A Canvassing Tale in Florida

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Sunday September 28, 2008 · 1:09 PM PDT

2008/09/28 · 13:09

My wife and I went canvassing yesterday in Pensacola with two other Obama volunteers. Our canvassing list centered on Escambia County just north of City limits. 30 years ago, this area was in the country with pecan orchards, farmhouses, and small houses with large lots. Now, it is intermixed with subdivisions and low income housing developments. The area parallels the road name, "Ten Mile Road." This is Ten miles from the downtown Pensacola area on the bay, but only 3 miles from the city limits.

Edith and I have been canvassing each weekend since the beginning of July. Our list this weekend consisted of independent voters. Both of the other volunteers were out for the first time and were nervous. Our scheme was simple: We would drive to a street with more than two houses to visit. Then we would split up. Edith, my wife, would get out with John for the first house and Jeannie and I would drive further down the street to the 2nd house. I look upon canvassing as a social event and a chance to meet new and interesting people. Most are friendly, even if voting for McCain. This Diary compresses hours of canvassing into visits to 3 households.

Poll

89 votes Show Results

The most recent step I have taken for Barack Obama

89 votes Vote Now!

The most recent step I have taken for Barack Obama

I have called to volunteer at Obama headquarters.

5 votes

I have gone canvassing.

18 votes

I have helped register people to vote.

11 votes

I have made phone calls for Obama.

10 votes

I have contributed money to Obama.

33 votes

I will help Get Out The Vote (GOTV).

1 vote

I am still thinking what to do.

1 vote

It bothers me I haven't done anything yet.

10 votes

Questions for Keith O. to ask Barack Obama on Monday

Literacy

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Sunday September 07, 2008 · 7:51 PM PDT

2008/09/07 · 19:51

Keith Olbermann has a unique opportunity to set a new direction in the way that the Media should begin to ask questions related to the ISSUES instead of reaction questions to what the other candidate has said or implied. This leads to an endless and pointless round of he said this (and now) she said this.

Let's help Keith elevate the level of discourse and questioning. He should be more demanding of Obama to explain issues. K.O. should be very quick to follow up on questions.

Ground rules. Therefore let's work collaboratively in this Diary. Please post in the Heading of your posted response, what the question is germane to. In other words, write VETERAN'S BENEFITS or WITHDRAWING FROM IRAQ. In this way, Olbermann can quickly move through the questions. Don't try to cram a point or some catchy phrase into the topic heading of your posted response. Instead write the topic as shown in CAPS and then write the full question at the top of the window for your input.

Literacy

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Saturday September 06, 2008 · 5:26 PM PDT

2008/09/06 · 17:26

Pensacola, Florida is the keystone of Congressional District One in the State. Cong. John Lewis (D-GA) fired us up at the opening of the headquarters on Devilliers Street downtown. The response from the community was overwhelming. I could tell the gathering was going to be huge for us as I got into a traffic jam in the narrow streets in the old part of the city 20 minutes before the meeting. All of the parking lots were filled.

Literacy

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Monday June 26, 2006 · 3:00 PM PDT

2006/06/26 · 15:00

In David Brooks' column, "Blogging his way to the top politically," it doesn't take any further reading than to the end of the second sentence to realize this is going to be a slam job. Actually, Brooks is conferring unstated recognition that Daily Kos is an unbridled force for change. Brooks suggests Markos is Jimmy Dowd leading all the Mouseketeers in the proper way to think and sing the party line. He demeans Markos' chosen role in Democratic politics because Brooks fears a national trend is about to be demonstrated in the Connecticut primary; the Democratic party is reinventing itself through the grassroots. He collapses Markos and Daily Kos into an unrecognizable form driven to a cynical manipulation of the masses. In my own view, I can't believe Brooks has spent any time online to read the range of KOS diaries that crop up in the course of a week. There are reasons that Daily Kos is more powerful than Brooks suspects. Read More

A Short Selected History of "Cut and Run"

Literacy

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Friday June 23, 2006 · 12:52 AM PDT

2006/06/23 · 00:52

The frequent repetition of the Republican slogan "Cut and Run" signaled this week that the Republicans would rely on the phrase to define Progressives who argue for the ending the of the occupation of Iraq. The first rule of a debate is not to accept the analogy or definitions given by an opponent. For the resolutions offered by Democratic senators willing to debate the issue at length, the opportunity was missed to hurl a poignant phrase back to crystalize for Americans the feebleness of our policy in Iraq. Read More

Pocket Critical Thinking Guide: Haditha, Ishaqi, My Lai

Literacy

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Saturday June 03, 2006 · 4:40 PM PDT

2006/06/03 · 16:40

I have set out below the facts that I can distill from reporting and military briefings about the Haditha and Ishaqi atrocities. I have used the same headings for organizing these data to describe the My Lai massacre in 1968 and to offer a basis of comparison. Read More

Weapon Testing Gives Momentum to This War

Literacy

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Sunday May 28, 2006 · 1:30 AM PDT

2006/05/28 · 01:30

There was a film sequence on nightly news from Vietnam that filled me with disgust the night I first saw it in 1972. Everyone has seen it. Planes swoop low over a village. Napalm cannisters fall and explode. A handful of crying children run out of the village and one naked girl noticeably holds her arms away from her body as she runs.

| June 1972 Photo of Napalm Bombing of Trang Bang / Copyright Nick Ut / The Associated Press |

A soldier tries to pour water from his canteen on her burning arms. The picture shows the indiscriminate use of a well-tested weapon on a civilian population. But at some point, napalm was used in an experimental sense. Pilots had to learn when to release the cannisters and at which altitude and speed for maximum effect. Napalm had a specific tactical use in WWII in fire bombing raids against Dresden and cities in Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Read More

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A Canvassing Tale in Florida

Questions for Keith O. to ask Barack Obama on Monday

John Lewis (D. GA) helps net 700 new volunteers at Pensacola Obama/Biden HQ

Markos does NOT control me!

A Short Selected History of "Cut and Run"

Pocket Critical Thinking Guide: Haditha, Ishaqi, My Lai

Weapon Testing Gives Momentum to This War