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FREE TO BE DNC - Reps Restricted!
| Thu, 07-08-2004 - 10:50am |
This thread is hereby officially dedicated to Democrats, liberals, and Kerry supporters. Make of it what you will, but please observe the TOS and refrain from personal remarks about other I-Village members.
Have fun,
Renee

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http://www.globalstewards.org/democrats.htm
This page includes information on John Kerry and how to help him get elected. It lists congressional scorecard ratings for environmental, labor rights, civil rights, animal rights, women's rights, and education-related issues for Senator Kerry. It also includes links to web sites that are tracking the current administration's record. Consider emailing out the list from this page: Ten Reasons to Enthusiastically Support John Kerry.
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JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT
Action Alerts! - Ten Reasons to Enthusiastically Support John Kerry - Additional Information on John Kerry - How to Help Elect John Kerry - Current Administration's Record
ACTION ALERTS!
If you are not yet registered to vote (or you've moved since you last registered), you can now print and mail in an online voter registration application (Adobe Acrobat required: free download). Upcoming election dates for your state can be found at Declare Yourself.
Write to your elected officials and ask them to oppose proprietary paperless touchscreen voting machines. According to U.S. House Representative Lynn Woolsey, "There are concerns among the technology community as more studies are done that these types of machines are vulnerable to hacking from a remote location" (Letter dated 10/27/03). Author Bev Harris actually explains how hackers can change electronic voting results easily in the article, Inside a U.S. Election Vote Counting Program. Another, equally alarming, report: John Hopkins and Rice University's Analysis of Electronic Voting System. Learn more from the article Time to Recall E-Vote Machines? (click on "Also by this reporter" to see current news on E-Voting)
Ask your representatives to legislate for either (ideally) traditional voting systems where voters manually fill out ballots or for touchscreen voting machines that:
are publicly designed with public source code
have verifiable versioning
have an audit trail that is easy to verify (specifically, where a paper copy of your vote prints out for your review and is then turned in as backup for your computerized vote).
The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act would, if passed, require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy of ballots (both the Senate (D-Graham's) and House (D-Holt) have bills pending). Visit the Voter Confidence Acts page to get specifics on how to urge passage of these bills.
These new paperless proprietary touchscreen machines provide no way to verify that our votes are counted properly and, therefore, have no place in a democracy. Please also ask your representatives to encourage the return of exit polling on election day.
~BACK TO TOP~
TEN REASONS TO ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORT JOHN KERRY
On the Environment: Kerry has a 96% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters based on his congressional voting record.
On Civil Rights: The NAACP and the Human Rights Campaign gave Kerry a 100% rating.
On Education: For the past 8 years, John Kerry has received a 100% rating from the National Education Association.
On a Woman's Right to Choose: Planned Parenthood and NARAL gave Kerry a 100% rating.
On Labor Rights: The AFL-CIO has given John Kerry a 91% lifetime rating, including a 100% rating in 2003.
On Animal Rights: The Humane Society and Fund for Animals reports that Kerry supported eight out of the nine most recent bills promoting animal welfare.
Kerry has a long record of public service to this country. He has extensive experience in both domestic and international affairs. He worked as a prosecutor for one of the country's largest counties, served as Lieutenant Governor for two years, and has served as a U.S. Senator since 1984. As Senator, he has served for 18 years on the Foreign Relations Committee, 6 years on the Intelligence Committee, and is the Ranking Democrat on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.
Kerry's "100 Days to Change America" plan, outlining what he will focus on in his first 100 days in office, is great.
Teresa Heinz-Kerry will also be a real asset to this country. She has been deeply involved with a number of progressive issues including the environment, children, women's issues, and health care and wellness. She has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and a strong supporter of the arts.
Kerry supports:
Aggressively promoting conservation, renewable energy sources, and increased energy efficiency to reduce both global warming emissions and our dependence on foreign oil
Reducing toxics in our communities
Reinvigorating the Superfund cleanup program
Improving our parks and protecting our public lands
Protecting low income communities from environmental hazards
Strengthening and enforcing our Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act
Addressing global warming emissions through a combination of innovative programs that will drive technology change and create jobs
Addressing the exploitation of marine resources around the globe
Addressing the growing crisis of fresh water shortages around the globe
Reducing traffic congestion and sprawl
Strong job creation including creating 500,000 jobs by investing in renewable energy sources, such as ethanol, solar, and wind
Rejoining the international community
Programs that promote democracy and respect for human rights
Comprehensive election reform
Arms control and non-proliferation measures
Defining a global security strategy on terrorism that is "collective, not imperial, inclusive not exclusive, and cooperative not unilateralist"
Rolling back Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and re-investing in education and healthcare.
Expanding health care coverage to nearly 95 percent of Americans – including nearly all children
Assuring high quality health care by including a strong enforceable patients' bill of rights, reducing medical errors, and ensuring safe staffing levels for nurses
Protecting Medicare and Social Security
Fully funding our public education system
Creating programs to increase access to a college education for more Americans
Providing services to children such as Head Start and child care
Improving child abuse prevention and treatment programs
Expanding our nation's hate crime law
The Employment Nondiscrimination Act
Affirmative Action
The Equal Rights Amendment
Closing the pay gap between men and women
Title IX
Protecting workers' rights to organize and join a union
Raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation
Improving workplace health and safety
Ending the practice of racial profiling
Creating immigration policies that are fair and safe
The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act
Expanding funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs
Partnering with Native American tribes to improve access to health care, provide more educational opportunities, and strengthen economic development efforts
Improving opportunities for small businesses
A strong agricultural economy based on family-owned producers and sustainable practices
Making sure that farmers have the support they need and that rural communities have the capital, infrastructure, and technology they need to be safe and prosperous
Truth in labeling and country of origin labeling to give consumers the information they need to support American farmers
Renewable fuels, such as ethanol, grown on America's farms and produced in producer-owned facilities
Limiting the proliferation of animal confinements
Expanding the Community Oriented Policing program (COPS)
Strengthening Homeland Security
Strongly enforcing federal gun laws and improving and expanding the background check program
Providing sufficient funding for drug prevention and treatment programs
~BACK TO TOP~
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON JOHN KERRY
Background:
Profile of Senator John Kerry
Project Vote Smart's Profile on Kerry
Campaign Events:
C-SPAN Schedule
Up-to-date polling reports on Kerry and the General Election:
Pollingreport.com
Written interviews with Kerry:
NPR
MoveOn.org
Kerry's election site:
John Kerry (D-MA)
~BACK TO TOP~
HOW TO HELP ELECT JOHN KERRY
Sign up to volunteer for the campaign.
Visit John Kerry's Online Action Headquarters for suggestions on how you can help through the internet.
If you would like to help get out the vote, including in a swing state (a state where the election will likely be close), go to:
America Coming Together
Registration efforts by ProgressiveCaucus.org and Granny D
The Swing State Project
Mainstream Moms Oppose Bush
NOW's 10 for Change
Out of 200 million eligible voters in this country, Bush "won" the 2000 Presidential election with just 46 million votes, a mere 23% of the eligible voters (these voters represented only 19% of all U.S. citizens).
If you would like to meet with other citizens in your community who support Senator Kerry, go to his Meetup page.
Join Howard Dean's new Democracy for America campaign.
Get involved through MoveOn.org.
Hold a "Cleaning Out our House to Clean Out the White House" garage sale.
Order a free Kerry bumper sticker or create your own bumper sticker(s) at www.makestickers.com (no minimum quantity requirements).
Additional, great suggestions at: 2004 Survival Guide: How you can get involved in transforming U.S. politics.
Stay informed at Air America Radio, Center for American Progress, and Democracy Now.
~BACK TO TOP~
CURRENT ADMINISTRATION'S RECORD
Environment
Labor Rights
Civil Rights
Resume
A Growing List of Bush's Lies
Vice President's record on a variety of issues
The brains behind the brawn (great article!) and a brief bio.
The marketing of a president with a little help from our friends at Nickelodean (July 29, 2001 article)
On the month long August 2001 vacation (August 12, 2001 article)
Why George H.W. Bush did not go into Iraq after the Iraq War
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country." Franklin D. Roosevelt
OMG...I really hate you missed the speech. It was the best speech that I have EVER heard Kerry give. I loved it from start to finish. If you have real player or the windows player you can go to www.cspan.org and watch it from start to finish. The whole evening was extremely touching.In fact, I liked it as much as the speech because when the people finished I felt like I knew who John Kerry was. His daughters gave touching speeches meant to give us a sense of what their dad was like. Vanessa talked about the ways her father taught her to care about the environment and to take a second to stop and see the beauty. Then she said as Kerry's mom was dying he wanted to bring nature to her. So he went out and got some leaves. Then twisted wire to look like a tree and added the leaves to it and took it to him mom! She described how it looked to see this tall man hunched over trying to twist the wire to make something special for his mom. It was just so sweet. Then his other daughter (can't remember her name right now) spoke of house their puppy caused their hamster to fall into the water (they were headed on a family trip) and her dad jumped in to save the hamster. Then he did CPR on the hamster. LOL She said that he did not hesitate to do that because he knew it was important to her. So then I was like awwwwwww.. THEN Max Cleland gave such a touching speech of how he meant Kerry. He said he was on the way back to the states after losing his limbs. He said that Kerry was his brother before he even met him. Then he went on and on talking about Kerry. Then they showed this beautiful film that was made by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Morgan Freeman. It was so touching because they showed footage of him as a young child (climbing trees,jumping into water, with his mom and dad..etc). Then they showed actual footage of them in Vietnam. There was footage of him with his children as they were little. Then in between each thing they had Kerry,his family and others talking. It was really beautifully, edited. Okay so then Kerry comes out and I was so scared. I thought he would sound stiff or something but HE DID NOT. He seemed overwhelmed by all the cheering in the room. The speech was so beautifully written. I don't know the exact words but my favorite was when he was talking about the American flag. I won't even begin to try to quote it but it was beautiful and touching.
