ArmyBlood

I know that this (or any) election is not supposed to be about race.  Still – its pretty hard not to be sentimental about this (and you can see by her record that it’s not just about race for her):

Larry Kolvoord
AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

At her father’s urging, Amanda Jones said she has voted for decades despite discriminatory poll practices. The Democrat, 109, recently mailed in a vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

Daughter of slave votes for Obama

My friend Phil Carter is featured in the New York Times today, in an article on Vets involved in the 2008 campaigns:

Jim Lo Scalzo for The New York Times

Phillip Carter spent nine years in the Army, including a stint in Iraq. He now works for the campaign of Barack Obama.

Back From War, and Increasingly Into the Political Fray – NYTimes.com

But not donating life…

Iowa sees an increase in plasma donations
Officials at BioLife Plasma Services in Ames, Iowa, observed an average increase of 120 plasma donors in four of its locations throughout the state in September. The rise in donor numbers may be attributed to people’s need for extra money to make ends meet during the slow economic times.  WHO-TV (Des Moines, Iowa) (10/6)

Even with all that – it was only 120 extra units across a state. Sad for us all.

Here’s a nice little primer on blood and so, why you should donate it when you can:

Basics – The Wonders of Blood – NYTimes.com

What will we do when we don’t have BoBo to kick around anymore?  Blame all these guys on the Obama Faith-Based Initiative Office.  Hmmmm – there’s a thought!.  They’re still at it:

Coconino County Sheriff’s Office via AP

Tony Alamo is booked on Sept. 25 in Flagstaff, Ariz. He’s accused of transporting minors across state lines for sex.

Evangelist in court on sex charges – Crime & courts- msnbc.com

Just how does “Neither party owns the military vote.” get turned into “stereotyping”?

Military Times polls are well known to skew right because of the respondents and while I would agree that more military hold an opinion about world and security affairs than the average guy in the street – there’s no guarantee that they are well-informed or logical in their beliefs.

As another retired senior NCO, I used to be constantly suprised about how many of my troops held beliefs that were often just factually wrong. I was also disappointed in how few of them actually voted. If the military did vote in large numbers, they could really sway elections, at least in areas around bases. But, possibly because they are very busy, or because of hurdles to absentee voting – they vote at a very, very low rate.

That is one of the the strengths of IAVA’s report card – it is empirical and not so subjective. I don’t know why you’d be offended at that.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost