Archive for June, 2010:
Onto the Streets—and the Web—to Get Voters to the Polls in 2010
In 2008, the innovative use of new media and technology was a key part of the grassroots movement that helped send President Obama to the White House. Today the Democratic Party and Organizing for America are continuing to build on that momentum by launching RaiseYourVote.com—a comprehensive information and registration site that makes it simple for new voters to register to vote, and provides all voters with the info they need to make their voice heard this November.
Raise Your Vote is a one-stop hub where supporters across the country can register and find out local deadlines and state-specific information. It's a great example of using technology to solve a problem that's confronted voters and campaigns for far too long. To cut through the difficult legal language and confusing information voters often find online, Raise Your Vote presents everything in a clear and straightforward way, all in one place. The site provides you with personalized information to help Buy cheap Accutane Online guide you through every step of the process—from registration to what to bring on Election Day.
To help spread the word further, we'll be incorporating targeted online advertising to reach some of 2008's first-time voters we're working to bring back to the polls this year. And Raise Your Vote is designed to be incorporated into other websites as well.
As we saw from the Obama campaign, new media and technology only work when they're tied directly to strong offline, on-the-ground organizing efforts. Raise Your Vote goes hand-in-hand with Vote 2010's unprecedented effort register new voters and bring first-time 2008 voters to the polls this year. With successful Vote 2010 Kick-off events around the country earlier this month, we're off to a strong start. Next up is a national day of action on July 17th, when supporters around the country will register new voters in their communities.
With RaiseYourVote.com, the Democratic Party and Organizing for America are continuing to combine cutting-edge technology with grassroots organizing—a strength that will help us build momentum in 2010 and beyond.
Raise Your Vote
Today we’re launching RaiseYourVote.com—a comprehensive new voter information and registration hub that makes it as simple as possible to make your voice heard in this year's elections. Get registered, get educated, and get ready to raise your vote this November.
Buy cheap Cialis Online“BP will meet its obligations”
This morning President Obama met with Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP, to discuss the company’s efforts to contain the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and the claims process for Gulf residents whose livelihoods have been affected by the spill. The President announced that BP has agreed to set aside $20 billion to pay claims for damages:
Currently, under federal law, there is a $75 million cap on how much oil companies could under certain circumstances be required to pay for economic damages resulting from spills such as this.
That amount obviously would be insufficient. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that BP has agreed to set aside $20 billion to pay claims for damages resulting from this spill. This $20 billion will provide substantial assurance that the claims people and businesses have will be honored. It’s also important to emphasize this is not a cap. The people of the Gulf have my commitment that BP will meet its obligations to them. BP has publicly pledged to make good on the claims that it owes to the people in the Gulf, and so the agreement we reached sets up a financial and legal framework to do it.
This $20 billion will Cheap Cialis be placed in an escrow account to be administered by an independent third party—controlled by neither BP nor the government. Those who have suffered economic losses due to the oil spill are eligible to file a claim for part of this money; the President noted that this action would not prevent individuals or states from presenting claims in court.
BP has also agreed to establish a $100 million fund to compensate unemployed oil workers who have been aversely affected by the closure of other deepwater oil rigs.
Further, the President and BP agreed that Ken Feinberg, who ran the fund that compensated victims of 9/11, will run the independent claims process, and a three-person panel will be established to settle claims that are turned down.
Calling BP’s liabilities “significant,” the President closed by saying he and his administration will continue to hold the oil company and other responsible parties accountable and that the standard by which he will measure BP’s response effort will be how completely the residents of the Gulf are put back on their feet.
During a private conversation with Chairman Svanberg, I emphasized to him that for the families that I met with down in the Gulf, for the small business owners, for the fishermen, for the shrimpers, this is not just a matter of dollars and cents; that a lot of these folks don’t have a cushion. They were coming off Rita and Katrina; coming off the worst economy that this country has seen since the Great Depression, and this season was going to be the season where they were going to be bouncing back. Not only that, but this happened, from their perspective, at the worst possible time, because they’re making their entire income for the year in the three or four months during which folks can take their boats out, people are coming down for tourism.
And so I emphasized to the chairman that when he’s talking to shareholders, when he is in meetings in his boardroom, to keep in mind those individuals; that they are desperate; that some of them, if they don’t get relief quickly, may lose businesses that have been in their families for two or three generations. And the chairman assured me that he would keep them in mind. …
I indicated to the chairman that, throughout this process, as we work to make sure that the Gulf is made whole once again, that the standard I’m going to be applying is whether or not those individuals I met with, their family members, those communities that are vulnerable, whether they are uppermost in the minds of all concerned. That’s who we’re doing this work for.
“The beginning”
Late last night, following the President's address to the nation on the BP oil spill, OFA Director Mitch Stewart sent the following email to supporters:
Tonight, in his very first speech from the Oval Office, President Obama addressed the nation on the BP oil spill and the crisis in the Gulf Coast.
Millions of Americans heard him lay out the path forward: Tens of thousands will continue to work around the clock to stop the oil spill and prevent further damage. The Obama administration will ensure that BP is held accountable, covering the costs of the clean-up and paying its debts to the people whose lives have been upended by the disaster.
The Gulf Coast will be repaired and restored for the people who call it home and whose livelihoods depend on it.
But, as the President said tonight, this is just the beginning -- we need to ensure that a disaster like this never happens again.
The President presented a vision of a future where we as a nation are not held hostage by our dependence on fossil fuels -- and a plan for an economy that invests in energy generated right here and creates jobs for millions of Americans in the process. Under his leadership, some of this is beginning to take shape -- clean energy is starting to put people back to work across the country, building more efficient cars and trucks, repurposing old factories to manufacture wind turbines, and investing in research that will discover new energy technologies.
Critics will say that a real transition to clean energy is a challenge that can't be met. But the President made it clear tonight that he will not back down -- even if the path forward is not easy. And, as this movement has shown time and again, neither will we.
Washington has put Provigil online No prescription this off for far too long -- now we must act. If you haven't already, please stand with the President for a clean-energy future.
Thank you,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
President Obama Addresses the Nation on the BP Oil Spill
In his first Oval Office address, President Obama spoke to the country last night about the administration’s response to the Provigil pharmacy BP oil spill and building America’s clean-energy future.
Watch the full speech below:
What They’re Saying: ‘Laying down the line for action’
In last night's address to the nation, President Obama made it clear that he is going to hold BP accountable for the oil spill, ensuring that the company pays every dime it owes to clean up this mess. The President outlined how we'll restore the Gulf and ensure tougher regulations to prevent future such disasters. And he laid out a vision for how we'll transition to the clean-energy economy we've been talking about for decades.
Here's a sample of some of the early reactions from reporters and news outlets:
Christian Science Monitor “Oval Office speech: Obama's 'take charge' moment in Gulf oil spill”
The gravity of Oval Office addresses indicates once and for all that Obama is taking ownership of the crisis. Obama's famous "whose ass to kick" quote widely cited as a sign of newfound edge was, in fact, part of a defense of his studious strategy: Assess the situation, put the best people on the job, and monitor them. An Oval Office address plays to this Obama worldview. It conveys Obama's sense of urgency in the crisis while allowing a studious and measured president to remain in his element. While maintaining that BP is liable for the spill, Obama two weeks ago took responsibility, telling Gulf residents, "The buck stops with me."
"Obama's speech on the BP Gulf oil spill tonight combined the best of Obama. … The speech is a specific version of a general Obama theme: we will work together to solve this problem because our collective soul is one committed to problem-solving and forward-thinking. Like many hoped in this address, Obama used the opportunity to compel us to shift our dependence away from fossil fuels and use the power of the public sector to fuel innovation in alternative energies. ... Obama acknowledged the economic costs that might come with spurring innovation, but he reminded listeners that the costs of not doing anything are high."
President Obama slammed the oil company for its "recklessness" and said the company will pay for the damage it has caused along the Gulf Coast.
...The president's choice of words and imagery signaled a war-like mentality in response to the crisis in the Gulf and seemed like a rallying cry for support for "the battle we're waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens."
CNN’s Gloria Bolger:
“[The President] held BP accountable which is going to be very, very important to people in the gulf when they talk about getting their money back. And getting their lives back.”
Washington Post, Chris Cillizza:
“This is vintage Obama...poetic rhetoric...a traditional approach...blunt speaking at the start, call to a higher cause at the end.” Obama as aggressor: Says he will meet with BP head tomorrow and tell him to set aside fund to pay for compensation after spill.
Bloomberg “Obama Promises Revival of Gulf Environment, Economy”:
President Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription Barack Obama promised residents and businesses along the Gulf of Mexico he’ll make sure BP Plc pays for the losses from the biggest oil spill in U.S. history and that the region will be restored.
Associated Press “Obama: Gulf will get back to normal”:
In a newly optimistic tone, President Obama promised Monday that "things are going to return to normal" along the stricken Gulf Coast and that the region's fouled waters would be in even better shape than before the catastrophic BP oil spill.
The address teed up Obama's meeting tomorrow with BP CEO Tony Hayward. He told the American people he will lay down the line for action.
Watch Live: President Obama Addresses the Nation on the Gulf Coast Oil Spill
Questions on the Oil Spill? Ask Gibbs.
Robert Gibbs, President Obama's Press Secretary, can usually be seen taking questions from reporters and journalists at White House press briefings.
Tonight, after the President's 8:00 p.m. Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription ET address on the BP oil spill, Gibbs will answer questions live from folks across the country who want to know more about the current situation in the Gulf and the plan going forward.
You can submit a question or vote on others' questions here—and Gibbs will answer some of the most popular submissions. You'll be able to watch the live Q&A here at BarackObama.com or on WhiteHouse.gov/live following the President's address.
Get started now at YouTube.com/WhiteHouse.
Live from the Oval Office: President Obama on the BP Oil Spill
President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office at tonight, speaking on the BP oil spill. You can watch live at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time here at BarackObama.com or on any of the major television networks. You can also sign up to receive a reminder before tonight's speech begins.
In his address, the President will outline the plan for dealing with the oil that has leaked and what must be done to clean up the Gulf, as well as the steps being taken to protect those whose livelihoods have been threatened by the disaster. The President will also outline changes necessary to prevent future such disasters, and speak about our approach to promoting clean energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
As the BP oil spill has made clear, now is the moment for our country to get serious about building a clean-energy future. Yesterday President Obama sent a message to OFA supporters asking them to stand with him in this effort. The President wrote:
Our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk. We cannot delay any longer, and that is why I am asking for your help.
Stand with the President and help Organizing for America create a powerful display of support for combating climate change, ending our dependence on foreign oil, Buy Accutane and creating a new economy powered by green jobs.
Listen Live: President Obama at Naval Air Station in Pensacola
UPDATED: The event has now concluded.
The President is concluding his trip to the Gulf Coast region with remarks to 3,500 military personnel and families in Pensacola, Florida. You can listen Buy cheap online Provigil live now to the President's remarks.