Friday, August 29, 2008

Obama/Biden in Beaver Tonight, Biden in Pittsburgh Monday, McCain/Palin in Washington Saturday

I moved out to the sticks two years ago, and since I live between the Beaver and Pittsburgh Obama offices, I went out to Beaver to work today. I figured they needed a few extra hands as Obama/Biden are speaking in the center of Beaver tonight starting at 7:30.

While the tickets are long gone, if you show up, you can probably get close enough to hear the speeches. Third Street which runs through the park will be closed tonight.

Joe Biden is due to march in the Labor Day Parade on Monday.

[[By the way, Lindsay, I really miss all the local Democratic news you sent out four years ago. While I'm on varying Democratic mailing lists, I just get requests for money, not information on where I can volunteer and the like. I'm registered on Obama's site, but there's not a whole lot of info upcoming events that will need volunteers.]]

John McCain and newly-minted VP candidate Sarah Palin are due in Washington tomorrow (not that probably any of us could get within a mile of that particular rally!). Palin is an interesting choice; I figured McCain would have to go far to the right to grab someone to appeal to all those social conservatives. However, since she's a woman, there will be some Republicans who won't vote for her.

LYNN CULLEN DAY

in pittsburgh. it's official!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

YES!

sen. clinton last night:



Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend. He has served our country with honor and courage. But we don’t need four more years . . . of the last eight years.

More economic stagnation …and less affordable health care.

More high gas prices …and less alternative energy.

More jobs getting shipped overseas …and fewer jobs created here.

More skyrocketing debt …home foreclosures …and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families.

More war . . . less diplomacy.

More of a government where the privileged come first …and everyone else comes last.

John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn’t think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it’s okay when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work.

With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

Hillary did everything she came to do Tuesday night, and she did it with sincerity and style. She acknowledged her incredible, historic run and many supporters, while drawing a clear contrast between the policies of Obama/Clinton and those of Bush/McCain. She came to convincingly make the case to all her holdouts know that Obama is the only candidate in the race who will fight for their values. And she succeeded wildly. Bravo.

Full transcript below:

via HuffPo

Below is the text as prepared for Hillary Clinton’s’ speech at the 2008 Democratic Convention.

—–


I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.

Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.

This is a fight for the future. And it’s a fight we must win.

I haven’t spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women’s rights at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.

And you haven’t worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.

No way. No how. No McCain.

Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President.

Tonight we need to remember what a Presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed, and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you — the American people, your lives, and your children’s futures.

For me, it’s been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces, and your communities. Your stories reminded me everyday that America’s greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people — your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children, and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles.

You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and . . . you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.

I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn’t have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care.

I will always remember the young man in a Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said to me: “Take care of my buddies; a lot of them are still over there….and then will you please help take care of me?”

I will always remember the boy who told me his mom worked for the minimum wage and that her employer had cut her hours. He said he just didn’t know what his family was going to do.

I will always be grateful to everyone from all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the territories, who joined our campaign on behalf of all those people left out and left behind by the Bush Administrtation.

To my supporters, my champions — my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits - from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.

You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.

Along the way, America lost two great Democratic champions who would have been here with us tonight. One of our finest young leaders, Arkansas Democratic Party Chair, Bill Gwatney, who believed with all his heart that America and the South could be and should be Democratic from top to bottom.

And Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a dear friend to many of us, a loving mother and courageous leader who never gave up her quest to make America fairer and smarter, stronger and better. Steadfast in her beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace, she was an inspiration to me and to us all.

Our heart goes out to Stephanie’s son, Mervyn, Jr, and Bill’s wife, Rebecca, who traveled to Denver to join us at our convention.

Bill and Stephanie knew that after eight years of George Bush, people are hurting at home, and our standing has eroded around the world. We have a lot of work ahead.

Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation’s history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.

Putin and Georgia, Iraq and Iran.

I ran for President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.

To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.

To create a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.

To create a world class education system and make college affordable again.

To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality - from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.

To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder.

To restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans.

And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years.

