other presidential election has excited me as much as this one. After eight years of Bush in the White House, I think South Florida is ready for a switch to more progressive and informed governance."

Among the items that Schoenwald and Doebler plan to pack for their overnight stay: a sturdy tent, a sleeping bag for two, bug spray, and their iPods, which will feature official campaign music "Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement."

Miami Beach residents are encouraged to join the couple, in order to demonstrate community support and unity for this groundbreaking presidential election. To participate, contact Dara Schoenwald at dara_s@yahoo.com.

Spanish Star Noelia Zanon Joins VoteFest08 Musical Lineup

Noelia Zanon.

North Beach volunteers Dan Jessup, Evelyn Sussman and Ann Horwich inspecting the North Shore Bandshell.


Spanish singing star Noelia Zanon is joining our sizzling lineup of performers for VoteFest08 – sponsored by the Miami-Dade Democratic Party to promote early voting on Sunday, Oct. 26.

Registered voters from anywhere in Miami-Dade County are invited to the North Shore Bandshell on Miami Beach. Music starts at 12 noon on Oct. 26 in the Art Deco bandshell on Collins Avenue at 73rd Street. Two blocks away is the early voting site at the North Shore Library, and teen-corps volunteers will be on hand to escort people to the polling place.

The sensational Noelia Zanon has been touring in the United States to stir up Hispanic voters for the Democrats -- most recently in Georgia. Putting the Miami Beach event on her schedule is a tremendous addition to the already big lineup of local talent -- unprecedented in recent Miami memory.

Also new on the performing roster is a terrific gospel group, The Spencerairs. Among the other live acts will be DJ Le Spam, Guajiro, Miami folk musician Jesse Jackson, bluesman Albert Castiglia and his band, Here II Here, Marivana, The Gardis, Miami Rock Ensemble, Javier Garcia, Maguinha, Tereso, Urban Fruit and We Live in Houses.

Early voting on Sunday, Oct. 26 begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. The music starts at noon and continues until 8 p.m. For more information, check the Facebook event site or the new website VoteFest08.com.

In Florida’s Economic Pain, Obama Gains Ground: Ny Times

Here's the NY Times take on Florida a month before the election.

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Jim Piccillo lost his job as a bank vice president in August, applied for food stamps to support his two young daughters and swore off a life of loyalty to the Republican Party. He now volunteers here in Pasco County for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

That's not the entire story, of course. The questions are many. The watchword is -- what else? -- Turnout!

Slide show of Obama rally scenes

The photos posted on this blog earlier today were sent direct from my cell phone to the blog.

"Experience" and Barack Obama

After watching Sarah Palin’s sarcastic speech I needed an antidote, and there in my inbox was a submission by John Dudley, a fellow member of the Miami Beach Democratic Club. Thanks, John, for your artful reminder of all the wisdom that Barack Obama represents. Such a contrast to Republicans with their complete experience doing the wrong thing.

Subject: Experience and Barack Obama

By John Dudley

1377, from O.Fr. Experience, from L. experientia "knowledge gained by repeated trials," from experientem (nom. experiens), knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone: a man of experience: active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill.

Much has been said about Barack Obama's inexperience. This is somewhat true.

• Barack has no experience in lying our Country into war. Barack has no experience in making military decisions where our brave soldiers have died or have been wounded as a result of misinformation.
• Barack has no experience in the failed economic policies that delivered the worst June U.S. Stock index decline since the Great Depression of 1930.
• Barack has no experience in presiding over a housing crisis with record foreclosures causing millions of Americans to lose their homes.
• Mr. Obama has no experience in supporting an administration that issues higher inflation for gasoline and food which are the staples for American working families.
• He has no experience presiding over an unacceptable high school dropout rate and still no healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.
• Barack Obama has no experience with supporting the failed governmental policies of the Republicans and the Bush/McCain Administration.

