"This piece of legislation is good for workers, it's good for small business people, it's good for our economy. And yet, Republicans in the Senate have blocked this bill -- a needless delay that has led small business owners across the country to put off hiring, put off expanding and put off plans that will make our economy stronger." – President Obama

Today the President called on members of Congress to immediately pass a small business bill that has been held up by Senate Republicans.

New jobs numbers released this morning show that while we’re continuing to make progress on the economy—adding 67,000 private sector jobs in the 8th consecutive month of growth—businesses and workers are still hurting.

Loans for small businesses under the Recovery Act have successfully helped create jobs, but funds ran out in May. The Small Business Jobs Act would mean that more than 1,000 small businesses waiting for loans would be able to receive them.

Small Business Administrator Karen Mills explained on the White House blog:

Not only will the bill immediately help thousands of small business owners get access to capital, but it will also raise the limit on SBA loans from $2 million to $5 million, helping high-growth small firms who are ready to expand, franchisees who want to open a new location, and exporters who need to ramp up to meet a big order from abroad.

And on top of that, the bill has $12 billion in tax cuts for small businesses, including accelerated depreciation, eliminating capital gains on small business investments, and doubling the deduction for start-ups.  It’s fully paid for and both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses have praised the legislation.

In other words, this is a strong bill.  It has broad support.  It will give taxpayers a big bang for their buck.  And, it will benefit thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners across the country, including the more than 1,000 who are right now waiting to get an SBA Recovery loan.

In Arizona:

Pima Community College student Joseu woke up at 4:00 a.m. for cross country practice and still made time to reach out to first-time 2008 voters, saying he wanted “to be a part of the change Arizona needs”

OFA Rhode Island writes:

“One volunteer, Kathy, hosted a canvass for the first time. ‘You know I've always been saying 'I don't have time, I don't have time,' but today, we're here together because this agenda is too important. It's time we all step up and do our part and I'm happy to have you over today to do just that.’

Another canvasser, Gale, walked door to door and reminisced of her last foray in political organizing: marching on Washington in the 1960's in support of women's rights and the Civil Rights Act.”

And folks in Missouri came out across the state:

“In Springfield, newly returning students to Missouri State canvassed neighborhoods surrounding the college to talk to folks about the importance of voting in November. In Columbia, US Senate candidate Robin Carnahan stopped by to fire up the crowd before going out to talk to neighbors on a beautiful and breezy Saturday afternoon. Sarah S. in Kansas City kept with tradition and held her weekly canvass and phonebank. Twelve excited volunteers showed up to walk in and around midtown Kansas City to talk about the importance of voting and getting engaged for this year’s midterm elections. In North St. Louis County, eight volunteers showed up ready to talk to neighbors, and upon their return, the owner of the shop had a cake waiting decorated with the ‘Hope’ logo on it. Who knew cake went so well with bottled water?”

You don’t have to wait for the next day of action to get involved—there are events happening each day all over the country. Find one near you and join in to help keep moving our country forward this November.

I’m an iPhone developer. It can be an exciting job: there are always puzzles to solve, you meet a lot of clever people, you’re always working late and shipping yesterday—but it can quickly start to feel like a grind. How many interactive corporate brochures can a person make before starting to wonder whether technology really has the power to change the world?

That’s why I’m so excited about the project I just finished working on: today’s update to the Organizing for America iPhone app, which gives volunteers everything they need to go door to door talking with people about what’s important to them.

The app takes the usual unwieldy accouterments of canvassing—the pen and paper, clipboards, and lists of voters—and puts them all on your mobile phone. It lets you connect with real people wherever you are and whenever you want. It gets rid of the time-consuming process of assembling lists of houses and entering data, and makes it easier for people on the ground to focus on the things that matter: the one-on-one conversations with your neighbors. (And it makes for a pretty exciting video, too.)

For me, this is exciting in a way software seldom is: it’s technology that affects the real world, that can change the lives of the people who use it and those around them. This is why I’m a programmer.

Most importantly, I think it could have the ability to bring a little spark back to the lives of those who have become jaded by the current political scene. Too many people have become disenchanted with the idea that politics can change the world for the better. In a time when moving forward can seem too difficult to bother, this old-fashioned activity—talking to neighbors about their hopes and concerns—might help remind us that change and connection can still happen. OFA volunteers are already out there knocking on doors—more than 200,000 just last weekend—and now it’s easier than ever to join in.

My favorite Obama slogan was always “We are the change we have been waiting for.” We all still are. Get out there. Talk to your friends, to your neighbors, to strangers. That change and energy is still all around us, even if it can be sometimes a little hard to see. But you’ll never find it if you don’t look.

If a simple iPhone app can help even one person to realize that, it’s worth all the e-brochures in the world.

Download the OFA iPhone app, get today’s canvassing update, or learn more here.

Politico has more:

The nation’s Democrats next Wednesday will kick off their fall campaign with a media blitz that will include back-to-back appearances by Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and Vice President Joe Biden on “The Colbert Report.”

As workers reengage after Labor Day, Kaine will go on morning shows Wednesday to preview a major speech he plans to deliver at lunchtime in the Hall of Flags at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

An aide said Kaine plans “the sharpest contrast that he has made to date on the direction the country would go if Republicans got back in charge.”...

The audience for Kaine's national kickoff address will include students, activists and labor leaders.

“He’ll make a strong case for what Democrats and President Obama have done, and make an analogy to how often Americans have turned to Democrats for heavy lifting in tough times,” the aide said.

Read the full article.

Politico has more:

The nation’s Democrats next Wednesday will kick off their fall campaign with a media blitz that will include back-to-back appearances by Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and Vice President Joe Biden on “The Colbert Report.”

As workers reengage after Labor Day, Kaine will go on morning shows Wednesday to preview a major speech he plans to deliver at lunchtime in the Hall of Flags at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

An aide said Kaine plans “the sharpest contrast that he has made to date on the direction the country would go if Republicans got back in charge.”...

The audience for Kaine's national kickoff address will include students, activists and labor leaders.

“He’ll make a strong case for what Democrats and President Obama have done, and make an analogy to how often Americans have turned to Democrats for heavy lifting in tough times,” the aide said.

Read the full article.