As the President (that is still so cool!) prepares to work with Congress to fix the US' terrible health care system, we Americans abroad have begun our own work to help all our representatives (even the Republican ones... yeah, I'll own John Campbell) back home in the fight over a single-payer system at best and, at worst, at least a public option.
Below are the two email versions I sent to Senator Diane Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, Representative John Campbell, and, my boy, POTUS (the letter was too long for the White House online email system, so I sent it snail mail and said a response via email was fine). I slightly altered the one I sent to my US Rep because he's a Republican and I didn't think touting my Dem street cred would do much to help me there. Please feel free to take these as inspiration for your own emails to your representatives in Congress. My only requirement is that if you use either of these letters, please let me know.
To The Democrats:
Dear [Democrat's Name],
I am writing to you to discuss the necessity of including a single-payer option in the health care debate (and, hopefully, solution), or, at the very least, a public option.
I grew up in California, but have been fortunate enough to live overseas for a short time in my childhood and for half of my adult life. Having personally experienced the health care systems in the US, France, and Japan (as an adult, responsible for my own health care programs, insurance, doctor/hospital choices, etc.), I can say without question or doubt in my mind that having a single-payer system is the best possible option for the American people. I have had surgeries and hospital stays in the US and Japan, I have visited doctors and specialists in all three countries, I have PAID for insurance in all three countries, and in each of these cases, I assure you that the United States' health insurance and health care system has come in as the least user-friendly, least wallet-friendly, and, most importantly, least available and accessible.
I currently live in Japan (but am registered to vote, and exercise that right, from overseas). Here, I have access to not only the top doctors and hospitals in the country, but these doctors also speak English and their organizations have tie-ins with several major American medical institutions (including Johns Hopkins Medicine International). So, for the cost of about $XXXX per year (an amount based on my income level), I have insurance that I know can never be rescinded; access to almost any doctor in Japan (there are a small number of doctors who cater almost exclusively to the typical expat community, most of whom have private insurance); pay only 30% co-pay (the final amount of which is usually not very much because of the negotiated rates between the government and health service providers) on doctor visits, dentist visits, hospital stays, and prescriptions; and have the comfort of knowing that, no matter how bad my medical condition might be, I won’t have to worry about it also causing debilitating debt.
My family back in the States is struggling with the costs of their individual insurance and I, myself, am afraid to let the costly individual insurance (more than twice what I pay in Japan for far inferior coverage) I have maintained back in the States lapse for fear of never being able to qualify again when I return home. For the time being, I do, in a sense, feel trapped outside the States, unable to return home because of the exorbitant costs as well as the uncertainty of American insurance coverage.
I have been a registered Democrat since the day I turned 18 and was raised in a proud Democrat household. I have voted Democrat in every election I’ve ever participated in. I am very active in Democrats Abroad in Japan—I work closely with our country committee chair, the Asia-Pacific regional chair, and as Chair of the Young Democrats Abroad Japan group. One of the reasons I have stood by the party and my elected officials all these years and worked so tirelessly to register Americans abroad to vote from overseas last year is because I care so much about the lives and well-being of my fellow citizens and I have always believed that the Democrats have the best plans to achieve the best possible quality of life for Americans. However, living overseas, I have come to learn that access to reliable, affordable, quality healthcare is not a privilege, but a right. Without a single-payer option, the United States Congress and President are letting down their constituents, their neighbors, their family members, their friends… all Americans.
The positive consequences of a single-payer system extend beyond just Americans’ every day lives and health needs. How productive could our country be if people didn’t need to choose between paying the electricity bill and paying their insurance premium? How much more could we contribute to innovation and the global economy if every man, woman, and child in American was assured of their access to a doctor without the risk of being overwhelmed by the costs of such a visit? How much more secure would we be if the people charged with overseeing our airports, seaports, and other entry points didn’t need to worry about a loved one’s illness either bankrupting their family’s coffers or, worse yet, not even being able to get their child the best care because of prohibitively costly fees?
I work at the research arm of the Asian Development Bank in Tokyo and so, through my job, have the opportunity to see the difference developed infrastructure systems can make for economic growth and productivity. Health care is a form of soft infrastructure that is woefully lacking in most of my organization’s member countries. The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world, if not the most developed, and, yet, when it comes to our health care system, we are sadly lagging behind other industrialized countries, putting us at an economic and political disadvantage (Because what besides our health can affect the other parts of our lives so completely?) not only vis-à-vis our developed economic competitors, but even in terms of our competitors in emerging markets.
