http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/category_rss/effectivegovernment Denver Business Journal ProgressNowAction, a Denver-based progressive advocacy network, said the organization has signed a pledge of support for the Pickens Plan, calling for Congress to enact an energy plan within the first 100 days of President-elect Barack Obama's new administration. The pledge has been signed by many, including 168 mayors across the country. In Colorado, Farris Bervig, the mayor of Alamosa, and Lionel Rivera, mayor of Colorado Springs, have signed the pledge, according to the Pickens Plan website. Democratic U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Udall signed the pledge while he was campaigning for the seat, according to an Oct. 6 announcement. Backed by billionaire businessman T. Boone Pickens, the Pickens Plan pushes for efforts to cut America's use of imported oil by boosting the amount of electricity produced by wind farms, a renewable energy resource. The new, wind-driven power would replace electricity generated by natural gas -- which in turn could be shifted to fuel cars, thus cutting the nation's need for oil imports. The plan requires a big spending effort to build more big transmission lines from the central plains, where the wind is plentiful but people are not, to big cities with plenty of customers on the nation's coastlines. Money is also needed to get more natural gas-fueled vehicles into the market, as well as support systems such as refueling stations. "I am pleased to have the endorsement of ProgressNowAction; Coloradans have always been forward-thinking about energy, and a state so abundant in domestic resources will play a significant role in solving our energy dependence issues," said Pickens in the announcement. "President-elect Obama has voiced commitment to reducing foreign oil imports over the next decade. With over 1.3 million Americans in the Pickens Plan army, we have solid support going to Washington, and are confident we will be able to work with the new Administration to enact true energy reform." "No challenge is greater, or more important to our country, than ending our dependence on foreign oil", said Michael Huttner, executive director of ProgressNowAction, in a statement. "Shifting our consumption to abundant American energy sources will make our nation more secure, add millions of new jobs, and protect our planet from the threat of climate change. We need energy independence, and we need it now." The Pickens Pledge can be found at www.pickensplan.com/thepledge. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQD5 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQD5/commentary#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:09:09 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQD5 Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQD5/ As of Wed. 11/26 at 6:00 am the responses to this Impeachment OpEd had grown to over 1,246 The right wingers of both the Democrats and Republican parties were doing their best to ruin the discussion and diss the Constitution. They posted garbage using fake names which kept the right wing Dem/GOP messages on top. For instance the message "Blah.. Blah... Blah... this gets old" repeated many times really got in the way of real discussion. Regardless this is a record for comments on that paper for an impeachment discussion. It is a marvel that the Editorial Board allowed the article to be published. Our thanks to everyone who read it and commented at the newspaper. ----------------------------------------------- PLEASE: FORWARD TO YOUR LISTS NOW ! Thanks e. Suggest we all read and comment on this Pro-Impeachment op-ed piece in the Detroit Free Press today. Earlier the better. Getting to 1,000+ comments might help. Interestingly it is placed high on the paper's website. Is the paper now getting behind impeachment??? The comments have tripled to over 500 in 2 hours. Please add your pro-impeachment hearings comment and forward to your lists asap. Thanks John John H Kennedy, Denver CO impeach Colorado Coalition For economy's sake, Pelosi needs to push for impeachment now BY ROCHELLE RILEY Nov. 25, 2008 For economy's sake, Pelosi needs to push for impeachment now Rep. Nancy Pelosi's ineffectiveness became clear the day she became Speaker of the House and immediately announced that there would be no impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney. Advertisement Guided by politics, she said leading investigations into just how much the Bush administration did - and did wrong - would be divisive. What she didn't express was her worry that too many Democrats faced elimination from the House if they took on the difficult task of proving who knew what, when. But Congress is running out of time to finally make the Bush administration own up to its actions for eight years. If Congress isn't careful, the president who already has issued 171 pardons could also pardon every appointee and employee he has ever had - and their dogs. And then Americans will never find out what happened to our country over the past eight years. Pelosi wouldn't have to start from scratch: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the bravest member of Congress, introduced legislation 11 months ago to impeach the president and vice president. Last January, the House gave a first reading of one of those