We all understand the historical urgency and imperative of holding Bush and Cheney accountable for their grave crimes against our own country and all of humanity.

And we haven’t got a lot of time to move on the particular action in this alert so please go to the Obama change site TODAY (voting closes 12/31 at midnight), where there is already a question calling for a special prosecutor, and

1. Sign in at http://change.gov/openforquestions
2. Search for “Fitzgerald”
3. This will display several similar questions, so look carefully for “Bob Fertik” (who started the question)
4. Look right for the checkbox, mouseover it so it goes from white to dark, then click to cast your vote

And let’s all vote for the SAME question (don’t start another new one) and demonstrate to our new incoming administration that letting the crimes of the past slide without retribution is NOT an option. (more…)

December 17, 2008

Dear Volunteer,

Every time our nation faces crisis, our national experience has shown Americans rise to the challenge. While government has an important role to play in helping rekindle our economy and addressing the problems of a distressed nation, President-elect Obama believes each of us, as Americans, have a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens. We are one nation.

The United States is once again at a crossroads and that is why the President-elect hopes to use the occasion of his Inauguration to rally our nation to commit to service in our communities. We are asking for your organization’s participation in meeting this challenge.

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect will launch a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama will ask Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He will ask all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

The call will go to all Americans to organize service projects and join others at events in their communities. As the Co-chairs of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, we invite you and your organization to join other Americans to organize service projects in your communities. The Presidential Inaugural Committee will offer Americans a new website to help promote your events and for Americans to make their commitments, build communities, find opportunities to serve and share their results. These can be events that orient people to your organization’s work, engage people in direct service, or bring people together to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and how they can commit to becoming more engaged citizens. To submit a service event that you will help organize, please go to http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/DS1

We have a great opportunity to set the tone for the next four years and I know you will rise to the challenge. Thank you for all your support.

Sincerely,
William M. Daley
Patrick Ryan
Penny Pritzker
Julianna Smoot
John W. Rogers, Jr.

I was talking with a former Republican row officer holder today and learned that there is no apparent opponent for the DA post in LebCo. I think we ought to change that, even if the candidate is a sacrifice and is not expected to win. The status quo should be challenged here.

The following letter was received by John Rose.

John –

You helped build the most powerful and effective grassroots movement in America.

Now, you’re helping to define how this movement will support President-elect Obama’s agenda and continue to bring the change we need.

The more voices that are part of this process, the better the results will be.

And so far, the response has been remarkable — 550,000 people completed the online supporter survey. And this past weekend, supporters organized more than 4,000 Change is Coming house meetings in 2,000 cities across all 50 states.

Take an inside look at a house meeting in Virginia. Watch the video, see photos from meetings all across the country, and share your feedback.

Supporters like you are deciding how this movement will go forward. And your dedication is incredible.

House meetings were held in 2,000 cities. In Florida there were 302 events across the state. In Pennsylvania there were 165, and Ohio had 160.

From these meetings, survey responses, and thousands of conversations on My.BarackObama and email, your ideas about the future of this organization are taking shape.

Here are a few things you shared in the survey:

• House meetings were the primary way supporters got involved in the campaign
• People are excited to volunteer around a number of top issues, including education, the environment, health care, poverty, and the economy
• 86 percent of respondents feel it’s important to help Barack’s administration pass legislation through grassroots support
• 68 percent feel it’s important to help elect state and local candidates who share the same vision for our country
• And a staggering 10 percent of respondents indicated that they would be interested in running for elected office

This feedback is essential to our next steps, because this movement is fueled by your ideas and your passion.

Watch the house meetings video and get involved by taking the survey or hosting a meeting of your own:

http://my.barackobama.com/meetingvideo

Between now and Barack’s inauguration, we’ll continue to collect your ideas and feedback.

After the inauguration, we should be able to announce a clear plan for the future of this movement — a plan determined by you.

Thanks for being a part of this journey to bring about change in the years to come,

David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 12:27 PM on December 26, 2008 AlterNet.

A few years ago, Chris Matthews said, on the air, that “everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs, maybe on the left.” Three years later, it appears that liberal whack-jobs have somehow brainwashed the vast majority of the electorate.

A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans feel President Bush’s departure from office is coming not a moment too soon.

Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday said they’re glad Bush is going; 23 percent indicated they’ll miss him. [...]

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider added, “As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. At least that’s the way three-quarters feel.”

That “Bush Legacy Project,” which has been working lately on improving the president’s public standing, doesn’t seem to be connecting. (more…)

Final 12-24-08 Christmas 2008
Published: Lebanon Daily News December 24, 2008
Republished with permission of the author

It’s Christmas and Christmas, with all of its mix of Christian and pagan symbols, with its shopping and gift-giving, has become the celebration of family. Christmas is our most important holiday because the family is still the core of our society.

Christmas is especially important now when so many families are looking on hard times. (more…)

If you want to stay involved in liberal politics now that the presidential election is over you might want to consider attending the meeting of LEAD Thursday, December 18th, at 6:30 PM. The meetings are held in the meeting room across from at the Sinkhole Saloon at the Palmyra Bowling Ally on Route 422 at the east end of Palmyra. You can order food at the Sinkhole and bring it over to the meeting room. (more…)

This post originally appeared in Crooks and Liars

By Cernig Tuesday Dec 09, 2008 7:00pm

What Donald Rumsfield failed to mention when he famously said that America had to “go to war with the army it has” in response to criticisms from soldiers about a lack of armor is that the US went to war with the army it couldn’t be bothered upgrading.

(more…)

If you want to write a post for the blog you must be registered as an Author. When you register you will normally become a Subscriber. Subscribers can comment on posts but cannot write there own posts.

If the user puts their name in the profile created when they register the Administrator will upgrade the user to Author if he or she is known to the Administrator. Unknown users will be made Contributors. The difference is Authors can publish their own writings but Contributor items must be approved by the Administrator or an Editor. Once a Contributor has written two or three relevant posts he or she can request upgrade to Author.

Since the Administrator of the blog has a poor memory for people and names it might help him remember you if you tell what you have done for the Democratic Party and what campaigns you have worked in under “Biographical Info” at the bottom of the profile. Members of the Lebanon County Democratic Committee are automatically made Authors.

If you write a post, as an Author make sure you click the Publish button on the right side of the screen. Just clicking on the Save button does not publish the post. Drafts are automatically saved by the system.

There are a row of buttons across the top of the edit window. If you click the last button it will open or close a whole row of additional edit and formatting buttons. Use the buttons to format your masterpiece. Do not try to insert html codes directly. Unless you switch to the HTML tab at the top the raw code will appear in the post when published. There is spellchecking available. Use it please. You can also see what your finely crafted work looks like by using the Preview button.

If anyone would prefer writing posts using BB-code let the Administrator know. I can add that ability. Personally, I find BB-code confusing. But to each his own.

One more thing to point out is the Insert “Read More Tag” button. If you write a long post make the first one or two paragraphs a summary of your argument. Invited others to read your idea. Click on the fourth button from the right end of the toolbar. It looks like a cut piece of paper. Everything below that point will appear on a full article screen.

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