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Year-by-year break down of Palin & Obama resumes

by by SantaFeMarie, Daily Kos

1980 - 1984
Obama: B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations from Columbia University.

Palin: Wasilla High School, captain of the state-champion basketball team. Miss Wasilla, runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, also Miss Congeniality, although that is now disputed.
Him: Ivy League degree.
Her: tiara.

1985 - 1990
Obama: moved to Chicago; became a community organizer as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization.

Moved to Boston to attend Harvard Law School. Selected as an editor and then elected president of the Harvard Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.

Palin: Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, with a minor in political science from the University of Idaho. Brief stint as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations; left to join her husband in commercial fishing.
Him: sterling legal education.
Her: sportscaster.

1991 - 1995
Obama: graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School; received contract and advance to write a book ("Dreams from my Father") as well as a fellowship at the University of Chicago Law School. Directed the Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.

Palin: member of the Alasaka Independence Party which advocates "Alaska First". Elected to Wasilla city council.

Him: Expert on our nation's fundamental legal principles.
Her: plotted to leave the Union; thinks Pledge of Allegiance was written by our founding fathers, doesn't know what a Vice President does.

Read the full break down at Daily Kos

Letter from a proud community organizer

My Friends,

I know that you want to honor the service of John McCain and you are proud that Sarah Palin delivered the Party line so well. In any other time it would be just as the media says, game on. But not this time. This time there is a movement afoot and that is the power of an organizer.

Community organizer is perhaps the highest form of service in our nation. The best and brightest have been drawn to this position motivated by the same values that produce war heroes. Any organizer could easily utilize their talents to simply make money or achieve success, but they identify with the community as a whole.

Organizers look for opportunities to heal communities by creating opportunity where little exists. There is a natural link between organizing and politics, where politics is the business of the community. Barack Obama is a master organizer.

Master organizers possess a unique and highly evolved set of talents and abilities. First of all they are visionaries. This does not mean that they are dreamers or even optimists; it simply means that they can see into the future with clarity and, as a result, can chart a better course than those of more limited vision.

It is easier for organizers to choose between good and better--a quality we refer to as judgment. Intelligence is a given, it is required for work at the street level. Effectiveness at the grassroots level requires the most sophisticated analysis and the ability to process innumerable variables without loosing focus.

Finally there is leadership. Leadership requires confidence in the ability of the community to follow in a direction that is optimal based on benefit to the group as well as the individuals.

Most often we do not know the names of great organizers because they tend to stand behind community leaders that they train and develop. In rare instances organizers are globally recognized: Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Wangari Mathai, all of whom received international recognition for their work as organizers. There have been others. The late Rev. James Orange and Earl Shinhoster are two names that resonate from South Georgia to South Africa in labor and civil rights. These two community organizers paved the way for Barack Obama. Many others remain nameless like so many war heroes.

What distinguishes organizers is that in a real way they wage peace and prosperity with success defined in terms of the common good. Sometimes their battles are more difficult to win than wars on foreign soil, but no less worthy.

Organizers must be educated and enlightened. They must possess an active faith that is used to bring about change. Organizers understand that we must each manifest the change we seek. Master organizers produce great change by expanding their capacity to embrace the community as a whole and, like all great men of faith, show others how to believe.

Make no mistake, all who enter this honored field stand fearlessly on faith. In the long run organizers can never be defeated. In the words of Dr. King, the arch of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. Barack Obama has already won.

By Felicia M. Davis

Proud Community Organizer - Atlanta, GA

Did Sara Palin know that family on the stage with her?

I already knew that one of the reasons Sara Palin was selected was her ability to deliver a good speech, so it came as no surprise that she did a great job with her speech. It was well written and effectively positioned her as a Washington outsider with experience managing people and money. I personally believe they spent too much time trying to belittle Barack Obama rather that finding a way to distinguish themselves in a classy way - a little gutter politics going on with the Republicans.

But that wasn't my problem. What was up with her family? Was it a rent-a-family? If so they could have done a better job in casting and wardrobe. Her husband seemed as if he didn't know the kids. They passed the poor baby around until it ended up in the arms of the youngest girl who proceeded to use spit to slick the child's hair into place. I'm sure that was learned behavior. The pregnant, unmarried, teenage daughter was holding hands with her boyfriend. The youngest girl had to tell the others when to stand and wave. What a mess.

