August 4, 2009: Happy Birthday, President Obama

Would you pay $5 to say, SHUT UP FOREVER ABOUT THE BIRTHER THING? How about $10? I just did.

There's a section of Wingnuttialand peopled by those who believe our president is not a citizen of the United States of America--the very nation whose Constitution he swore to uphold, whose domestic and foreign policy he shapes, and the nation he represents to the world. You know, the country whose approximately 60 million inhabitants of voting age and the Electoral College actually elected him to office. Wingnuttians instead believe that Obama's a Kenyan citizen by virtue of his father's having started and ended his life there after immigrating to the US and fathering Barack Obama.

Well, that's crazy. And xenophobic. With dollops of racism swirled in.

Unite for Hunger and Hope

Bloggers Unite and Heifer International have teamed up to raise awareness about world hunger today with the Unite for Hunger and Hope project. Bloggers Unite invites bloggers everywhere to join the effort and write a post about world hunger.

Previously on MOMocrats.com, we have featured several organizations that fight hunger and poverty both in developing countries and here in the United States:

Share our Strength fights childhood hunger in the U.S. by raising public awareness about hunger, organizing fundraisers, and awarding grants to hunger organizations and food pantries. MOMocrats partnered with Quaker Oats last year help to raise money for Save our Strength. 

Meds and Food for Kids is an organization that saves children from starvation in Haiti, one of the countries hit hardest by last year's spike in global food prices, by providing families with nutitional supplements created using locally grown ingredients; the group also teaches the local Hatian farmers who provide ingredients for their product new and better agricultural techniques and food safety methods. MOMocrats interviewed the founder of Meds and Food for Kids, Dr. Patricia Wolff, last December. 

Unicef also fights childhood hunger and poverty worldwide; in January, MOMocrats interviewed Dr. Brandao Co, UNICEF's chief of nutrition in Afghanistan, a country where agricultural production has been devastated by two decades of war, and current conflict makes it difficult for agencies to move food and medical supplies to the communities that need them. 

You can help fight world hunger by joining today's Bloggers Unite event, by donating to or writing about one of the organizations listed above, or by donating nonperisable items to your nearest food pantry.

Portland, OR: Emergency Volunteer Action Event for Jeff Merkley's Senate Race

All ya gotta do is show up at Merkley's campaign HQ tomorrow evening at six-ish.  Okay, fine.  6 p.m. sharp.  (Oy.  You'd think Sarah Palin had invaded my typing.  Actually, *I'm* beginning to suspect it.  November 5 cannot arrive too soon, people.  I've heard enough G-drops to last me a good, long while.)

(At least I didn't wink atcha after.  See?  These things matter.  Also?  I'm making myself cringe.)

Details:

Democracy for America is holding Emergency Volunteer Action events for endorsed candidate Jeff Merkley

The race is tied and DFA members can make a real impact on the race! Join me:

Wednesday, October 22nd at 6:00 p.m.
DFA Emergency Volunteer Action for Jeff Merkley
Portland Office
3016 SE Division
Portland, Oregon 97202

Can't make it Wednesday? Sign-up to volunteer:
http://democracyforamerica.com/electmerkley

Please contact me if you have any questions:
Adam Quinn, 406-431-9770 or aquinn@democracyforamerica.com

With your help Jeff will win! Thank you for all you do.

So I'll see you there, right?  You're coming?  Because if Jeff takes the gold, er, beats Gordon Smith, we're that much closer to a 60-seat majority.  Filibuster-proof.   (Those latter words make my fingers tingle, they're so awesome pushed all close together like that.)  (Also, sorry about the Olympics reference.  I kind of missed the boat on that one.  When everyone else was watching people do crazy stuff like swim really fast and throw big-ass rocks over their shoulders and lob spears at some random marker this summer, I was -- reading political blogs.  Prepping for the DNC.  Looks like I'm not quite as patriotic as I thought.  Maybe I'm not a real American?)

(Oh!, and my favorite part of Jeff Merkley snatching the victory, er, winning the seat: Gordon Smith can no longer claim he's a Senator.  Just landed gentry the owner of a vegetable-packing plant that employees illegal immigrants.  Which makes my fingers tingle, too.

Maybe I need to have the finger-tingle-thing looked at.)

Won't be able to volunteer?  You're still welcome to donate to the campaign.

 

Go Bid on It: Netroots Nation Auction

Our friends at Netroots Nation are having an auction to benefit their annual conference, to be held next August in Pittsburgh.  Go on over and bid on some great items, ranging from coffee with General Wesley Clark to an autographed Dwight Schrute bobblehead to cool Obama jewelry.  Something for every price range, and a way to help a great group raise funds!

Guest Post: Frank S. on Dancing with the Senators

The MOMocrats welcome Spouse-ocrat and frequent commenter, Frank S., who gives us a peek into a fundraiser for Democratic Senators in San Francisco.

My wife, MOMocrat Glennia, and I had the good luck to be in San Francisco for a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) event early in October. This was the last event coordinated by venture capitalist Mark Gorenberg to help Democrats secure a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  From the e-mail notice we got it looked like it would be a memorable event.

So, in the mid-afternoon, we dropped our son off at with a neighbor who has kids slightly older than ours. As we left, a board game (Life – one our son almost always wins) was unfolding, so we knew he’s be quite happy for quite a while. We climbed in our car and headed up the highway to San Francisco.

The event was in Cow Hollow, just north of Pacific Heights, in the lovely home of the founders of a software firm. After climbing up several steep blocks, our navigation system told us we were “near our destination” at about the same time that the valet approached to park the car. We climbed out and went inside, where we found a comfortable well dressed crowd, and a nonstop parade of wine and canapés offered by caterers in black and white. As we munched little salmon sandwiches and mini-kumquat skewers, we could see the breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the rear balcony. I guess a software success can buy quite a view in San Francisco.

MOMocrats in Denver: Still Need Your Help

The MOMocrats are starting to arrive in Denver for Democratic National Convention!  We'll be here all week, providing you with our up-to-the minute coverage and unique brand of mom-centered punditry and analysis. Check back here often for the latest news, chat and photos from the DNCC.   

We still need help with the costs of the trip, so we have extended the Chip In Date for a time.  Anything you can contribute to help us would be greatly appreciated. 

We have some swag to send you as a token of our appreciation:

$10 Donation:  Listing on our "Best Looking and Sexiest People in the Blogosphere" Blogroll
$25 Donation:  MOMocrats Bumpersticker + blogroll mention
$50 Donation: MOMocrats Bumpersticker, blogroll mention, and embroidered MOMocrats Totebag
$100 Donation:  All of the above AND signature "Powerful Blogger Lady" pink trucker hat.
Over $100:  All of the above and autographed swag from the Democratic National Convention and our undying gratitude!

Just use our Chip In button to donate via Paypal, or email us at MOMocrats (at) gmail (dot) com for instructions on where to send a check. 

NOTE:  the fundraising has not ended, even if the Chip In button says so.

Thanks!

GrandMOMocrat attends Barack Obama's Hawaii fundraiser

My very own Obama Mama in the middle of a Barack-Michelle sandwich.

My mom was lucky enough to attend Barack Obama's Honolulu fundrasier held last night at the Kahala Resort. She's been a supporter of Obama's since Day 1 and wanted to go and show her support in person. Since she lives in Kahala she didn't have far to travel to attend the event, she just walked up to the hotel from her house.

I love looking at the photos of Obama in Hawaii. He looks so happy to be there. Who wouldn't be, vacationing in such a beautiful place, but I know that smile. I've smiled that smile. It's the easy smile of a local who hasn't been home for awhile.

My mom emailed me to share a brief peek into what the event was like (we MOMocrats have people everywhere), and here is her note:

Let's Talk About The Environment, Baby

News of the John Edwards affair seems to be cooling as war between Russia and Georgia heats up and our fearless misleader parties in China so I'd like to take a pause while Barack Obama is on vacation and talk about one of the reasons he's there: the environment. Oahu is a gorgeous place, but not all of it is pretty - Honolulu is home to pollution as is the Pacific Ocean. Polar bears may not live there, but humpback whales mate around the corner, and there aren't too many of them left now either.

I'm not going to spend too much time here going into why we need to do everything we can to support the pro-environment agenda because it should be obvious: destroy animals + destroy food + destroy water = people die. No more children, no more cute little furry animals, no more pretty flowers, no more fresh air. So we have to fix it. Now.

The Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's umbrella organization for solving the "climate crisis," is a great place to start. Nearly 1.5 Million people have signed up to help. Watch the Planet Green channel. Learn, become engaged and informed. (I've become a huge fan of the show, Greensburg. It's incredible what one town can do when they put their heads together with a common mission.)

Swag-o-Rama Winners List

Thanks to everyone who donated to Help A Mama Swag-o-Rama.  We selected winners using Random.org.  "No Winner" indicates that there were no bids on the item.  Here's the complete list:

#1 Political Mama: Tracy Oswalt Kowald
#2 Sex & the City:  Amy Oztan
#3 Tech Mama:  Gilded Digital Design
#4 Blogger Mama:  Sandra Williams

Hillary Clinton Fundraiser in Los Altos Hills, California

My husband, 8 year-old son and I went to a fundraiser on Thursday night for Hillary Clinton.  It was billed as a "unity event" where Obama and Clinton Silicon Valley supporters got together to help pay Clinton's debt, munch appetizers and red, white & blue Hillary cookies, and hear Senator Clinton speak about party unity.  It was co-hosted by two of Silicon Valley's powerhouse fundraisers, who combined their considerable donor lists to get people out to help Hillary (and the party) pay off some of her $20 million campaign debt.

My husband and I supported Edwards and Obama in the primary.  Our son, however, is a die-hard Hillary fan.  When we got the invitation, we asked him if he wanted to have the chance to meet Hillary, and he said, "Yes!"  I asked what he would say to her if he got to meet her, and he said, "I want to tell her she did a good job in the election."

I thought that would be something she might like to hear, coming from a little boy.  During the primary season, he pointedly told me, pointing out his placemat with all the President's portraits on it, "I want Hillary to win because, do you see any girls here?  NO. It's a girl's turn."