Those are the reasons I ran for President. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.

This won’t be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don’t fight to put a Democrat in the White House.

We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can’t compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a President who understands that we can’t solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy.

We need a President who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class.

Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about “We the people” not “We the favored few.”

And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again.

He’ll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He’ll make sure that middle class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can’t wait to watch Barack Obama sign a health care plan into law that covers every single American.

Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home - a first step to repairing our alliances around the world.

And he will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle’s speech last night knows she will be a great First Lady for America.

Americans are also fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama’s side. He is a strong leader and a good man. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges abroad. He is pragmatic, tough, and wise. And, of course, Joe will be supported by his wonderful wife, Jill.

They will be a great team for our country.

Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend.

He has served our country with honor and courage.

But we don’t need four more years . . . of the last eight years.

More economic stagnation …and less affordable health care.

More high gas prices …and less alternative energy.

More jobs getting shipped overseas …and fewer jobs created here.

More skyrocketing debt …home foreclosures …and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families.

More war . . . less diplomacy.

More of a government where the privileged come first …and everyone else comes last.

John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn’t think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it’s okay when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work.

With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to the challenge of every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.

And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America. I’m a United States Senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights, to participate in the first convention on women’s rights in our history.

And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter - and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

These women and men looked into their daughters’ eyes, imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally and picket. To endure ridicule and harassment. To brave violence and jail.

And after so many decades - 88 years ago on this very day - the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution.

My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.

This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

How do we give this country back to them?

By following the example of a brave New Yorker , a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.

And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice.

If you hear the dogs, keep going.

If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.

If they’re shouting after you, keep going.

Don’t ever stop. Keep going.

If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.

Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.

I’ve seen it in you. I’ve seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military - you always keep going.

We are Americans. We’re not big on quitting.

But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.

We don’t have a moment to lose or a vote to spare.

Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.

I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come election day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your life and on the life of our nation.

We’ve got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope.

That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great - and no ceiling too high - for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other.

Thank you so much. God bless America and Godspeed to you all.





(YES!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

KDKA.com Tonight at 7PM!!!!!!

Hello "Ladies",

I just wanted to let yinz know that I am going to be part of a panel tonight on KDKA.com to discuss the DNC.


You can read more about it here: www.gabbonesso.com


Thanks for your support!


Your fellow "lady",

Gab

Monday, August 25, 2008

Lynn Cullen, Don't Read This

Some fans, friends and followers of Lynn Cullen are asking folks to gather in the WPTT parking lot at 11:30 on Friday as a show of support at the end of her last show. It isn't really a surprise, surprise but please don't tell her. I am out of town that day and cannot go, but it would be great to get someone to liveblog what is a significant event in Pittsburgh media. Plus, I think there will be cake.

If you plan to go, shoot me an email and I'll let the organizers know. This is a concrete way to show that you value diverse voices on our local airwaves.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Ms. D'Souza might save us all from annihilation.

"AN Australian researcher has won an international prize for her plan to wrap a giant asteroid with reflective sheeting to stop it colliding with the earth and destroying all life.

Such an impact would have the force of 110,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs if the asteroid, which actually exists, hits the planet in 2036, said Mary D'Souza, a PhD student with the University of Queensland's School of Engineering.

Far from being daunted by the prospect of global annihilation, Ms D'Souza went to work on a possible solution and took out the top prize in an international competition to find new ways of stopping asteroids from hitting Earth.

She beat entries from around the world in the Space Generation Advisory Council's Move An Asteroid 2008 competition and will travel to Glasgow at the end of September to present her plan at the International Astronautical Congress, the world's largest space conference.

Her proposal involves using enhanced solar radiation pressure to move the threatening asteroid off its path to Earth by wrapping it with Mylar film, "a step up from Kevlar", she said."

Good work, Ms. D'Souza. Hopefully, we won't all die. I'm kinda counting on you to keep me alive and all...so uh, keep up the good work!

Read the rest here.

.Agent Ska.