This 'experience' of the last eight years of our government should never be repeated. This 'experience' of a completely disastrous, inept, divisive Republican Administration is NOT what this country needs. It is because Barack Obama has no experience in these failures that he should be the next President of the United States.

There's a Palin bounce in the polls -- for Obama

Please browse on over to DailyKos to see the lovely blue and red lines of the polls diverging since the weekend news that Sarah Palin was the best John McCain could find.

My first reaction to the news last Friday was that McCain was giving up. Then I wondered whether this would be a move to capture a few dead-enders in the Hillary camp. Then I went back to thinking that McCain had given up.

We still must handle this right. Every sentence or blog post could be a minefield. Barack Obama himself said the family and children were outa bounds. I'm inclined to agree, though I just heard on an NPR program that the Republicans announced that the young father of Bristol Palin's pregnancy will attend the convention. Well, I guess that eases some of the restrictions, and so I'm opening the gate here to a submission by guest blogger David Cooper, whom I know through membership in Veterans for Peace.

Let 'er rip, David

Abstinence-Only Hits Home

 

With John McCain’s surprise selection of Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, to be his running mate, many blogs went into overdrive in an attempt to understand the decision. Rumors began circulating that the child was not Sarah Palin’s, but rather her 17-year-old daughter's. Palin’s statement that she began leaking amniotic fluid shortly before a speech in Dallas, and chose to continue boarding a plane for a 12-hour flight back to her home state to give birth, may be a more damning indictment of her judgment than the unsubstantiated rumors that she is not the mother of the child. When a pregnant woman’s “water breaks,” a clock begins running that has health consequences for both mother and child. Not to mention the potential impact on fellow passengers who may have been traveling to life changing job interviews, or visiting elderly relatives for the last time, or going to funerals, or weddings, many of who would be affected by an emergency landing in another city, delaying their plans.

 

Putting aside the judgment of the above decision, a larger question looms. The McCain camp has confirmed that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old un-married daughter is pregnant and has chosen to keep her child, which is consistent with their pro-life beliefs. Presumably, the pro-life and socially and religious conservative Sarah Palin subscribes to the abstinence-only policies of the conservative party she belongs to. A short look at the results of the abstinence-only policies says all one needs to know about her judgment as a political figure on the national stage.

 

Abstinence-only education does not work. Without comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education programs, ended by the Bush administration, teens are dangerously ill equipped to deal with their sexuality. A report prepared for Rep. Henry Waxman found that of the 13 most commonly used curricula for abstinence-only education, 11 used by 69 organizations in 25 states contain unproved claims, subjective conclusions or outright falsehoods. The federal government does not review or approve the accuracy of the information presented in abstinence-only programs. There is no oversight of your tax dollars for these programs. One inaccuracy is the claim that condoms fail to prevent HIV 31% of the time when in actuality a New England Journal of Medicine study failed to find one single case of HIV transmission between HIV-positive individuals and their HIV-negative partners who used condoms consistently, despite a total of 15,000 acts of intercourse.[i]

 

Moreover, a straight line can be drawn between economic concerns and an increase in abortion rates. Studies show that two-thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child. In the seven and a half years of the current administration, unemployment rates have increased, real wages are down, and minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation.  Half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate. Men who are jobless usually do not marry. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall, unwanted pregnancy and abortion rise. Women also worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since millions more people have no health insurance now than before this administration—with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those millions—abortion increases. Researcher and professor of Christian ethics, Dr. Glen Stassen said, “Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative.”[ii]

 

And, how does abstinence-only education address already sexually active teens? It doesn’t, which adds more numbers to unwanted pregnancy and abortion cases.

 

The Obama camp has stated that any of their people that attack Sarah Palin or her family on private issues will be fired. That is commendable, but questioning the judgment of a vice presidential candidate—a person literally one heartbeat away from the presidency—is a valid and necessary process. In addition, haven’t we had enough of an administration that does not allow facts to penetrate the politics, and is it not time for more sound fact-based policy and less politics?