I wonder if the Kerry's dog (do they have one) will be up next for the republicans. I guess they are just following their leader.
Yesterday, we made a spur-of-the-moment stop at a construction site in Davenport, Iowa, where we spotted a very large Kerry-Edwards banner on display. I had a chance to talk to some of the workers there and to listen to their concerns about the economy. Just an hour later, I spoke at an economic summit with business leaders where I heard CEOs of some of America's largest corporations voicing the same concerns. The day underscored that all of us are in this together.
This week, I have been writing to you each day from the road about a different piece of the plan John Edwards and I have laid out for a stronger America. Today, I would like to talk about our commonsense plan to cut the deficit in half, make health care affordable, support small business, and improve our schools:
-Cut middle class taxes: Let me be very clear: I will not raise taxes on middle-class Americans by one dime -- I will cut them, including tax cuts to make health care and education more affordable. 98 percent of Americans will pay less taxes under my plan, period.
-Repeal Bush's tax cuts for the elite to pay for health and education: I will make health care affordable and accessible for all Americans and invest in education by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 per year.
Get government spending under control: I will restore the spending caps of the 1990s to ensure that spending -- outside of education and security -- does not grow faster than inflation.
-End corporate welfare to reduce the deficit: I will push the McCain-Kerry Corporate Welfare Commission to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary corporate subsidies, and I will use the savings to reduce the deficit.
Reduce the corporate tax rate by 5 percent by ending tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.
-Provide significant relief to employers who offer their employees quality health coverage. Our plan will cover certain high-cost health cases and save families up to $1,000 per year.
View our full plan here: http://johnkerry.com/plan
One of the most powerful voices we heard from at the roundtable yesterday was that of Peter Chernin, President and COO of News Corporation and CEO of the Fox Group. Here is some of what Peter had to say:
The deficit is just plain bad for the country and bad for business. I don't think you can fight two wars, one internationally and one domestically, and at the same time cut taxes for the wealthy.
The next issue is health care. I think improving health care and supporting health care is not only good public policy, it's also good business policy. Health care costs are choking American business -- clearly small businesses -- but also big businesses like my own where health care costs tend to rise by double to triple the rate of inflation.
Third is help for small businesses. Small businesses are the job creation engines of America. And I think the Kerry-Edwards plan, which calls for a tax credit for the creation of new jobs and helps share the burden of health care costs, will be a real boost to small businesses.
John Edwards and I can only achieve our plan for a stronger America with your help. We have said that we want five million voices to reach out to the 55 million voters we need to win on November 2. By learning about our plan for America -- by learning the specifics of what we're fighting for in this campaign -- you can be one of those voices, spreading hope, building optimism, and bringing new energy to our campaign every day. Please take the time to read our plan today:
http://johnkerry.com/plan
Sincerely,
P.S. Today, I'd like to call especially on leaders of businesses large and small to join and endorse our campaign. Your leadership and experience will make our campaign stronger. Sign up here:
Tonight, Senator John McCain is set to address the Republican National Convention. Meanwhile, the man who led the charge smearing Senator McCain during the 2000 Republican presidential primary is turning his sordid political attacks against John Kerry.
This new round of attacks comes from a familiar name -- Ted Sampley -- who has a long history of irrational public attacks against both John McCain and John Kerry. In 1992 Sampley created a fake photo of John Kerry shooting an American MIA. He has been jailed for starting a fight with John McCain's staff, and has called McCain the Manchurian Candidate, accusing him of being "brainwashed by the Vietnamese" and being a "KGB spy."
Ted Sampley is now the head of "Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry" and a supporter of "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." He has been telling lies about John Kerry, and today he launched an extraordinarily false ad smearing John Kerry's military service.
To view this ad click here:
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.org/video/kerry.wmv
Ted Sampley's group is also still attacking Senator McCain. To view this page click here:
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/mccain_myth.htm
For the past several days, we have asked for your contributions, now we need your action. We need your help to stop Ted Sampley and the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush's lies about John Kerry's military service.
Please take a minute and call the Bush campaign at the Republican Convention tonight. Ask George Bush to specifically condemn this ugly smear.
Call now:
(212) 356-2300 or (212) 356-2004
Thank you,
Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager
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