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Monday, November 03, 2008

GOTV


This came yesterday from a childhood friend.
I quickly protested, "But I voted!"
Really I did!


Get Out The Vote

I had to ask during the primaries
what GOTV meant because I'm over sixty.

Volunteering with the Obama campaign
has given me all kinds of new techniques
and hope for America.

It's crunch time.
We can all do more.

In Central Texas we can help:

or

or
and make phone calls, block walk, GOTV.

will link you to action anywhere you
want to work

GOTV -- our action isn't locally restricted
anymore. Most people get free long distance
at home or with their cell phones.

has a link that gets you started calling
from home immediately. This is the one I use,
you can select a state, and start right away.
The call info is great -- gives polling places,
is fast and much improved from the site
we used during the primaries.

Or you can hook up with local groups
block walking, knocking on doors,
helping people get to the polls,
poll watch, etc.

Why bother?
It's a no brainer.
GOTV y'all.



©Susan Bright, 2008

Susan Bright is the author of nineteen books of poetry. She is the editor of Plain View Press which since 1975 has published one-hundred-and-ninety books. Her work as a poet, publisher, activist and educator has taken her all over the United States and abroad. Her most recent book, The Layers of Our Seeing, is a collection of poetry, photographs and essays about peace done in collaboration with photographer Alan Pogue and Middle Eastern journalist, Muna Hamzeh.



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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:30 AM

    this from writer, Emilio deGrazia, who lives in Minnesota -- where you can help Al Franken if you have time today!

    Hi Susan:

    DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

    It’s quiet where I sit staring out.
    A car turns the corner and is gone,
    Carting axels, rivets and oil
    To the wide plains of carelessness.

    Here, in this solitude, renewal ages
    Comfortably within sight of the tree
    Cut from another winter of our discontent
    Frozen into another new year of war.

    Peace on earth roosts and broods here,
    The few of us permitted this quiet
    The overwhelming majority self-consoled,
    Hands useless in our laps, hearts voting yes.

    Emilio

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:06 AM

    I also received a video showing me as "loser." It was hilarious. When I sent it on to friends who then protested by assuring me that they had already voted, my response was "well, obviously it didn't count." Let's hope that's not going to be the case!
    Best,
    Vicki

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12:18 PM

    again from Emilio -- sharing this story to counteract the smear stuff going around.
    SB

    Amazing: Obama Helped Stranded Stranger 20 Years Ago

    Oct 05, 2008

    The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog 'Leisha's Random Thoughts' has translated the story.

    It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:

    When it was finally Mary’s turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.

    -You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway , the man behind the counter said.

    Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway , and she had no one else to call.

    -I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.

    As tears streamed down her face, she heard a 'gentle and friendly voice' behind her saying, 'That's okay, I'll pay for her.'
    Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.

    -He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?

    Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.

    -He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.

    She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

    Who was the man?

    Barack Obama.

    Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:

    -He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.

    She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway . At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago , and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.

    Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:

    In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier..

    And Obama replied:

    In a letter to Mary’s parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped ‘United States Senate, Washington DC ’, Barack Obama writes:

    ‘I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help back then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway . Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama , United States Senator’.

    The parents sent the letter on to Mary.

    Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the k ind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office..

    Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.

    UPDATE: Thanks for the recommends, folks! Also, remember this was 1988, when 100 dollars was quite a bit of money, compared to today's value.

    By the way, this would be the perfect antidote to the Smear E-mails going around. If anyone has a good long email chain list, shoot it out, and let it be passed along.

    ReplyDelete