Something about Community, that brings us together (Obama ’08)

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It’s been said that it takes a village.  Or if we address it by its official distinction:

It takes a village to raise a child.

However, if there is one thing that this campaign has taught us:  

It takes a nation to exhibit change

Taken in Grant Park, Chicago when Barack Obama was announced President - Special Thanks to Laura for taking this picture!

We’ve been on a long road these many centuries and we’ve made changes which have shaped not only this nation, but also the world.   When Barack Obama was announced President Elect, parties rang out in the streets across the world.    Some people who hold on dearly and tightly to their ideals hoping the world will not change, sadly were in for a rude awakening.   This was the straw which broke the proverbial camels back.   The world is always changing, the question you must ask yourself; do you want to be an agent of change? In line with the early adopters and the innovators, there has never been a better opportunity in our life times to not only watch change happen but to be part of the evolution of change.

It takes a child to raise a village.  And it takes you to change a nation.

"Preferential Treatment" for minorities called unconstitutional a court has ruled

These two articles came across my desk this morning:

In the News: DOD loses minority contractor rule

Court strikes down DOD’s minority contractor rule

Basically put, this was a law put in place calling for minority-owned companies to receive 5% of Defense contracting dollars.

What did Congress have to say on this issue?

The court ruled that since Congress did not have strong enough evidence of discrimination against minority contractors by the Defense Department, the law violates the Constitution’s equal rights protection.

Or to quote:

“Because Congress did not have a ‘strong basis in evidence’ upon which to conclude that DOD was a passive participant in pervasive, nationwide racial discrimination … the statute fails strict scrutiny,” Chief Judge Paul R. Michel wrote in Tuesday’s decision.

So, what does this mean for the future?

Technically on paper this means that all qualified defense contractors will be able to put up for bid to compete on projects – and then the “Lowest Price” effectively will win every time.

This will certainly raise the chances that not only will smaller defense contractors find it harder to compete with “WalMart” sized defense contractors, but we’ll see the already shrinking budgets being delivered to an even smaller minority of majority contractors.

Only time will tell whether the court ruling on its ‘lack of evidence’ will continue to be so apparent.

Do you have a ticket for the biggest political event in a century? Tutorial/FAQ!

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Do you have a ticket for what is the biggest political event in a century, or even more?

If you do, you’d receive something looking like this from the Democratic Party.

If you saw my previous post on what the “You got it” or “You’ve been wait-listed” emails look like, you are likely in this very position of either having this ticket, or planning on going ticket-less down for the festivities! (Unless you plan on partying with Biz Markie!)

 

So, here we are, a day away – Ticket or no ticket in hand.  How do you plan to prepare for this?

By now, if you haven’t read the FAQ on how to handle yourself on the grounds, it’s a good time to get that FAQ all read up!

The raw logistics:

  • They will start letting people into the Ticketed event at 8:30PM
  • The only entrance (ticket or non) is on Congress Parkway at Michigan Avenue
  • Take Public Transit – No Street Parking, and Parking lots will be considerably full
  • Don’t bring bags, chairs, strollers, alcohol, – Try to keep it to a small purse
  • Nothing has been said about Cameras, Camcorders, Phones – So that sounds safe
  • This will be a standing room event only – wear sensible shoes!
  • If violence breaks out, remain calm and let the many Security folks do their jobs
  • ~1400 Police will be on duty for this event
  • Get out there and VOTE! before coming. I voted last week. :)
  • Bring valid Identification – No need to get a hassle there. (I got my new ID today)

So, hopefully this little Tutorial/FAQ helps to provide you the right information for this once in a lifetime event in our worlds history.

Feel free to say Hello if you see me out there in the crowd. :) I have a number of friends who will also be there, and if I can do as planned – I should be wearing a suit of sorts. :)

Take care, and don’t hesitate to yell out “Christopher!” in the crowd if you’re looking for me. :)

-Christopher