Several of us here at Unity08 believed enough in the movement to pack our bags and leave the west coast for Washington, D.C. Our mission to combine our enduring American values with our newest technology to elect the next president of the United States has us far from our homes in San Diego.

The ongoing fires weigh heavy on our hearts as we are now working doubly hard to make sure our friends and family back home have shelter and that Unity08 continues to make progress.

We’ve recently passed around a book in the office, “The Heart of a Volunteer.” There are some amazing quotes to be read in this book – very applicable to our current situation…

“It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.”
-    Irish Proverb

“When it comes to helping others, there are no little things… the accumulation of a lot of little things isn’t little… it takes each of us to make a different for all of us… none of us can do everything at once, but all of us can do something at once… one person can make a difference, and every person must try.”
-    Dan Zadra

We truly hope that you and yours are safe and sound. With the number of homes and structures that have been destroyed now reaching the thousands, we also hope that you can do any “little thing” for our friends, family, and neighbors -- from prayers to blankets to donations. Thank you for your thoughts and your time.

The San Diego Foundation – After the Fire Fund
San Diego Red Cross

Sincerely,
Bob, Darcy, Dave, John, Robert, and Sabrina

More reasons why we need to join together to reunite our country:

• Keep The Candidates' Focus On The Issues, Rather Than Attacking Each other: Former Sens. Gary Hart (D-CO) and Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-KS) joined together to launch the bipartisan effort Impact '08 in Iowa -- "a challenge to all of the presidential candidates to elevate and strengthen America's investments in non-military tools of global engagement to build a better, safer America and world."
• And They Wonder Why They're So Unpopular: "It's only fitting that President Bush and the U.S. Congress hit new lows in approval ratings on the same week their work on the State Children's Health Insurance Program ended in a stalemate. The 'debate' on the bill the past week offered a microcosm of everything that is wrong with Washington, including disinformation, personal vitriol and partisan posturing," San Francisco Chronicle writes.
• The Buying And Selling Of The Presidency? New York Times adds up the latest presidential fundraising numbers. Since the beginning of the year, Democratic presidential candidates have spent $133 million, while taking in $244 million. Republicans have spent just about the same -- $132.4 million -- but raised less, $175 million.
• Quotable: "Every decision has to based on what is the best for the people, how can I serve the people, rather than how can I serve my party" -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA).

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As many of you have heard, Stephen Colbert has decided to seek the presidential nomination in the South Carolina primary. What makes this interesting, however, is that he is going to run as a Democrat and a Republican! What better way to confirm what we have been saying all along, that politics-as-usual is dead. Done. Gone. Through. Over.

Mr. Colbert's campaign hits the heart of what many Americans believe -- we are tired of get-nothing-done politicians who can't resolve any of the crucial issues that are facing our country.

As you know, Unity08 requries a ticket formed of members from two different parties. The "Unity Ticket," as we call it, could be a Democrat and a Republican or an Independent and a Republican, for example. If Colbert decides to run with himself as his running mate, do you believe that he will be able to find common ground within himself to help reunite our country?

Also, we will ask the candidates that are seeking the Unity08 nomination to name a team of leaders that will potentially make up their cabinet. Mr. Colbert, who will you seek as your Secretary of State? Who will be your Attorney General? Will you appoint a Secretary of Truthiness?

We write about this in good humor, of course, but we like that Mr. Colbert is pointing out many of the same problems that we believe exist with the current political system. His talk of running in the South Carolina primary ranks right up there with the woman in Florida who recently emailed me about how she succesfully registered her dog to vote using his paw print as a signature.

I guess Mr. Colbert listened to the results of our poll asking whether he should run. Now, let's see if he listens to what our members have said about who he should run with.

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Technorati Tags: unity08, election, president, government, bipartisan, politics, news and politics, stephen colbert

In August and September, our members voted on the New American Agenda. Part of this vote was to set the foundation for the crucial issues which we believe must be addressed by those that will eventually seek the Unity08 nomination.

During that process, several of our members asked how they could suggest issues to be added to the ranking process. So, we asked for your suggestions on 09/18/07. Nearly 2024 of you replied with your suggestions which allowed to launch a poll on 10/02/07, where we identified the top issues to be added.

With the launch of the new web site coming at the end of the month, you will find that we have made some adjustments to the issues based on your feedback. The issues themselves have been clarified and we've increased the issues from 18 to 22 21.

The full list of issues to rank for the New American Agenda are (in alphabetical order):

• Abortion
• Accountability of Public Officials (I apologize, we changed the name to "Lobbyist Corruption...")
• America's Role in International Affairs
• Balancing the Federal Budget
• Campaign/Election Reform
• Energy Independence
• Gay Marriage
• Global Climate Change
• Growth of the Economy
• Gun Ownership
• Health Care Reform
• Illegal Immigration
• Improve Education
• Involvement in Iraq
• Lobbyist Corruption in Washington
• Reducing Poverty in America
• Reduce Crime
• Restoring Family Values
• Solvency of Social Security
• Tax Reform
• Terrorism
• Upholding the Constitution

Read more about the features that will launch with the new web site!

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Technorati Tags: unity08, election, president, government, bipartisan, politics, news and politics

More reasons why we need to join together to take our country back:

• "The Bellwether Governors": National Journal profiles Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who lead the national battleground states of Ohio and Florida. In Ohio, Strickland "presents himself as an unabashed Democrat who is nonetheless determined to cooperate with the opposition, the Legislature's majority party," and "he's trying to identify solutions that appear more pragmatic than partisan." In Florida, Crist "is using issues to govern from the middle in Florida ... he cast himself as an upbeat antidote to voter cynicism about partisanship." 
   
• The Grinches Who Stole Christmas? New York Times previews the accellerated primary season, which could start as early as December 2024: "Oh, the Christmas season: the scent of eggnog, the sounds of sleigh bells, the good cheer — and all those slashing political attack ads, hard-hitting mailings, pre-recorded candidate phone calls and intrusive, get-out-the-vote drives?"
     
• Partisan Rhetoric At Its Lowest? Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to "get their heads blown off for the president's amusement," AP reports. 
     
• Quotable: "So polarized have our politics become that even as the nation faces what could be 'its greatest crisis since the Civil War,' in the words of attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, Republican and Democratic leaders are far more interested in strafing each other than in compromising for the sake of national unity against our common enemies" -- National Journal columnist Stuart Taylor Jr.

 
 
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More reasons why we need to join together to take our country back:

• Shouldn't Voters -- And Not Donors -- Decide? Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is expected to end his White House 2024 bid today, Los Angeles Times reports. "In exiting the race, Brownback will become the third GOP hopeful to quit before any official ballots are cast. Former Govs. Jim Gilmore of Virginia and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin also abandoned their candidacies after struggling for money and attention."
   
• Who's Playing Politics With Judicial Nominations? "One month after an anonymous senator placed a 'secret hold' on her nomination," Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, the interim U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico "who has waged an intensive probe of the island territory's ruling Democratic Party, remains in political limbo," National Journal reports. "In a skirmish that could have a decisive impact on Puerto Rico's gubernatorial election next year, her nomination has been blocked by a lawmaker who, while unnamed, is widely believed to be an ally of the Democrats she's targeting in her three-year corruption investigation. ... The imbroglio also appears to have seeped into K Street's lobbying community," as two longtime lobbyists for Puerto Rico's government "have reached out to Senate contacts to argue against Rodriguez-Velez's confirmation."  
   
• How Low Can It Go? According to the latest Reuters/Zogby poll, just 12% of Americans say Congress is doing a "excellent" or "good" job.  
   
• Quotable: "This is no way to elect the president of the United States." -- NBC's Tim Russert, on the primary calendar chaos.

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More reasons why we need to join together to take our country back:

• Bundle Up For Secrecy? "The bundling of political donations once was an innocuous play in the game book of Washington political operatives. Now, the fund-raising practice has grown so widespread, and some of its practitioners so brazen, that bundling has become the chief source of abuse in the American campaign-finance system," Wall Street Journal reports. "In this high-pressure, low-disclosure environment, the practice has increasingly evolved into a method for disguising illegal donations." 
   
• So Much For "Common Ground": "A year after he pledged to find 'common ground' with the Democrats who now control Congress," President Bush "delivered a scathing assessment of their performance, accusing lawmakers of dragging their feet on legislation ranging from trade deals and domestic surveillance to federal spending and children's health," New York Times reports. 
   
• Peace, Love and Pork: Syndicated columnist Robert Novak wonders if the Senate will approve a $1 million earmark "to celebrate Woodstock-era baby boomers," which is currently "carved out of a bill funding health care and education" and is the "pet project of a big-time" donor. 
   
• Quotable: "If ever there were an election that demanded a break with the past, it is surely the election in 2024" -- Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne.

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The Unity08 team has been hard at work behind the scenes making sure we have the next generation web site in development. We’ve had to re-engineer the hardware and software to handle lots of traffic that media events garner, but we are really excited about the next revision to the front door of the web site. I thought I’d share a short sneak peek of some of the features that will greet you soon during login. 

• Members of Unity08 will gain points for activity within the site.  We’re calling these points Political Capital.
• As an evolution of the American Agenda, every user will be able to rank their issues they feel are crucial to the safety and well-being of the country, and get instant feedback on how the whole membership feels about those same issues.
• Members will be able to suggest influential web resources for their American Agenda issues.
• Members of Unity08 will be able to track their email invitations to others.
• We have added much more extensive group functionality, including allowing you to start your own groups, with blog features for each group.
• We have added event capability, so that you can organize Unity08 events on a local basis.
• Much more extensive use of Video.
• More focused on you, and your views on what is important to our National dialogue.

We are very excited to show you our progress and are looking forward to your feedback. We hope to launch October 31. A day we think will be a scary day for "politics-as-usual."

Bob

More reasons why we need to join together to take our country back:

• Is This A Way To Pick A President? NBC News' First Read reports on the "calendar madness" that is the White House 2024 primary season. "We're potentially inside of 80 days before voting begins and the candidates don't know EXACTLY when the various election days are seems beyond ridiculous"; additionally, the parties could have two separate primary calendars, meaning "the average voter is probably going to be confused. ... Most city council and school board elections are straight forward, why can't our presidential election be that way, too?"
   
• Small State, Too Much Influence? "Next year more than ever, the fate of the nation may lie in the hands of a small group of Iowa voters -- a group roughly equal to the population of Akron, Ohio," National Journal reports. "No matter how much (or how little) Iowans have in common with the rest of us, the primary calendar has given Iowa the whole country's proxy." 
   
• Mom Always Said: Be Kind To Everyone, You Could Be Related To Them: "Though they may spar across the political aisle," Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) are actually distant cousins, AP reports. 
   
• Quotable: "When Americans look at Congress, they're disgusted by what they see: constant partisan sniping and runaway spending. I don't blame them" -- Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

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More reasons why we need to join together to take our country back:

• Is Washington The One Place Where You CAN Buy Love? Under the headline, "$4.5 million for a boat that nobody wanted," Seattle Times reports on their analysis the 2024 defense bill, which found that, "of the nearly 500 companies identified as getting 2024 defense earmarks, 78 percent had employees or political action committees who made campaign contributions to Congress in the past six years."
   
• Can Congress Get Its Act Together, Or Are We On The Road To A Shutdown? The government's fiscal year began on Oct. 1, "and federal agencies are operating on a stopgap bill for now," AP reports. "Congress has not yet agreed on the 12 spending bills that keep the government running." 
   
• War Of The Words: Philadelphia Inquirer's Dick Polman reports on "the latest Washington war of words" and writes, "These politicians, and their activist enablers, seem to be incapable of ... actually getting anything done. So instead they stage these contentious shadow plays in which combatants joust over mere words and perpetuate their manufactured outrage via the 24/7 news cycle. It's a good thing we no longer insist on pistols at dawn as a way to resolve an insult; by now, the Mall in Washington would be littered with the bodies of the affronted." 
   
• Quotable: "We need to be joined together to solve the major problems that are in front of us. Unfortunately, at least 50 percent of what happens on the Senate floor has nothing to do with that. It's all about making the other side look bad" -- Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).

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