Americans in France for Obama 2012 Logo

Obama 2012 Paris France Eiffel Tower Logo

Given that I will be in France over the next two years of the 2012 presidential election campaigns, I won’t be able to volunteer very much for the local campaigns in either NYC or Los Angeles (that didn’t stop me from bringing in a couple thousand votes in the last election between my personal campaigning and the Obama Facebook application that we built). Given how many Americans I’ve met in France who are either working here temporarily, living here with their French family or enjoying the retired life, I want to organize as much expat participation as possible. Democrats Abroad does great stuff and I look forward to seeing the resources that they put in place. I’ve created an Americans in France Obama 2012 Campaign group on My Barack Obama and felt like giving it its own little campaign logo.

There’s also the official 2012 Obama Campaign Logo, if that’s what you are looking for.

Obama 2012 Campaign Logo

Barack Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign Logo

Keeping with the design aesthetic of the 2008 campaign but with a little bit of modernization, the new My Barack Obama campaign website has been launched sporting a 2012 BarackObama.com campaign logo. If the President wants Gotham Serif, he gets Gotham Serif (thanks Hoefler & Frere-Jones)….  So, Are You In ?

Crayola multicultural crayons - Arizona Special Box

Crayola Multicultural Crayons – Arizona Limited Edition Set

Crayola multicultural crayons - Arizona Special Box

This image of the Crayola Multicultural Crayons Set has been making its rounds on Facebook and I thought I’d repost it for the 3 of you not on FB.  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the country’s toughest illegal immigration bill into law on April 23, 2010.  Among other things, the law makes it a state-level criminal offense (a misdemeanor) to not carry immigration documents or proof of citizenship at all times.  Police will have the power to stop people at will and request these documents (passport, drivers license, green card…).

Living in Europe, specifically France, and traveling internationally, I’m used to the fact that other countries allow the police to stop you and verify your residency/visa/immigration status.  While racial profiling can happen, it is not common, and document checking is much more tolerated in countries that have numerous neighbors just several hundred kilometers away.  In the US, we just don’t have the same international mindset and have gotten quite used to living in a very large country with little interactions with foreigners. President Barack Obama has strongly criticized the law and numerous cities, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, have passed measures barring city agencies from signing/renewing contracts with Arizona-based companies.

I voted – version 2008

Ok, actually, I already voted, but the campaign released this image on their facebook application, so I felt compelled ;)

Update :
Check out the new Obama 2012 Logo

Barack’s Final Push

Reposted from my Facebook:

Thanks for being a fan of my Barack Obama application page and the will.i.am ‘Yes We Can’ video.

With only days to go, Barack needs you more than ever before.

Every bit of support is another voter we can reach, another person we can get to the polls, and another step towards the change we need.

Will you stand with Barack in the last days of this historic campaign by donating today?

https://donate.barackobama.com

For the next several days, we need to work like the future of our country depends on it — because it does. While the poll numbers can give us hope, we cannot afford to become over-confident this close to the finish line.

We only have one opportunity to make history and get this country on a new path. And if we let up now, John McCain will win.

Please forward this email to anyone that you can and don’t forget to encourage all of your friends and family to get out and vote.

If you missed Barack’s half-hour message to the nation last night — American Stories, American Solutions — you can watch it in its entirety on his YouTube channel.

Barack Obama to Announce VP Choice by Email and SMS

From an email by Obama’s Campaign Manager, David Plouffe:  Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign — choosing a running mate.  Want to be the first to know Barack Obama’s choice for VP?

The Obama campaign is announcing Barack’s running mate to supporters via email and text messaging.

Sign up to be the first to know at  http://my.barackobama.com/vicepresident

You will receive an email the moment Barack makes his decision, or you can text VP to 62262 to receive a text message on your mobile phone. 

Once you’ve signed up, please forward this to your friends, family, and coworkers to let them know about this special opportunity.

Al Gore – New Global Warming Slideshow at TED

From TED Talks: In Al Gore’s brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of “generational mission” — the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement — to set it right. Gore’s stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates’ climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future.

will.i.am’s “Yes, We Can” Obama speech video – facebook application

Yes..We..Can… Barack Obama inspires me and gives me hope for positive change and leadership. will.i.am’s video tribute captures this hope.

I’ve made a Barack Obama “Yes, We Can” facebook application that showcases the video and some helpful links. Click on through and add it to your facebook profile and then share it with all of your friends.

We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”  That may go down as one of the greatest quotes in the history of modern politics.

