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Wordle made this word picture of Ghost Town Orange's current home page. Click here to go to my gallery page at Wordle where you will also find several word pictures created from this chunk of text from Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope:

Any strategy to reduce intergenerational poverty has to be centered on work, not welfare--not only because work provides independence and income but also because work provides order, structure, dignity, and opportunities for growth in people's lives.

But we also need to admit that work alone does not ensure that people can rise out of poverty. Across America, welfare reform has sharply reduced the number of people on the public dole; it has also swelled the ranks of the working poor, with women churning in and out of the labor market, locked into jobs that don't pay a living wage, forced every day to scramble for adequate child care, affordable housing, and accessible health care, only to find themselves at the end of each month wondering how they can stretch the last few dollars that they have left to cover the food bill, the gas bill, and the baby's new coat.

--Barack Obama, Audacity of Hope, 2006

Obama vote for change radio ad transcript

This radio ad is playing frequently on a pop music station in Virginia:

Tim: My name is Tim. I registered to vote because I've never voted before.

Anthea: This is Anthea, and I went to voteforchange.com because the economy stinks.

Male voice: I'm registering because I want Social Security to be here when I retire.

Dominique: My name is Dominique, and I'm voting because I want to retire before I'm 90.

Male voice: I registered to vote because I only make 2 gallons of gas an out.

Female voice: I registered because the future won't run on oil.

Andy: This is Andy, and I'm voting to end the war.

James: My name is James, and I registered because when I need health care, I want to know that I can afford it.

Male voice: I went to voteforchange.com because it costs more to fill up my tank than my mom makes in a day.

Female voice: I went to voteforchange.com because we can't afford four more years.

Barack Obama: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message because, whatever your reason, you need to register in order to vote. Get everything that you need to register and vote at voteforchange.com .

Announcer: The deadline for registration is almost here. If you want to vote for change, you need to register now at voteforchange.com. That's voteforchange.com. Paid for by Obama for America.

At voteforchange.com, you can check your voter registration status, register to vote, request to vote absentee, and find your polling location.

For Virginia, the deadline for registering to vote for the November election is October 6th.
More info about voter registration in Virginia available from the Virginia State Board of Elections website.

Meanwhile, some folks are worrying about the lack of yard signs for Obama. If it's that important to you, make your own. But signs don't vote. People who are registered to vote do.

On the other hand, it would be nice to see more sign support for Obama in the more rural areas of this county, because there are plenty of Republican signs. People like to feel that they are not alone.

I am not suggesting that every progressive suddenly latch on to religious terminology or that we abandon the fight for institutional change in favor of "a thousand points of light." I recognize how often appeals to private virtue become excuses for inaction. Moreover, nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith--such as the politician who shows up at a black church around election time and claps (off rhythm) to the gospel choir or sprinkles in a few biblical citations to spice up a thoroughly dry policy speech.
--Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope

Bush Years Illustrated

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Small print at the bottom of the poster reads:

4/08 - 81% of the people said that the country was on the wrong track and G. W. Bush's approval rating -28%

Vote John McCain - Get More of the Same!

found at boing boing

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Presidential Election

No astounding prediction this year. Remember that the Presidential Election is won in the Electoral College, so national polls are meaningless. Of course I'll support the Democratic Party as usual.

Here's a good website to track state-by-state polls: FiveThirtyEight.Com.

"Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined with a juggernaut of fearmongering that has lost its own heart."
--a young person's opinion of Christians, from UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons