Archive for July, 2007
Jul 27th, 2007 1:15 PM UTC
By Field
ONE staff drove to Waterloo, IA, to see Gov. Tommy Thompson at Beck’s Sports Bar and Grill. Gov. Thompson is in the middle of his intense 99-county tour before our state’s August 11th Straw Poll.
At the event, ONE members asked him about his plans, if elected, to continue his previous work as Secretary of Health and Human Services, advocating for the issues of global poverty and disease. Gov. Thompson spoke about a program he and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan created to fight disease in 135 countries. He also spoke about his desire to rid the planet of malaria and how attainable the goal is.
After, Gov. Thompson chatted with ONE members and thanked us for our questions. He restated his strong desire to eradicate malaria and told us how much he liked ONE. He ended with a thumbs up and told us to keep up the good work!
- Sarah Sauber, Iowa ONE Vote
Jul 27th, 2007 11:29 AM UTC
By Field
The Clinton campaign partnered with College Democrats to host a party in the Vista in SC complete with food, music, and free tokens to take advantage of the air hockey, arcade games, and pool tables. Campaign workers and convention delegates at the party wore ONE bands and T-shirts, and several people told me how much they love the ONE Campaign and the work we are doing. We banded more people, and many said they’d visit our table at the convention to sign up.
After a short walk down the street we made our way to the Students for Barack Obama after party, which was held at another local hotspot. We met and banded one of the hosts, South Carolina State Representative and USC law student Bakari Sellers at the event. Obama staffers and guests were also wearing their ONE shirts and bands as they danced along to a mix of hip-hop and reggaeton, with a little bit of old school thrown into the mix.
We received compliments and questions about ONE at this party, and banded even more people.
-Marie-Louise Ramsdale
Disappointing but not surprising. This was an amazing effort by all. Never before has such a diverse group come together to support reform that would benefit family farmers here at home and abroad.
Thanks for all the calls, letters, meetings, statements and releases. This was never going to be easy but we made major strides toward reform. The House took the first step, now it is up to the Senate to capitalize on the momentum that has been built.
Farm Bill — The House is debating the rule to consider the Farm Bill now. The Fairness Amendment will be the first amendment considered after the rule is passed.
News on other ONE priorties:
GROWTH Act — Senator Hutchison has agreed to co-sponsor the GROWTH Act bill with Senator Durbin. One of our super volunteers, hand delivered 4,672 letters from ONE members asking Sen. Hutchison to be the lead cosponsor of the bill!
Global Poverty Act – is scheduled for markup on Tuesday, July 31st — We have been working to build committee support for this bill so that it will pass through committee unopposed.
-Erin Erlenborn, ONE Government Relations Director
You can watch on your TV or live online on C-Span.
Yesterday, I was able to band the First Lady and ask her a question about her recent trip to Africa!
At a National Press Club luncheon, Mrs. Bush spoke about her tour through Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali and the importance of foreign aid initiatives.
The question I submitted, asking what most impressed the First Lady during her trip, was the first asked during the question and answer session. Her reply is below.
MRS. BUSH: Well, I think it was hearing the “Lazarus effect,” I mean, these stories of people who were literally dying and then once they were on antiretrovirals they came back to life. But certainly one of the most moving parts is the work that so many groups are doing on ground in Africa. Bruce’s group, the RAPIDS Consortium, have a donor who has given 23,000 bicycles to Zambia, so that the care-givers that we met can literally go door to door in their neighborhoods and find out who needs help.
One of the reasons PEPFAR and these other programs are effective is because we’re working with people who are already on the ground and who can go door to door. And to hear the stories of these care-givers was really very, very inspiring.
Read the full transcript from the First Lady’s remarks here.
-Sarah Crouthers
It started with the NAACP National Convention in Detroit, then it was Art in the Park in Plymouth and this weekend it was the Ann Arbor Art Fair–I tell ya’, the ONE groups in Michigan are on fire. Not only that but the groups banded together to make sure that all of the events were covered by ONE volunteers–Detroit, Ann Arbor, Livonia and Clinton Township! Great work everyone. Here’s a re-cap on the Ann Arbor Art Fair from Yvonne Wyborny, ONE and RESULTS (a ONE partner) member:
“Well, the materials are all packed up, the tent has been disassembled and the 2007 Ann Arbor Art Fair is over. Many more people now know about ONE. The final count is that 563 people signed the ONE declaration over 4 days. For some of the ONE volunteers, it was their first time chance to work a table at an event!”
Highlights include: WCBN-FM, the University of Michigan student-run radio station, came around on Wednesday afternoon to interview ONE and RESULTS member, Lisa Treumuth. The interviewer asked if the U.S. increased foreign aid by 1%, what should it be used for? (Lisa probably thought, “I’m so glad you asked.”) She told listeners about the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the importance of funding global education (and why many children are not in school due to school fees), and microcredit (where poor women get small loans to start micro-businesses to feed their families).
The Michigan groups are now unstoppable and I hope they serve as an inspiration to ONE groups everywhere!
- Katie Andrews, ONE Regional Field Organizer
