I previously shared my experience at the Obama Rally in Florida a few months back, so I thought I would again share some of my photos and impressions of this event with our readers. And while it may have rained on the crowd- it didn't dampen our spirits in the slightest!
The event was held in downtown Fort Lauderdale on the first day of early voting, just blocks from a polling site. I was lucky enough to get a special ticket so I was literally against the railing of the stage. Not too shabby.
(Click pictures to enlarge)
The crowd was warmed up by Congressman Alcee Hastings, an amazing democrat who spoke about how our state and country needed change. He's an incredible speaker and had the crowd going wild.
He was followed by Congressman Robert Wexler, who continued the call for change after 8 years of failed Bush/McCain economic policies. He spoke about the impact on Florida, with huge foreclosure numbers and soaring insurance rates. Wexler also highlighted Obama's support for a national catastrophic insurance fund- a winning issue in Florida and in other states, where many people pay higher insurance premiums than their mortgage payments.
To introduce Clinton, they called in Florida's popular former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. Graham served as Florida's governor from 1979 to 1987 and as the state's U.S. Senator from 1987 to 2005, notably as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Graham also recently came out strongly against Florida's Amendment 2.
Graham spoke about Clinton and Obama, and their hard primary, which he said strengthened both candidates and our party.
Then it was time for the crowd to go completely wild. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took the stage to thunderous applause and chants. She introduced some of the Democratic candidates in tough races against incumbents, including Lind Bird- who is looking to replace the horrendous Jeff Atwater in the Senate. If you can, swing by Linda's website and make a contribution to help her beat Atwater. She is a great friend to our community and to all Floridians.
Clinton launched into her speech, wiping away any doubt that she was fully behind Obama in his push for the White House. Every time I see Clinton speak in person, I am amazed at how she connects with the crowd and can really rally the troops.
Her message was clear: we must get Obama elected.
It did begin to rain quite hard, to which Hillary just put her speech notebook over her head and kept on going, completely speaking off the cuff. Most in the crowd didn't leave (at least from where I was sandwiched to the stage) and just cheered even louder.
Clinton wrapped up the abbreviated version of her speech, once again punctuating why we must all come together and elect Obama.
In a word, she was- AMAZING.
One of the most important and heartening things that came out of the rally for me was the fact that every person around me knew about Florida's Amendment 2 (I had my "Say No 2" button on) and were voting against it. 
The reasons were all different- from not wanting government sticking its nose into people's bedrooms to standing up their LGBT brothers and sisters to seeing it as a Republican led sham to get out conservative voters- everyone was well-educated and fired up about defeating Amendment 2. It gave me hope.
I also thought it was rather funny how only at a Democratic rally would you see random people going around the field and separating the garbage so they could recycle the water bottles from the crowd. You have to love the dedication to our environment.
Walking back to my car, I did notice a McCain Campaign presence. Literally- a single McCain Campaign presence...
Poor thing.
All in all, it was an exciting moment in history and a day I won't soon forget.
Now get to the polls and VOTE!
Which is worse? Being pro-Islam or pro-sadomasochism? Well Mattel -- the maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels -- is being indirectly accused of being pro-Islamic by OneNewsNow and Olive Tree Ministries, and being accused of being by the Concerned Women For America (CWA) of foisting exploitation of women with the new the Black Canary Barbie -- "otherwise known as 'Dominatrix Barbie.'"
First, from OneNewsNow comes the piece Toy giant promoting Islam? From the article:
Some concerned parents have contacted the Mattel toy company with allegations that one of its dolls utters words which promote Islam.The Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo dolls are manufactured by Fisher-Price, which is part of the Mattel toy empire. However, a number of parents contacted the company when they heard the doll say these words: "Islam is the light."
While the doll appears to utter "Islam is the light," the company denies that is actually what it is programmed to say. Mattel insists that Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo features realistic baby sounds, including cooing, giggling, and baby babble, with no real sentence structure. The toy company claims the only scripted word the doll says is "mama."
Mattel also contends that because the original sound track is compressed into a file that can be played through an inexpensive toy speaker, actual sounds may be imprecise or distorted. Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, is skeptical about Mattel's explanation.
Of course Jan is concerned. I'm liking what Gen. Colin Powell said about the far right wing of the Republican Party, as well in general about Muslims more and more as time goes on...
...I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
The Concerned Women For America has their piece up this week accusing Mattel of bad behavior on the other end of the pro-something-bad spectrum, in their piece The Dichotomy of Girls' Toys: Princesses or Prostitots. The CWA believes that a new Barbie doll, dressed to look like DC Comics superhero Black Canary (the Black Canary costume being designed in the Golden Age Of Comics), really is "Dominatrix Barbie."
"Dominatrix Barbie"...Wow. I have a crazy idea: Maybe Mattel might be cross-marketing a Barbie product for Barbie collectors and comic book collectors -- and the primary markets for this product aren't kids at all.
But seriously -- which is it? Is Mattel a pro-Islamic toy company -- or are they a pro-dominatrix/pro-sadomasochism toy company? It seems like it's hard to be both at the same time -- the two things would seem to be mutually exclusive. And I seriously doubt Mattel wants to destroy America -- they sell a lot of products here.
Hey -- I have another crazy, crazy idea: Maybe Mattel is just a toy company trying to sell products to make a profit for their shareholders, and they don't have a pro-Islamic or pro-dominatrix/pro-sadomasochistic slant at all!
And just one more crazy, crazy thought: Maybe OneNewsNow, Olive Tree Ministries, and the Concerned Women for America are the ones having crazy thoughts about Mattel that don't have any foothold in reality! Like I said, it's just a crazy, crazy thought. :P
If Bill Clinton was the first black president, Barack Obama, if elected, will be the first "gay" president. No, I don't mean he'll personally decorate the West Wing, open a bathhouse in the Rose Garden or take up with Barney Frank. I mean he'll be the most radically pro-homosexual, anti-family president in history. He's very quietly pledged as much to the homosexual "Human Rights Campaign" and other fawning members of his homofascist fan club....While Barack Obama may hail from Illinois, Hawaii, Kenya or wherever, his set of core principles - his values - discernibly stem from the underbelly of San Francisco's hyper-sexualized Castro District. The very San Francisco values that brought you the behaviorally driven homosexual AIDS epidemic, San Francisco's public Folsom Street orgy and the preposterous and oxymoronic notion of "gay marriage" are the same values embraced by both homosexual activists and Obama, the latest politico to make 'em light in their loafers.
...He's additionally sworn to turn the U.S. military into a cultural petri dish. Having no military experience of his own, he would nonetheless arrogantly disregard the vast majority of our military leaders and allow open homosexuals and cross-dressers to infiltrate the ranks of the armed forces - during a time of war - thereby disrupting military readiness and unit cohesion. To use the armed forces for such radical social experimentation is both dangerous and gravely irresponsible.
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