To celebrate their 50th anniversary in LA, the Dodgers dusted off some of the old-timer stars with names like Koufax, Snider & Wills

Opening Day at Dodger Stadium is our family tradition. We go every year and can't help but reminisce about my parents and the memories of many, many Dodger games over the years. My brother and I always go and this year my oldest nephew Gary and my sister in law Suzi came with us. Being that it was the 50th Anniversary since the Dodgers came to LA it was especially memorable. My mother passed away almost 5 years ago and there were few things she loved more than the Dodgers. She was a fan even as a kid in the Bronx favoring the Brooklyn Dodgers over the Yankees and was thrilled when they moved to LA a few years after she did. Both my parents would have been thrilled to see all of the Dodger stars of the past that came out on the field one by one, from Duke Snider to Ron Cey it was really moving. Unfortunately my camera couldn't get any close ups but the pictures do at least convey the spectacle of the day.

Opening Day Dodger Stadium March 31, 2008

Kent's homer backs powerful Penny - DeWitt singles in first Major League at-bat
Well, Jeff Kent is the first 40-year-old position player they've ever had in an Opening Day lineup, but he's definitely not yet in the past. He slugged a two-run homer off Barry Zito in support of Brad Penny, who threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, as the Dodgers presented new manager Joe Torre with a 5-0 win over the Giants

Obama wins most Texas delegates

Mon Mar 31, 3:58 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama has won the overall delegate race in Texas thanks to a strong showing in Democratic county conventions this past weekend....

My Nieces: Elyse visitng from Spain and Jessie visiting from Portland

My Nieces with my Girls

Job Market 2009

Haunting Obama’s Dreams

By MAUREEN DOWD
March 23, 2008

It is a tribute to Hillary Clinton that even though, rationally, political soothsayers think she can no longer win, irrationally, they wonder how she will pull it off.....

Hillary in Tuzla: The Tale of Bosnian Sniper Fire

My take: Howard Wolfson, Hillary Clinton's Communication Director was on Morning Joe this morning and when asked about this seemingly innaccurate report of the experiece he gave a very direct, thoughtful response - NOT! He spent 2 minutes explaning how this all started because Barack Obama has been attacking Hillary Clinton's charachter blah, blah...and they let him get away with that that.

My Younger Nephew Jason in Spring Training

Not on the major league team yet but he's working on it!!

My Oldest Nephew Gary Talking with Barack after the Democratic Debate in LA

Aunt Bonnie is soooooooooo jealous!

Gary and Barack

The Colbert Challenge

Please help me spread the word to encourage people to pass this along to all of their friends that are Barack Obama supporters. Steven Colbert has asked Democrats to donate to school projects in Pennsylvania in honor of either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. So far, Obama supporters are donating faster than Clinton supporters. I can't think of a better way for Pennsylvanians to share good news about Senator Obama than to have teachers sending their students home with new books or supplies, and knowing that these teachers will tell parents that the new supplies are courtesy of Obama supporters. If you haven't donated yet, please consider making even a small donation. Be sure to check "I'm making this donation in honor of _____" and then typing in "Barack Obama" when you make you complete the donation form.

Short video about Barack's voter registration efforts as a community organizer

Obama Fever in Europe

The link is to an article in the NY Times but what's far more interesting are the comments from people all over the world that support our guy!!

"Fox and Friends," Brian Kilmeade walked off the set after a dispute with his co-hosts

When even Fox News people don't want to be associated with other Fox people, you know it's got to be pretty bad.

Chris Wallace rails against "Fox and Friends" for Obama-bashing

As I understand it, the Obama campaign contacted Chris Wallace to thank him for taking a stand on this,

The Girls March 2008

Mona and Delaney Playing with a Toy

Did Mona Win or Did Delaney Let Her Win?

Molly...just about the most beautiful dog in the world

Delaney & Molly watching a cat on TV

Barack Obama speaks in Philadelphia, PA 3/18/08

I urge you to watch the whole speech or read it as it addresses the bigger issues at hand. I've never been more proud of my decision to volunteer on his campaign as I was today. Barack's speech is a perfect example of why I am such a passionate supporter. He’s a big thinker, always looking at the macro picture and not searching for a quick sound bite to skirt around controversy or dismiss it as unimportant. Often times when he speaks to a large group of people (IE the NRA & an Evangelical Christian church) he has said that “we won’t agree on everything but we’ll find that we agree on more things than we disagree on.” It takes tremendous confidence and conviction of one’s beliefs to say that and that is once again evident in his speech today. It's a great honor and privilage to work on his behalf!