When the bunch finally went on stage there was not much communication among the family aside from the official passing off the sleeping baby. You would have thought they never met before. The poor little girl desperately wanted Palin to notice or acknowledge her, but mom never looked down. Her and Dad Palin were too busy enjoying the attention. The little girl proceeded to follow her mom around the stage. I actually felt bad for the little poor child. She had practiced her wave and was ready for her moment but it never came cause mom and day never paid attention. The former PTA "Hockey Mom" must have played with another team because that crew didn't seem connected in any way.

The baby needed to be in bed and the youngest girl needs attention - she was so cute she could have won the hearts of America. If only her parents noticed she was there.

The awkward last few minutes were topped off with the entrance of John McCain who, aside from hugging his running mate, acted as if he didnt know Palin either.

If McCain happens to stumble upon the presidency, we have to pray for his good health because the thought of the ~~Beverly Hillbillies~~, I mean, Palin family in the White House is frightening.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palins convention speech, Associated Press

Text of Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palins speech to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, as prepared for delivery:

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the nomination for vice president of the United States Full speech here

Barack Obama Accepts Democratic Nomination - Thursday Aug. 28, 2008

DNC - Civil Rights Breakfast

DNC Day Two - Women Flying High Breakfast

DNC Day One - National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Breakfast

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11)

According to Associated Press, Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones died this evening due to a brain hemorrhage. Jones was the first Black woman to represent Ohio in Congress and a strong critic of the Iraq war.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11)

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones is the first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Congresswoman Jones is a lifelong resident of the 11th District, which encompasses most of the East Side of Cleveland and parts of the West Side of Cleveland and includes parts of 22 suburbs.

Currently in her fifth term in office, the Congresswoman, a strong advocate for many issues, has championed wealth building and economic development, access and delivery of health care, and quality education for all. The Congresswoman chairs the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics). Additionally, she serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee and is an active member of numerous Congressional Caucuses, including the Congressional Black Caucus.

Continue reading "Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11)"

Probation Profiteers

NEWS: In Georgia's outsourced justice system, a traffic ticket can land you deep in the hole.

By Celia Perry
July/August 2008 Issue of Mother Jones

Welcome to Americus, Georgia. Located 10 miles east of the peanut farm where Jimmy Carter was raised, the town has a charming city center with broad streets, a diner that still sells hot dogs for 95 cents, a Confederate flag that flies conspicuously on the outskirts of town, railroad tracks that divide white and black neighborhoods, chain gangs that labor along the roadways, and, on South Lee Street, right across from the courthouse, its very own private probation office. Middle Georgia Community Probation Services is one of 37 companies to whom local governments have outsourced the supervision of misdemeanor and traffic offenders. It's been billed as a way to save millions of dollars for Georgia and at least nine other states where private probation is used. But to its critics, the system looks more like a way to milk scarce dollars from the poorest of the poor.

Read the full story here

Voter registration scrutinized for voter fraud

This is a warning for all of the organizations out there conducting voter registration campaigns. In 2004 there were several instances of voter fraud. Most of it was perpetrated by young people thinking they were smarter than the people who set up the rules. The said thing is that a youthful indiscretion like filling in a voter registration form with false information is a federal offense. If you don't want to register voters, get a job at a fast food restaurant, don't think you can beat the system!

Voter Registration Is the New Battleground
By COREY DADE and JOHN D. MCKINNON
August 12, 2008; Page A4

As Barack Obama tries to draw hundreds of thousands of new voters to the polls, Republicans are beginning to scrutinize registrants' eligibility as both sides draw a major battle line over voting rights.

Republicans are moving to examine surges in voter registrations in some states. A Republican lawyers group held a national training session on election law over the weekend that included campaign attorneys for Sen. John McCain and other Republican leaders. One session discussed how party operatives can identify and respond to instances of voter fraud. Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal

Slammed: Welcome to the Age of Incarceration

NEWS: What happens when you lock up 1 in every 100 American adults?

By Jennifer Gonnerman

July/August 2008 Issue of Mother Jones

The number first appeared in headlines earlier this year: Nearly one in four of all prisoners worldwide is incarcerated in America. It was just the latest such statistic. Today, one in nine African American men between the ages of 20 and 34 is locked up. In 1970, our prisons held fewer than 200,000 people; now that number exceeds 1.5 million, and when you add in local jails, it's 2.3 million1 in 100 American adults. Since the 1980s, we've sat by as the numbers inched higher and our prison system ballooned, swallowing up an ever-larger portion of the citizenry. But do statistics like these, no matter how disturbing, really mean anything anymore? What does it take to get us to sit up and notice?

