1/17/10 Just For Today: 'Forgiveness!'

"As we realize our need to be forgiven, we tend to be more forgiving. At least we know that we are no longer intentionally making life miserable for people."

Just for today: I will strive to forgive rather than be forgiven. I will try to act in such a way that I feel worthy of self-love.

No Day But Today!!!

1/16/10 Just For Today: 'Make That Call!'

"We feared that if we ever revealed ourselves as we were, we would surely be rejected.... [But] our fellow members do understand us."

Just for today: In NA, I am amoung friends. I will reach out to others, giving and receiving in fellowship.

No Day But Today!

ONE YEAR on January 11, 2010!!

'Faith!'.- "As we develop faith in our daily lives, we find that our Higher Power supplies us with the strength and guidance that we need."

Just for today: I know that faith in my Higher Power will not calm the storms of life, but it will calm my heart. I will let my faith shelter me in times of trouble.

NO DAY BUT TODAY!!!

10/11/09 Just For Today: 'Eyeglasses & Attitudes!'

"Our best thinking got us into trouble...Recovery is an active change in our ideas and attitudes."

Just for today: I will view the world and my life through the clean spiritual lenses of my program.

No Day But Today! - 9 months!!

Daily Scripting

When I procrastinate, I feel bad about myself, which leads to depression and feelings of helplessness, low self-esteem and low confidence.

Forcing myself to become proactive (clearing clutter, exercising or stepping towards a goal), raises my confidence and self-esteem and helps me overcome depression.

No Day But Today!

7/11/09 Just For Today: 'Encouragement!'

"We share comfort and encouragement with others."

Just for today: I will seek encouragement from others. I will encourage others who may need my strength.

No Day But Today!

6/30/09 Just For Today: 'Maintaining The Foundation!'

"Our newly found faith serves as a firm Foundation for Courage in the future."

Just for today: I want to continue enjoying the life I've found in recovery. Today, I will take steps to maintain my Foundation.

No Day But Today!

4/23/09 Just For Today: 'Surrender!'

"We didn't stumble into this fellowship brimming with love, honesty, open-mindedness, or willingness....When we were.beaten, we became willing."

Just for today: Is there a surrender I need to make today? I will remember my first surrender and remind myself that I don't need to fight anymore.

No Day But Today!

5/20/09 Just For Today: 'Coming Out Of Isolation!'

"We find ourselves doing and enjoying things that we never thought we would be doing."

Just for today: I can find pleasure in the simple routines of daily living.

No Day But Today!

5/13/09 Just For Today: 'Onward On The Journey!'

"The progression of recovery is a continuous uphill journey."

Just for today: I accept that I don't have all the answers to life's questions. Nonetheless, I will have faith in the god of my understanding and continue on the journey of recovery.

No Day But Today!

Daily Scripting

When I procrastinate, I feel bad about myself, which leads to depression and feelings of helplessness, low self-esteem and low confidence.

Forcing myself to become proactive (clearing clutter, exercising or stepping towards a goal), raises my confidence and self-esteem and helps me overcome depression.

4/27/09 Just For Today: 'RecognizIng & Releasing Resentments!'

"We want to look our past in the face, see it for what it really was, and release it so we can live today."

Just for today: When I discover a resentment, I'll see it for what it is and let it go.

No Day But Today!

4/7/09 Just For Today: 'Self-Acceptance!'

"The most effective means of achieving self-acceptance is through applying the Twelve Steps of recovery."

Just for today: Self-acceptance is a process set in motion by the Twelve Steps. Today, I will trust the process, practice the steps, and learn to better accept myself.

No Day But Today!

4/22/09 Just For Today: 'Traveling The Open Road!'

"This is our road to spiritual growth."

Just for today: I am continuing to develop my spiritual, social, and general living skills by applying the principles of my program. I can travel as far as I wish on the road of recovery.

No Day But Today!

4/15/09 Just For Today: 'Keep Coming Back!'

"We have come to enjoy living clean and want more of the good things that the NA Fellowsjip holds for us."

Just for today: I know where the "good life" is. I'll keep coming back.

No Day But Today!

Daily Scripting

When I procrastinate, I feel bad about myself, which leads to depression and feelings of helplessness, low self-esteem and low confidence.

Forcing myself to become proactive (clearing clutter, exercising or stepping towards a goal), raises my confidence and self-esteem and helps me overcome depression.

4/13/09 Just For Today: 'People Pleasing!'

"...approval-seeking behavior carried us further into our addiction..."

Just for today: Higher Power, help me live in accordance with spritual principles. Only then can I approve of myself.

No Day But Today!

4/11/09 Just For Today: 'A Closed Mind!'

"A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind...Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives."

Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to open my mind to the new ideas of recovery.

No Day But Today!

4/8/09 Just For Today: 'Happiness!'

"We come to know happiness, joy, freedom."

Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.

No Day But Today!

4/6/09 Just For Today: 'Growing Honesty!'

"On a practical level, changes occur because what's appropriate to one phase of recovery may not be for another."

Just for today: I will examine the level of honesty in my life and see if I'm comfortable with it.

No Day But Today!

4/4/09 Just For Today: 'Guarding Our Recovery!'

"Remember that we...are ultimately responsible for our recovery and our decisions."

Just for today: When faced with a decision that may challenge my recovery, I will consult all the resources at my disposal before I make my choice.

No Day But Today!

3/30/09 Just For Today: 'God-centeredness!'

"Gradually, as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope."

Just for today: I will rely on my Higher Power. I will accept that, regardless of what happens, my Higher Power will provide me with the resources to live with it.

No Day But Today!

3/23/09 Just For Today: 'God's Gifts!'

"We do the footwork and accept what's being given to us freely on a daily basis."

Just for today: In my relationship with my Higher Power, I am the powerless one..Remembering who I am, today I will humbly accept the gifts of the god I understand.

No Day But Today!

3/21/09 Just For Today: 'A Treatable Illness!'

"Addiction is a disease that involves more than the use of drugs."

Just for today: I will treat my illness with the Twelve Steps.

No Day But Today!

3/12/09 Just For Today: 'Getting Out Of The Rut!'

"Many times in our recovery, the old bugaboos will haunt us. Life may again become meaningless, monotonous, and boring."

Just for today: I'll take a break from the rountine and stretch my potential to its fullest.

No Day But Today!

3/11/09 Just For Today: 'Lightening The Load!'

"It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another. It will make us feel better to clean up our lives..."

Just for today: I will seek to have the burden of resentments removed from my spirit.

No Day But Today!