The Real Truth About Barack Obama!

As enthusiastic volunteers in the Barack Obama campaign for the Presidency,
we have put together a list of facts about Barack so that you will know the
truth about him. Please follow the links we have included for documentation
of these facts. If you value the truth as we do, please spread this information
via email, blog, or any other means, to everyone you know.

1. Did you know that Barack Obama is a devout Christian? He has been a member of the same United Church of Christ congregation for 20 years, and was married there to his wife Michelle in 1992.



2. Did you know that Barack Obama often leads the US Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance?



3. Did you know that Barack Obama is a strong friend of Israel and has spoken out strongly against anti-Semitism?



4. Did you know his grandparents from Kansas were part of the "Greatest Generation?. His grandfather served with Patton's Army during World War II, and his grandmother, a real "Rosie the Riveter", worked in a bomber assembly plant back home.



5. Did you know that Barack Obama was opposed to the war in Iraq from day one, before we invaded, even while he was running for the Senate, and knowing his opposition might be politically unpopular?
   

   "I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world and strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars." --Barack Obama, 2002




6. Did you know Obama favors transparency over secrecy in our government? Did you know that Obama worked with Republican Senator Tom Coburn to pass one of the strongest government transparency bills since the freedom of information act? He's calling it Google for Government and you can see the results at www.usaspending.gov. Sen. Obama has also released his own tax returns for public review.



7. Did you know that after graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, Barack practiced civil rights law and also taught Constitutional Law for 10 years at the University of Chicago, one of the nation's best law schools, where he was consistentl y rated by his students as one of their best instructors? Did you also know that he was the first African-American elected pres ident of the prestigious Harvard Law Review?



8. Did you know that Barack Obama is an outspoken advocate for women's rights and has been a principled defender of the civil rights of women?



9. Did you know that despite the grueling schedule of running for President, Senator Obama remains a devoted family man, making time to do things like pick out a Christmas tree with his wife and two young daughters, or hurrying home to spend Valentine's Day with them? Did you know he hasn't missed a single parent-teacher conference while running for President?



10. Did you know that Barack Obama has a stellar environmental record, including having the highest rating from the League of Conservation Voters (96%) of any Presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican?



11. Did you know that Barack Obama has been an elected legislator longer than Senator Clinton?



12. Did you know that Barack is a member of all of these Senate Committees: Foreign Relations; Veteran's Affairs; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions; Homeland Security and Government Affairs?



13. Did you know that Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become law, and has introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted since he joined the Senate in 2005?



14. Did you know that Senator Obama sponsored legislation working together with Indiana Republican Senator Richard Lugar, to keep Americans safe by keeping dangerous weapons out of terrorist hands? The two senators also visited the former Soviet Union to inspect the decommissioning of nuclear weapons. Sen. Lugar said of Sen. Obama, "He does have a sense of idealism and principled leadership, a vision of the future."



15. Did you know that Barack Obama is the only candidate running for president who voted against using cluster bombs in Iraq and the only candidate who supports banning the use of landmines?



16. Did you know that, as an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama succeeded in passing legislation requiring the videotaping of police interrogations, gaining the respect and support not only of fellow legislators but that of the police, who had initially opposed the legislation?



17. Did you know that Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton were all younger when they took office than Barack Obama will be?

During election season many emails are circulated about the candidates. Some are true, some aren't. It's often difficult to determine the truth. We encourage you to visit the following non-partisan sites that do a good job of fact checking the candidates.

http://www.snopes.com/

http://www.factcheck.org/

Olbermann on Ferraro uproar

March 12: Keith Olbermann gives a special comment on the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y and Geraldine Ferraro connection.

And...Barack Obama Responds on the Ferraro Comments Brilliantly

Imagine Barack.....

When you imagine the President of the United States, what type of person do you see?
Do you imagine a president whose foreign policy is based on facts or fear?
Do you imagine a president with undeniable integrity & good judgement or a history of scandals?
Do you imagine a president who dares to dream or one who calls hope naive?

