coach81938
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posted on September 7, 2008 07:02:57 PM new
One of the things that irritated me most about the speeches of Sara Palin and Rudy Giuliani was their derision of community organizers in a spectacularly nasty way. As New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis points out in his op-ed column today, "Their ignorance is breathtaking. Virtually every significant political movement in American history, including the insurrection that gave birth to our nation, has depended on community organizers."
Some well known community organizers: Paul Revere,Thomas Paine,Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, conservative anti-tax guy Howard Jarvis, Jerry Falwell and the students who went into the segregted south to get black folks to register to vote.
Community organizers are not taking this lying down. There are blogs and lists of community organizers who helped change the country.
They are circulating a line that skewers Palin, a vocal evangelist. "Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor."
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kiara
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posted on September 7, 2008 08:16:10 PM new
Coach, the derisive remarks were easily said by Palin and Giuliani and cheered on by that particular crowd because those are the ones that are in all communities everywhere, they let others come up with the ideas, do the organizing and all the work. Then they rush in at the end for the picture that gets in all the papers and for the local media coverage on the nightly news, trying to make it look as if it was all their idea and all their effort.
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roadsmith
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posted on September 7, 2008 11:50:47 PM new
Love that Jesus/Pontius Pilate line! Yes, I too was very insulted by their derision of community organizers. It's true--their ignorance IS breathtaking.
_____________________
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coach81938
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posted on September 8, 2008 05:54:53 AM new
You are absolutely right Kiara.
Roady--Loved that line too. People who wear their religion on their sleeves,who actually say that God sent us to Iraq and then mock someone for being a community organizer needs to read that line over and over.
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logansdad
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posted on September 8, 2008 07:34:47 AM new
Coach, thanks for posting this. I agree with you 100%.
When there are things in this country that people do not like, they say "just dont sit there, do something". Those people that actually take that advice and do organize can bring change. How many times do we have tragic events that bring about new laws. The Amber Alert system is just one of those.
I really hope the Democrats use this as a rallying point against the McCain campaign.
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Helenjw
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posted on September 8, 2008 08:23:37 AM new
Obama Responds Video
“It’s curious to me that they would mock that, when I, at least, think that that’s exactly what young people should be doing.
“I worked with churches, who were dealing with steel plants that had closed in their neighborhoods, to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after-school programs for youth, and to try to deal with asbestos in homes with poor people — community service work — which John McCain has been talking about, putting country first and extolling the virtues of national service. I would think that’s what we want all our young people to do. I would think that that’s an area where Democrats and Republicans would agree.”
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coach81938
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posted on September 8, 2008 10:49:53 AM new
You are welcome Dad. I can't believe the excitement over a VP candidate who's contribution so far is to mock and attack community organizers while hiding under her Christian halo. How ignorant. Without community organizers there would be no 40 hour work week, minimum wage, women's rights, help for migrant workers, the American Revolution, even Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority!
Thanks for posting Helen. Obama makes so much more sense. He actually makes points when he is speaking, rather than just attacking. What a refreshing idea!
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desquirrel
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posted on September 8, 2008 01:48:08 PM new
BTW, the asbestos is still there, even after becoming senator. I guess he had some new "organizing" to do somewhere else.
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vintage4u
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posted on September 8, 2008 05:01:32 PM new
oh really, it's still there?
I forget, why is that Obama's fault?
and what were the primary failures for that project thus far, in your opinion?
maybe Yvonne Lloyd, the actual project leader for the asbestos case, finally died. (despite all of the efforts of Obama and many many others to address the issue.)
or are you just throwing out little niblits of BS right-wing talking points fodder as a way to respond to issues you can't address?
that's always clever. who cares about all of the people they are trying to help there, the point is it isn't fixed yet and that's great ammunition right?
Wonder how the majority of the folks that live in these projects will vote, based on their experiences with those that have made an effort to connect and help them?
'guess it depends on who has reached out to them and who's just using them as a means of making little talking point jabs.
...that's as classy as box whine and styrofoam cups.
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profe51
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posted on September 8, 2008 05:12:05 PM new
or are you just throwing out little niblits of BS right-wing talking points fodder as a way to respond to issues you can't address?
gosh, ya think???
well said, vintage.
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coach81938
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posted on September 8, 2008 05:41:43 PM new
Yes, well said vintage! The Republican way is to criticize, mock and lie, but avoid substance at any cost.
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mingotree
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posted on September 8, 2008 06:05:53 PM new
WoW! What a breath of fresh air this place has become !
Haven't seen so much intelligence in one place since I locked myself in the closet 
Oh yes Queen Sara's acceptance speech was nothing but slams and insults designed to get a cheap and easy laugh! And those Repub women?!?! Palin tells them the only difference between them and a pitbull(nasty, ugly dog) is lipstick! And the dorks thought it was a compliment and applauded like crazy....and they say OBAMA has a cult following !!???
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Helenjw
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posted on September 8, 2008 06:17:21 PM new
Excellent reply, Vintage4u!
Asbestos wasn't banned in America until last year after a seven year congressional effort. George Bush opposed the ban because he was more concerned about protecting companies from liability than protecting American citizens.
So now squirrel wants to blame Obama for not ridding the area of asbestos in 1987 before he entered law school?
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desquirrel
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posted on September 8, 2008 06:29:04 PM new
If your claim to fame is "organizer", your track record "organizing" counts. Hard to imagine a US Senator can't get a pet project done.
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coach81938
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posted on September 8, 2008 06:45:47 PM new
Squirrel--There you go with that conservative hyperbole. Community organizer is not Obama's claim to fame, it is part of his resume. It was Giuliani and Palin and the Republican party who have made such a BFD out of it. They acted like schoolyard bullies and now they can enjoy the repercussions.
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Helenjw
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posted on September 8, 2008 06:58:17 PM new
The time that Obama spent as a community organizer motivated him to to approach the problems that he could see in the community from a stronger position in the political arena. I certainly wouldn't define this one experience as his "claim to fame". Neither would I assume that asbestos removal was his "pet project".
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profe51
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posted on September 9, 2008 05:55:06 AM new
http://www.barackobama.com/2007/02/19/just_because_someone_writes_it.php
oops, wrong tags
[ edited by profe51 on Sep 9, 2008 05:57 AM ]
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logansdad
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posted on September 9, 2008 10:41:39 AM new
Hard to imagine a US Senator can't get a pet project done.
You want to talk about pet projects.. What about Ted Steven's pet project - the bridge to nowhere. How many Alaskans cross that bridge on a daily basis? Ah that's right, it was not done.
What about Bush's pet project - the individual retirement accounts, those that would replace social security. If memory serves me correctly, he went on a nation wide tour to promote his pet project. So squirrel how is your Bush sponsored individual retirement account doing?
That's right, no one bought into Bush's pet project.
It's hard to imagine a US President can't get a project done - Mission Unaccomplished
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deichen
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posted on September 9, 2008 10:55:51 AM new
and they say OBAMA has a cult following !!???
You made me realize why there are those who think Palin is so wonderful...it is her cult! She was NOT a good choice at all.
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deichen
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posted on September 9, 2008 10:56:53 AM new
It's hard to imagine a US President can't get a project done - Mission Unaccomplished
AMEN
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Helenjw
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posted on September 9, 2008 06:43:25 PM new
Thanks for the link to the rebuttal of the LaTimes story....
I stopped thinking of the LaTimes as a good newspaper when they fired Robert Scheer. So I'm not surprised now that the LaTimes published the piece of trash critical of Obama's community service.
Just a few years ago, no competent news editor there would allow an article filled with such stuff and nonsense to cross his desk.
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