Lebanon Democratic Blog

Final 1-06-09 Where Do We Go From Here

Published Lebanon Daily News January 8, 2009
Reprinted here with permission of the author

A Republican friend (I do have them!), asked me how bad things are and if the economy will ultimately recover. This is what I wrote him back.

Sure, “the economy will ultimately recover.” This is not the end of our empire. It is not 410 AD and the sack of Rome. Think rather the Battle of Adrianople in 378 AD when the Roman army lost it first major battle to the barbarians. It is not the end but it is not the same as it was. The real question is where do we go from here. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, a friend encouraged me to write a blog entry about community gardens. We had talked about the issue many months ago, prior to becoming involved in the local Obama campaign, and to be honest, I had actually forgotten about it.

What does this have to do with being a Democrat in Lebanon County? The connection, for me, relates back to a conversation with another friend about the differences between Democrats and Republicans. His opinion was that a Democrat’s motto should be “what can I do for my community?” and I feel fortunate to live in a place where the spirit of community caring and giving is high, regardless of one’s affiliation (or non-affiliation).

We’re living in some hard times, to be sure. One solution (I think) to hard times is self reliance and a helping hand, which is something Lebanon Countians are already pretty good at and it brings me to the fond memories of my childhood when all of old folks had their gardens “out back”. This was probably just a holdover from there upbringing, but they too lived through some hard times.

Not wanting to complain or commiserate without offering solutions, I propose we think about community gardening.

It helps cut down on grocery costs, fosters neighborhood connections, and provides healthy and environmentally safe food (assuming you don’t use too many pesticides). To me, it sounds like a win/win/win situation.

If you tried to get into the blog earlier this evening you may have had problems. Something happened that broke the blog. Apparently, one of the plug-ins I installed did not work right. It seems to be working again. I uninstalled all the plug-ins and activated them one by one.

The one that seemed to have not worked was one to let people change the theme of the blog to suit their own preference. It is a nice feature but not essential. After I installed several plug-ins, including Theme Changer, suddenly all h*ll broke lose. Yes, I know you should never install multiple things at the same time. Everything seems to work fine again.

One new feature that did survive is one to allow writers to make the edit screen take up all the browser window. One user found the text running off the screen when she wrote a post. There is a button near the right side of the toolbar at the top of the edit window. It looks slightly like a computer screen. If you click it you will get rid of the two sidebars that take up some of the screen. Press it again and everything is back to normal.

The other new button on the toolbar is one that looks like a bar chart. It allows you to add a poll to what you are writing.

The Vice-President has admitted publicly that he was involved in the decision to use torture. For this he should be prosecuted for war crimes. I suspect if he was facing life in prison Cheney would turn on George W Bush in a heart beat.

He claims the CIA came to him for guidance on what tactics could be used. I am convinced the truth is even more sordid. Why would the CIA come to Richard Cheney if they wanted to know what tactics they could legally use? Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »