Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Old Media Is The Reason Obama Is Lagging In The Polls
Americans favour Obama over Clinton as Prez: Poll Times of India The poll, conducted by the New York Times, CBS News and MTV , found that 43 per cent of the respondents between the ages of 17 and 29 have unfavourable view of Clinton compared with only 19 per cent for Obama. .... the tide resistance she faces among voters nationwide. .... More than half of the respondents-- 54 per cent—said they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008. .... By a 52 to 36 margin, young Americans say that Democrats, rather than Republicans, come closer to sharing their moral values, while 58 percent said they had a favourable view of the Democratic Party, while 38 per cent said they had a favourable view of Republicans. .... by overwhelming margins believed that the nation was prepared to elect as president a woman, a black or someone who admitted to having used marijuana.Barack Obama won the last debate. He lead Hillary by one point in one Gallup poll. Then he went down again. Why?
How can a candidate who leads in fundraising - twice as many donors than Hillary during the first quarter - and leads in grassroots operations be lagging behind in the polls by double digits?
Remember when not only Fox but also CNN was pairing the Obama name with the Osama name? Then they let go because they realized that was not awfully popular. They went under the radar but they did not change. Those white boys have continued to play dirty. Namecalling did not work, so they are now going to black him out, whitewash him, act like he is not in the room. He is going to give him less media coverage. And that is the number one reason Obama has been lagging behind in the polls.
Jupiter And Obama
Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Race, Gender
JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black
Fox, Barack, Islam
Rush Limbaugh: Idiot
Advice To Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly
How do you counter that?
We Have To Become Our Own Media
It is called New Media. It is called blogging. It is called taking pictures and uploading pictures online. But first and foremost it is called videoblogging. We have been taking on the political establishment. Hillary has most of the endorsements because the Clinton name echoes from the 1990s to the officeholders. But the grassroots have been a whole different ballgame. Those who get to know Obama like him, but 40% of America has never heard of him before.
Do Events, Blog Events
I think the campaign should arrange to extensively videoblog all of Barack and Michelle events.
You get some professionals to capture the events on video, do some editing, piece them together, and put a few hours of video online for each event on Google Video where hosting is free. The idea should be that if you show up for a Barack/Michelle event, likely you end up in the same video as them.
Next you know, people will be emailing links to the videos to family, friends, relatives, colleagues. Check this out. There is Barack and there is me at minute 21.
10 Hour Long Biographical Video Of Barack
Send film crews to Kenya, to Indonesia, to Hawaii. Send them to Columbia, to Harvard. Send them to South Side Chicago, to DC. Offer all the sights and sounds of Obama growing up, and growing up some more. Put it in 10 parts on Google Video. Bill O'Reilly and other idiots will dehumanize Barack. We have to counter. We have to humanize him, present him like he is, an everyman, more gifted than most, but an everyman.
You do this for the hard core supporters, people like me who will watch all 10 hours, and if you will put 20, we will watch all 20. I personally know of at least 50 individuals in NYC who will watch that. These are hard core people who work for free. They put in many long hours. There is only one precondition: they want victory. We are not trying to make a statement. We want victory, nothing less.
The Video Volunteers
It has to be video. Video has the emotional impact that other forms of media just don't. And it is so easy to do. Many people own video cameras already. If you got a video camera, and broadband, you are set.
Videoblog everything. All Obama events you do, videoblog it. All the strategy sessions. All MeetUps. Everything. The walks. Spending time at the local Farmers' Market. You could videoblog you. What is your story? Who are you? Why do you support Obama?
We are not going to take it anymore. We are going to give Old Media pound for pound and some more. We are going to do that by becoming our own media.
The Price Of Not Videoblogging
If you do events, but don't videoblog them, it is like you never did them in the first place. But if you do events and videoblog events, you are suddenly elevating yourself and reaching a national audience, and really helping out our fellow supporters in small towns and states out there that are less warm to Obama as is today.
We got to reach out. We got to videoblog.
Let there be at least one designated videoblogger at every event we do. Quality is that we are there, and Obama is there, in person or in spirit, depending. Quantity matters. Don't edit stuff out. Put everything and upload.
Let Bill O'Reilly and other media bandits lose sleep.
This Campaign Is About The People, Barack Is But A Vehicle
Go talk to people. Random people. Neighbors. Strangers. Friends. Long lost friends. Say hello. And ask a few questions and listen.
Have you heard of Barack Obama? Do you like him? Why? Why not? What are the issues that concern you the most? How do you feel about them? How do you feel about the future of the country, the world? Will you tell me about you? What is your story?
Get all that on video if you can. But don't worry if you can't. Just have a conversation. Do it on the subway, do it on the sidewalk, do it at the mall, do it at church, do it when you are changing your car's oil.
In The News
Q-Poll: Clinton Clear Democratic Favorite In Swing States Hartford Courant Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania .... the three states, which since 1964 have largely determined the outcome of the general election. ..... Clinton's support has been "as steady and reliable as a Swiss watch
Giuliani Slams Bill Clinton on Terrorism
Campaign Cash: Clinton’s Expectations New York Times the Clinton campaign would raise roughly $27 million this quarter ..... Clinton’s advisers continued to insist this week that there was zero chance they would beat her main fundraising rival, Senator Barack Obama .... “she’s a real bargain and I’m a bargain hunter”
UTL gets Nepal nod to start VOIP service Economic Times a technology that is expected to slash international long distance (ILD) call costs .... UTL will need to invest about NRS 150 million (Over $2 million) to implement the new technology ..... NTA also authorised the state agency, Nepal Telecom, to operate VOIP technology. .... Though Internet calls - routing ILD calls through computers by adding a voice card and other modifications - is illegal in Nepal, as in India, phone booths and cyber cafes in both countries thrive on it, causing the government as well as telecom service providers a loss of billions.
Liberated Paris under siege
Obama Swipes at Clinton's Experience
Oh-eight (D): Battling for Buffett MSNBC Buffett has NOT endorsed Clinton. “But he has already donated the maximum $4,600 allowed by an individual to Clinton's presidential campaign. Buffett called Clinton ‘the person to run the country.’ He has not donated to any other candidate, according to public records, although he has said he would also support Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in a similar event.” ..... "I've known her for a long time. I've admired her brains. I've admired her energy. I've admired the way she has carried out her job in the Senate. I think she would make an absolutely first class president. When she asked me if I would participate in an event like this, I jumped at the chance." ...... supposed (more like push-pollingmessage testing) from the Clinton campaign via pollster Mark Penn, noting examples in Iowa that tested negative messages against Obama and in New Hampshire that tested Edwards negatives. ...... “‘For people who say that Barack Obama is not experienced … I can't wrap my head around that,’ Michelle Obama told hundreds of people crowded into the offices of the nonprofit Our Children's Foundation in Harlem. ‘Yes, he's ready to lead,’ she said. ‘The question is: Are you ready? … Will you move out of fear, or will you move out of possibility?’” Michelle Obama added, “’What they are counting on is for us not caring . . . [and that voters will] stay at home.’” ........ The GOP state senator who appears in Obama's first TV ads is getting a cold reception from some Illinois GOPers
Buffett, at Clinton Fund-Raiser, Says Congress Favors the Rich
Poll: GOP support for Iraq war beginning to waver CNN International
GOP Senator Splits With Bush Over Iraq Policy
'Live Free or Die Hard'
Buffett helps put on Clinton fundraiser Seattle Post Intelligencer
The Business Primary: Buffett casts an early vote for Clinton
Immigration bill survives Senate vote Chicago Tribune
Court eases TV ad election curbs
When campaign money can't talk
Taiwan Eyes Role as WiMax Epicenter BusinessWeek
Google Is Watching You
Where to Rent Cheap
Microsoft's Latest, Best Hope in Search In recent months, Microsoft has been spending money to boost its efforts in what's known as vertical search, those niche markets where Netizens go when they're looking for specialized information. .... vertical search may prove more strategic ..... such vertical markets as job openings, comparison shopping, classified advertising, travel information .... proven staying power and a cash pile of $28 billion
Dell: Color It Competitive?
Poll: GOP support for Iraq war beginning to waver CNN International
GOP Senator Splits With Bush Over Iraq Policy
'Live Free or Die Hard'
Buffett helps put on Clinton fundraiser Seattle Post Intelligencer
The Business Primary: Buffett casts an early vote for Clinton
Immigration bill survives Senate vote Chicago Tribune
Court eases TV ad election curbs
When campaign money can't talk
Taiwan Eyes Role as WiMax Epicenter BusinessWeek
Google Is Watching You
Where to Rent Cheap
Microsoft's Latest, Best Hope in Search
Dell: Color It Competitive?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
I Touched Obama: Babel, Barack
Domestic Violence, Equal Pay
Wife Won't Do, Got To Court Women With Policy And Outreach
War, Politics, Business
I got to meet Michelle Obama today. It was at Our Children's Foundation in Harlem on 125th Street. From 4: 30 on. I stayed a few hours, then I walked over to the Hudson, then by Hudson all the way to Times Square where I went to the dollar pizza place, then took the train home.
By now I see many familiar faces among the key volunteers, people who recognize you and who you recognize. It is a treat when the person who signs you in gives you a very familiar hello.
It was up two flights of stairs. I go in and I notice two things. One, the women are looking oh so colorful. That makes my day. These are literally women of color I am thinking. Look at the stuff they are wearing. The second thing you notice is the heat. Good thing the organizers was handing out water bottles. I proceeded to make small talk with a few people I knew, and a few people I did not. The British film crew were there. I met them at Raj's place for the MeetUp Sunday evening. Gary Younge, a Black Brit, was the leader of the team. They are going to work on the film for a year. They say it will get shown on the BBC.
Soon enough the function started. Bill Perkins' wife was the first to go. Some Law And Order star spoke. She said, "And for that one person who does not know me, let me introduce myself." That was me. I don't own a television. That is not to say I think her reference was to me at all.
Finally Michelle Obama takes the stage. She is a strong, direct, confident, determined woman. It was so obvious to me she fills some of Barack's blind spots. They compliment each other. She was dressed like a woman who was saying, forget my pretty face, listen to me talk. The model career woman that she is was in total presence. She speaked flawless.
I have now seen Barack and Michelle. I think they stand to help the world rethink its image of what it means to be black. They carry the weight of being black. They do so with pride. They do so with a little bit of glamor. They do it with ease. But they are not trying to lead a civil rights movement. They know it is a job application. They are out to prove they are the best out there. I agree.
It was amazing to watch her speak. She painted a whole canvass.
She was very aware she was in Harlem. She was at home. This was South Side Chicago to her. And this was a Women For Obama event. She went on this long detour - no, it was not that actually - about how she and her family were doing just fine, holding up, and all that. It was like these women were her aunts and relatives.
Michelle Obama matches Barack Obama pound for pound. Michelle Obama is a greater asset to Barack Obama than Bill Clinton is to Hillary. If Bill Clinton is soon too much, he is going to look like baggage, like a guy who never made peace with the fact that he was denied a third term. Michelle does not have that problem.
Folklore has it she dislikes politics. That is a plus. I think that means she is in a better position to bring in people who also dislike politics, and are all cynical about it. Her brother is on record saying she dislikes losing more. Her grit was on display. I got the impression Michelle would handle a heckler much better than Barack. Barack would pray for the heckler, and perhaps try and see the humor in the heckling, Michelle would stare him down.
Michelle does not have to feel like she is having to make up for the fact that Barack is not a woman like Hillary is. Indira Gandhi was a strong Prime Minister of India for a long, long time, and the Indian women did not really benefit. Benazir Bhutto left behind a Pakistan that was just as sexist as when she came into the picture. Hillary is not the women's salvation in America either. It is women themselves who are women's salvation. What is working for Barack in that department as in all other departments is that he has the strongest grassroots presence of anyone running for president right now. He has to work to bring in women at the grassroots and get them talking about gender issues like equal pay and domestic violence. Hillary is not a worry.
After her speech, she posed for a ton of pictures. She shook many hands. She made a lot of small talk. She did a lot of listening. And I was by her side the entire time. I wanted to take her in as much as I could. This was my first time seeing her. It might be a long time before I see her again in person.
There was this white guy Peter who she would hand over stuff to that people gave to her. So I figured he is a staffer.
"Peter, you give me a 100,000 plus strong rally in Central Park before summer is over," I said. I said twice.
"I will relay the message to the people in Chicago," he said.
After she had posed with two large groups of children, and it felt like it was now only a few minutes before she left, and the crowd had thinned, I figured now was my chance.
"You give us Iowa, we will give you New York. We will make it quick and painless for Hillary," I said.
She was giggling.
I stayed back after she left. The very last people were the people who had put the whole thing together. The worker bees.
Then I went off to the Hudson nearby.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
1 Debate, 1 Major Policy Speech, 1 Rally, 1 Big Fundraiser A Month
Hillary-Obama Vs. Rudy-Romney Vs. Bloomberg-Arnold
After the last debate, in one Gallup poll, Barack was leading Hillary by one point. And now Hillary is leading again. How to you stench that slide? Barack is going to lead again, and this time by a wider margin, after the next debate. But after that he can not afford to go through another round of drainage. How do you stop the drain?
I am proposing a formula.
1 debate a month.
1 major policy speech a month, a week after the debate, timed to make sure it gets the most media coverage possible.
1 major rally a month, a week after the speech. Whichever group of local volunteers might manage to promise the largest number of people, you go there. Or you go from big city to big city to big city.
1 big fundraiser a month, a week after the rally, you go to the event that promises to raise the most money, or bring in the largest number of donors.
And you videoblog everything. Don't think Obama fatigue. There should be hours and hours of online video for each event. You are not trying to capture Obama. We have already seen Obama. You are trying to capture the people. Shine the media on the people, on the volunteers. We want people who show up for events to then go online and be able to brag about appearing in the same video as Obama.
Forget in-house video. Use Google Video. It is free.
New York City And Videoblogging
NYC is a very special place.
Breaking The Sound Barrier: New York City
NYC is the progressive capital of America, of the world. The Obama volunteers in the city have a special responsibility. I propose we videoblog everything. We have to do that for the Obama volunteers across America. We have to videoblog our strategy meetings. We have to videoblog our planning meetings. We have to videoblog all our MeetUps. We have to definitely videoblog all our events in great detail. We have to videoblog our parties. We have to become our own media. We have to have put thousands of hours of video on Google Video by the time Obama is in the White House.
This is an important link that is missing right now. For everything we do for Obama, we have to be aware we have a national audience.
In The News
Rajnikant is the emperor: Amitabh Bachchan Andhra Cafe 'Look where he came from and what he has become. Sheer hard work, talent and the belief that he could do it... and he did! .... 'Despite his extraordinary career he has remained that simple, down to earth person he was when he started off. All his people around him are friends that were with him when he was a nobody.' ..... 'Do you know, a Fiat car that he bought when he had attained his early success still remains with him and he only uses that car to date? .... the way your offspring turn out is the truest reflection of your achievements.'
Chunghwa may invest NT$5 billion in WiMax China Post
Bear Stearns bails out hedge fund
2008: Gitmo Gets More Attention New York Times
India Inc backs Nath`s stand at G4
I Touched Obama: Babel, Barack
I watched the movie before I went to the event, of my first time ever seeing Barack in person. It was not at all planned. My Netflix movies had stopped coming, I had switched to one at a time from three at a time. I figured maybe there were credit card problems. But no, they had sent a movie in December, and had never got it back, and I have no idea how that happened. And months had gone by. Then a friend said you can watch movies online at Netflix these days. I am like, really? And so I log on, and end up writing to them saying I have not been receiving movies for weeks, maybe months. Months was correct. They refunded for two months, and sent me Babel.
Cheryl Steed was trying hard to get me to buy my ticket for the event. I wanted to. Finally I did while digging through my big snail mail bucket. I dug out a credit card from months back that had not been activated yet. I went to the local library to buy my ticket. Online. Internet was down at my place, that rarely happens. We got faster than cable broadband. Slightly.
I was in a mood to go jog. Have not done that in a long, long, long time. Although I walk a whole lot, like all the time. Only a few weeks back, I walked from Rudy's near Times Square to my place south of Prospect Park, my second time doing so. But that is not enough. I am at a phase where I want to jog and jaw much more. Get back into the groove of facetime. Regain. Instead I decided to watch Babel. It was too appealing. Babel, Barack.
Most people think, my heart is clean, I am not a racist, I don't dislike brown and black people and yellow people: we live in a color coded world. I have a few black friends, blah, blah, blah. But it is not about clean and unclean hearts. Although that it is. It is about cross-cultural communication, and I mean cross-cultural in a broader sense, like Babel, communicating with the other, the deaf, the woman, the very young. That is what global warming, and terrorism and nuclear proliferation are about. Cross-cultural communication. Barack might have been born biracial. But that guy is white. I am telling you. I have read up on him. His software is white. His absent father was black, true, African on that, but the mother with him was white. His blackness does not come from family, it comes from the world, growing up. Barack Obama is biracial by birth, white by upbringing, Black to the world, black by marriage, and postracial by appeal. He is African American without the hyphen. The guy is part Third World, which is where I come in.
You mess up with cross-cultural communication when you put your total energy into just trying harder and harder to make yourself clearer and clearer. The strong metaphor that comes to mind is the American tourist talking loud. If you talk loud enough, maybe they will finally understand some English.
Cross-cultural communication is about making very clear what you want to say, true. You have to know what you want to say. But then step two is to throw everything out the window. All your assumptions, everything you want to say. That is the hard part. You get asked to step outside your worldview. The only you know, the one you carry around no matter where you go. To step aside and try and get into the other worldview. That does not mean you have to let go, and do as others want you to do. You still have the option to come right back into your world, and say and do and act as you get dictated by your worldview. But it helps to step out for communication purposes.
And culture is not static, it is not like, okay, so I dug out this fossil, and studied it, and how many more are there? Cultures mix, there is a relentless mishmash going on. Kind of like a kaleidoscope. The stuff is being shaken all the time. The body of knowledge is in major fluidity. It is not even knowledge. There's information, there are concepts, ideas, emotional bonds that stand like prisms, coloring all that pass through.
It is so appropriate that I watched Babel a few hours before I met Barack Obama for the very first time. My first opportunity to meet him was a better one. It was free. It was when Fernando Ferrer ray for Mayor. I read the email a few hours too late. Very uncharacteristic of me. But that is the way it was meant to be. Not reading an email on time can also lead to miscommunication.
Obama Was In Town And I Missed It
But then I meet Barack on a daily basis. I follow him through the prism called Google News. He and Hillary stand next to each other on the page, there is a vertical divide between their headlines.
Barack is an image in my mind. Some of that is me. It is tribal. I tell myself, he is Third World, I am Third World. It is blood. But then there is another part of me that wants to think politics is like astronomy. The stars will still be there, with or without me. You try and shoot for objectivity. As much as is possible. But then this particular star is in the realm of quantum physics. That which you measure, you impact. Objectivity is not possible. Physics is an inadequate metaphor for politics. The human realm is way more complicated. There are way many more dimensions you are dealing with.
It was an amazing event to go to. Ben Harper who I had never heard of before performed. The warm up act. Since I had seen so many videos of Barack, I figured I will not be surprised when he speaks. But listening to him and watching him was an intense emotional experience. I was hanging onto every word. He did something to me. Lines I had heard before on online video, read before struck at me with the ferocity of freshness. I saw his skin. And it was more a conversation than a speech. He was so in tune with the audience. He would snap up the stray remarks with a frog's tongue for the firefly. And finally shaking his hand felt so normal. Like I do it everyday. He just comes across as so relaxed. He is very comfortable in his skin.
"We will deliver New York to you for the primary," I said.
"With your help," he said.
What I really wanted to say was, "You give us Iowa, we will give you New York."
I think it is very possible. New York can be had. It might not look that way, but then Hillary was new material in 2000. Barack has to work to take the lead in the national polls, and then New York can be had.
High Energy Generation Obama Event: I Am Hooked
Cheryl Steed was trying to get me onto the committee at the first Generation Obama event itself. Then once again when I called her. Today finally she got me. She said 30 of them had had a conference call with Obama. And I am like, I would have liked to be part of that. She bribed me with that snippet, and it worked. I signed up.
I have been going to all sorts of political events in the city since I started living here. But now Obama gives me a focus I never had. I don't want to just show up for events. I want to be an insider. I want to be at the strategy meetings. And now on I don't want to go to any other events. It is now between my tech startup and Obama. Both go together, more than I realized before.
After Cheryl signed me up, I started working the room. Many I worked told me I was good at it.
At one level I feel I have been online and alone for so many years now, I am having to try and regain facetime for me. I used to be super at it. Obama might be just the exercise program I need. Most of the top Obama people in the city know me by now. My blog really seems to get people. I wonder why. I think I know, maybe. I blog like I had direct access to Obama's ears.
Isabel. I also saw her at the first event. Bruno. Jeremy.
After the event was over, there was another round of foraging the room. I met these four Africans.
"For me it is tribal. You think I care about health care? And education? And Iraq? All that is bonus," I told them. They really dug that. One guy got ecstatic.
I met these three Adams, all went to grad school together, one British, one from Ohio, one from Maryland, two of them work at the UN, and when they were at Columbia, a friend of mine was there too who they knew, Dipta Shah, now in DC, we talk regularly, small world. One said his friend now works for UNMIN, the UN mission in Nepal. I told him I know the top guy with that outfit, Ian Martin. And now another guy I know, Eritrean Samuel Tamrat, has been appointed second in command.
And then you come downstairs, and most people have left. And these are all key people. The movers shakers, the after party people. Jeff Kurzon.
Knock, Knock, Knocking On Heaven's Door
Terrence Yang. His email address I had seen on my screen a few times. We bonded fast. We had Rocky Chin in common. Rocky came to me by way of Curtis Chin, the founder of Asian Americans for Dean in 2004. We proceeded to walk about 10 blocks north to the Kemia Bar, 44th and 9th. That is where the after party was at. It was such a blast.
On the way to Kemia, Terrence - he grew up in LA, went to Harvard Law - coolly reveals to me that he is a Harvard classmate of Barack and I was floored. Not only that, he said he was one of the three Harvard Law people to go start work at the law firm in Chicago where Barack started, the firm where Barack met his wife. Terrence knows the wife as well. "She is way more impressive," he said. Terrence is now an in-house lawyer for Merrill Lynch. Before he left for the evening, he told me he was going to hook me up with some angel investor types. Barack, I am in.
After a little snack meal with Terrence, Bruno, Jeff - I promised Jeff I was going to show for his MeetUp Sunday, he bribed me by saying some European filmmakers will be there; he is ethnic Armenian, and he works for the New York office of that same law firm - and Eva - from Switzerland - I went over to the other room.
Cheryl has spent three and a half months backpacking in India. She has studied Buddhism. She has black hair. She is slim. She could pass for an Indian. "That's my song," she said and proceeded to dance. And she had been smoking a hookah the entire time. Who smokes hookah? This was a hookah bar. She told me hookah bars were all the fad in the city.
The place played so much Indian music. I am like, wow. Hookah, Hindi songs. What more can you ask for? Cheryl said she had invited Barack to the after party - she is one of the top six people on the Generation Obama team - and he had declined saying he is going to turn into "a pumpkin."
I am at an all name and no money phase in life right now. I was trying to take Terrence to the 99 cents pizza place by the 41st and 9th. Bruno vetoed the idea. That guy does hedge fund.
Laura was there. It felt so good to catch up. She is a San Francisco transplant, new in town. Her roomie Sophy who looks like John Travolta's wife, what's her name?
"I went to Drinking Liberally last night," Laura said.
I had a long techie talk with Andrew. Middlebury grad, was with two startups, now works a mainstream corporate job that pays well but is not exciting. To do startup is a tiger tasting human blood. Amy, his sister's friend. I got invited to the sister's birthday party the following day in Williamsburg. Andy would be great to have on my team when I form my local team which is at least a year away.
Terrence equals money. Andy equals tech. Barack, I am in. I have been calling up high school friends from Kathmandu days spread across America scramping for some seed money while trying to network my way to angels in the city. New York City, the city of angels.
What's in there for me? I want to be friends with President Obama and his Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, and I want to stay in the private sector, and I want Obama to set a goal of a total spread of democracy by 2020, and I want to contribute the war with communications technology way. That is why I give time to Obama. That's my self interest. I want a total spread of democracy. JFK took us to the moon, Obama should give us a total spread of democracy by 2020.
A prize take-home was this flyer that had the email addresses of all the top organizers and numerous Obama groups in the city. They are all climbing onto this blog's mailing list. I am a digital democrat.
Where's the party at?
Miguel was in his shorts in the line outside at the very beginning. I told him it is all cool. Half an hour later, I spotted him making a second entry. He was wearing pants now. He said he lived close by. He noticed everyone was so dressed up. He had to run. He was sweating, gasping for air. He works for the Oxford University Press.
On my way back during the wee hours of morning from the bar, I did get myself two slices at the 99 cent pizza place. It is a ritual when I am in that part of town. You should check it out.
In The News
UN says Nepal Maoists have stepped up violence, abduction Monsters and Critics.com Maoist former rebels have stepped up their violent activities and abductions in recent months creating a climate of fear ..... violent disruption of political activities and other types of abuse. .... Some 24 people have been abducted since May 28 alone, interrogated, in some cases beaten and threatened before being released .... the abuse violated international human rights law, the peace agreement between the government and the former rebels and domestic laws. ..... The Maoists have defended the YCL activities by accusing its detractors of trying to undermine the Maoist party by highlighting 'isolated incidences' and ignoring the social work it undertakes.
Nepal's Maoist youth create "climate of fear"-UN
Can a Third-Party Candidate Win? Wall Street Journal many third-party candidates introduce new campaign issues or take positions opposed by the two parties. Mr. Perot, for example, opposed free trade and railed against growing deficits. The Progressive Party in the early 20th century built support for women's suffrage and the income tax, and the Republican Party formed as an antislavery party in the 1850s. ...... And if elected, Mr. Bloomberg would face a Congress where he has no major base of support. .... the number of voters registered as independent has increased in all 27 states, to an average of 25% from 18%. ..... During Mr. Perot's 1992 campaign, nearly 41% of Americans agreed with the statement, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," compared with 51% who share that sentiment today ...... 43% of voters say they have a negative view of the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton. ..... The two-party system broke down in 1860 when there were four major candidates, allowing Abraham Lincoln to win the presidency with just 39% of the popular vote.
Whatever he's up to, Bloomberg's a breath of fresh air
Obama to address national meeting of the United Church of Christ
Obama Holds Fundraiser At NYC Rock Club WCBS-TV New York, NY Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign is cultivating a youthful aura -- and that was the atmosphere at a Manhattan fund-raiser for the Illinois senator last night. .... he advocated increasing fuel efficiency in automobiles to 45 miles-per-gallon to combat global warming. .... The Senate voted Thursday to boost average fuel economy to 35 miles-per-gallon for cars, S-U-Vs and pickup trucks by 2020. ..... Obama challenged the crowd of about 500 people -- most of them under 40 -- to get involved in politics. .... One of Obama's rivals, John Edwards, was also in Manhattan last night. He emphasized fighting poverty in a speech to about 200 supporters at a grassroots campaign function.