 

Standing by a failed policy that has proven unsuccessful in one's own life is a clear sign of a person who does not exercise sound judgment.

 

Whether or not Sarah Palin is a good pick for McCain depends on what side of the political aisle one stands. For Obama supporters, it may turn out to be a great pick. From a qualification perspective, picking her raises questions about McCain’s judgment as well.

 

David Cooper

Oops, somehow David's footnotes didn't make the transition on first attempt. Here they are:

---

[i] From the The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs report prepared for Rep. Henry A. Waxman. www.Democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20041201102153-50247.pdf

[ii] Pro-Life? Look at the Fruits by Dr. Glen Harold Stassen. www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=041013 also see, Why abortion rate is up in Bush years by Glen Stassen and Gary Krane

Final Note: click here for the NY Times Caucus blog and its photos and story of McCain and his family getting together with the Palin family today at the Minneapolis airport.

Republican convention speeches inspire ... even this Democrat

(Crossposted on Florida Progressive Coalition blog)
UPDATE: Good comment available on State Rep. Dan Gelber's blog, too.

Thanks to a quick-ending meeting of the Miami Beach Democratic Club, I was able to listen on the car radio and get home to watch on TV most of the Republican speeches Tuesday night: Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman.

What a wash of crap!

May I quote the best one-word line from Barack Obama’s acceptance speech in Denver: “Enough!”

But they will not stop. We face nine weeks of this until election day. It will be hard slogging, and few in the news media will step up to contradict the mean-spirited distortions that will be directed at Barack Obama and the inflated praise that will bathe the McCain-Palin ticket.

An example of this wishy-washy media performance on MSNBC a few minutes ago: After the speeches, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) was interviewed by a floor reporter whose name I didn’t note and she lied blatantly about Obama’s vote on an abortion measure, declaring that he was willing to let “babies die.“ The reporter didn't challenge this. Thanks goodness that Anchor Keith Olbermann came on screen to declare that the issue had been quite different and that Obama had based his vote on the fact that laws already prohibited such an event. And, he declared, he was quite sure that Heather Wilson knew full well that was the case.

In other words, Ms. Wilson may speak with a gentle tone but she lies. Thank you, Keith Olbermann.

George W. Bush, speaking from Washington with what looked curiously like two crosses flanking flags in the background, startled me by running through John McCain’s time as a POW and then asserting, “If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain’s resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.”

Huh? “Angry left?” Is that us? Are we trying to break McCain’s resolve? My aim is to elect Obama, and McCain’s morale is not on my radar.

Bush ran on about abortion and protecting against hurricanes and claimed much for his tenure, and then must have been put into a sound-proof cell while Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman creamed the Washington that Bush has nurtured for eight years. And where would the odiferous Dick Cheney have been secreted to keep him from hearing Thompson describe his Republican successor, Sarah Palin, as a “breath of fresh air?”

Thompson started off stepping on his own lines but warmed up and predicted that McCain-Palin would “drain the swamp of Washington.” (Listening, W?)

Olbermann was startled, apparently, when Thompson channeled Wes Clark and said that “Being a POW does not qualify someone to be president, but it does reveal character.” Olbermann, in the after-speech wrapup, asked several times about whether this was a little off-message, since Thompson described McCain’s service and captivity in excruciating detail.

Thompson, speaking with the help of a Teleprompter, derided Obama’s oratory as “a Teleprompter speech designed to appeal to America’s critics abroad.”

The hall was awash with two main signs: “Country First” and “Service.” Maybe that was another reason for keeping George W. Bush and Cheney away, famous for shirking service and having other priorities when others were fighting and dying. (I was an infantryman patrolling the Delta in 1967 when McCain was getting shot down.) Bush’s father, Bush 41, was in the hall and received a big-screen video tribute to his service. Another video idolized Ronald Reagan, who was pictured wearing a military service cap as if he’d had a warrior career. Jeb Bush, by the way, was not in the Bush box.