articles of impeachment. Our own Rep. John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, joined 38 other representatives to sponsor HR 635, which would form a committee to look into whether there are grounds for impeachment. Revive that effort! Last week, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, submitted a resolution demanding that Bush stop issuing "pre-emptive pardons of senior officials in his administration during the final 90 days of office." Nadler said in news reports that he was moved to action by the president's "widespread abuses of power and potentially criminal transgressions against our Constitution" and that he wanted to prevent the "undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the president's unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants." Nadler is storming the beach; others should join him. If Congress moves quickly and forces the president to focus on impeachment, then he won't have so much time to push through last-minute regulatory changes that will continue to hurt our country and our ideals. He already has pushed deregulation that would allow employers to talk directly with employees' doctors and allow power companies to build polluting facilities close to national parks. Anyone worried that our congressional representatives can't tie their shoes and chew gum at the same time, or cannot focus on the economic crisis and impeachment hearings at the same time, will find that many answers to our economic and global defense problems will come from those hearings. The only question I have for Nancy Pelosi is this: What are we waiting for? --------------- If the House Democrats fail to hold Bush and Cheney accountable, they are unlikely to get you Single payer Healthcare or anything else that will take courage to accomplish. --------------- http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQDp http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQDp/commentary#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:02:57 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQDp John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDp/ For several years now the evidence of the Alberto Gonzales gang's manipulation of the Federal Civil Service within the Department of Justice has been well publicized. The fact that right-wing political ideologues were being approved for career professional positions based on social issue orthodoxy, rather than competence and qualifications, is yet another blight on the scandalous legacy of the current occupant of the White House. Today's report in the Washington Post reveals that this practice of burrowing right-wing political operatives into the Civil Service is also in-place in the scientific agencies. Perhaps this is the mis-administration's strategy for making permanent the Republican obsession for combating the truth of science with their twisted political and social priorities. The Center for Public Integrity is soon to release their "Broken Government" study. The fund-raising teaser release promises 120 specific cases. This kind of investigative effort to hold the Bushies accountable as the mis-administration fades into oblivion is crucial.  Revealing and acting on the depth and breadth of this conspiracy is vital to the success of any reforms and corrects to the offenses of the past eight years. The Obama-Biden Administration will be stretched and tested to uncover and flush-out these right-wing activists who have burrowed their way into the Civil Service like so many termites. The evidence of these infestations must be met with quick action. Executive appointees selected for positions above these people must be prepared to take every possible action within the laws and regulations of the Civil Service structure to either get them dismissed, or make it too hard for them to stay and accomplish their nefarious goals. Attention to the selection of the Administrator of the Office of Personnel Management will be a key to success in this area. Various Executive agency inspectors general must be supported in investigating these political opportunists. IF they are found to be substantially unqualified for the job description that they were hired to fill, then it should be clear grounds for dismissal as an unlawful appointment. The Obama-Biden appointees who are saddled with these burdens must enforce clear, precise and enforceable performance standards. When confronted with qualitative requirements to enforce and perform based upon laws and regulations that these infiltrators are likely to hold ambitions to undermine and avoid, could more easily force them to resign. Even in its demise the minions of the current mis-administration are appearing to be increasingly unwilling to follow the current occupant of the White House and the vice out of Washington. This certainly adds to the challenge and urgency of establishing the new administration's executive leadership. Too many months and too many acting, caretaker, leaders in the executive departments will make it all the harder to untangle the tentacles of the Bush parasites. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn/commentary#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:53:14 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDn/ Failed U.S. health care is a major contributor to our systemic economic crisis. Indeed, the excesses of Wall St. and the subprime mortgage catastrophe mirror U.S. health care policy  – both are typified by privatized profit (for investors and insurers), and socialized risk (for taxpayers and consumers). Inflated U.S. health care costs – 16% of GDP and rising – are major contributors to an inflationary economy. Redress of this single aspect of an out-of-control U.S. economy would lift all boats. Comprehensive health care reform would improve the economic status of all, relieving health access concerns of families, individuals and businesses, large and small. So-called "legacy costs" alone, comprised largely of retiree health and pension benefits, have contributed significantly to General Motor’s negative cash flow, prompting yet another request for government bailout. In 2005, costs of health care coverage to GM amounted to $5.6 billion for 1.1 million employees, retirees and their dependents. In 2005 BusinessWeek reported that legacy costs added $1,600 to the cost of each GM vehicle. It’s time to confront the crippling economic effects of employment-linked health coverage that reduces competitiveness of businesses in the world marketplace, reduces effective employee take-home pay, and adds to the costs paid by all for goods and services (note above cost added to each U.S. -made car). State and city budgets, too, are depleted by escalating health costs for employees and retirees. Progressives leaders must do a better job of promoting civic discourse while clearly defining issues, like health care reform. Democrats shoud cease parroting right-wing framing and code words intended to distort the issue, e.g., "government health care" or "socialized medicine," as a couple of recent Colorado candidates have done. We need to refute Republican "free-market" advocacy that treats health care as a commodity to be exploited for maximum profit, with top-skimming of over 25% of health care dollars for private insurance shareholder profits, CEO salaries, excessive administrative costs, marketing, lobbying, etc. "Free-market" health care is as perverse an incentive as free-market police and fire protection would be, leaving everyone vulnerable, at the mercy of the marketplace. Barack Obama showed promise broaching issues during the campaign. He made a start at explaining the high cost of privatizing Medicare (13% higher than traditional Medicare), and the failure of Medicare prescription drug reform that prohibits negotiation of bulk drug rates, as the VA does to save money. The 2003 reform was a giveaway to insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies, with billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies and inflated costs to benefit their bottom lines. Now is the time to make the case for an improved Medicare for All - a public insurance with true free choice of providers and hospitals. By contrast, for-profit insurance choices are narrowly limited to "in-plan" providers, necessitating change of providers with change of insurance. Comprehensive health care reform shoud be part of a broad economic remedy. U.S. health costs are almost double those of all other industrialized nations, and growing; yet we still experience worse overall health outcomes. Increasing numbers of underinsured pay escalating costs for decreasing coverage. Taxpayers currently pay for over 60% of health care costs, including 70% of legislators’ health coverage. By many accounts, that is enough to provide single-risk-pool coverage for all. In fact, single-payer health care is the only model of reform that has demonstrated in over 20 federal and state studies the capacity to save money and provide comprehensive coverage for all. It is time for reform that benefits the worker as well as the CEO. First posted on Huffington Post 11-13-08 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/micheleswenson/CQDV http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/micheleswenson/CQDV/commentary#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:33:24 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/micheleswenson/CQDV Michele S Michele S 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDV/ Aren't there just as qualified people who are not elected officials to fill out Obama's top positions in his administration? From DailyKos.com today : SusanG reported earlier, via the Washington Post, that Arizona's Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano is President-elect Obama's pick to serve as the next head of the Department of Homeland Security. Napolitano is a solid pick on the merits, and should be easily confirmed. For party building, however, the pick is problematic for two reasons. First, Napolitano is the front-runner for the U.S. Senate race in 2010, for the seat currently held by John McCain. She is probably the only candidate who can beat McCain head-to-head, and he has announced his plans to run for reelection.... It seems to me that Hillary, Bill and Janet are very qualified but do we really want to have to replace them? http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDj http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDj/commentary#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:31:39 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDj Ken Ken 3 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDj/ UPDATE: Tell CSU to reject Wayne Allard . Greeley Tribune ProgressNow has called on Colorado State University Board of Governors to reject Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., as chancellor of the university system. At the same time, the board said that while it appreciates Allard's interest in the position, it has not had a chance to meet to discuss the roles, responsibilities, qualities and characteristics the chancellor might have. Michael Huttner, executive director of ProgressNow, a group whose "mission is to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive solutions to critical community problems," said Allard would be "a disaster for CSU," in a press release. "Allard has been completely ineffective as a senator and that is the last thing CSU needs in a time of dire fiscal needs," Huttner said in the press release. He pointed out that in 2006, Time magazine ranked Allard as one the country's five worst senators and said the magazine reported that Allard "almost never plays a role in major legislation. "With the new dynamics in Colorado and DC, the last thing we need is a right-wing ineffective senator," Huttner said in the release. "Allard has proven that he has ineffective in bringing back money to Colorado as a senator, how will be any better in helping CSU fiscal needs as a former Senator?" The statement released from the office of the board of governors said "It's great to have an experienced public servant express an interest in CSU; however at this time it's premature to start a list of applicants. The board of governors has not had a chance to meet to discuss the roles, responsibilities, qualities and characteristics of the CSU System Chancellor position. The board will likely start discussions at their next meeting in early December." http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQDx http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQDx/commentary#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:21:56 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQDx Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDx/ I had read about why federal agencies may not be responsive to the incoming administration.  This is why , from TPMmuckraker.com: In one example of what some Washington veterans call the "headless nail" phenomenon -- in which political appointees quietly move into career jobs ithin their departments, making it hard for the incoming administration to remove them -- David Bernhardt, the top lawyer for the Interior Department, has shifted six of his deputies into senior civil service positions. One of these, Robert Comer, was found by an internal DOI report to have struck an agreement on grazing with a Wyoming rancher "with total disregard for the concerns raised by career field personnel." Another, Matthew McKeown, has attracted criticism from environmentalists for promoting grazing and logging on public lands. From leaving executive orders and writing new guidelines or redefining laws to allow for greed and avarice by individuals and corporations to plunder the lands of America and to consciously harm the health of Americans this is just another way for Mr. Bush to leave his "legacy". http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDB http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDB/commentary#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:59:27 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQDB Ken Ken 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDB/ Obama advisers: Bush era war criminals will walk . No Accountability for Bush, CHENEY, Rumsfeld, Addington, and the rest of these scum. IF THAT PISSES YOU OFF Call 800-828-0498 Ask for each of Colorado's Congressmen in turn and tell them to file their own Impeachment Resolution and to do it THIS WEEK. (Hint: leave a voicemail at night) IF enough Congressmen file single crime impeachment resolutions during the same week (this week) it will get the attention of the Media. Yes the MEDIA got Obama elected, and now are much more likely to pay attention to impeachment. WE MUST GET PEOPLE RILED UP ENOUGH TO DEMAND IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS NOW John Kennedy Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com QUESTION: HOW MANY US SOLDIERS HAVE TO BE KILLED AND MAIMED FOR THE BUSH/CHENEY WMD LIES Before Colorado Voters (you and me) bother to call the state's US Congressmen and Demand Impeachment Hearings NOW? Hint: Over 4,197 Killed Over 30,000 Maimed (some reports say it's over 70K) .. .... http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQzh http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQzh/commentary#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:32:56 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQzh John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzh/ The American Ambassador to Iraq and the Iraqi Foreign Minister have signed an agreement requiring US Forces to leave Iraq. No, this isn't another predictive "dream" story of the pending Obama Administration; the Bushies did (or, allowed) this. So much for all of the GOP talking points and faux news air-time devoted to "...no arbitrary deadlines." The current news sound-bites are full of controversy and contradiction from inside Iraq. But, the American conservatives are being surprisingly quiet. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQzp http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQzp/commentary#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:47:59 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQzp Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzp/ Unfinished Business What's so funny?   It must be an inside joke.   Image cc Tasks Ignored During the Bush Reign of Horror Michael Collins "Scoop" Independent News The last eight years can best be described as the illegitimate rule of deviant forces bent on enriching the few at the expense of the many.  Poverty is up, real income is flat for the majority of citizens while the elite have " super sized " their holdings with a callous disregard for the nation and economic realities. The phantom "Yellow Brick Road" has come to an abrupt end through an expression of will by the people.  President-elect Obama won by a wide margin in the popular vote and an even wider margin in the Electoral College.  He is their choice. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CQzJ http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CQzJ/commentary#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:49:43 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CQzJ Michael Collins http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/de387ab49951f25772_vdkmvykob.jpg Michael Collins 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzJ/ The Washington Post is floating a trial balloon:  Bernanke, Gates, Mullen and Mueller to stay on. Three of the four should go immediately: Bernanke, Gates and Mueller. The WashingtonPost.com reports : There is reason to think Obama and Bernanke will get along. Although Bernanke is a Republican, his response to the financial crisis has won him plaudits from congressional Democrats who view him as pragmatic and non-ideological. The former Princeton professor has a calm manner, a penchant for building consensus and unquestioned academic expertise, qualities valued by Obama. This is a laugher because Bernanke has already pulled several changes without the approval of Congress about those changes which have altered tax code and increased the federal debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzg http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzg/commentary#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:06:19 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzg Ken Ken 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzg/ From what I've read both locally and at the national level is that Republicans have not learned about the fact that they lost- big time.  A whipping at the state and national levels.  President-elect Barack Obama wins in a landslide.  The Democratic party picks up about 20 House seats and could win a 59 seat majority in the Senate. However now is not the time to let up on the gas pedal!  It is time to see to it that the Republicans will be the minority party for the next generation. This is time for progressive and liberal ideals are shown to be pragmatically superior to the conservative ideology that is based upon either Christian fundamentalist "family values" or Ayn Rand's philosophy as distilled by Barry Goldwater.  What this means is that the Democratic President and Congress must pass legislation and implement effectively that legislation which will measurable improve the livelihood of this nation's peoples.   http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzC http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzC/commentary#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:29:34 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzC Ken Ken 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzC/ Will Reid fold on ousting Lieberman from the Senate committe chairmanship?  ThinkProgess has this (h/t to AmericaBlog): Reid on Lieberman: ‘I didn’t like what he did…but he is one of the most progressive people’ from CT. » On CNN’s Late Edition, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he recognizes what Joe Lieberman said and did during the campaign was “wrong” and “improper,” telling host John King, “if we weren’t on television, I’d use a stronger word of describing what he did.” But he added, “Joe Lieberman is not some right-wing nutcase, Joe Lieberman is one of the most progressive people ever to come from the state of Connecticut.” Lieberman as Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman has done nothing to hold the current administration accountable for its actions that have directly caused harm to the American people. If Lieberman is still the chair of HS and Gov Affairs then you and I know that he will be ceaselessly "investigating" the Obama administration.  Being a constant distraction from the serious business of getting our nation on the right track because the Republicans feel that any change for the betterment of the common good is "socialism". It is time for Lieberman to be kicked out of the Democratic Senate Caucus. Call the members of the Steering and Outreach Committee and let them know that Lieberman is the Benedict Arnold now. These are the members of the Steering and Outreach Committee who will be on the front lines of that decision making process: Debbie Stabenow, Michigan - Chairwoman (202) 224-4822 Harry Reid, Nevada (202) 224-3542 John Kerry, Massachusetts (202) 224-2742 Daniel Inouye, Hawaii (202) 224-3934 Robert Byrd, West Virginia (202) 224-3954 Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts (202) 224-4543 Joe Biden, Delaware (202) 224-5042 Patrick Leahy, Vermont (202) 224-4242 Chris Dodd, Connecticut (202) 224-2823 Tom Harkin, Iowa (202) 224-3254 Max Baucus, Montana (202) 224-2651 Richard Durbin, Illinois (202) 224-2152 Kent Conrad, North Dakota (202) 224-2043 Carl Levin, Michigan (202) 224-6221 Herbert Kohl, Wisconsin (202) 224-5653 Barbara Boxer, California (202) 224-3553 Hillary Clinton, New York (202) 224-4451 Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico (202) 224-5521 Mark Pryor, Arkansas (202) 224-2353     http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzB http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzB/commentary#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:10:42 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQzB Ken Ken 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQzB/ If you want to work for the new administration. Please apply here . http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ8Y http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ8Y/commentary#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:25:19 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ8Y Ken Ken 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8Y/ My current words: I'm still alive. You've all been to those events where you introduce yourself by standing up and saying three words that illustrate why you're there, who you are, and so on, right? I used to point to my hair and say, "Turning Colorado blue!" (And whaddaya know, it worked!) I managed to survive my county wide Voter Reg project, and to be brutally honest I was planning to pretty much coast from October 6 through the election, because I really didn't think there would be much left to do. (I know, clearly I was deranged.) But everyone had caught fire, and new projects kept being proposed, new events kept being set up, and so for the last month my Three Words were a snarly "God, what NOW?!?!" But here we all are. We not only survived, we did a whole lot of winning! Here in Prowers, our voter turnout was 72.61%, and 58 percent of that was Early or Mail-In voting, so NO ONE got disenfranchised this year because the lines were so long they couldn't get in. The county still went roughly 2 to 1 in favor of the GOP, but we can work on that over the next two years. :) I think it may take just a little while to adjust to semi-normal life, but I'll do my best. For now, here is a really great song that helped get me through. It's called "I Approve This Message", although a good alternate title would be "We, The People". Hey, any song that mentions St. Molly of Austin and has lyrics like these: "I am the precinct walker I am the polling place volunteer I am the statistician and 4 out of 5 of me approve this message...." is a good song. (Can't seem to get it to embed, so here's the link) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwCCwg0xcIU http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ8s http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ8s/commentary#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:04:19 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ8s Susan the Neon Nurse http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/4d9f8366c95149b114_4l1gmvoe1.jpg Susan the Neon Nurse 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8s/ Rumors about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the EPA. I would support Paul Krugman to be Sec. of Treasury! What do you think? Who should head the other Departments and agencies? Let's discuss! http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ84 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ84/commentary#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:55:22 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQ84 Ken Ken 5 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ84/ OBAMA CITY, JAPAN :  Banners on parade and dancing in the streets with shouts in English "YES WE CAN" KENYA:  Dancing in the streets - 2 days of national holiday declared amid chants of "YES WE CAN" FRANCE:  People pour into the streets of Paris amid dancing and singing there are shouts "YES WE CAN" LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA....ALL OVER THE WORLD: The REVOLUTION has been legitimized, accepted and praised.               WE actually won the 2nd revolution for the United States of America. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ88 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ88/commentary#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:26:59 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ88 The Mad Woman http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/fcb34917d9fd3e3809_u806mvulr.jpg The Mad Woman 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ88/ NATIONAL PRESS ADVISORY: Call for Palin to donate clothes to local charity Clothing drive launched as Palin to visit Colorado Springs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sunday, November 2, 2008 CONTACT: Michael Huttner (303) 931-4547 Denver/Colorado Springs - ProgressNowAction called on Sarah Palin to donate her campaign clothes to local charities during her visit to Colorado Springs Monday.  The groups also launched a statewide clothing drive calling for its members to donate clothes to local charities for low-income women. "We call on Palin to donate a share of her $150,000 in clothing while she is in Colorado," stated Michael Huttner, Executive Director of ProgressNowAction.org, the state's largest online advocacy organization.  "We ask Palin to join us in calling for donations of professional clothing attire to local charities for low-income women." Sarah Palin, who is expected to arrive in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon, continues to defend spending upwards of $150,000 on her wardrobe since she was nominated. ("Governor Palin defends clothing tab" Fox News, Tampa Bay, 10/26/2008) "McCain and Palin's enormous spending on her wardrobe demonstrates how out of touch they are with taxpayers and the average Coloradoan," stated Huttner.  "Palin should know better than to visit a tax-conscious community like Colorado Springs without at least donating part of her clothes to a local charity." ProgressNowAction is sending an email to its members to donate to "Dress for Success" which provides professional clothing attire and career advice to low-income women. The public can join them by dropping off professional business style clothing attire, no denim or casual clothes, weekdays between the hours of 8:30am-4:30pm to: Dress for Success, Colorado Springs Women's Resource Agency Inc. 750 Citadel Drive East Suite 3117 Colorado Springs, CO  80909 or Dress for Success, Denver 1510 N. High Street 2nd Floor Denver, CO  80218 # # # http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQ8L http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQ8L/commentary#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2008 10:29:03 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CQ8L Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8L/ The attacks by the McCain campaign, accusing Obama of being a Socialist, sound like a reversion back to something from the 1950s. That is the way the media portrays it, as an amusing and ridiculous jab being made by a desperate campaign that is on the ropes with nothing better to offer. Even Obama's dismissive response about sharing his toys as a child seems to regard it that way. But the attack is much more insidious and subtle than that. The fact that it is being rolled out in the last week of the campaign suggests to me that the Republicans think that this is the most powerful shot left in their arsenal, and could be the game-changer they rely on to win the election at the last minute. As McPalin describe it, the socialist accusation is a claim that Obama will take "your" hard earned money and give it to "them." Given the demographics of the group that is being targeted with this pitch - blue collar and middle class whites - it is not hard to see who "they" are. Just as George H.W Bush's Willie Horton ads were not about crime, and Ronald Reagan's railing on about welfare Cadillacs was not about welfare reform, this socialist line is not about economics or even ideology. Nor is it about painting Obama as outside the main stream. It is all about stoking the residual and ill- concealed racism that remains a powerful factor in America. It is designed to evoke stereotypes of lazy, shiftless, unemployed blacks in the south and Midwest, drunk Indians in the southwest, and illegal immigrants in big sombreros sleeping in the sun, all supported by the welfare funds taken from "your" hard earned dollars. The campaign is brilliantly indirect, but it is the nastiest attack yet on Obama. It is the McCain campaign playing the race card. Maybe it is right for us to treat the attack as a throwback to McCarthyism that merely reflects on the age of McCain. Maybe the attack is too subtle and the American people too dumb to respond as the Republicans intend. Maybe America is not as racist as they think. Maybe the fall of communism makes the whole thing irrelevant. But the Republicans would not be rolling it out as their dying gasp of the campaign if they believed that. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQ8r http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQ8r/commentary#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:29:37 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQ8r Doc Martin Doc Martin 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8r/ The McCain Campaign is out answering the internet blogosphere again. A continuation of the policy of smoke and mirrors... "SO, Mr. McCain, what about the Economy?"   "uh, uh, HEY! Look over here...Obama stubbed his toe and he didn't bleed - proves he's a vampire!!! Afterall,we knew he had to be... He runs with alien terrorists from MARS!!!!! The Washington Post has films of the landing and met with their leader..... We are demanding right here and now....RELEASE THE FILM!!!!!" YES McCAIN and his Campaign are LIKE BUSH in one major way... They will SAY anything (LIE); They think WE are STUPID; And when all else fails, blame the Democrats! http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ8Z http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ8Z/commentary#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:15:10 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQ8Z The Mad Woman http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/fcb34917d9fd3e3809_u806mvulr.jpg The Mad Woman 271 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8Z/