I imagine a president that inspires people to get involved and participate to create a better country and a better world. Not simply because we want it to happen but because together we will make it happen! That's why I am supporting Barack Obama and volunteering to help his campaign.

Please watch this video (it's less than 2 minutes) and pass it on to anyone who would find it inspiring

A New Hope - A Great Article written by JANN S. WENNER Rolling Stone Magazine

Hillary's Experience

Yes We Can!

1st Day in Austin

On my flight to Austin I was face to face with one reason why this election and this campaign is so important to me. A young man, severely disfigured was welcomed back home from Iraq by his loved ones at the Austin airport. I cried. This war never should have happened and few had the nerve to speak out against it. Barack Obama was one of those rare exceptions.

We canvased a neighborhood today going door to door with our primary objective to remind Obama supporters to go to caucus on Tuesday evening. It rained and it was quite the test of our stamina as the area was plagued by enormous hills and long stretches between each home. The state is big, the homes are big and all of my gym days and running a 5 mile stretch didn't seem to be helping me conquer the uphill trek through this suburb. However, we did make great strides having meaningful conversations with undecided voters and informing Barack supporters about the caucus and advising why they needed to attend. The results well worth every ounce of sweat and a few blisters :-)

Lot's of people here to volunteer from all over the country and I'm so excited to be here to help!! More tomorrow

Obama Headquarters Austin

Audrey, a teacher from Berkley, and I were paired up together the 1st day to canvas. We were a great team! She was absolutely fabulous and so much fun to work with.

Austin Day 2

No rain today, just insanely freezing wind!! But, driven with passion towards a purpose we canvased most of the day. Now, on the 2nd day we had come up with a strategy and with that system covered a lot more ground. We were rewarded with the opportunity to see Michelle Obama speak for a small group, maybe about 200 people and she was fabulous!! See pic above; unfortunately a bit fuzzy. Lot's of great stories from the day but rushing out now - it's the big day!!

Caucus - The Most Archaic Voting System Since the Abacus

The volunteers did such a great job getting people out to vote and caucus that although the voting officially ended at 7:00 it took what seemed like forever to get through the line of people and start the caucus. Understandably, the crowd was getting a bit cranky having to wait around for so long. Fortunately, we had boxes of donuts and bottles of water left over from that morning and I sent Frank's son to buy snacks which we passed out to the crowd. You'll notice some seemingly happy people now that they had something to eat...and it didn't hurt that I was shouting "Austin Rocks"!

Finally, rules have been stated and the real fun begins...the crowd gets in line to sign up for their candidate. Obama on the right, Clinton on the left.

This is what a line of 197 people looks like

It's about 10:00ish and finally the crowd has thinned!! We end the night with (I believe) 17 delegates for Obama and 13 for Clinton

For the few that stayed, we spilt in groups for Obama (above) and Clinton to pick delegates to go to the county convention

Steve, our precinct leader who has been here since 6:30am, is designating the 13 delegates and 13 alternates. We left at 11:00pm but as exhausted as we were, stopped for breakfast taco's for a taste of Austin before we left the next day

Pictures with my Peeps!

We got some help with our campaign from a local mom and her girls. Get em started young!!

Tim, Frank and I at a precinct on Tuesday afternoon. Tim was from N.CA and Frank lived in the neigborhood. We were a great team!! Especially against the single Hillary supporter to our left. Our day started off around 38 degrees, by the time I got to this precenct it was scortching hot and poor Frank got quite the sun burn. Mother nature sure tested us but we were troopers! Frank got the Obama fever from his son who along with a friend also came out to help us.

Audrey and I along with a representative of Dogs for Obama at our 2nd precinct on Tuesday

Election Day morning! Lucas on my left, Audrey on my right and Steve next to her. Steve was "our driver" and canvasing buddy. Steve and Lucas were "in their Lawyer suits" on election day to be the legal eagle watch dogs and they did so brilliantly! Although Steve lost a few points for not being a dog lover he gained a couple back for getting us around town and giving Audrey and I that little extra push we needed towards the end of an exhausting day.

Senator Clinton stumbles on Putin/Medvedev question

Pronounce Medvedev - For All Americans