Bono's Speech on Poverty

I just watched a brand new video of Bono talking about the importance of development assistance. Even in these difficult economic times, we want to make sure our next president, no matter who that is, keeps his commitment to fighting global poverty.

Use the above link to watch the entire video - and then sign a petition to Senators McCain and Obama asking them to keep their promises to the world's poor.

Michael H. Drucker
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Independent Movement's Members Endorse Obama

How Independent Movement's Members Decided to Endorse Barack Obama:

Nearly 11,000 people voted in our Endorsement Survey.

How The Voting Worked: We asked which candidate was best suited to move the country away from the special interests and towards the American people's interests. Members chose their first and second choices from among the major party candidates and leading third party/non-affiliated candidates.

How You Voted: Barack Obama won with 59% of 1st ballots counted, and 64% of 1st and 2nd ballots combined. The other notables were Chuck Baldwin, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney, who each received about 10% of the vote. Based on your votes, Independent Movement has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President!

Together, we're working to take control of our political system. We're taking on a political culture that has both major parties responsible for the economic mess we're in.

And the majority of us believe that supporting Senator Obama in this particular Presidential Election is the best choice to do that.

Use the above link for more information about the Independent Movement.

Michael H. Drucker
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October Video Message to Independents

Jackie Salit of IndependentVoting.org offers pre-election commentary on the financial crisis, the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama, the impact of independents in this election season and more.

Use the above link for more information about IndependentVoting.org.

Michael H. Drucker
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Don't Vote or Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Black America Going Independent

Dr. Lenora Fulani, a founder of the NY Independence Party, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her historic 1988 run for president when she became the first African American and first woman to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Fulani shared Double Dutch chocolate cake wtih friends and supporters at Harlem Day.

Michael H. Drucker
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Dr. Lenora Fulani at NYC Term Limits Hearing 10/2008

Michael H. Drucker
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Mercy Corps’ “Hunger Action Week”

When: October 16-23, 2008

This year for World Food Day, Mercy Corps will open the new Action Center to End World Hunger in New York, and kick-off “Hunger Action Week” from October 16-23, 2008. This week of six free-to-the-public events will raise awareness about global hunger and the steps we can all take to make a difference, and will feature signing the ONE Declaration. The Action Center is a first-of-its-kind interactive public space that educates and empowers visitors to tackle the global challenges posed by hunger and poverty.

Thursday, October 16: Opening Ceremony
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
The week commences with a ribbon cutting ceremony, press conference and public tours of the Action Center. We will host a continental breakfast for partners, supporters, donors, friends in government and media as well as all of the people who contributed to the creation of the Center.

Friday, October 17: Words for Action
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Mercy Corps and CARE present an evening of spoken word and storytelling featuring Poets House, The Moth and Urban Word NYC, with Jonathan Ames, Andrew Solomon, Regie Cabico, Suzanne Gardinier and Tahani Salah.

Saturday, October 18: SHaZaM!: A Day for Family Action Heroes
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Mercy Corps and Children for Children will empower young people and their families to take action and become heroes in the fight against global hunger. Join us and learn how youth of all ages can make a difference at home and around the world! Featuring interactive activity stations with UNFAO’s Growing Connection, Heifer International, PlayPumps International, Hippo Roller, The Full Belly Project, Media That Matters, City Harvest and music by the Berklee College of Music.

Sunday, October 19: Give Food a Chance
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The Upright Citizens Brigade and Funny or Die host a benefit show at the Highline Ballroom featuring performances by Horatio Sanz, Chevy Chase, Matt Walsh, Todd Barry, Bobby Moynihan, Rachel Dratch, Seth Meyers, Jack McBrayer, the Apple Sisters, Miriam Tolan, Jon Glaser, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and more…to mark the opening of the Action Center.

Tuesday, October 21: Education Exploration: Students Discover Action
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Educators and students, grades 6-12, are invited to explore the interactive exhibits and to step into the shoes of a humanitarian aid “fieldworker.” School group workshops are available throughout the week by registering at education@actioncenter.org.

Tuesday, October 21: Food Fight: Cleaning up the Mess
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Mercy Corps and the Food Bank for New York City co-host a panel discussion exploring the root causes of, and possible solutions to, the current global food crisis—New York Times’ columnist Nicholas Kristof, World Food Prize winner Catherine Bertini, Food Bank for New York City’s President Dr. Lucy Cabrera, NYU Wagner’s Dr. Rogan Kersch and other notable participants.

NOTE:
Unless otherwise specified, all events will be held at: The Action Center to End World Hunger, 6 River Terrace in Battery Park City.

Use the above link for more information.

Michael H. Drucker
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C-SPAN to Cover Nader-McKinney-Baldwin Debate

UPDATE:
On October 21, a presidential debate for candidates who are on the ballot in states containing a majority of the electoral vote was announced. It will be Thursday evening, October 23, 9 pm thru 10:30 pm, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. It is likely that C-SPAN will cover it, since both Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin have said they will participate.
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C-SPAN will broadcast the October 19 debate between Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin, although it is not yet known if it will be broadcast live. The debate will be Sunday evening, October 19, at Columbia University in New York city. The moderator will be Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio. It is possible that Pacifica Radio will also broadcast it. The debate is sponsored by Free and Equal Elections.

Bob Barr declined to participate because he is scheduled to speak somewhere else that evening. According to this MSNBC story of October 14, he will be campaigning at colleges in Ohio and Virginia during the period October 14-23.

Free & Equal Elections Coalition (FREE) is a coalition of political parties, independent citizens and civic organizations formed to promote free and equal elections in the United States.

Use the above link to go to the FREE site.

Michael H. Drucker
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Elections officials deny illegally purging voters

The New York Times reported Thursday that tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states. Election officials lined up to defend their registration procedures and said they had done nothing wrong.

It based its findings on reviews of state records and Social Security data, and said it had identified apparent problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.

Use the above link to read the article.

Michael H. Drucker
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Independents Support Obama

AMERICA’S LARGEST ORGANIZATION OF INDEPENDENT VOTERS ENDORSES DEMOCRAT BARACK OBAMA

(“Partisan politics have gotten us into this mess & both parties are responsible, but, we need to change Washington D.C. and Senator Obama is best equipped to do that.” Francine Miller, Operating Committee IndependentMovement.Org)

TODAY, USA, October 7th, 2008

In two online polls conducted by IndependentMovement.Org, Senator Barack Obama has emerged as the number one choice of the largest organization of independent voters in the United States. “In spite of the venomous dialect we take for political discourse in America, Obama has remained true to his message. This campaign is about bringing Americans together, not driving them apart,” says Jim Mangia, CEO and founding member of IndependentMovement.Org.

As independent voters are predicted to decide the outcome of this presidential election, IndependentMovement.Org, a political action committee, is launching a nationwide campaign in key swing states across America to swing independent voters towards supporting the Obama/Biden ticket. “Obama was the first choice among over 59% of the voters we polled online,” says Jason Olson the communications director for IndependentMovement.Org. Online voters who have voluntarily participated in the polls have demonstrated a clear desire to see political reform. Last month polls conducted by IndependentMovement.Org, revealed a majority of voters want to see redistricting reform (taking the drawing of legislative districts out of the hands of incumbent elected officials and turning the process over to independent panels) and the expansion of open primaries.

Founder of Independent Texans, Linda Curtis, an advisory board member of IndependentMovement.Org, says a letter has been written to Senator Barack Obama by the group. “In endorsing the candidacy of the Democratic candidate for president we are strongly urging support of key reforms including redistricting, and promising to take an active leadership role in holding an Obama/Biden administration responsible to deliver the changes America wants to see in the White House.”

Independents have made the difference in the selection of both the Democratic and Republican candidates who are now vying for the White House. “We independents produced an election between the two change candidates, Senator Barack Obama, and Senator John McCain. Now independent voters who have listened to both campaigns, and heard the first debate, have indicated they are ready to endorse Obama as their choice for President of the United States,” continued Jim Mangia, CEO and founding member of IndependentMovement.Org.

A political action committee, IndependentMovement.Org, has a non-paid advisory board made up of reform minded Americans from across the political spectrum.


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Michael H. Drucker
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Ethics Complaint Filed Over Bloomberg-Lauder Pact

Two civic groups said on Thursday that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had violated the city’s ethics laws when he pledged to put Ronald S. Lauder on a charter revision commission to ensure that the billionaire cosmetics heir supports the mayor’s bid for a third term. The groups, the New York Public Interest Research Group and Common Cause, made the charge in a complaint filed with the city’s Conflict of Interest Board.

Mr. Lauder, who underwrote the campaign to create the city’s two-term limit for elected officials in 1993, had posed a serious threat to Mr. Bloomberg’s plans for a third term. Mr. Lauder had vowed to oppose Mr. Bloomberg’s plan to revise the law permanently, to a three-term limit, until Wednesday, when Mr. Bloomberg promised to appoint him to a charter revision commission that could return the law to its original state.

The civic groups contend that deal violates a provision of the City Charter, which says the mayor cannot “use or attempt to use his or her position as a public servant to obtain any financial gain, contract, license, privilege or other private or personal advantage, direct or indirect, for the public servant.”

In their complaint, the groups said that “we believe that Mayor Bloomberg has used his position in a prohibited manner to obtain personal advantage in a quid pro quo deal with Ronald Lauder.” Mr. Lauder’s support, they said, represents a “a great gain, given Mr. Lauder’s track record of spending millions to defend the current two-term limit.”

Michael H. Drucker
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States’ Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal

Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

Use the above link to read the article.

Michael H. Drucker
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