3/9/09 Just For Today: 'Small Things!'

"In the past, we made simple situations into problems; we made mountains out of molehills."

Just for today: I will work on patience. I will try to keep from blowing things out of proportion, and walk with my Higher Power through my day.

No Day But Today!

3/7/09 Just For Today: 'Priorities!'

"The good times can also be a trap; the danger is that we may forget that our first priority is to stay clean."

Just for today: I'm grateful for the good times, but I've not forgotten from where I've come. Today, my first priority is staying clean and growing in my recovery.

3/4/09 Just For Today: 'The Process!'

"This program has become a part of me...I understand more clearly the things that are happening in my life today. I no longer fight the process."

Just for today: Life is a process, my recovery is the key. Today, I will use the steps to participate in that process, understanding and enjoying myself and my recovery.

No Day But Today!

3/3/09 Just For Today: 'Relapse!'

"There will be times, however, when we really feel like using. We want to run, and we feel lousy. We need to be reminded of where we came from and that it will be worse this time. This is when we need the program the most."

Just for today: I thank my Higher Power for the gift of recovery. I know that relapse is not the way out. Whatever challenges I face, I will face them with the god of my understanding.

No Day But Today!

3/2/09 Just For Today: 'Success!'

"Any form of success was frightening and unfamiliar."

Just for today: I will take time to savor my success. I will share my victories with an "attitude of gratitude."

No Day But Today!

2/28/09 Just For Today: 'The Greatest Gift!'

"Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for the courage in the future."

Just for today: I will try to welcome my feelings, firm in the belief that I have the courage to face whatever emotions may come up in my life.

No Day But Today!

02/26/09 Just For Today: 'Remorse!'

"The Eighth Step offers a big change from a life dominated by guilt and remorse."

Just for today: I will use any feelings of remorse I may have as a stepping-stone to healing through the Twelve Steps.

No Day But Today!

2/24/09 Just For Today: 'A New Influence!'

"Personality change is what we really needed. Change from self-destructive patterns of life became necessary."

Just for today: I will cooperate with the new influence of fellowship and spiritual strength introduced into my life. I will work the next step of my program.

No Day But Today!

2/23/09 Just For Today: 'Messages & Messengers!'

"Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

Just for today; I will practice the principle of anonymity in today's meeting. I will focus on the message of recovery, not the personality of the messenger.

No Day But Today!

2/13/09 Just For Today: 'Living In The Moment!'

"We regretted the past, dreaded the future, and weren't too thrilled about the present."

Just for today: When I live each moment, I open myself to joys that might otherwise escape me. If I am having trouble, I will ask a loving Higher Power for help.

No Day But Today!

2/7/09 Just For Today 'This Is Not A Test!'

"...we have found a loving, personal Higher Power to whom we can turn."

Just for today: I will have faith that my Higher Power's will for me is good, and that I am loved. I will seek my Higher Power's help in times of need.

No Day But Today!

2/6/09 Just For Today 'I Can't - We Can!'

"We had convinced ourselves that we could make it alone and proceed to live life on that basis. The results were disasterous and, in the end, each of us had to admit that self-sufficiency was a lie."

Just for today: I will seek the support of other friends; harmony with others in my community; and the care of my higher power. I can't, but we can.

No Day But Today!

2/5/09 - Just For Today 'Keep Coming Back!'

"We are grateful that we were made so welcome at meetings that we felt comfortable."

Just for today: I remember the welcome I was given when I first came to a meeting at our Fellowship. Today, I will express my gratitude by offering a hug to a newcomer.

No Day But Today!

4/29/07 NEW Pictures @ www.PasadenaForObama.org - from Channel 4: 1st AME in LA bring Barack & Stevie Wonder Together for Peace!

"NEW Pictures @ www.PasadenaForObama.org - from Channel 4: 1st AME in LA bring Barack & Stevie Wonder Together for Peace!" -By Mike Barako - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Apr 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pm EDT Also listed in: 10 groups

All races and generations together!: We have great new pictures @ http://www.pasadenaforobama.org/, from today's church service with Sen. Obama, as well as the candlight vigil to Save Darfur!
We all enjoyed a wonderful church service today where Sen. Obama gave a heartfelt speech on the 15th anniversary of the LA riots. Then Stevie Wonder surprized even Barack as he made his way into the church mid-speech and capped the end of the speech with an improve about Barack's march to victory. He also praised the Higher Power with the men's choir during a rousing song before the Senator had to leave. Peace awards were given out to community members who helped the city heal after the 1992 riots and all the people in the pews were raising the roof throughout. What a historical day and event! Power to the People!

My barackobama.com blog 6/25/08 + Decide For Yourself! 4/20/07

A New Hope
By Mike Barako - Precinct #195150091A Captain - CA CD 29 - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Jun 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm EDT
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Lucas: Obama is a Jedi POSTED June 25, 2:48 AM

George Lucas signs an autograph at a Capitol Hill event Tuesday. - Carrie Devorah/Special to The Examinerhttp://www.examiner.com/blogs-73-Yeas_and_Nays~y2008m6d25-Lucas-Obama-is-a-Jedi"Star Wars" creator George Lucas used his expert opinion to compare some of his famous characters to famous politicians Tuesday morning.Lucas, who was on Capitol Hill to testify at the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee hearing on universal service, was totally nonpartisan when it came to President Bush, declining to weigh in on our question: "Who is President Bush more like: Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader?""It's up to the viewer," he responded.And, of course, we had to ask him what he thinks of Vice President Dick Cheney's nickname -- "Darth Vader."Although Lucas wouldn't say whether it was an accurate description of the veep, he did say that Cheney "seems to like" the nickname.Lucas did, however, have one definitive answer: Barack Obama would most certainly be a Jedi. "I would say that's reasonably obvious," he said.And although Lucas' movies are filled with high-tech graphics and visual wizardry, he says they're nothing compared with Congress, telling us that getting things done there is much more complicated than his movies' special effects. "Anyone who's seen one of my movies knows that's saying something about Congress," he said.

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Agree With George Lucas on Sen. Obama Report to Admin Reply
By Hamzi Yazbeck ...Friends ...President Obama provides inspiration, vigor and innovtion America needs to overcome Jun 29th 2008 at 11:41 pm EDT Delete Comment

Sen. Obama is much more than the Jedi he would more likely be their PRESIDENT.

Teach The Children Organizing!: Camp Obama Crew Pasadena :-P
By Mike Barako - Precinct #195150091A Captain - CA CD 29 - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Jun 16th, 2008 at 12:11 pm EDT
Also listed in: 9 groups
Famed organizer Marshall Ganz sees history in the makingThe longtime UFW activist, who was there when RFK was shot, is now putting his passion to work for Barack Obama.By Scott Martelle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer June 15, 2008 CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- Forty years ago Marshall Ganz, a top field organizer for Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers union, watched in confusion as Bobby Kennedy left a stage at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel.Ganz was supposed to whisk him away to thank a roomful of farmworker volunteers who had just helped him win the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary. But Kennedy was heading toward the kitchen.Before Ganz could catch up, the room erupted in screams and yells. Robert F. Kennedy had been shot."Talk about feeling history just falling through your fingers," Ganz said.Ganz is sitting at his kitchen table as he tells the story, one in a series of personal narratives from his life as a rabbi's son in 1950s Bakersfield, a civil rights worker in Mississippi in the 1960s and, later, a key figure in the United Farm Workers' boycotts.They are stories of faith and betrayal, love and hate, hope and disillusionment.And if Barack Obama succeeds in his historic quest for the White House, the Illinois senator will owe a large debt to Ganz's passion for such narratives -- and for the way this graying, portly man taught Obama's top field organizers to weave thousands of individual volunteers' stories into a social movement.Ganz, 65, has no official role in the Obama campaign. But when key Obama organizers run into a problem, they look to Ganz, who teaches organizing and leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.When the Obama campaign held a series of "Camp Obama" training sessions around the country last summer, Ganz was brought in to hold two-day discussions of personal narrative and leadership.Campaign officials estimate that 200 to 300 organizers were trained at about a dozen Camp Obamas -- three of them co-led by Ganz.The effort's biggest success came in caucus states like Iowa, where tightknit organizations were better able to get people to the meeting sites.But grass-roots efforts also paid off in South Carolina and Wisconsin and helped keep the margin small in Indiana.Ganz's "style of organizing really does speak to who Barack is as a candidate," said Obama field organizer Buffy Wicks, 30, who ran the campaign's grass-roots efforts in California and Texas."Marshall really believes in empowering people and teaching them how to become community organizers."Maggie Fleming, who attended a Camp Obama last summer, said: "Marshall is able to bring this bigger picture of his work with civil rights and with the farmworkers and [connect] people to this idea that this is bigger than just one candidate."Fleming, 28, the assistant director of a nonprofit environmental education group, later helped form the core of Obama's grass-roots committee in Oakland.Ganz encourages volunteers to share their own life stories with voters, in the belief that by speaking from the heart, they turn the tedious -- phone-banking, door-knocking -- into a communal mission. It's not policy but passion that he teaches."It's counterintuitive," Ganz said. "At Camp Obama the tendency is, 'I need to know all of the arguments.' No. You need to learn to talk from your own experiences. It's a very empowering thing."For Ganz too. He sees the campaign as a chance to turn back the hands of time.Freedom Summer
Ganz was born in Bay City, Mich., and grew up in Fresno and then Bakersfield.He entered Harvard in 1960 but after two years took some time off. When he returned to Cambridge, he found that one of his roommates had joined Students for a Democratic Society and another had joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.He volunteered for the Freedom Summer of 1964 in Mississippi and was in training when volunteers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner disappeared. They were found dead several weeks later.Ganz decided to forge ahead -- and found his life's work."I had friends involved in SDS, and they would have these big ideological discussions, which never had any appeal to me," Ganz said. "What worked for me was to work with the people, going around and meeting people."As a way to connect with the black community, the rabbi's son taught adult Sunday school in Mississippi -- Old Testament only. Ganz returned to the Central Valley in 1965 and soon joined Chavez's fledgling farmworkers union, where he helped organize workers, lead boycotts and negotiate contracts until internal divisions led him to quit in 1981.He then moved into political organizing full time, targeting infrequent voters.The strategy turned out 180,000 new voters, primarily in low-income Latino and black neighborhoods, who helped Sen. Alan Cranston win a tight reelection battle in 1986. In 1991, 28 years after he left, Ganz was back in Cambridge, where he earned a master's degree and, in 2000, a doctorate and then marked another transition: from student to teacher.The challengeGanz stands at the front of a Harvard lecture hall, a diet Dr Pepper on the table in front of him. About 80 students fill the room, some from the Kennedy School, others from the Divinity School."Today we get into leadership," Ganz says. It is a skill most needed during times of uncertainty, he says, and best done by forming teams."Do not try to organize your project alone," he says, a titter moving through the crowd. "Get other people to help you. . . . It's not so much about exercising your own leadership as it is developing the leadership capacity of others. That's where the power comes from."For the next 80 minutes, Ganz lectures a bit but also poses questions. He doesn't nudge the students toward any specific engagement, but it's clear that several have the political bug.For a class project, Norena Limon, 25, of Chino was planning to skip a few days of classes to help Obama's grass-roots efforts out of state.Limon represents the long-term challenge for the Obama campaign -- and for Ganz: how to harness and nurture the enthusiasm of the young and the idealistic, whose energy could dissipate if Obama fails to win the White House.Ganz has faith that the seeds have taken root. If Obama loses, many of the disenchanted will disengage. But others will stay involved as community activists. They will organize others.Forty years after history slipped through Ganz's fingers, he feels optimistic again."I just love the fact that hundreds of organizers are going to be unleashed on the country," he said, sitting with his coffee mug at the kitchen table amid all those stories. It's Marshall Ganz's army, and it's marching your way.scott.martelle@latimes.com Read More »
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Billary's Legacy (from Huff): Don't Let Others Re-Write History!
By Mike Barako - Precinct #195150091A Captain - CA CD 29 - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - May 11th, 2008 at 8:43 am EDT
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Hillary Clinton's Legacy : Two months ago I wrote about the emerging parallels between the bitterness of the current Democratic primary and the split between early white women's rights activists and abolitionists after the Civil War. With the campaign of Hillary Clinton sputtering to its final end, it is appropriate to revisit these issue and see if the disturbing parallels I pointed out have increased or decreased in relevancy since March.
Unfortunately, the historic parallels have only become stronger, and are nearly perfectly crystallized in yesterday's New York Times op-ed by Susan Faludi, the award-winning white feminist author, congratulating Clinton for running a campaign that has advanced the feminist movement in America:
In the final stretch of the primary season, [Clinton] seems to have stepped across an unstated gender divide...We are witnessing a female competitor delighting in the undomesticated fray. Her new no-holds-barred pugnacity and gleeful perseverance have revamped her image in the eyes of begrudging white male voters... It's the unforeseen precedent of an unprecedented candidacy... Not once has she demanded that the umpire stop the fight. Indeed, she's asking for more unregulated action, proposing a debate with no press-corps intermediaries. While the commentators have been tut-tutting, Senator Clinton has been converting white males, assuring them that she's come into their tavern not to smash the bottles, but to join the brawl. ... The strategy has certainly remade the political world for future female politicians, who may now cast off the assumption that when the going gets tough, the tough girl will resort to unilateral rectitude. When a woman does ascend through the glass ceiling into the White House, it will be, in part, because of the race of 2008, when Hillary Clinton broke through the glass floor and got down with the boys.
My original post comparing the present situation to that following the Civil War is included below. The short version is this: after the war, a major schism erupted among abolitionists over whether to campaign first to grant the vote to former (male) slaves, and then to press extend the vote to women (of all colors), or whether to fight for both at the same time. When it became clear that the majority of abolitionists favored pressing the black vote first, two of the most prominent white women's rights activists broke with the movement and began to campaign for white woman suffrage on explicitly racist grounds. They argued that giving white women the vote would protect the nation from the unsavory political influence of former slaves and Asian immigrants. The result was a split in the movement for woman suffrage that hobbled that movement for 50 years.
Faludi's argument fits into this historic parallel perfectly. Clinton, we are told, has done a favor for all American women by campaigning with "new no-holds-barred pugnacity" and "joining the brawl." Incredibly, Faludi neglects to mention the content of what Clinton's closest advisors referred to last week as her display of testicles: racism and war-mongering.
The day after the most recent primaries, Clinton told USA Today that she must continue because she has growing support among "working, hard working Americans. White Americans." It is worth your while to go to YouTube and hear this statement for yourself. When you hear her inflection, it comes off even worse than it does in print. She begins to say that Obama is losing support among "working" Americans, then pauses to specify what she is actually referring to is "hard working Americans," then pauses and specifies even more precisely "white" Americans. She then continues, noting that "whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."
OK, Hillary, we hear you. As opposed to all those lazy blacks and do-nothing white college grads, you've got the support of the people who actually work hard in this country - uneducated white people. That is, in essence, exactly the appeal made by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton after the Civil War: the same argument, made to mobilize the same constituency.
The first time around, this agenda created a split in the movement for woman suffrage that would hobble the movement for 50 long years until American women finally won the right to vote in 1920. The whole sordid history is a painful chapter in American feminism that causes American feminists discomfort even today, nearly 150 years later. Some feminists have promoted Anthony and Stanton as historical heroines and role models, and in the 1970s Anthony became the first woman to appear on American money when the Susan B. Anthony dollar was minted. Other feminists strongly object, arguing that ignoring the racist legacy of these women only exacerbates the racial divisions that have plagued feminism in America.
But racism was not the only appeal on which Clinton based what Faludi sees as her effort to "remake the political world for future female politicians." The other was war. In order to convince those uneducated white voters that she had sufficient testosterone to be Commander-in-Chief-from-Day-One, she flatly stated that she would have no qualms about "obliterating" another country, leading her confidant James Carville to state that if Hillary gave Obama one of her balls, "they'd both have two."
This statement, coming from a leading presidential candidate in the only country in the world to ever have used nuclear weapons, was so egregious that it merited a rebuke from the Secretary General of the United Nations. I cannot remember another time when any world leader in any country, trying to drum up last minute votes in an election, made a statement so outrageous as to draw comment from the UN Secretary General.
So, no, I cannot agree with Faludi that Clinton's "strategy has certainly remade the political world for future female politicians." It is simply not news that a female politician who outdoes the guys in appeals to race and war can be successful. Think Margaret Thatcher. The fact that she ran on a machine largely created by her husband, whom she regularly employed to wallow in a gutter even lower than that to which she herself had sunk, makes Faludi's argument even more ludicrous. Incredibly, in Faludi's entire article summing up the political impact of the Clinton campaign, the words "Bill," "William," and "husband" do not appear. Clinton has not even withdrawn yet and the re-writing of history has already begun.
Here is my post from March:
The recent behavior of the Clinton campaign and its allies has disturbing parallels in the earliest days of the woman suffrage movement. Then, in the face of a short-term set-back, the most prominent woman suffrage campaigners broke with the abolitionist movement and espoused explicitly racist politics. The result was a debilitating split in the movement for woman suffrage, and a half century of defeat.
The women in question are Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Like other early women's rights advocates, Stanton and Anthony initially became politically active in the abolitionist movement, and through this activism began formulating an increasingly articulate feminist agenda (though the word "feminism" was not available to them at the time).
The civil war put women's rights on hold, as abolitionist women threw their energies into the union war effort. After the war, the question of voting rights for freed slaves moved to the top of the national agenda. Slavery was ended, but whether the freed slaves would be granted the full rights of citizens, and most particularly the right to vote, was anything but certain. To Stanton and Anthony, the debate on voting rights was an open door for a push to extend the vote to all adult citizens regardless of race or gender. They took it as given that the political coalition which had achieved abolition and was now poised to campaign for the Fourteenth Amendment would see things the same way. It was inconceivable to them that the nation might grant the vote to black men yet leave black women - and white women - disenfranchised.
Most abolitionist leaders, including prominent white women such as Lucy Stone, took an opposite tack, arguing that it was the "Negro's hour" and women would have to wait. In their view, while black suffrage and woman suffrage might be linked logically, the political reality was that the fight for black male suffrage would be a difficult one, and complicating the matter by raising woman suffrage would put the fruits of the tremendous sacrifices of the civil war in jeopardy. Victory for black suffrage, they argued, would open the door for women, whereas a defeat for black suffrage would close all possibility of enlarging the franchised population for years to come. Those advocating this course included movement superstars William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, both of whom had consistently been far ahead of the pack in their support of female abolitionists formulating a program for women's rights.
The issue came to a head in 1867 in Kansas, where citizens were asked to vote simultaneously on two separate constitutional amendments, one enfranchising black men, the other women. The outcome would finally decide the debate over whether the political rights of slaves would be defined as the "[male] Negro's hour" or a "more complete democracy." With so much on the line, the split between those campaigning for just one or both amendments became predictably bitter. On election day black suffrage won, while woman suffrage lost overwhelmingly.
The real political catastrophe, however, was not this set-back but the ugly politics that ensued. What had begun as a principled disagreement with reasoned arguments on both sides degenerated into a political debacle as one side in the debate refused to accept that its position would lose. Stanton and Anthony had been the most prominent woman suffrage campaigners in the Kansas election, and as they sensed victory slipping beyond their reach they tried to shore up their prospects by reaching out to racists. They developed a close relationship with a flamboyant racist named George Francis Train, who stumped for them around the state. Attacks on the intelligence of blacks were fundamental to Train's standard appeal, and he employed them as an argument for voting rights for women. The collaboration between two top woman suffragists and such a blatant racist horrified many other suffragists. Stanton and Anthony shocked their friends by refusing to budge in the face of withering criticism. "So long as opposition to slavery is the only test for your platform," Stanton angrily wrote to the abolitionists, "why should we not accept all in favor of woman suffrage to our platform and association, even though they be rabid pro-slavery?"
The following year, Stanton, Anthony and Train launched the Revolution, a newspaper which broke much new ground for women's rights in America, discussing prostitution, infanticide, sex education, cooperative housekeeping. But the paper also carried on with explicitly racist appeals to white women. "American women of wealth, education, virtue, and refinement," Stanton warned, "If you do not wish the lower orders of Chinese, Africans, Germans and Irish, with the low ideas of womanhood to make laws for you and your daughters, ... to dictate not only the civil, but moral codes by which you shall be governed, awake to the danger of your present position."
Thus began a split in the movement for woman suffrage that would hobble the movement for 50 long years until American women finally won the right to vote in 1920. The whole sordid history is a painful chapter that causes American feminists discomfort even today. Some feminists have promoted Anthony and Stanton as historical heroines and role models, and in the 1970s Anthony became the first woman to appear on American money when the Susan B. Anthony dollar was minted. Other feminists have strongly objected, arguing that ignoring the racist legacy of these women only exacerbates the racial divisions that have plagued feminism in America.
The parallels with today are obvious. As the Clinton campaign began to feel the chances of Hillary Clinton becoming the first female president slip away, the campaign has resorted to increasingly racist appeals. One wonders if, decades from now, Hillary Clinton will be a hero in the feminist pantheon or, like Stanton and Anthony, a reminder of a painful episode that future feminists will prefer to forget.
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Progressive Post from Huff: Don't Worry, Be Happy!
By Mike Barako - Precinct #195150091A Captain - CA CD 29 - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Apr 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am EDT
Also listed in: 9 groups
In hope of preventing some of this hysteria (especially my own), I thought it'd be helpful to keep a few things in mind during Tuesday night's results -- from Hillary's "victory" speech to the blizzard of spin that's sure to follow:
1. Remember that there's no way Hillary can become the nominee without a superdelegate coup -- which would alienate a generation of young Democrats and dangerously fracture the party.
2. Remember that her campaign leaked internals showing an eleven point lead (as a means of firing up her supporters and getting out the vote). Therefore, any win smaller than eleven points should be considered a disappointment by her own assessment.
3. Remember that every time Hillary begins a sentence with "you know," or "my opponent," the next thing out of her mouth is a lie.
4. Remember that when Clinton surrogates say "this proves Obama can't win the big states," they're ignoring the fact that he actually won more delegates in Texas -- not to mention twice as many states as she has.
5. Remember that when the pundits argue that Obama can't win in white rural areas because they broke for Hillary, they're ignoring the fact that he won (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
6. Remember that when Hillary talks about who will be "better against John McCain in the fall," she's talking about the fall of 2012.
7. Remember that Hillary's campaign is $10M in debt, while Obama's has more than $40M in cash on hand.
8. Remember that Hillary's lead in Pennsylvania was as a high as 26 points only a month ago.
9. Remember that Hillary's late Pennsylvania rebound was forged in the fires of negativity and fear-mongering.
10. Remember that the only manufacturing job Hillary ever brought to Pennsylvania was the manufactured notion that she was a middle-class, whisky-swilling duck killer, and not an anti-union multi-millionaire. Read More »
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yes we can Report to Admin Reply
By Julia from Pasadena Apr 22nd 2008 at 12:35 pm EDT
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Remember she is doing very poorly for someone who supposedly has the nomination in the bag.Inevitable you say?

