Fascinating article about NationBuilder- a startup co to help anybody run a well-organized campaign.

At least I thought the concept was fascinating. From the article:

NationBuilder's potentially revolutionary tools help political campaigns quickly and efficiently build a website, accept donations and manage highly customized inventories of potential constituents and donors for as little as $19 a month, depending on how many people are in the database (called a "nation.&quot

also:

Although NationBuilder also markets its services to non-profits, businesses and local governments, Gilliam's real goal is to empower the 509,000 elected officials in the United States to run more organized and effective campaigns and, in turn, make the political system more democratic.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/02/nationbuilder_los_angeles_startup_tech_election_tool_jim_gilliam.php

Kickapoo for Wihsadoo! :)

Defeat from the jaws of victory? The SS cuts (chained cpi) will mean a Democratic bloodbath in 14.

I, for one, will have a hard time being motivated about anything. The party, the national party, the DNC had better get right on all of this, and right quick. We are on the cusp on putting some firm footing under ourselves for the first time since I was a small child. But SS should remain off the table. Period. That's *NOT their money to cut. That money is supposed to be entirely off limits to politicos to settle budget issues with. That money is supposed to be in a trust fund. If Democrats stand firm on this, we will be on the right side of history. We will be where the people are. If we cave now, the party will have completely ceded all of the gains we made in 2012. We will cede all of the passion, the motivation, the pride that comes with being a Democrat. Where is my motivation to go out and canvass after the SS cuts? Those cuts will hit the youngest voters hardest, and those are the exact voters we Democrats are attracting. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Birther Thrifty Car: Buffalo Rental Cars Sport 'Vote For The American' Bumper Stickers

Two women are saying that cars they rented from a Thrifty car rental franchise at the Buffalo, N.Y., airport had birther movement bumper stickers placed on them.

The two women, Barbara Wingate of San Diego and Stephanie DiBiase of Chicago, said bumper stickers that read "Vote for the American" were placed on the bumpers of cars they rented from the franchise. Wingate and DiBiase -- both of whom provided photos of the bumper stickers -- said they were told by employees that the stickers were placed there by the franchise owner.

The franchise is owned by Westover Car Rental, a subsidiary of Ellicott Development, a Buffalo holding company controlled by Carl Paladino, the Tea Party-affiliated businessman who lost the 2010 gubernatorial race to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

"We noticed a bumper sticker on the car and in the dark lot we thought it was a promotion to "buy American" -- but didn't think about it until the next morning when we went to the car for additional luggage," Wingate, who rented the car the weekend of Oct. 13-14 to attend her daughter's wedding, told The Huffington Post in an email. "After reading it, we realized what it said/meant and were horrified."

Wingate said she was "embarrassed" to drive the car and that she complained to an employee when she returned the car. She said the employee said the franchise owner wanted the stickers kept in place and that he had asked the staff to vote for Romney. Wingate also said she noticed other cars with the stickers at the Thrifty franchise.

I would like to welcome myself to DU. Actually, introduce myself...

I have been here since day one, though the first part was under a different incarnation. Doesn't matter, I suppose, as I understand most of it is archived now.

I am a die-hard Democrat. Politics is in my blood. From a baby I was raised on it. John Kennedy's portrait hung in most rooms of our home. Dad took me on his knee and explained everything I wanted to know (Mom said I was the most curious child she ever saw). By the age of 5 I knew all about the the Kennedy assassination, and though I entered Kindergarten in 1970, those events I learned so much about seemed generations back to my 5 year old concept of time.

I watched the Nixon impeachment at age 7 or 8, glued to the tv. I started helping Dad when he would go campaigning for local candidates, and went out many, many times to post yard signs. I attended many rallies, phone banked at a young age, worked on a campaign on my own in high school.

I often wondered if I might have a future in politics someday, as a contribution to our great country. Over the years I continued to ask questions, stay engaged, and take stock of where I thought we were. Although I intended, at least at first, to follow my Dad into the factory, I turned 18 in 1983, at the height of the coming out of the recession, and the factory jobs being sent to other states. Instead (and thankfully) my first real career was in EMS, then simultaneously and later exclusively law enforcement.

I always thought I had a pretty good read on things, being that I had to swear to uphold the constitution. In the 1980's I started to notice a shift. Privatization began to be tossed around in earnest. Being that I worked at that time in administration at a public hospital, I got wind of a few different ideas that were being discussed. It didn't sound too good to me then, and it stinks now.

Whenever I said to Dad "They're gonna try this thing" he would tell me not to worry, he's seen this kind of thing before, and they will never get it done, or they will never win. I hate to say, but Dad was wrong about their tenacity and determination. He escaped with his pension intact, but a lot of guys he worked with were not so lucky. Some took early buy-outs for as little as $5k. Sad.

But anyway, all this stuff I saw coming down the pike has come to pass or is now coming to pass. I feel like this is THE election of my lifetime, not BO1. This is for all the marbles. This is for one or more Supreme Court appointments, which will likely shape who we are as a country for quite some time to come. They know it. They will stop at nothing. Please get out the vote. Vote early. Take your neighbors, take the elderly, take the sick. Volunteer. Do it for John Kennedy, whom lost his life in service to our country. Do it for global warming (which Dad told me was not gonna happen, again at the age of 5, in 1970). Do it for yourselves and your loved ones. Do it for your pocketbook and your retirement.