Hillsborough-CH-Carrboro Presidential Debate Dessert Party is Oct 15.

Come watch the 9 pm debate with us.  Bring undecided voters with you and help them decide.  You are welcome to bring a dessert, a drink, an Obama campaign donation or just your valuable own self.  So we know how many are coming, please register at http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/debatewatchparty/gs5yl7

Come at 8 to make phone calls together for Barack. Bring a cell phone and a laptop. (Credo and Sprint work best here.)

Our house is smack dab between Carrboro and Hillsborough.

Rally at the Big Barn in Hillsborough is Oct 19, 5:30 - 8:00 pm.  Meet and talk to State and Local office holders and candidates. Bands and singers. Local and state candidates. Food and drink available for purchase. Come join us for this historic OCDP event.  Socialize and talk politics with fellow Democrats.  We want to see your face in the place!  YES, YOU CAN!  For more information, call Ron or Cathy at 919-563-1111.

Directions:  The Big Barn is at 388 Ja-Max Drive in Daniel Boone Village, on S. Churton Street (Old NC 86).  From where I-85 (at exit 164) crosses over S. Churton St., go 1/5 mile north (toward Hillsborough), turn right on James J Freeland Memorial Dr, and then right on Ja-Max drive.  The Big barn is on the right.  Or go to www.theshopsatdanielboone.com/convention.html for directions.

How you can help:

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Governor Easley last nigh:   why is NC now a swing state?

... potentially a Blue Vote For President - the first time since Jimmy Carter in 2008.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27087579/

We say: because EVERYONE is working hard to convince every Obama Voter to get to the polls...

This year EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

1. October 12     Sunday come to the Cuppa joe's at Timberlyne. You can  come at one or at four pm. Look for a card table near the Chelsea  Theater and Cuppa Joe's.
There will be training provided, Anyone can do this. Very rewarding work. Knock For Barack. Help turn NC Blue. (let us know if you are interested in doing this saturday, sunday, monday or tuesday...we may have some work for you.)

2. Any Day or Night         Phone-banking is going on every day and night  at the Obama HQ on Rosemary Street. Show up when you have an hour  free. Bring a laptop if you have one. If you come and want to call  your own street, that may be possible. Let us know.

3. Between Oct 10-22   Help get out the vote on your block. Deliver Early Voting Information. AND/OR  Help staff the greeter tables at the Five Sites during Same DAY voting
            Reply to this email for instructions.

4. Vote Early October 16-Nov 1. Five sites and lots of hours to vote ahead of Election Day.  Not registered? One stop early voting registers you.

We can not afford to let up. This is not one of those hopeless causes. Our Votes Maybe Very important.

McCain-Bush Record on Troop and Veterans’ Issues

·  McCain suggested that the war in Iraq could be won with a "smaller" force.  "But the fact is I think we could go in with much smaller numbers than we had to do in the past. But I don't believe it's going to be nearly the size and scope that it was in 1991." (CBS News, Face the Nation, 9/15/02)

 ·  McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care.  Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

·  McCain Voted At Least 28 Times Against Veterans’ Benefits, Including Healthcare.   Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 28 times against ensuring important benefits for America’s veterans, including providing adequate healthcare. (2006 Senate Vote #7, 41, 63, 67, 98, 222; 2005 Senate Votes #55, 89, 90, 251, 343; 2004 Senate Votes #40, 48, 145; 2003 Senate Votes #74, 81, 83; 1999 Senate Vote #328; 1998 Senate Vote #175; 1997 Senate Vote #168; 1996 Senate Votes #115, 275; 1995 Senate Votes #76, 226, 466; 1994 Senate Vote #306; 1992 Senate Vote #194; 1991 Senate Vote #259)

·  Veterans Groups Give McCain Failing Grades.  In its most recent legislative ratings, the non-partisan Disabled American Veterans gave Sen. McCain a 20 percent rating for his voting record on veterans’ issues.  Similarly, the non-partisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a "D" grade for his poor voting record on veterans’ issues, including McCain’s votes against additional body armor for troops in combat and additional funding for PTSD and TBI screening and treatment.

·  McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans.  McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

·  McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs.  McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

·  McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs.  McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)

·  McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs.  McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)

·  McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs.  McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

·  McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding.  McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

·  McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs.  McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

·  McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders.  McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

·  McCain opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care.  McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

·  McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care.  McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

·  McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs.  McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

·  McCain Opposed the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Was Too Generous.  McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would "encourage more people to leave the military." (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

·  Disabled American Veterans Legislative Director Said That McCain’s Proposal Would Increase Costs For Veterans Because His Plan Relies On Private Hospitals Which Are More Expensive and Which Could Also Lead To Further Rationing Of Care.  "To help veterans who live far from VA hospitals or need specialized care the VA can’t provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans and those who incurred injury during their service a card they could use at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care and access to it, he said. Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could lead to further rationing of care, he said." (Las Vegas Sun, 8/10/08)

Lack of Support for the Troops

·  McCain co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization.  McCain supported the bill that gave President George W. Bush the green light--and a blank check--for going to war with Iraq. (SJ Res 46, 10/3/02)