Obama Backers Rev Up Efforts - Pasadena Star News - Free Media+New Media!
By Mike Barako - Precinct #195150091A Captain - CA CD 29 - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Dec 27th, 2007 at 12:45 pm EST
Also listed in: 10 groups
San Gabriel Valley volunteers excited by Sen. Barack Obama's past as a community organizer - and his local ties - are working through the holiday season for his presidential campaign.
Local groups work overtime on behalf of Dem candidate
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer Article Launched: 12/26/2007 10:48:35 PM PST
A Pasadena group will be canvassing for Obama at the South Pasadena farmers market today, as it does most weeks, and a Monrovia group held its regular phone-banking session Wednesday night.
Throughout Los Angeles County, Obama volunteers are divided into groups based on congressional districts, and volunteers from each group learned how to organize their groups, make phone calls and canvass for their candidate at a central event held last June, called "Camp Obama."
"I was amazed how much some of our volunteers learned about running a campaign from attending the event," said Julia Bailey, 42, a volunteer in the 32nd Congressional District.
The 32nd Congressional District is represented by Hilda Solis, D-El Monte. It includes the communities East Los Angeles, El Monte, Covina, West Covina and Azusa.
Bailey added that she thought the camps were particularly helpful because so many volunteers are political novices.
"This is my first time getting involved in politics, and it is the same for everyone I talk to in the campaign," said Bailey.
Lonnee Hamilton, a organizer for the 29th Congressional District group in Pasadena, agreed that few in her group had ever been politically active.
"I was just a hold your nose and vote Democratic person," said Hamilton. "This is my first time actually volunteering, and I talk to other volunteers who say they haven't even voted in 30 years."
The 29th Congressional District, which is represented by Democrat Adam Schiff, includes the communities of Monterey Park, Altadena, Pasadena, Temple City, San Gabriel and Alhambra.
Hamilton hosted a fundraiser at her aunt and uncle's house for Obama that she says raised more than $500,000.
Obama attended the event and excited people by talking about his time spent in Pasadena while attending Occidental College, she added.
Mike Barako, 33, a special education teacher in Pasadena and volunteer in the group, said Obama appeals to him because of the senator's time spent as a community organizer in Illinois.
"He is a good community leader who has shown he wants to help local people solve their problems," said Barako, who added that he had never volunteered for any other candidate.
For now, groups from the 19th, 32nd, and 26th district say they are having dozens of volunteers call voters in their areas to ask them to support Obama, but in the weeks running up to California's Feb. 5 primary they plan to be out knocking on doors.
"So far we have only been able to use a few dozen people for phones," said Hamilton. "But hundreds of people have shown willingness to volunteer, so we'll be out in full force next month."
dan.abendschein@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105
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Nice! Report to Admin Reply
By Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein Dec 27th 2007 at 1:44 pm EST
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Congrats on the mention.

------------

http://barackobamagrassroots.com/blog/2007/04/03/httpfreethinkerspasadenablogspotcom/
Posted on April 3rd, 2007 by Administrator
If you are looking for a Blog in the California area that cuts right to the point, this is the site for you. Free Thinkers Pasadena started their campaigning efforts in February and offer the chance for members from the community to come together in support of Barack Obama, while also providing discounted materials to supporters. The group is very astute in displaying campaigning numbers, including approval ratings, schedules of upcoming events, and links to hundreds of other Barack Obama campaigns (Mostly from the official http://www.barackobama.com/ website). Most, if not all of the posts derive from http://www.pasadenaforobama.org/. If you are in the California area and you are looking for a group that is organized, willing to help you get involved, and has a genuine passion for Senator Obama’s campaign, then this is the group for you.
Sincerely,
James Allen Johnson
Technorati Tags: Pasadena Democrats, California Democrats, Barack Obama, Primaries

OBAMALA.COM Offers a Los Angeles Welcome to ObamaPosted on April 3rd, 2007 by AdministratorAs the name suggests http://www.obamala.com/ is a grassroots support group in the Los Angeles area, the site offers a professional layout with a vast array of important Barack Obama information. The site operates much like http://www.barackobama.com/ offering a contribution link, calendars, get involved links, Barack Obama News, Contact info, and a link for Pics and Videos. Another unique featuring from the site is their very own Barack Obama store, where participants can purchase, buttons and t-shirts (with a pretty cool looking drawing of Senator Obama featured on them). My favorite part of the site however is their “Weekly Speech Pick,” displaying the best of Barack Obama speeches, the speechs are from past years up until the present, and they show that Obama is unwavering in his positions on many issues facing many Americans today.I give this site excellent marks for their orderly displays and their ability to cover a vast array of Barack Obama information. By the way, their donate tabs send you right to the official http://www.barackobama.com/ site so you know where the money is being spent.Sincerely,James Allen JohnsonTechnorati Tags: Los Angeles Democrats, Primaries, Barack Obama, Voters 1 Comment »Filed under: California

Spread The Word!

Post from Barack2008 Freethinkers Pasadena CA:
Freethinkers & Book Clubs Do Spread The Word! (Word Up!)
By Mike Barako - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama - Apr 10th, 2007 at 2:07 am EDT

Just look at what one member of a book club can do to spread enthusiasm!:
(see link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0VyPQ2dliA

No Day But Today! Get Up, Stand Up!

March Madness - 'That Good Crazy!'

Events
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The Details
3/31/07 'Hope. Action. Change.' - PUBLIC Community Kickoff Event - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama CA (March 31 Kickoff Event)

Sign Up Now!! PUBLIC Positive Community Gathering & PasadenForObama.org KickOff Event:

FORGET THE 'STAY AT HOME' MENTALITY :- ) Let's All LISTEN and LEARN from Barack together LIVE in Pasadena, CA! Come to Hopkins Village, On the Corner of Lake & Howard: An open place to discuss and share about Barack Obama's ideas. A PUBLIC PotLuck Event...

Barack is LIVE via Phone, Web, DVD, YouTube @ 1p PT - For More Details: visit www.pasadenaforobama.org - Show Up Early! 1541 - 1549 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104

http://www.pasadenajournal.com/id72.html

WE ARE: NOT 'Los Angeles' first and largest grassroots organization', JUST FREETHINKERS & FRIENDS FOR OBAMASend me an e-mail, we can all get discounted goods for our Community Kickoff Events. We should order now, especially since the money goes straight to Barack...no issues.

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/communitykickoff

NOW WITH LABEL PINS! Normally a t-shirt is about $20, but for just $25, you get a shirt, 5 bumber stickers ($15 value), 3 buttons ($15 value), 10 lapel stickers. We will look great at Zephyr & HOPKINS VILLAGE and all our community service events. Together we are so cool! Many thanks to the campaign for rewarding early grassroots supporters and organizers with the loyalty bonus!$25.00 - 10 lapel stickers, 3 buttons, 5 bumper stickers, one t-shirt for YOU!

Time:
Saturday, March 31 at 12:00 PM
Duration:
3 hours
Host:
Mike Barako
Location:
HOPKINS VILLAGE - PASADENA/ALTADENA (Pasadena, CA)
HOPKINS VILLAGE1541 - 1549 N. Lake Ave.Pasadena, CA 91104
View Map:
Google Maps
MapQuest
Yahoo! Maps
Associated Groups:
*1,000,000 Americans for Obama*, *Students for Barack Obama*, 0bama Worldwide, 1,000,000 for Obama, 3 and the Harm, A Global Community for Peace, allGLBT for OBAMA = gay lesbian bisexual transgender, America 4 Obama, Americans for Hope, Antelope Valley for Obama, Arcadia for Obama, Artists for Obama, Austin For Obama, Austin Runners for Obama, Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack), Barack the Youth Vote, Barack's Bloggers, batman loves obama, Bay Area Black Folks for Barack, BBQ for Obama, Believers for Barack, Beverly Hills for Obama, Black Attorneys for Barack, BrooklynforBarack, Burnet County Democrats for Obama, Cal-State Fullerton Students for Obama, California State Students for Barack, Californians for Obama, Caltech supports Barack Obama, Campaign Support Group, Capitol Hill Artists, Crafters, and Musicians for Obama, Career professionals for Barack, Centrists for Obama, chicago bears fans for obama!, Chicagoans in Los Angeles 4 Obama, Chicagoland for Obama '08, Christians for Obama 08, Citizen Strategy Think Tank, Civil Libertarians for Obama, College Professors and Students for OBAMA, Coloradans for Obama, Colorado Families for Obama, Colorado for Obama, DA CREAM OF DA CROP ALL 4 BARACK!!, Death Penalty Opponents for Barack Obama, Diversity4Obama, DODGEBALL FOR OBAMA, Eagle Rock for Obama, Educators for Barack Obama, Educators for Change, Educators for Obama, Educators for Obama, Filmmakers for Obama, Fundraising for Obama, Global Warming Must Be Dealt With!, Graphics for Obama, Grassroots Obama L.A., Hollywood Loves Obama!, House Music for Obama, Independents for Obama, Information Technology Professionals for Obama, Internationalists for Obama, JAMPAC: Fans of live music for Obama, Jedi for Obama, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Voters for Barack Obama, Long Beach Students for Obama!, Los Angeles for Obama '08!, Loyola Marymount Students for Obama, Macs for Barack, Mile High for Obama, Military Families For/Need Obama, Military Families Need Obama, Moms for Obama, Motorcyclists for Obama!, Music City For Obama, Musicians & Artists for Obama, Musicians and Artists for Obama, Musicians for Obama, Musicians for the dude, NASHVILLEFOROBAMA.COM, NYC for Barack Obama, NYC Fundraising Efforts for Obama, Occidental College for Obama, Online Educators for Obama, PARENTS OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN, Pasadena and Altadena for Obama, PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers Pasadena, CA, Sacramento For Obama, San Joaquin County for Obama, San Joaquin for Obama, Santa Monica 4 Obama, Silver Lake/ Echo Park for Obama, Sisters In Motion, Sonoma County for Obama, Soul Music Lovers For Obama, South Florida for Obama!, Southern Californians for Obama, Students & Educators For Barack Obama, Students for Barack Obama, Teachers for Barack Obama, The Spirit of Democracy, Trojans for Obama, Twenty and Thirtysomethings for Obama, University of Southern California Students for Obama in 2008!, Urban Teachers for Barack Obama, WALL STREET FOR OBAMA, Washingtonians for Obama 2008!, West Hollywood Loves Barak, Whidbey-4-Obama, Writers for Obama, Young Professionals for Obama
Directions:
On the Corner of Lake & Howard, Pasadena, CA
http://www.pasadenajournal.com/id72.html