You can also view the full video of Obama’s New Hampshire primary speech.

Here’s the transcript:

I want to congratulate Senator Clinton on a hard-fought victory here in New Hampshire.

A few weeks ago, no one imagined that we’d have accomplished what we did here tonight. For most of this campaign, we were far behind, and we always knew our climb would be steep. But in record numbers, you came out and spoke up for change. And with your voices and your votes, you made it clear that at this moment – in this election – there is something happening in America.

There is something happening when men and women in Des Moines and Davenport; in Lebanon and Concord come out in the snows of January to wait in lines that stretch block after block because they believe in what this country can be.

There is something happening when Americans who are young in age and in spirit – who have never before participated in politics – turn out in numbers we’ve never seen because they know in their hearts that this time must be different.

There is something happening when people vote not just for the party they belong to but the hopes they hold in common – that whether we are rich or poor; black or white; Latino or Asian; whether we hail from Iowa or New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, we are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction. That is what’s happening in America right now. Change is what’s happening in America.

You can be the new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness – Democrats, Independents and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington; who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable; who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that’s stood in our way and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there’s no problem we can’t solve – no destiny we cannot fulfill.

Our new American majority can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable health care in our time. We can bring doctors and patients; workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together; and we can tell the drug and insurance industry that while they’ll get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair. Not this time. Not now. Our new majority can end the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas and put a middle-class tax cut into the pockets of the working Americans who deserve it.

We can stop sending our children to schools with corridors of shame and start putting them on a pathway to success. We can stop talking about how great teachers are and start rewarding them for their greatness. We can do this with our new majority.

We can harness the ingenuity of farmers and scientists; citizens and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil and save our planet from a point of no return. And when I am President, we will end this war in Iraq and bring our troops home; we will finish the job against al Qaeda in Afghanistan; we will care for our veterans; we will restore our moral standing in the world; and we will never use 9/11 as a way to scare up votes, because it is not a tactic to win an election, it is a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the twenty-first century: terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease.

All of the candidates in this race share these goals. All have good ideas. And all are patriots who serve this country honorably.

But the reason our campaign has always been different is because it’s not just about what I will do as President, it’s also about what you, the people who love this country, can do to change it.

That’s why tonight belongs to you.

It belongs to the organizers and the volunteers and the staff who believed in our improbable journey and rallied so many others to join.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change. We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come.

We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can.

And so tomorrow, as we take this campaign South and West; as we learn that the struggles of the textile worker in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America’s story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea – Yes. We. Can.

Do you own songs bought online? Well, sort of

In a recent article on Reuters, the author points out the limitations companies like Apple place on your online music downloads. Issues like limitation to Apple iPods, multiple computer use rights and CD burning.

Before people erroneously get the impression this issue is limited to Apple, there are a few points to consider:

You don’t own the songs on CD or the movies on DVD that you purchase from anywhere. You are purchasing the physical plastic disc and the Limited Right to listen to or watch but NOT reproduce what is recorded on it. In some cases, you are granted the right to make a single, personal, non-commercial backup/archival copy.

You’ve never been able to freely copy your vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes or CDs for any purpose. The issue is that with digital products, publishers have more technical ability to make you obey the law.

This is also true of any books, photographs or paintings you buy. You are purchasing the paper they are printed on or the canvas and paint, but you are not purchasing the rights to reproduce them in any form beyond limited non-commercial Fair Use.

Microsoft WMA is another popular audio format. However, WMA files do not play on all (most) devices either and you have limited ability and rights on duplicating or burning copies of these songs.

Real Networks (the Real Audio people) also made a big public stink about their songs not playing on iPods. Interestingly enough, though, is that if a manufacturer doesn’t pay Real Networks a licensing fee, your songs from Real won’t play on that device. Creative’s music players, for instance, cannot play Real’s songs. Real has similar, but slightly more restrictive, backup/burning limitations than Apple.

Napster offers a flat monthly fee service for all the music you want to download. Miss a payment or cancel your account and all of your music will stop working. Want to put those songs on your portable player? Most don’t support them, but you’d have to pay Napster $5 per month for the privilege. If you want to burn a song to a CD, you’ll have to pay Napster 99 cents more.

