CivicActions

This is a very well done ad from the Courage Campaign:

Amnesty International has a really powerful campaign up right now called "Unsubscribe Me" (from the "war on terrorism's" torture practices).

Last year when we moved to Pittsburgh, PA we never thought that Pennsylvania would be so crucial in this year's democratic nomination process. We're an "Obama" family, so we decided to do what we could to help. I created a blog MamasForObama.net for my wife the writer and she's been having a great time with it.

The one trick elephant, aka the GOP, wants wants to CUT taxes to provide "economic relief" to American families as a "pre-growth" strategy. I'm still waiting for my $300 "relief" check, but I have a feeling that's not going to amount to a whole lot of economic growth...

We went to Bagdhad and blew a trillion dollars we don't have. Meanwhile, the dollar is in a coma and the only way Republicans seem to respond to the economic crisis is to continue to print and spend money.

Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am and director Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan's son created this "song" - essentially written by Barack Obama. The lyrics are adapted from his "Yes We Can" speech after the New Hampshire primary. "Yes We Can" was inspired by Cesar Chavez's motto for a United Farm Workers hunger strike in 1972.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

(sorry, no embed link on the video)

Over the last few days there were some emails traded back and forth internally about the 2008 US Presidential race. We've got an international team and some of the folks who do not live in the US, as well as some who have relocated to the US were expressing some level of bewilderment about the way we do things here. The following was my email response, written while watching the Republican Debate and subsequent coverage during my flight from NYC to Seattle (on Jet Blue, love those TVs!):

From The Huffington Post:

Barack Obama's campaign released an ambitious technology document (PDF) that outlines quite a few exciting new specific proposals addressing the future of the Web.

Jon Stokes of Arstechnica lays out the details well in his article. Here are the summarized bullet points:

* Ensure the full and free exchange of information among Americans through an open Internet and diverse media outlets.

* Create a transparent and connected democracy.

* Encourage the deployment of a modern communications infrastructure.

* Employ technology and innovation to solve our nation's most pressing problems, including reducing the costs of health care, encouraging the development of new clean energy sources, and improving public safety.

* Improve America’s technology competitiveness

* Full support of network neutrality legislation

* Obama decries media consolidation and pledges to "encourage diversity" in media ownership

* Proposes the creation of a modern, online answer to Sesame Street called Public Media 2.0

* Privacy and safeguards against abuse

* National broadband policy and opening up the wireless spectrum to fresh competition

* H1B reform

* Investments in basic science and R&D

Federal law bars corporations from contributing to candidates, and that's not good news for Stephen Colbert's campaign sponsored by Doritos and hyped on Comedy Central 4 nights a week.

Lawrence M. Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission says, "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."

Colbert responds, "In accepting corporate money, I promise to respect federal election laws the same way I respect the "must-shower-before-swimming law at the Y. As a candidate, I am under no obligation to promote the zesty, robust taste of Doritos brand tortilla chips, regardless of how great a snack they may be for lunchtime, munch time, anytime."