Send Us an E-mail via www.pasadenaforobama.org
Send me an e-mail, we can all get discounted goods for our Community Kickoff Events. We should order now, especially since the money goes straight to Barack...no issues.
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/communitykickoff
NOW WITH LABEL PINS! Normally a t-shirt is about $20, but for just $25, you get a shirt, 5 bumber stickers ($15 value), 3 buttons ($15 value), 10 lapel stickers. We will look great at Zephyr and all our community service events. Together we are so cool! Many thanks to the campaign for rewarding early grassroots supporters and organizers with the loyalty bonus! $25.00 - 10 lapel stickers, 3 buttons, 5 bumper stickers, one t-shirt for YOU!
Hope. Action. Change.:
On March 31, people across America open their homes to friends, family, and neighbors to kick off a week of support for a movement Barack Obama and the movement to change America.
Signup for '3/31/07 'Hope. Action. Change.' - PUBLIC Community Kickoff Event - PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers & Friends For Obama CA'

Will you attend: Yes, I will attend. No, I will not attend.
How many attendees total: (incl. yourself)
Add a comment: (optional)
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27 people have signed up to attend this event. The capacity limit is 500 attendees.

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Ending Feb. with Great Numbers

An Amazing Number of Volunteers for Barack! Not only do we have hundreds coming out to support our campain, but look at the polling numbers this early in 2007:
Washington Post-ABC News Poll
The Washington PostTuesday, Feb. 27, 2007
This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone February 22-25, 2007, among a random national sample of 1082 adults, including an oversample of 86 black respondents. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of (NAME)? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? Favorable Unfavorable No opin.
a. Hillary Clinton 49 48 3
b. John McCain 52 35 13
c. Barack Obama 53 30 16
d. Rudy Giuliani 64 28 8
e. Bill Clinton 55 42 2
f. John Edwards 46 39 14
g. Mitt Romney 26 34 40
Breakdown:

Barack Obama ------ Favorable ------ ----- Unfavorable ----- No
NET Strongly Somewhat NET Somewhat Strongly opinion
2/25/07 53 21 33 30 16 14 16
1/19/07 45 NA NA 29 NA NA 25
12/11/06 44 21 22 23 17 6 33
Polling data shows a slow but gradual gaining in polling, and on 14% strong negative with the rest being approachable in their thinking. Compare this to Hillary's figures:

Hillary Clinton:
------ Favorable ------ ----- Unfavorable ----- No NET Strongly Somewhat NET Somewhat Strongly opinion2/25/07 49 25 24 48 13 35 3 1/19/07 54 31 23 44 14 30 3 12/11/06 56 27 29 40 11 29 4 5/15/06 54 29 25 42 11 31 4 3/5/06 52 27 25 46 12 33 26/5/05 51 NA NA 46 NA NA 36/1/03 44 15 29 48 16 32 89/2/99 49 NA NA 44 NA NA 76/6/99 59 35 63/14/99 60 36 42/14/99&nbs p; 63 31 6 11/1/98 64 31 58/21/98 64 28 88/19/98 64 32 ; 4 4/4/98 58 33 10 1/30/98 60 30 10 1/19/98 52 39 &n bsp; 9 3/9/97 47 44 9 9/4/96 RV 47 42 12 6/30/96 44 47 & nbsp; 9 1/21/96 28 36 36 1/19/96 32 34 34 10/31/94 47 44 8 5/15/94 54 41 5 3/27/94 53 39 8 1/23/94 55 34 &nb sp; 11 11/14/93 58 33 9 8/8/93 59 33 8 4/26/93 54 26 &nb sp; 20 2/23/93 59 24 18 1/17/93 51 20 297/8/92 30 26 &nb sp; 43 3/28/92 28 22 51

While Barack Obama shows a gaining in strength, and a lesser absolute negative of only 14% compared to Hillary's negative polls are gaining and are almost now even with her positive rating.
The Washngton Post goes on to report the following:
Clinton continues to lead Obama and other rivals in the Democratic nominating contest, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. But her once-sizeable margin over the freshman senator from Illinois was sliced in half during the past month largely because of Obama's growing support among black voters.
By the way: Late breaking news on the wires: The Washington Post broke a story of the failure of Hillary Clinton to report for 5 years her family formed charity and her tax breaks of 5 million dollars while only giving 1 million to charity,$100,000 of that to her old buddy in Arkansas who was involved in her famous "I don't remember" responses to Whitewater allowing her husband to take the heat. When reached for comment, a Clinton Campaign staff member immediately in the late hours of yesterday afternoon filed the required papers with the Senate Ethics Committee yet she speaks on the road of the need for Ethics Reform? By the way, the only officers listed for this charity are Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton.
I do a lot of research, so please don't yell at me for sharing important information as to how Senator Obama is doing in important polls. Also I did not want to try to post the information on the Wire news re the Washington Post investigation into the Clinton Charity on Senator Obama's website ( MSNBC was the first I noticed).(link to story provided)

