ONE Member Michael Castaldo of Dover, New Hampshire recently wrote in this excellent letter to the editor of the Foster’s Daily Democrat. It was so well done and well deserved, I hope Michael doesn’t mind if I re-post it here in full:

Don’t trim fat on the backs of the poor

To the editor: Right now, the world faces historic challenges. The economic downturn in our country has affected my own family with furloughs and fewer work hours, resulting in smaller wages. But I know that I am not the only Granite Stater, or American that is feeling the tough times. Sadly, so too, does much of the world feel the economic squeeze. But for the world’s poorest people who live in extreme poverty the margins are somewhat finer, and sometimes a matter of life and death.

I am proud to say that under the leadership of President Bush, a small portion of our meager International Assistance budget has been supporting The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, and TB. This fund provides lifesaving medicines to people around the world and it is both accountable and transparent. It is a tremendously effective program and has won high praise for its nonpartisan, fair and compassionate approach — not divvying aid based on our personal interests, but instead valuing every life as important as the next. All the time, the program demands good governance and implements sustainable and empowering long-term solutions.

If I break a promise I made, I lose something intangible. But if our nation breaks our promise to the Global Fund, lives will be lost. It is impossible to calculate how many, but what is certain is that over two million people are alive today who would not be, because of the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund. This is a proven program that is demonstrating results by saving millions of lives and improving our global reputation around the world.

Yet for all the good it does and all the accolades it receives, there are some in the Congress that are not putting their full weight behind fully funding the Global Fund and behind keeping our promise. I call on both Senator Shaheen and Senator Gregg, the ranking member on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, to firmly stand behind the Global Fund. I ask that they stand up, and find the funds that will help save lives around the world. Make no mistake, the current fiscal crisis makes these international decisions difficult, but turning away now is antithetical to our own interests and beliefs — it is against who we are and what we believe. We need to trim the fat of government, but don’t do it with the lives of the world’s poorest.

Michael Castaldo

Last Friday, ONE was featured on a segment of WMUR-TV Channel 9’s show called New Hampshire Chronicle. The segment explains what ONE is, as well as highlighting our historic efforts during the 2008 First in the Nation New Hampshire Primary and beyond.

Tom Hart, ONE’s Director of Government Relations also makes an appearance, as does “ONE’s Marine”, Michael Castaldo.

All ONE members should know: We are not there yet, but we are headed in the right direction!

Go ONE!

-Matthew Bartlett

Michael Castaldo, better know as “ONE’s Marine”, has an Op-Ed in yesterday’s New Hampshire Union Leader, the only statewide newspaper in NH.

In his piece, Michael mentions ONE, and lays out the reasons why the US cannot turn away from the world’s poorest people even in these tough times.

Many of you may remember Michael from his work on the campaign trail and when he joined ONE in DC last month to help accept the CGD award. He is a cook at a local restaurant, a former Marine, a husband, and a father to 3 boys.

He is also a tireless and brilliant advocate for ONE and the world’s poorest people.

Here’s an excerpt from his Op-Ed:

“I KNOW Americans don’t have it easy right now. Among my own circle of family and friends, I can count many who have lost their jobs, their homes, their life savings, their retirement portfolios. These are challenging times. So, it might be a bad time to talk to my neighbors about why it’s important for Americans to continue our generosity to the world’s poor. However, the moment could not be more appropriate to stay the course in the fight to end global poverty because, what happens there affects us here. It’s not an either/or decision: We can help the world’s poor and ourselves.

The U.S. government provides less than one-half of one percent of the entire federal budget to support international development efforts, amounting to $22 billion in 2007. For those who’d say that those dollars are better used here than in faraway places, let me tell you why the reverse is just as imperative.”

You can read the full piece here.

Go Michael!

Go ONE!

-Matthew Bartlett

Vote here to send ONE super volunteer Michael Castaldo – or ONE’s Marine – to the 2008 presidential conventions to advocate for ONE. (If he wins, this group will send Michael to the Republican and Democratic conventions.)

-Virginia Simmons

Got this message from our super volunteer, and former marine, Michael up in NH today today:

“if i win this i get to go to one of the conventions, a press pass, and the chance to ask the next president if they will end extreme poverty and preventable disease.”

vote here

and tell your friends – vote early and vote often!!!

talk to you soon,

Michael Castaldo

Check out the January 1, 2008 Reuters piece on former marine and ONE super activist Michael Castaldo.

Excerpt below:

RYE, N.H., Jan 1 (Reuters) – The war in Iraq, the war on terrorism and how to improve America’s image abroad are hot issues as presidential hopefuls court New Hampshire voters before the state’s Jan. 8 nominating primary.

But former U.S. Marine Michael Castaldo has been working tirelessly since February to focus voters on another foreign-policy issue — how the United States can do more to combat extreme poverty in places like Africa, eradicate malaria, combat AIDS/HIV and secure fair trade rules for poor nations.

As a volunteer for the One Campaign — an alliance of more than 100 charities funded by Irish rock star Bono and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — Castaldo says he has attended more than 200 campaign appearances since February…

Castaldo — who served as a Marine from 1984 to 1990, votes Republican and is an atheist — attends as many campaign events as time permits to press Republicans and Democrats alike to signal their support for One’s agenda.

Those tactics seem to be paying off. At almost every McCain campaign stop in the Granite State, the Republican from Arizona hands over his microphone to a One volunteer to tell voters about its agenda.

Castaldo asks candidates questions and says he gets supportive answers from Democrats, including front-runners Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama as well as from Republicans including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani….

Since taking up the cause in earnest, Castaldo says he has clocked 10,000 miles (16,000 km) driving across New Hampshire and donated more than 2,000 hours of his time. A former stockbroker and now a full-time homemaker, he and his wife have three children — one with autism and one with Asperger’s disorder, a related condition.

Read the full piece here.

-Virginia Simmons

Sen. McCain is campaigning in New Hampshire right now and held a full day of town hall meetings all over the Granite State.

ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo caught up with him in Dover Saturday morning and send in this ONE report!

When the senator arrived with special guest, Gov. Pawlenty of Minn, there were at least 400 people there and I must have talked to half of them about the ONE Campaign. Sen. McCain gave his stump speech peppered with well timed jokes, and serious and poignant reflections on what makes America great and what can make it greater. Improve America’s reputation. Improve global health.

After the meeting broke, it was a chance for everyone to meet him. But I had my sights set on Gov. Pawlenty. After waiting , and waiting – it was a big enthusiastic crowd – for the crowd to thin…I had my reward. Not only did I get to introduce myself and ONE, but the Gov. told me about the conversation he had on “the straight talk express” prior to arriving in Dover.

Gov. Pawlenty asked Sen. McCain what to expect from the crowd. Sen. McCain replied: “It’s a good bunch – but there is a special lot, there are these activists, but they are not the in your face kind, they do not jump up and down and scream, they are very polite and respectful, they behave with dignity and decorum – like they want to represent the bottom billion people they say they do, in a favorable light. It is a group called the ONE Campaign and you will see them at almost every stop”.

Gov. Pawlenty told me that he was taken aback because although he was aware of the ONE Campaign, he was not ready to hear such a strong endorsement from Sen. McCain on the bus when no one else was listening.