ACTION ALERT! Postcards for Obama

Since Governor Palin's acceptance speech at the RNC convention in a locked-down St. Paul a week or so ago, there has been a lot of frustration and outrage on the liberal, progressive, left at her insult toward community organizing. Similarly, there has been a lot of hand-wringing and nervous worrying over the last week about the tightening of the presidential race, the daily tracking poll horse-race, and the increasing sliminess of the McCain/Palin campaign.

Well, there is an antidote for all of this: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, or ACTION! This thing is far from over and we shouldn't get all defeatist at this critical moment. It was never going to be easy. So, over the next 6-7 weeks, we need to be concrete and energetic in our attempt to win this election and bring some kind of sanity back to our government. The stakes are even higher than they were in 2000 or 2004!

In that spirit, here is one really, really good, concrete idea that anyone, anywhere can do to help the cause:

Postcards for Obama in Ohio
(This is awesome and could be easily duplicated in other swing states...)

Invite some folks over to your house for a postcard writing party and help the Obama/Biden ticket in Ohio.

Here is how it works: Get your friends and family to send 10 postcards each to the address below and the folks there will mail them to voters in Ohio. To make it fun, you might consider inviting a few friends over to have a postcard writing session while you eat pizza or drink a beer. And I know of one person who is going to a block party this weekend, so she went out and bought a bunch of postcards to bring along for people to fill out there. There are all kinds of creative ways to gather postcards!

Please remember how important Ohio is and that it is one of the states where GOP voter fraud was blatant in 2004. Just a couple of lines on 10 postcards showing off your home state might make all the difference in the world! Your investment on postage if you send 10 cards will only be $2.70 plus 10 postcards, which are usually 25-50 cents at your local drugstore. And it is easy; it's possible to write a short note 10 times in an hour or so. Of course, feel free to write and send more than 10, too, but 10 is a good base.

Here is a more detailed step-by-step:

STEP ONE: Purchase 10 or more postcards representing your city, state or region. Get ones that have a significant monument or iconic image from your state. Purchase 27 cent stamps for each card.

STEP TWO: Write a brief, to the point message no more than 2-4 sentences long. Here is some sample language: "Dear Fellow Voter, I am voting for Barack Obama because he will get us out of the war in Iraq sensibly and will push out the special interests that have dominated our politics for too long. For a better economy, more affordable health care, better schools, a healthy environment, and a more sane foreign policy, there is really only one choice in this election. The Obama/Biden ticket presents the only chance to change directions from the tragedy of the last 7+ years of Bush/Republican dominance. Please vote for Barack on November 4 and spread the word! Sincerely, (Sign Your First Name, City and State)"

STEP THREE: Stamp each card, leave the return address and mailing address areas on each card blank (the cards will be addressed by volunteers), and mail all of your postcards together in an envelope(s) or box to:

WFO Post Card Campaign
193 E. Rich Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Women for Obama (WFO) suggests that you please mail your postcards by September 20, 2008, but I suspect you could still send them through early October. They need to have volunteers address them and send them, so they need some time on their end, too.

There is evidence that these types of personal, grassroots outreach efforts are effective. So, get involved. Make a difference. Be a part of history... write to Ohio this week!

Yes We Can!!! Happy Writing!

(forward this link to ten of your friends)

How Chicago Shaped Obama

With all the hoopla surrounding the controversial recent Obama cover of The New Yorker many missed the interesting article on the inside about Barack's time in Chicago and the way it has shaped him as a person and politician. Check it out!

"The Dream Reborn"

When I first launched this blog about a year ago, I wrote that in a time of despair and real darkness across the political, social and economic landscape, I wanted the blog to offer a critique of the way things are, but also highlight the constructive, the proactive, the hopeful, the new ideas and ways of being, that might actually begin to point the way to something fresh and alternative, a way out of this mess, a way forward, toward the way things might be...

In that vein, I want to let you all know about Green for All, a really positive new approach to political mobilization, community organizing and social change. Here is what they say for themselves in their vision statement:

We believe a shift to clean energy can improve the health and well-being of low-income people, who suffer disproportionately from cancer, asthma and other respiratory ailments in our dirty-energy economy.

Also, we believe it can create entrepreneurial, wealth-building opportunities for those who need new avenues of economic advance.

In other words: we believe that the national effort to curb global warming and oil dependence can simultaneously create good jobs, safer streets and healthier communities.

For us, our highest calling is to ensure that the clean-energy economy in the 21st century in fact does all of these things. Indeed, we would say that America’s chief moral obligation is to build a green economy that is strong enough to lift many people out of poverty.

Green for All recently held a conference, titled "The Dream Reborn." Here is a brief video about it that also gives a good intro to their ideas and approach. It is very inspiring and righteous...


In this video, conference attendees share their dreams...


Get involved. Spread the word...

(Thanks to my good bud, Justin, for originally turning me on to Green for All...)