Friday, August 22, 2008

"If they IM-d"

This is a really funny scenario where the author created an IM chat where the VP nominees all talked to eachother.

here.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

We have the blue belt, the orange belt ... apparently there is also a garter belt just a little south of the city.

Monday, August 18, 2008

WELL THIS IS AWFUL!

update: please, check out 2 political junkies this morning for more.






Radio talk host Lynn Cullen out at WPTT
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lynn CullenAs of Aug. 30, longtime radio talk show host Lynn Cullen will no longer be on the radio.

WPTT-AM (1360) is switching to a new format and will be eliminating Ms. Cullen's show, which airs from 9 a.m. to noon.

Ms. Cullen confirmed today that her last day would be Aug. 29.

While she will be taking a previously scheduled vacation this week, Ms. Cullen said she plans to be on the air for her final four days, Aug.26-29.

"You don't just create an audience in this business, you create a kind of community," said Ms. Cullen, known as one of Pittsburgh's few liberal broadcast personalities, "and I need to be able to talk to this community about this and to try to assuage what I suspect will be frustration and anger at losing a voice that they felt spoke for them."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.



p.s. read the comments over at 2 political junkies, you'll want to just yell out loud!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A message came through the tubes of the internet...

Hi PWBS –

As well-respected female voices in the blogging community, I thought you might be interested in learning about an opportunity to ensure that women’s history secures a home in our nation’s capital. This has been an historic year for women from Hillary Clinton’s historic run for the Presidency to Dara Torres’ improbable 5th Olympic bid. Right now, Congress has the opportunity to celebrate this remarkable year by providing a permanent home for the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) adjacent to the National Mall.

The NWHM currently operates as an award-winning cyber museum. Its members have been working for 11 years to secure a permanent site for the museum, which will be the first comprehensive repository for women's history.

NWHM has indentified a vacant lot adjacent to the National Mall and now needs Congress to authorize their purchase of this federal property at fair-market value. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced House Resolution 6548 on July 17, 2008 to approve the purchase of land. Now, your local Representative needs to hear from you so that this legislation will pass before Congress adjourns for the year.

Will you join us in being a part of the Right Here, Right Now campaign to tell Congress to recognize this historic year by passing HR 6548? Click here to send a letter or email to your Representative and check out our attached Right Here, Right Now badges at http://www.nwhm.org/rightnow/righthererightnow.html to show support for the campaign.

Please let me know if you have any questions and/or would like more information about H.R. 6548 or the NWHM. Hope we get a chance to work together on this initiative.

Best,

Erin

WAY TA GO, PIG!

Monday, August 11, 2008

A very sad touch of irony on the Northside

I took this shot in a field owned by PennDOT that is across from our backyard. This morning at 9:15 AM, I saw a truck dumping in the field. I spent over an hour on the phone trying to report it with almost no luck. So tonight I went out to take some photos. You can visit my blog Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents for all of the juicy details.


Does anyone else get the irony in this photo? I'll give you a hint. That's a bucket of asphalt.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

TURN IT UP!

we all need a little fun now and then:






Friday, August 1, 2008

WAL-MART ANTI-DEMOCRAT...?

wonder if it is true. anyone work for wal-mart
want to comment?






Wal-Mart Mobilizing Against Democrats?



Reutersposted: 47 MINUTES AGOcomments: 975PrintSharefiled under: Election NewsText SizeAAA(Aug. 1) -




Wal-Mart Stores Inc is mobilizing U.S. store managers to lobby against Democrats in November's presidential election, fearing they will make it easier for workers to unionize, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.



In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if store workers unionize, the paper said.
About a dozen employees who attended meetings in seven states said executives stressed employees would have to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return, and might have to go on strike without compensation, and warned that unionization could force the company to cut jobs as labor costs rise, the Journal reported.
The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who have run the meetings didn't tell those attending how to vote in the November elections, but made it clear that voting for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, would be tantamount to inviting unions in, the Journals said.


Wal-Mart could not be reached immediately for a comment.
Reporting by Purwa Naveen Raman in Bangalore; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe