Lights! Camera! Reform!

In an effort the further push his health care reform agenda, President Obama is enlisting the help of the people who would be most likely effected by the change to health care. These people being you and I. In partnership with Obama’s website, Organizing for America, the President is calling American citizens to submit 30 second videos explaining why health care is important to them, and why this reform is so vital to the improvement of lives in this nation. As personal as health care is to each and every one of us, it’s important to highlight how significant good health care coverage can save lives and families. Our stories may never be the same, but our cause surely can be. So here’s the challenge:

Create the best 30 second video you can that makes the case for passing health insurance reform in 2009. This is a complex and often personal issue, and there’s way more angles to cover than anyone can squeeze into 30 seconds. So here are some themes to consider as you choose what to focus on:

The need for reform

•  Personal stories: It’s hard to get more powerful than sharing a personal story about how the broken status quo has affected you and the ones you love.

•  The cost of inaction: There’s lots to cover about how spiraling costs are breaking the budgets of families, governments and businesses, and the high price we’ll all pay if we don’t act.

•  The opponents of reform: It’s amazing the levels some will stoop in order to score political points or protect their profits. This is your chance to call them out.

The President’s plan

•  For those with insurance, the President’s plan will provide more security and stability. You won’t get cut off for being sick, face discrimination because of your gender, or run up against an annual or lifetime cap ever again.

•  For those without insurance, the plan will guarantee affordable options so that every American finally gets the peace of mind and quality care we deserve.

•  And it will rein in out-of-control health care costs and accomplish reform without adding a dime to the deficit.

Your video can be serious or funny. It can feature charts and graphs or satire and songs. It can just be you with a good idea in front of a basic web camera, or it can be a special effects filled mini-spectacular. Just keep it to 30 seconds, keep it honest, and make sure that folks who see it will be fired up about passing health reform in 2009.

President Obama seems to be sticking to his grassroots background, the same initiative that got him his Presidency in the first place. This is the best possible way for American citizens to make their voices heard amongst the complaining and fighting between the Democratic and Republican parties. The same bickering that seems to be taking the place of rational conversation between these two groups, causing our politicians to forget who this reform will most effect: The American people. So if you’ve got a story, the President wants the hear it! Deadline for submission will is October 18, 2009. After the submissions are judged by a panel of hand picked Obama officials, college students, and even a few celebrities, the winning video will be aired nationally. That’s right, you could be on television urging our nations leaders to create better health care coverage for the American people!

For rules and regulations or if you have any questions or would like to see sample videos, check out Organizing for America.

President Barack Obama and his lovely wife Michelle took their first trip abroad this past week as President and First Lady. The Obamas’ arrived in England last Tuesday to kick off an eight day, five country trip in which he’ll meet with European leaders and dive head first in the demanding task of improving the United States’ image and relations with foreign countries. His first order of business was the G20 Summit in London to address the global financial crisis among a group of 20 wealthy and developing nations that together represent 85 percent of the worlds economy.

While her husband met with the leaders of many important and influential nations, Michelle Obama enchanted Europe with her personal style and elegance. Although she captivated the Europeans, it was First Lady Obama’s personal approach which truly won over the public’s opinion. She took to sightseeing in France, met Queen Elizabeth II (whom she hugged and was asked to keep in touch with), made a surprise visit to an inner city school in London and gave a speech on the importance of believing in one’s self.

According to several news polls, President Obama’s European tour was a success in the eyes of the American people. About 79 percent of Americans who were surveyed felt that the President’s trip had a positive effect on how the people of other countries view the USA. On his way back to the U.S. President Obama made a surprise visit to Iraq. He met with members of the U.S. military and took part in the awarding of 10 medals of valor.

In less than three months Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and the entire State Department, have embarked on a digital diplomacy overhaul aimed at spreading the word about American foreign policy and restoring Washington’s tainted image. This overhaul, being a part of a broader internet outreach by the Obama administration, has already surpassed Clinton’s predecessors.

Here’s the rundown:

• They’ve revamped the State Department website and blog to include colorful graphics and exciting new features, one of which allows the user to sound off on how Secretary Clinton should handle situations that may arise during her tenure.
• You can track Clinton’s foreign travels on an interactive map.
• You can keep up virtually with the Secretary’s every move via outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, Flicker, and YouTube.
• Before you could only pose questions in the departments ‘Ask the Secretary’ column which has now been changed to also include a  ‘Text the Secretary’ option.

I’m excited for this change. It makes Secretary Clinton WAY more accessible than any of the men and women that sat in her seat before. Just imagine being able to track her travels, post questions about her progress, and even follow her department on Twitter. It all may seem a bit overwhelming but its nice to know that this Administration actually wants to know what we think about the activities taking place in the world.

Be sure to check out the links above and make your voice heard!

Since March is Women’s History Month, this seemed appropriate to tell everyone about.  President Obama signed an executive order officially creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. The Council was designed to ensure that federal agencies pay extreme attention to the way their policies impact women and families.

President Obama signed the order March 11th and said that he wanted to ensure that areas such as equal pay, childcare, and family leave, are not just women’s issues but economic, social, and family issues as well. The council will work on improving women’s economic security and women’s health care, finding innovative ways to prevent violence against women, as well as developing family friendly policies.

The White House Council on Women and Girls will be headed by President Obama’s senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, who also happens to be a single mother. She will lead a group of Cabinet secretaries and other administration officials in their crusade to ensure America is a better place for women and girls.

Check the video below of President Obama explaining his decision to create the Council:

DJ Z-Trip put together a “Victory Lap” mix for MoveOn.org and it’s available for free download here. He dropped Part I of the mix back in October and you can download that mix for free as well here. Enjoy!

DJ Zita and DMadness were recently burglarized and and the vandals stole ALL of their DJ equipment, laptop, jewelry, and many other personal belongings.  All proceeds from the door & the silent auction this night will go to helping them back on their feet.  Bay Area all-stars VINROC, PLATURN, MR. E, SHREDONE, DJ Zita, plus Knowmadic residents DMADNESS & MPENZI will be takin’ it back with old school hip hop and R&B.   They also have some dope items in the Silent Auction… a framed Shephard Fairey Obama HOPE poster, 2 Mixerfriendly canvases, an exclusive pair of Mama Adidas w/ matching black velvet New Era hat, an autographed copy of Jeff Chang’s book, an autographed copy of Bryant Terry’s book Grub, paintings, mix CD packs and more! Save the date!  Come out, have some fun, and in true “season of giving” spirit, help raise funds to help them out.  Details about the event after the jump

Everyday this week, Upper Playground and Fifty24SF are hosting a different contest each day to win Obama Prints that are valued at $200 each. For today’s contest, 5 copies of the Alex Pardee Obama print are up for grabs. The print is signed and numbered out of 200. To win, go to Upper Playground’s Facebook page and retrieve a clue, then go to Fifty24SF’s Myspace page and retrieve another clue. Then, find the video on the Upper Playground video channel that matches the two clues and post the name of it on UP’s Facebook page discussion board. Sound complicated? It’s not. Go do it! Good Luck!!

Also, along with this contest, Upper Playground and Fifty24SF are hosting a weeklong art competition where you have the opportunity to submit your own Obama print to Fifty24SF. To do so post your print entry’s to the Fifty24SF Gallery Facebook “Fan Photos” section. The winner they choose will receive five different prints from UP’s Obama series of prints, and the winning art will be featured as UP’s and Fifty24SF’s profile pic on Myspace and Facebook for all of next week leading up to the election. Your 15 minutes may be almost here!

Tina Fey told TVGuide she’ll be “done” if John McCain and Sarah Palin win the election next month.

The “SNL” vet told the ‘Guide:

“We’re gonna take it week by week. If she wins, I’m done. I can’t do that for four years. And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth.”

Tina Fey can do pretty much anything. So I totally believe her when she says she’ll do a Stephen Hawking and hop a Virgin Galactic rocket to space…Okay, she didn’t say that exactly…but you get what I’m trying to say—VOTE OBAMA!

Set 3 & 4 are on the awesome side.

For more info and/or to purchase: Trollback + Obama

We recently posted about “The Party for Change�? fundraisers for the Obama campaign put on by the amazing duo of Shepard Fairey and DJ Z-Trip. Z-Trip has generously put the mix he was doing at these shows online, in hopes of spreading the word to people who need to hear it most.

So, here it is: Click the image below to download and please read the message from Z-Trip below…

I encourage you to download it and pass it along to anyone you think should hear it. Feel free to burn copies, share it with friends, family, co-workers, strangers, and especially anyone you know is on the fence about this election. I’m also putting out a radio friendly version, in case anyone wants to broadcast it.

Please share the message. Educate those who may not know what is really going on. There is still time.

If you, or anyone you know, isn’t registered to vote, I encourage you to make it a priority and fix that before it’s too late. This election is WAY too important for anyone to not get involved. If you need more information on how and where to register, vote, or participate, please check the links below.

I honestly feel if we make our voices heard, this time WILL be different.

Peace,

Z-TRIP