If that's truly what he did, then what results does he have to show for it? The areas that he 'organized' are some DANGEROUS places that are riddled with crime and poverty today.
It's not my fault that you conflate the word "poor" with "ghetto." I grew up poor and I certainly didn't live in the fifth ward.
For the first ten years of his life, he was. And it's still not nearly as ideal of a situation as growing up with his two parents.
Wrong answer. That was boobytwapped! Wasilla meth capital of Alaska. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030805/sta_20050308002.shtml
Why? The truth often hurts but, as in "MacBeth," the truth will out. I'm still voting for Obama, but I am opposed to giving him a free pass. Also, I really detest the way Palin was treated, so I am giving her a free pass right now until the campaign really begins. And, yes, I like her style.
Its a very nobel thing to do.......except when you work for a radical, extremist group like Acorn who is contantly working to corrupt the voting process by helping illegals vote.
That's not pertinent to the point I was making, I was talking about 'community organization' as a profession, which is being mocked at the convention. But i will indulge your point in a minute. Also, please take the bet. My point was that the GOP - ostensibly all for community solutions, faith based local empowerment, making government smaller and letting innovation come from within, etc. - is nauseating in how they belittle this experience. (He is also a former state senator and a US Senator, its not his ONLY experience). But it gives a valuable perspective. To see Guliani and Palin mock it is, to me, a crass and nasty symptom of how that convention - and people like yourself - have only dregs to campaign on this year. That belittling 'community organization' - something that was recently a republican 'point of light' - is now where you are at. It makes me ill, because in the past, things like strong military, fiscal conservatism, restraint and caution in foreign affairs, governmental organization, and so forth have appealed to me about the GOP. But now, people like Rudy Guliani and Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson - have so little to offer. Those things are no longer property of the GOP. Now we have Left wing media conspiracies, liberal boogeymen, etc. etc. Nothing to offer except overturning Roe V. Wade and banning gay marriage. It's like the end of the party when the good folks have left and all the drunks are starting to get violent. It's not fun or something I can respect anymore. In fact, I think there is a disconnect with McCain that is also sad - he is a genial, practical guy. He will be more respectful and thoughtful that most of his supporters. But his fans really are out for blood, and for him to get elected, he will have to harness all that he hates about his own party. He'll kiss ass tonite, bash Barack and so forth. But he is actually better than the cynical c*****f**** that took place last night. Back to Obamas community organizing. You dont swoop down and fix an impoverished community. If you could, Sean Penn or Tim Robbins or whoever else would have done it a long time ago and basked in the glow of their largesse. But you do little things - asbestos removal, potholes, etc., and those things which seem small to people out of the community are of actual importance to the people inside. Obama himself does reference his tenure as a series of huge wins. This is not hard to find, i just googled it and found articles in US News and so forth, they talk about the little things. But he does cite it as a perspective-altering experience in which he learned how complex problems of poverty can be, and how he learning the importance of differing people putting aside difference and addressing their mutual interests. At least speaking for myself, working on the 'ground level' - you start to get verrrry frustrated, because you realize community problems are partially solvable at the community level. But at some point, the macro path makes more sense - where laws are written, policies are developed, and so forth. Sure, it is less coarse and more cozy to work a desk or policy job, but also, its a natural progression. And Obama does not boast of "I created 3000 jobs in Chicago" or whatever. The point is, it is - to my mind - a terrific training ground for a president or politician. It's like a CEO who has actually spent years doing sales in the company - you have a groundwork, a lens for understanding the real world implications of your decision making. If it were Obamas only experience, i would in fact be worried. But as part of his experience, it is important. And republicans belittling that is really really tough to stomach.
Well the truth is that Palin got an incredible amount of earmarks for her small town. (Try to dispute that). She was trying to get one of the most famous earmarks of all time within the last two years, when plugging for the bridge to nowhere. Maybe if she can have a truthful discussion of when she began to be a reformer and what changed her pursuit of earmarks she would seem truthful.
Odds - are you in the Flaming Hellcats, or just a fan? Are you Jaime? Whats' the deal here, I need to know. I enjoy the Flaming Hellcats very much, though I have not seen them in a while. My band used to play shows with the Flaming Hellcats in the mid 1990s. Once my friend David and I went to Tacoland in San Antonio to try and catch the end of a Hellcats show after our show across town, and we found an empty club and two guys in the band passed out on the sidewalk on top of their amplifiers with their guitars lying in the grass. We did that thing where you lift someones arm and then let it drop. Everyone was breathing, so figured everything was on the up and up. Also have a fine memory of the Hellcats version of One Night With You at Red Diaper Baby in Galveston. Good freaking times.
Exerpt from this link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/datelinedc/s_488184.html But back in Chicago, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is more important than Iraq or Washington. ACORN and its associated Midwest Academy, both founded in the 1970s, continue to train and mobilize activists throughout the country, often using them to manipulate public opinion through "direct action." It's sometimes a code for illegal activities. Prior to law school, Barack Obama worked as an organizer for their affiliates in New York and Chicago. He always has been an ACORN person -- meeting and working with them to advance their causes. Through his membership on the board of the Woods Fund for Chicago and his friendship with Teresa Heinz Kerry, Obama has helped ensure that they remain funded well. Since he graduated from law school, Obama's work with ACORN and the Midwest Academy has ranged from training and fundraising, to legal representation and promoting their work. And another very long article here: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI=
I wish there were so much as one politician out there who told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
No, it looks like somebody has got proof - the notorious organization of internatonal terrorists known as ACORN ACORN has been a whipping boy for right wingnuts for years. ACORN tries to implement such controversial policies as keeping poor people from being exposed to toxic waste, housing discrimination, predatory lending, pro-community reinvestment.....etc. Perhaps the most damaging part about ACORN is its efforts to register poor urban voters and give them a voice in democracy. (most of whom happen to be ahemmmm....NEGROES and other assorted BROWN PEOPLE! ) That's why the National Review and the Mellon Scaifes and others try to go after it - because they are generally opposed to certain things that would conventionally be considered "good" as drags on the free market or evil. It's pretty ****ing pathetic that the right wing defines this kind of stuff as evil and has had enough success so that some of our resident BBS cons have gullibly taken the bait on this one....but not surprising.
ACORN is infamous for raising more dead voters in more states than LBJ or Huey Long in their wildest dreams.