Obama courts young supporters at NYC rock-club fundraiser Staten Island Advance, NY Save for the American flag backdrop and the presidential candidate onstage, Sen. Barack Obama's fundraiser could have been mistaken for a rock concert. Beer was served in plastic cups, the young crowd snapped photographs with cell phones, and a deafening roar of approval met Obama at the Hammerstein Ballroom — a venue known for rock, rather than rubber chicken. .... The event Friday night mirrored the Obama campaign's aura — youthful, polished and filled with idealistic talk of the future. .... The White House said Friday that President Bush has made closing the prison a priority. ..... Obama poked fun at his "politics of hope" refrain, joking, "They think I'm a hope peddler — a hope monger." ...... "He's young and energetic," said Amber Gaines, 31, of Belleville, N.J. "He has fresh ideas. He's not corrupt yet." ..... Edwards also addressed the prison in Guantanamo Bay: "On the first day I'm president of the United States, if it's still open, I will close Guantanamo," he said.
Bam & Edwards hit city for funds New York Daily News, NY Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards hustled for New York dollars last night, rushing to boost their donation tallies before the close of the latest presidential fund-raising period. ...... Obama drew about 1,200 donors to the Hammerstein Ballroom, with standing room going for $100, preferred seats for $250 and a VIP reception with the man himself for $500. ........ admission to an Edwards party selling for as little as $15 a head. .... Obama swept into town yesterday after a New Hampshire speech on his proposed ethics reforms. His fans here said they gravitated to him for his freshness and authenticity. ...... "Bloomberg was a Democrat. He became a Republican because he couldn't win a Democratic primary. He's never been, I think, comfortable with the Republican Party. He's too sensible for that," Obama said
Lessons Learned as Obama Shepherds Volunteers New York Times, United States Brooklyn for Barack, NYC4Obama, the Audacity of Park Slope ...... a sophisticated group of young professionals skilled in marketing, organizing, Web design and other useful areas .... perhaps more than any other campaign this cycle, his campaign is relying on grass-roots involvement in New York and elsewhere to turn out voters. ...... the Obama campaign is making its ability to mobilize large numbers of volunteers central to its campaign ethos ..... Obama, who was a grass-roots organizer in his youth, places value on door-to-door, neighborhood-by-neighborhood campaigning. In a recent conference call with 400 volunteer leaders, he gave tips for canvassing (“stay hydrated,” and “don’t just talk but listen”). ..... many of the volunteers who fanned out across New York City during the campaign’s “Walk for Change” said they felt that they were creating a movement. ..... the Clinton campaign said it had no fear of losing New York. “We’re gratified that poll after poll shows Hillary leading the primary in New York overwhelmingly
Picking Up Where Dean Left Off
Dell Receives another NASDAQ Delisting Notice WRAL.com for failure to file forms related to earnings reports. ...... In May, Dell filed a request for an extension of its conditional listing. Its audit committee is investigating Dell’s finances. ..... Dell operates its largest manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Dell receives delisting notice from NASDAQ
Court orders federal probe of Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan International Herald Tribune for allegedly repaying a loan to an Indian builder with US$9.75 million (€7.26 million) in foreign currency without the central bank's approval. ...... Bachchan had borrowed 30 million rupees (US$7.3 million; €5.44 million) from Mumbai-based builder C.K. Pithawala in 1995. .... Bachchan is widely considered to be India's greatest actor and has performed in nearly 150 films in a career spanning over four decades.
Vietnam Takes a Wireless Leap with Motorola wi4 WiMAX Earthtimes.org
US House backs more contraceptive donations abroad
Michael Moore's Health-Care Criticisms Resonate on Capitol Hill ABC News a comprehensive, publicly financed national health insurance program covering everything from dental to emergency care by the physician of the individual's choice. ..... Kucinich's co-sponsored bill also aims to extend and improve Medicare coverage so that every person residing in or visiting the United States or a U.S. territory, regardless of legal status, would be eligible for unlimited health care. ..... The nation's capital suffers beneath the title of "Hollywood for Ugly People."
Was the Last Decade of Movies THAT Bad?
'EU flexible, India rigid as WTO talks get secretive'
Brazil-India walkout ends WTO talk PRESS TV the same fault lines that have kept a multilateral accord elusive for nearly six years - farm subsidies and open markets. .... Nath said the West was only interested in "perpetuation of the inequalities in global trade". ... The WTO had been hoping to reach an agreement by the end of the year that would accelerate international trade and give poor nations better access to rich markets.
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