I urge you, in this letter and with my vote, to support a single-payer health care system in the upcoming behemoth of a debate over how to right this too long-standing wrong. Please take courage, comfort, and support in knowing that there are thousands of other Californians overseas who have shared my experience and who also support a single-payer system.
If you would like to hear specific stories about the health care experiences of Americans overseas, please stop by the blog Americans Abroad Know About National Health Care (http://healthcareforamerica.blogspot.com/).
Thank you for your hard work representing Californians… wherever in the world they might be.
Very sincerely yours, XXXXXX
To The Republican:
Dear [Republican's Name],
I am writing to you to discuss the necessity of including a single-payer option in the health care debate (and, hopefully, solution), or, at the very least, a public option.
I grew up in California, but have been fortunate enough to live overseas for a short time in my childhood and for half of my adult life. Having personally experienced the health care systems in the US, France, and Japan (as an adult, responsible for my own health care programs, insurance, doctor/hospital choices, etc.), I can say without question or doubt in my mind that having a single-payer system is the best possible option for the American people. I have had surgeries and hospital stays in the US and Japan, I have visited doctors and specialists in all three countries, I have PAID for insurance in all three countries, and in each of these cases, I assure you that the United States' health insurance and health care system has come in as the least user-friendly, least wallet-friendly, and, most importantly, least available and accessible.
I currently live in Japan (but am registered to vote, and exercise that right, from overseas). Here, I have access to not only the top doctors and hospitals in the country, but these doctors also speak English and their organizations have tie-ins with several major American medical institutions (including Johns Hopkins Medicine International). So, for the cost of about $XXXX per year (an amount based on my income level), I have insurance that I know can never be rescinded; access to almost any doctor in Japan (there are a small number of doctors who cater almost exclusively to the typical expat community, most of whom have private insurance); pay only 30% co-pay (the final amount of which is usually not very much because of the negotiated rates between the government and health service providers) on doctor visits, dentist visits, hospital stays, and prescriptions; and have the comfort of knowing that, no matter how bad my medical condition might be, I won’t have to worry about it also causing debilitating debt.
My family back in the States is struggling with the costs of their individual insurance and I, myself, am afraid to let the costly individual insurance (more than twice what I pay in Japan for far inferior coverage) I have maintained back in the States lapse for fear of never being able to qualify again when I return home. For the time being, I do, in a sense, feel trapped outside the States, unable to return home because of the exorbitant costs as well as the uncertainty of American insurance coverage.
Living overseas, I have come to understand that access to reliable, affordable, quality health care is not a privilege, but a right. Without a single-payer option, the United States Congress and President are letting down their constituents, their neighbors, their family members, their friends… all Americans.
The positive consequences of a single-payer system extend beyond just Americans’ every day lives and health needs. How productive could our country be if people didn’t need to choose between paying the electricity bill and paying their insurance premium? How much more could we contribute to innovation and the global economy if every man, woman, and child in American was assured of their access to a doctor without the risk of being overwhelmed by the costs of such a visit? How much more secure would we be if the people charged with overseeing our airports, seaports, and other entry points didn’t need to worry about a loved one’s illness either bankrupting their family’s coffers or, worse yet, not even being able to get their child the best care because of prohibitively costly fees?
I work at the research arm of the Asian Development Bank in Tokyo and so, through my job, have the opportunity to see the difference developed infrastructure systems can make for economic growth and productivity. Health care is a form of soft infrastructure that is woefully lacking in most of my organization’s member countries. The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world, if not the most developed, and, yet, when it comes to our health care system, we are sadly lagging behind other industrialized countries, putting us at an economic and political disadvantage (Because what besides our health can affect the other parts of our lives so completely?) not only vis-à-vis our developed economic competitors, but even in terms of our competitors in emerging markets.
I urge you, in this letter and with my vote, to support a single-payer health care system in the upcoming behemoth of a debate over how to right this too long-standing wrong. Please take courage, comfort, and support in knowing that there are thousands of other Californians overseas who have shared my experience and who also support a single-payer system.
If you would like to hear specific stories about the health care experiences of Americans overseas, please stop by the blog Americans Abroad Know About National Health Care (http://healthcareforamerica.blogspot.com/).
Thank you for your hard work representing Californians… wherever in the world they might be.
Very sincerely yours, XXXXXX Image source originally Air America.
Maggie chided me the other day that I hadn't been writing on my blog. Totally true. Then, I found a couple posts that I'd prepped in February that I'd never put up, so I posted them (see two preceding posts). But even those are news-related. Yeah, there's a little of me and my opinion, but nothing about my life in Tokyo in my commentary.