Olbermann introduced Lieberman’s keynoter entrance as “one of the great political reversals.” Indeed, once the Democrats’ VP nominee and now an escapee from McCain’s short list to be the Republican VP (Who would want to lose twice?), Lieberman worked for a few paragraphs like a Democrat to lay out massive problems deriving from two Republican terms. People out there “face big and real problems,” he said, naming fear of losing jobs, worry about health insurance, threats from abroad. Feeble applause as he stretched his face wider and declared that the people wanted solutions but Washington gave out nothing but “senseless partisanship.”

He went on to misquote George Washington on the issue, and here my notes give out, but Keith Olbermann later said the First President had not merely condemned partisanship but in fact thought all political parties were anathema.

Lieberman got a little more applause with this line of argument, though it seems faulty: If McCain would be so mavericky and non-partisan, what would he do with the restless genius of Karl Rove? But then Lieberman gave Bill Clinton favorable marks for passing welfare reform and trade agreements and for balancing the budget. Curiously, a few minutes earlier, Fred Thompson had claimed the same accomplishments as Republican triumphs during his one term as senator from Tennessee.

Finally, Lieberman did his assigned job, speaking to the camera to people “out there” who are “Democrats and independents and Republicans” and urging them to “vote for the best for the country, not for the party you happen to belong to.”

That’s where I hope this message falls apart. I do not happen to belong to the Democratic Party. It is a conscious and intelligent choice, and one of the things I dislike most about the Republicans is the two-faced behavior that disgraces their election campaigns.

I’m glad I watched and listened. Now to work harder.

One last note: earlier, as I was driving home I turned on NPR and heard a nominating speech by a woman whose name I didn’t catch. She started off seeming to claim a touch of heroism in her military career but then it turned out she’d come down with a circulatory ailment while on PR duty in Bosnia and had a leg amputated when things went wrong at Walter Reed. One can sympathize with her plight and still wonder why this downer was one of the nominating speeches for McCain.

Joe Biden introduces himself

Many were hungry for him. I heard this canvassing this evening on Miami Beach, a chunk of Normandy Isle where big homes on the water are next to rather neglected properties – Florida, right?

A lovely lady from Haiti with a sparkly grandchild on her arm was thrilled to have the Obama campaign knock on her door, and quickly signed up as a volunteer. Next, she signed the absentee ballot form. “I was so happy to have Joe Biden chosen,” she said.

Those who assert that they’re sitting on the fence because Sen. Clinton wasn’t chosen must consider what they’re doing by withholding enthusiasm. We still need volunteers and donations and spirit.

Biden news in the middle of the night

My email inbox shows a Huffington Post urgent at 1:34 a.m. with an AP story reporting Joe Biden as the VP choice. I’m guessing that this broke up plans by the Obama campaign to make the announcement later at some civilized hour on the East coast.

My first awareness of the choice came at 3:08 a.m. when the iPhone on my bedside table vibrated with a text message. I was asleep but not in a deep cycle, and I heard the buzz. Reaching over and picking up the phone, I saw that Biden was the choice, and I noted the time. It was gratifying to have a political promise fulfilled – to make the announcement by text message. I know, the news media made their usual little scoops, beating the news by an hour or so and probably forcing an early announcement. This is how they train for the big stuff, like investigating official corruption. More power to them.

Now the first Obama-Biden rally is to be available for our watching in a new way, too – on the Internet, 3 p.m. Eastern, at www.barackObama.com.

Let’s all be there.

UPDATE: Well, I went to that website and, good thing I'd turned on C-Span, because otherwise I wouldn't have seen the speeches from Springfield. So, a political promise broken early in the Obama-Biden campaign. Nothing resembling live TV was available on the Obama website. I rambled over the Ustream.tv and found it there, but it was so scrambled by buffering delays that C-Span was the only solution.

Let it be noted, I'm still for Obama-Biden.