Written by Aaron Paulley on January 15th, 2009
If my memory serves me well, I believe I have not taken a photo on film since 1998. I have been taking photos digitally since my first Sony Mavica camera. This is an interested fact to me because it shows how behind-the-times our government is. President-Elect Barack Obama’s team revealed the official presidential portrait that will be hanging in all Federal buildings across the country, as well as in embassies around the world and who knows where else. Not only is the portrait historic in that it is a picture of the first African American president, but it also marks the first time that a presidential portrait has been taken with a digital camera.
So I guess its official. I’m ten years ahead of our government.
Written by Aaron on June 20th, 2008
In an unprecedented move, MoveOn.org sent this email to their mailing list today:
For almost ten years, we’ve worked together to change American politics. Millions of us have collaborated to build a new progressive moment, catalyzed by the Internet and motivated by our belief that the country we love deserves better.
Now, in Barack Obama, we have a Presidential candidate who has based his campaign on precisely that kind of new politics—a people-driven politics focused on the outside-of-the-beltway consensus around Iraq, climate change, and health care, not the gridlock in Washington.
Using a lot of the tools and techniques developed by the progressive movement—as well as a visionary approach to leadership—Obama’s brought millions of new people into the process. And, following in the footsteps of Howard Dean, ActBlue, and other innovators, he’s adopted a new way of funding a campaign—relying on a donor base of millions rather than contributions by lobbyists and special interests.
It’s a very exciting moment. And so the time has come to answer an important question: should we make an all-in commitment, together, to this new politics?
While MoveOn Political Action has always been funded exclusively by small donors like you, we’ve held open the MoveOn.org Voter Fund—a separate “527″ organization—which can raise money from big donors. We haven’t actually taken any big-money checks since 2004, when MoveOn members matched big contributors to educate voters about George Bush’s policies. But in light of the new politics offered by Barack Obama, I’ve come to believe it’s time to close the 527 forever—and to challenge organizations on the right to do the same thing.
That means that we won’t raise any money for our election work from foundations, or even individuals who want to give over $5,000. It’s an all-in commitment to the small-donor way of doing things. But the time is right to take the leap.
Not relying on big donors means that all of us, together, have to take responsibility. So before we sign the final paperwork, we need to know that you’re in. Are you?
I’m interested to see what other 527’s do over the weekend and into next week. We’re seeing a shift in politics, folks, and I think people who don’t get one board will be seen as “the old way of doing things” as their power and influence diminishes greatly.
Written by Aaron on June 13th, 2008
(source: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/barack-obama-ex.html)
Barack Obama Explains the Meaning of Life
June 12, 2008 2:43 PM
At a town hall meeting in Kaukauna, Wisc., Thursday afternoon, amidst questions about health care and the economy, a young man said he had a question for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Obama should “please be as intellectual or spiritual as you would like.”
“Well this is a lot of pressure,” Obama said to laugher.
“My question is: what does life mean to you?” the young man asked.
“Oh goodness,” Obama said, a bit taken aback. “What does life mean to me?”
He stammered a bit as he contemplated the enormity of the query.
“Well, uh, I, uh…”
The crowd of 2,500 supporters at Kaukauna High School * laughed with apparent sympathy.
“I don’t know where to start on a question like that,” Obama said. “Let me just say a couple things. Right now what I think about most is my daughters who are 10 and 7,” he said, referring to his daughters Malia and Sasha. “And not that I’m biased but they are perfect in all ways.”
To the young man who asked the question, Obama said, “when I was your age, I thought life was all about me. And how do make my way in the world and how do I become successful and how do I get the things that I want. And right now life for me revolves around those two girls. And I think about what kind of a place am I leaving them.”
And with that, came the able pivot.
“Michelle and I have been incredibly blessed,” Obama said. “As long as God’s looking over, my girls are going to be OK.” They go to “great schools, will be able to afford college, are in good health and will be well cared for if they ever get sick.
But the country and the world they’re living in, Obama said, needs work.
“Are they living in a county where there’s a huge gap between a few who are wealthy and a whole bunch of people who are struggling every day?” Obama asked. “Are they living in a county that is still divided by race?
“Are they living in a country where because they’re girls they don’t have as much opportunity as boys do?
“Are they living in a country where we are hated around the world because we don’t cooperate with other countries as effectively as we should? Are they living in a country where they are threatened by terrorism and a nuclear explosion could happen in a major American city? Are they living in a country in which because of a lack of sensible energy we are not only ransoming our future, but we’re also threatening the very livelihood of the planet?”
Obama continued, “what life means to me is that every day I wake up trying to figure out how can I secure their futures and the futures of all children, …How can I make sure that we are giving a planet and a country to them that is better than the one we got? And, you know ,so I guess what I’ve discovered is that life doesn’t count for much unless you’re somehow giving yourself to something larger to yourself. And that’s part of my Christian faith. It’s also part of the reason I am running for president of the United States.”
So.
That’s what life means to him. In case you were wondering.
- jpt in Kaukauna, Wisc.
**
* Kaukauna High School Ghost Spirit Song:
Hail Kaukuana
Hail to Thee
We Thy Loyal Sons Shall Be
Fighting for the Orange and Black
In Future Years
You’ll See Us Back
See The Laurels She Has Won
Through Every Good and Faithful Son
Her Courageous, Valiant Students
March On to “Victory”!!