Apparently, it takes a looming financial crisis. For there is another round of bad news, the logical extension of the first: The more money a state spends on building and running prisons, the less there is for everything else, from roads and bridges to health care and public schools. At the pace our inmate population has been expanding, America's prison system is becoming, quite simply, too expensive to sustain.

Read the full story at Mother Jones

Comedian Bernie Mac, 1957-2008

Black reporter ousted by McCain security

McCain security ousts reporter by Paul Flemming Florida Capital Bureau

Tallahassee Democrat senior writer Stephen Price on Friday was singled out and asked to leave a media area at the Panama City rally of presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Price was among at least three other reporters, and the only black reporter, surrounding McCain's campaign bus Gov. Charlie Crist and his fiancee, Carole Rome, were already aboard when a member of the Arizona senator's security detail asked the reporter to identify himself. Price had shown his media credentials to enter the area.

Price showed his employee identification as well as his credentials for the Friday event.

"I explained I was with the state press, but the Secret Service man said that didn't matter and that I would have to go," Price said.

When another reporter asked why Price was being removed, she too was led out of the area. Other state reporters remained.
Read the full report at Florida Capital News

Obama "Talks, Acts, And Carries Himself As A Caucasian"

So says country singer Toby Keith in a pro-lynching song "Beer For My Horses." In addition to the racist lyrics in the song, Max Blumenthal notes in his Huffington Post article, there's a forthcoming movie inspired by the song. I thought Ludacris was bad but this one takes the prize. And no, Mr. Keith is not talking about giving his horses a keg.

Some of the lyrics from "Beer For My Horses": (for lyrics click here)
"Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street
For all the people to see"

Lynching Advocate Toby Keith: Obama "Talks, Acts, And Carries Himself As A Caucasian" by Max Blumenthal, The Huffington Post

Last week, I reported for the Huffington Post that country singer Toby Keith had performed a pro-lynching anthem on the Colbert Report, and would be playing the same song soon on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a slew of nationally televised talk shows.

The lyrics of Keith's song, "Beer For My Horses," which I transcribed, could hardly be less explicit -- "Hang 'em high, for all the people to see." In my piece, I also noted the racially tinged nature of the song's video and the forthcoming movie that Keith's song inspired. read the full story here.

The Rat Trap - Death row exonerations expose failings of the snitch system

This story illustrates the corrupt environment created by the use of snitches.

By Christopher Moraff - In These Times

Levon Jones is supposed to be dead.

If the state of North Carolina had its way, Jones, 49, would have been strapped to a gurney years ago, hooked to an IV and pumped full of a lethal, three-drug cocktail until he asphyxiated.

Instead, on May 2, he walked out of prison a free man after spending 13 years on death row, and another 24 months locked up awaiting retrial all for a murder he almost certainly did not commit.

Jones known to friends and family as Bo was released with the help of the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU) Capital Punishment Project after the prosecutions star witness recanted her testimony against him. (Lovely Lorden, a former girlfriend, admitted shed collected $4,000 in reward money in exchange for testifying against Jones.)

He was an easy target: an African-American ex-con with a history of mental illness and violent behavior. When Lorden came forward with her story a full three years after the 1987 shooting of a local bootlegger named Leamon Grady Jones was doing time on an unrelated assault charge.

The prosecution felt little obligation to question the veracity of Lordens claim. And if the witness is to be believed today, investigators actually helped her keep her story straight.

As a result of Lordens testimony and despite the lack of physical evidence tying him to the crime a jury convicted Jones in 1993 and he was sentenced to die for Gradys killing.

What Jones attorneys didnt know at the time and, as it turns out, didnt really bother trying to uncover is that Lovely Lorden had made something of a career out of testifying against people close to her. By her own admission, she has aided law enforcement in dozens of investigations and says she helped police make cases against several other boyfriends, as well as her own brother and sons.

Whats more, her work as a confidential informant didnt stop after Jones was sent to death row. Jones attorneys sent In These Times copies of receipts that show Lorden was paid money at least seven times for her work as a confidential informant from December 2003 to April 2004, while Jones sat in jail.

Today, Lorden contends she testified against Jones under pressure from the police, in particular Dalton Jones (no relation), the lead officer in the case. Read the full story at In These Times