The problem is that Barack Obama took over my life a year ago and, now that I've been posting pretty consistently on issues related to him for a year, I don't know how to get back to posting about me and life in T-town. (I just made that term up; I've never heard anyone use it... probably for a very good reason: it sounds incredibly lame.)
Oh, Barack, where do we go from here? I think that it's time we each went our separate ways. You have a lot of things to deal with, what with your new job and dog and everything, and, well, I need to learn how to be independent again, to make it on my own, without relying on you for all my conversation topics and feel-good talk (by the way, I'm so proud of you for being so generous with the Tamiflu). Know that I will, of course, continue to support you and don't think that I won't be following you on Facebook and in the news... But, I think we both know that this is for the best. It's not you--you're great, you're change, you're hope, you're progress, you're smart... it's me. Try not to let this hamper your work. It will be difficult for me, too, in the beginning, but we both just need to try our hardest to move on. Don't think of this as a break-up--it's not--it's just... it's just the next chapter in our journey together toward a brighter day.
Obama is off to a GREAT start. The latest juicy bit of awesome to come out of the Oval Office (isn't it good when that means something that we don't need to be embarrassed of!) is the White House DIRECTLY calling out the greedy Wall Street a**holes who gave themselves a pat on the back (I'm sure it was one of the football, ass pats) and nice fat bonus checks this past December. Oh, what's that? The economy's tanking? Not if you're a fat cat jerk who spent over $30,000 on a new private bathroom while your company is imploding! I mean, don't these companies have marketing departments? Did they fire them to pay for the potty remodel? Does it really take a genius image consultant to tell you not to do something dumb (with a B) to do that?
Here's a highlight from the post (entitled "Shameful," nice!) on the White House blog (yes, there's a White House blog... how cool is that?!):
One point I want to make is that all of us are going to have responsibilities to get this economy moving again. And when I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses -- the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004 -- at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don't provide help that the entire system could come down on top of our heads -- that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.
I bought this last Thursday at Make My Cake bakery in Harlem. Yes, I did... eat this yummy cupcake. I gotta say though, red velvet tastes better than hope. ;)
The latest in modern expression... YouTube as an artistic medium (forget oil on canvas or sonnets!). This video pretty much expresses exactly how I feel... RIGHT NOW!!!! Guess who's got a ticket to an inaugural ball!!! Where Obama himself will put in an appearance!!
How do I describe the day I witnessed the dawn of a new America? Is there any way to put down in words an accurate and true, earnest record of what I saw and experienced today? This day--and how I felt when the 2008 US Presidential election was called for Barack Obama--was almost too good, too overwhelming with joy that the system has been redeemed and faith in the process and power of the American voter's voice restored, that it's hard not to think that this hasn't all been just some remarkably vivid dream. But then, there was that speech, that speech that was so perfect in its realism. That speech in which he reminded us that though we have accomplished so much to get us this far, the real work is only just beginning. That speech that called us out for service to one another, sacrifice for one another, and a reminder that we are all each other's keeper.
Yes, we should be proud of how far we have come and all we had to do to get here; yes, we deserve a chance to revel and celebrate our success. But, lest we find ourselves forgetting what we all really got into this fight for, Barack reminded us that this day--this amazing day--is really just a chance at change, not change itself. True, real, lasting, effective, life-altering, life-bettering change will only come once we commit to following through on the incredible journey that we've only just started on in these 21 months.
This is not the end of an era, but rather the beginning of one; an opportunity for us all--not just Americans, but all world citizens--to look inward and believe in our own abilities to effect progress as much as we believe in his. Like he said, this race was won not on the strength of the party or the Washington political machine, but by the minutes, seconds, dimes, and dollars donated by millions and millions of people around the world who believe in the movement Obama represents, not just in the man we see on television.
Yes, today was just the beginning, just the start of more hard work and dedication to the cause of each other... and I, for one, have never been more ready to get to work. After all, nothing could be easier than to believe and have faith in the good in all of us. Today, and all that it represents, made that belief possible.
More thanks than I can express go out to each person who cast his or her vote for Barack Obama and for having faith in the America and the people that we can and will become. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Yes! Someone (and not just anyone, but Mr. Hopebama himself) has finally put it out there: Cut out the petty politicking... EVERYONE!!! Check out Obama's response to the whole stupid "lipstick on a pig" brouhaha.