No Day But Tues - Another View

Post from Barack2008 Freethinkers Pasadena CA:

No Day But Tues - Another View

By Mike Barako - PasadenaForObama.org / Barako2020.org - Feb 21st, 2007 at 9:32 pm EST

Also listed in: DC for Obama Howard Dean Alumni for Barack Obama Chicagoland for Obama '08 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Voters for Barack Obama Students for Barack Obama Los Angeles for Obama '08! Educators for Obama Barack the Youth Vote *Students for Barack Obama* San Joaquin for Obama Independents for Obama America 4 Obama Washingtonians for Obama 2008! Young Professionals for Obama South Florida for Obama! Artists for Obama Michiganders for Obama Families for Obama Urban Teachers for Barack Obama Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack) Moms for Obama Let's Talk About Obama Loyola Marymount Students for Obama Southern Californians for Obama Hollywood Loves Obama! Global Warming Must Be Dealt With! Information Technology Professionals for Obama University of Southern California Students for Obama in 2008! batman loves obama Macs for Barack *1,000,000 Americans for Obama* Hope for America Long Beach for Obama Americans for Hope Internationalists for Obama Occidental College for Obama NASHVILLEFOROBAMA.COM Beverly Hills for Obama California State Students for Barack G.O.A.L. CSULA for Obama Space Policy Advisory Group Website Feedback Citizen Strategy ThinkTank Hip Hop for Obama Tennesseans for Obama Pasadena and Altadena for Obama Cal-State Fullerton Students for Obama Graphics for Obama USC Trojans for Obama Military Families Need Obama West Hollywood Loves Barak Military Families For/Need Obama Motorcyclists for Obama! Caltech supports Barack Obama Fundraising for Obama chicago bears fans for obama! Californians for Obama Filmmakers for Obama Trojans for Obama Long Beach Students for Obama! *Group Administrators* for Obama - Collaboration Group PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers Pasadena, CA The Spirit of Democracy Grassroots Obama L.A. Writers for Obama NYC4Obama Barack Obama 3 and the Harm Technology Volunteers in Chicago BBQ for Obama

A different take on today's speech in Los Angeles.By John Adriatico - Feb 21st, 2007 at 1:43 am EST Also listed in: Los Angeles for Obama '08! Grassroots Obama L.A.

When I heard that Barack was coming to Los Angeles, I was eager to attend, especially after seeing the principles of which he launched his Presidential campaign one week before.

It was both a surprise and an honor to hear that he was holding his speech at the Rancho Cienega Sports Center, in the same zip code, close to where I was raised and not far from where I currently reside.

Our neighborhood contains a diverse variety of people, and strong values of family, community and friendship.

It could be read anywhere about the large turnout and the overwhelmingly positive response, but let me tell you about what Barack's visit meant to our neighborhood.

In my 21 years of living here, Barack Obama was the first Presidential candidate to actively campaign here. When I was leaving, I saw many residents of our area with a look of pride and jubilance after the speech, due to Senator Obama's sincere outreach efforts.

It meant a lot to me and others for Barack to come and visit, and I believe that it shows his character for choosing to bring his compassion and optimism to us here in the Mid-City.

I certainly believe that Barack Obama will be a President to unite all of America.

THESE ARE THE STORIES THAT MAKE IT ALL WORTH IT!
No Day But Today! pasadenforobama.org

What A Party with Barack in Los Angeles

Post from Barack2008 Freethinkers Pasadena CA:

What A Party with Barack in Los Angeles

By Mike Barako - PasadenaForObama.org / Barako2020.org - Feb 21st, 2007 at 12:36 am EST

Also listed in: DC for Obama Howard Dean Alumni for Barack Obama Students for Barack Obama Los Angeles for Obama '08! *Students for Barack Obama* San Joaquin for Obama Independents for Obama America 4 Obama Young Professionals for Obama Families for Obama Let's Talk About Obama Hollywood Loves Obama! Macs for Barack *1,000,000 Americans for Obama* Hope for America Americans for Hope Occidental College for Obama G.O.A.L. CSULA for Obama Website Feedback Tennesseans for Obama Pasadena and Altadena for Obama USC Trojans for Obama Military Families Need Obama Military Families For/Need Obama Caltech supports Barack Obama Fundraising for Obama PasadenaForObama.org - Freethinkers Pasadena, CA Grassroots Obama L.A. NYC4Obama

What a beautiful day to welcome our future President to Los Angeles. It is wonderful to imagine the possibilities. I was very touched at the warmth of people coming together and thanking each other for being there. None of this would be possible without the support of my community:

First, Big Shot Out to Peydria, Julia, Terry, all of Pasadena that made it out today, even if we didn't connect...I know my voice is a little shot! Also great to connect to everyone at Grassroots LA, USC for Obama, and a lot of Barack's great volunteer team that led us today: Captain #1 in my book Laura; thanks to Steve and Patrick and the generous dude that gave my a Obama little media pin! Thanks to the singers and the pizza man, and all the good vibes.

Most of all, I have gratitude that Barack Obama is willing to be an open vessel for my hope. There is so much from everyone that it could be a task to turn away from. Barack will get up and stand up for us, and for that am thankful!

PasadenaForObama.org and the crowd look forward to getting together at Big Mama's Thurs., and strive to carry the enthusiasm forward to all open to change.

Power to the People!

No Day But Today!

No Day But Tues

With less than 24 hours till what will be a great LA rally, excitement is building in Pasadena, CA with our Barack2008-Freethinkers group. No only were there a ton of thoughtful ideas at our first meetup, but we've been connecting and contacting Altadena and Glendale. Everyone's positivity is appreciated and our grassroots efforts will pay off. Thursday is the next chance we all have to be together and more events will be announced, even if IE is not compatible with barackobama.com. And PasadenaForObama.org and our Give-A-Penny campaign are projects we all are looking forward to. Pasadena natives like teachers, lawyers, artists, professors, tech innovators are planning right now for literature and word of mouth campains to tell those with less resources and off the grid about Barack. With all of our ideas together, we can make that change. The future is so bright... - Mike

No Day But Today

Barack2008-Freethinkers Pasadena, CA meetup was a success! Minutes are being finished now by our Secretary. Our group will then follow-up with our suggestions and get ready for the next meetup in Pasadena/Altadena. We are also going to try and coordinate transportation to see Barack on Tues. afternoon. Pasadena is keeping it real and hitting the ground running! So glad to see everyone in a great place together!