I think a lot of the DRM (Digital Rights Management) issues are counter-productive. They have been statistically shown to not influence the behaviour of people who will copy music and not pay for it. Research has also shown that people who download or copy music are much more likely to purchase that music legally than any other music user. Simply put, downloaders buy more legal music than you do (generally, a lot more). None of this changes the fact that companies like Apple are legally following the rules our lawmakers created. If you want to complain about Apple’s DRM (or any music label or movie studio), the real target should be our country’s outdated and outmoded Intellectual Property laws of copyright, trademark and patent.

Did You Pay Your Internet Protection Payola?

Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an Ipod? These activities will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law that gives giant corporations more control over the Internet.

Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. Amazon.com doesn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer. This is the equivalent of a protection racket of money paid so that organized crime leaves your business alone.

Politicians don’t think we are paying attention to this issue. Many of them take campaign checks from big telecom companies and are on the verge of selling out to people like AT&T’s CEO, who openly says, “The internet can’t be free.”

How will you be affected?

  • Nonprofits–A charity’s website could open at snail-speed, and online contributions could grind to a halt, if nonprofits can’t pay dominant Internet providers for access to “the fast lane” of Internet service.
  • Google users–Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. 
  • Innovators with the “next big idea”–Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web. The little guy will be left in the “slow lane” with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.
  • Ipod listeners–A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned. 
  • Online purchasers–Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices–distorting your choice as a consumer.
  • Small businesses and tele-commuters–When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won’t be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.
  • Parents and retirees–Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc.
  • Bloggers–Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips–silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.
  • Advocacy groups like MoveOn–Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay “protection money” for their websites and online features to work correctly.

The free and open Internet is under seige–can you sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network Neutrality? Act Now to Save The Internet

Christians Sue over Tolerance

A senior at [tag]Georgia Tech[/tag] is suing the University for the right to be intolerant. I’m always amazed at how much effort certain [tag]Christians[/tag] can expend condemning others and defining new ways to form divisions between people. The excuse most often cited is ‘Holiness’ and the Greater Morality™. My concern is that I rarely meet someone of the “I’m standing up for what’s right” crowd that embodies much Grace.

Most believers I’ve met who came to faith through great loss and even greater brokenness are usually so consumed by [tag]Grace[/tag] that there is not much room left inside for Condemnation. If we are truly focusing on God’s calls to “Love our neighbor as ourself” and “Love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength” I believe there would be scant time left for moral posturing. I wonder what would happen if the world saw the Church actively loving the broken, the weak and the different instead of aggressively distancing itself. This kind of [tag]separatism[/tag] isn’t about [tag]morality[/tag] or holiness, it is about [tag]fear[/tag] and insecurity and [tag]doubt[/tag]. After all, if you’re looking for the true spirit of God and [tag]Christianity[/tag] do you look to Mother Teresa or to Jerry Falwell?

So Ruth, after you finish suing Georgia Tech and push the Church even farther out of reach of those in need, I hope that your happy little club is proud of you. I’m fairly sure God won’t be. The God of Scripture and history and my life wlll undoubtedly be just one more bit heartbroken.
[tags]Intolerance[/tags]

Fire Karl Rove Slogan Contest

Check out MoveOn.org’s slogan contest to combat the cover-up operation being mounted to protect Karl Rove. Between the facts surrounding this scandal and the Downing Street memo, is there any reasonable excuse why there is no mass call for employment termination, criminal investigation and/or impeachment of certain corrupt political figures?

For more background, please read Larry Johnson’s key facts article.

Current read: FDR’s Second Bill of Rights

I return to FDR’s State of the Union Address from 1944 whenever I’m at my political wit’s end. When I start to believe that there is no altruism or hope or foresight to be found in those that lead, his speech reminds me that there have been great men and women of public office. The Second Bill of Rights: FDR’S Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever is a legal and economic study of FDR’s refutement of laissez-faire economics as well as researching why FDR’s constitutional vision was never fully enacted. This continues my FDR and Eleanor obsession that I started with Champion of Freedom.

Hey Bill Frist, stop hijacking Christianity….

Sojourners – faith, politics, culture
The attacks of the religious right and this administration continue to be an affront to the integrity of those of faith. This whole ‘God is a Republican’ juggernaut would be comical in its absurdity if it weren’t tragic in its effect. The judicial system was envisioned as a bastion against the potential abuse of power were a single party to attempt to monopolise our political system and direct its policies towards the benefit of the few, not the benefit of the masses. As the judicial system continues to stand against theocratization of our country, the Senate stands to lose its lone restraint against abuse of power; the filibuster. Check out Sojourners for an intelligent community of believers who believe in integrity and honor in politics, instead of self-service in the name of God and Country.