*************************************************** Americans Abroad: Register for your overseas absentee ballot by going to www.votefromabroad.org/9 Everyone else: Tell an American Abroad to Vote!! There are 7 million Americans overseas, most of them are not registered to vote. Help us find them! Tell them to go to www.votefromabroad.org/9
I got together with a group of other Americans abroad this morning in Tokyo to watch Obama's speech live. I'm even more impressed with Barack as a candidate now than I was before - hard to believe that's even possible. He basically told McCain to bring it. I recommend McCain doesn't, 'cause he's just going to get taken down on international television. Obama straight up called McCain out.
There was a lot of clapping, head-nodding, "Yes!" shouts, wups, and, yes, of course, tearing up this morning. I swear, being an American abroad has made me so damn patriotic that pretty soon I'm gonna start walking around in a Stars and Stripes shirt and jeans. (I totally sang along with "America the Beautiful" during the broadcast.)
Oh, and NHK (Japan network channel) came and filmed the party, so I'll be on the 7 o'clock news tonight in Japan. I didn't talk on camera (too shy), but Dems Abroad Vice Chair, Mike Stensrud, did and so did another one of the people who attended, Judy H. If I get a clip, I'll post that too.
Below please find YouTube clips, followed by the text, of Barack Obama's acceptance speech of the Democratic Nomination for President of those 50 United States of America (plus all of us out here!). The best place to watch the whole thing in one go (in high def and no annoying CNN commentary!) is at demconvention.com, but you need to download their player (it's worth it).
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Speech text (from the DNCC website): To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;
With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.
To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the briefu nion between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.
It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.
That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."
Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."
A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.
Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.
For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.
Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.
You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.
We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.
In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.
When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.
I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.
What is that promise?
It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.
Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
America, now is not the time for small plans.
Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
And just as we keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.
And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.
The Obama campaign has made the historic decision to create 10 international field director (FD) positions to increase awareness of and support for Barack Obama as the next American president and to increase voter registration overseas. The FD for North Asia is responsible for Japan, South Korea, Beijing and Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Former chair of DAJ, Terri MacMillan has been hired to fill this post aaaaand... she has hired me as Deputy FD for North Asia!!!!!!! WOOOOO-HOOOO!!!!
I'll be taking care of a lot of the administrative and research stuff for the region as well as traveling around Japan to make more in-person connections, get people motivated about the campaign, answer questions about our candidate, and get people registered to vote for Obama.
Many, many thanks to Terri MacMillan and Lauren Shannon (current DAJ Chair) for bringing me on board for this amazing and historic experience, and all the advice, training, and opportunities they've provided that got me ready to take on this incredible responsibility.
yay!
****************************** Request your overseas absentee ballot: votefromabroad.org
Barack is opening up the convention and his acceptance speech to as many people as possible. Supporters are responsible for building this movement and for bringing this campaign so far -- and Barack wants you to be part of this important moment.
Free tickets will be available soon, but if you make a donation in any amount this month, you could be one of 10 supporters selected to meet Barack backstage before he delivers his speech.
If you make a donation by midnight this Thursday, July 31st, you and a guest could be flown to Denver, spend a couple of nights in a hotel, participate in the convention, and then go backstage with Barack before the big event.
Make a donation of $25 or more today to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity:
With all the hoopla about Barack and Michelle's "fist bump," one WAAAAAAY more freaky (in a good way) thing that was missed was the "football player ass pat" that Barack gave her after the "fist bump." Yeah, I know, you're all like, "What?!?!" But, for real, yo! Check out the video again and watch as she walks away - he gives her a nice little ass-tastic love pat on her way out! The West Wing is gonna be HOT!
Right around the 0:48 second mark, you can see the ass pat the best.
It's on, America! It's on, World! We did it! Barack is in as the presumptive Democratic nominee and he's gonna take the White House - with all of us behind him - in November!! One for all and all for ONE!! The ONE!!!
His victory speech:
It's time for all Americans who want to see our country reach its potential and be the great place it is meant to be, get behind this nominee and make sure that we take back our government and make it truly for the people and by ALL the people, not just a small, self-interested minority at the top.
If you haven't registered to vote yet, do it NOW, please - make sure your voice is heard in November!
p.s. Don't you just LOVE that he gave his victory speech at the same place where the Republicans are going to hold their national convention. Hee hee! Cheeky!
Another cheesy but oh-so-true Obama-can video. My Country, My President - BE PROUD OF WHERE YOU COME FROM, BE PROUD OF WHO REPRESENTS YOU! (I know my other Americans abroad hear me on this one... hahaha! It's been a tough 8 years out here.)
As the President (that is still so cool!) prepares to work with Congress to fix the US' terrible health care system, we Americans abroad have begun our own work to help all our representatives (even the Republican ones... yeah, I'll own John Campbell) back home in the fight over a single-payer system at best and, at worst, at least a public option.
