The Obama campaign has released a new ad, highlighting McSame's lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy and his close ties to Bush.  Take a look for yourself.

Thanks to California Young Democratic President, Rocky Fernandez, for this report from Denver:

Well, I've now been in Denver for almost 48 hours. The scene here is, quite honestly, a little overwhelming. There is security all over the place, and quite a few entrepreneurs who are selling Obama everything. Posters, buttons, hats, t-shirts, etc.

Last night, I went to the media party-and it didn't disappoint. Held at Elitch Gardens, a local amusement park, people were treated to food, drink, thrill rides, and carnival games. Most people walked away with stuffed animals, and a good time was had by all. A fireworks show ended the evening for us.

Earlier today, the Young Democrats of America (YDA) held their Summer Conference at the Convention Center. There, they continued the launch of the Young Voter Revolution, revealing a new logo and t-shirts. All of YDA looks forward to the November election, unified behind the Obama-Biden ticket. We started off the morning with a brunch with Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker, a Young Democrat with an inspirational story of a campaign victory against the odds. Here are myself, National Committeemembers Natalie Rojas and Owen Stephens, as well as CYD mascot Ralph at the brunch!

Later on, at the YDA National Committee meeting, Crystal Strait, a former CYD President, was re-elected by acclimation as YDA's Democratic National Committee Woman. She will continue to represent the national organization along with DNC Committee Man Francisco Domenech at all DNC Meetings.

The great part so far has been the huge number of young voters in town. Delegate or not, this is the place to be. And thanks to the work of many in the party and many of YOU, youth delegates make up 16% of all the delegates to the convention. This is an amazing 5% increase from four years ago!

Stay tuned, there is much more to come...

Showing his interest in women’s issues, Barack Obama held a town hall meeting with a few dozen women at a library in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Monday.  The theme of the meeting was discrimination in the workplace and family strains on working women.  Obama said when he hears about inequality in the workplace, it “makes his blood boil,” and he hopes his daughters won't have to face it.  One only has to look at his plans to improve the lives of women in America to see how he is willing to fight for women's rights.

With the economy in the toilet and a lack of daycare programs, it's been hard for women to get by and provide for their children (especially single mothers).  Because women only get seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man makes, the struggling economy has made things worse for them.  Barack has a plan to fund daycare and after school programs for children and has supported laws that will help women earn equal pay.  Since women are also most likely to live in poverty, he has plans to give poor women better health care and programs that will help them get the skills to obtain a job.  He also promises to help fund programs protecting women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  So many women are afraid to ask for help in a domestic violence situation, and Barack will make sure that they will be protected and get the help they need.

Because American women can't get the health care they need, Barack wants to fund programs for women's health research.  Many women suffer from heart disease, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and ovarian cancer, yet they get denied the same treatment men get.  He wants to pass laws that will help educate women about these diseases, how to prevent them and make sure women with these disease get the best treatment.

Barack also supports programs that help girls do better in school and encourage them in Math and Science.  He wants every girl and woman to have access to a decent education and a chance to go to college.  To ensure that college is more affordable, he is proposing a tax credit that is fully refundable.  Most girls and women who are low-income go to schools that don't teach them the skills they need and have no opportunity to go to college.  With his tax credit, college can finally be obtainable for them.

American women face so many obstacles today, and Barack understands that.  He understands the struggles that women go through trying to balance children and a career, and he wants to make that easier for them.

It's official: Iraq War supporter and Republican John McCain has lost his mind.  When asked about the ongoing crisis between Russia and Georgia during a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday, he had the audacity to say, "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations."  Iraq anyone?

Yesterday, we told you about California Democrats who were holding events to celebrate the 73rd birthday of Social Security.  Their intent was to both pay tribute to the program that has been a lifeline to millions of seniors for over seven decades AND to condemn John McCain and Republican members of Congress who are eager to privatize the system and let the corporate greed-mongers of Wall Street make a bundle.

For instance, Jeff Morris, the Congressional Democratic candidate who is going head-to-head with Wally Herger in CA-02, held his campaign kickoff at the Social Security office in Redding.

Julie Bornstein, the Democrat running to unseat Mary Bono Mack in CA-45 also held an event, to open her new campaign office in Palm Springs, with a special emphasis on celebrating 73 years of Social Security.

But Beverly and Leonard’s celebration in CA-03 took the cake, so to speak…

You may have seen the video of Beverly and Leonard in yesterday’s post as they talked about the important role Social Security has played in their lives and discussed their plans to express their gratitude to the program by delivering a birthday cake to Dan Lungren.

Well, we think Beverly and Leonard did a really sweet job of making their point.  Yesterday morning, they walked into Dan Lungren’s office with their Social Security cake, cut it up, and served large portions to Lungren’s entire staff, making sure to drive home the message that because the cake was so large, there was plenty to go around -- everybody could have a piece.

 

Wow.  Dan Lungren couldn’t have been more on target with HIS messaging.  Yes, there’s plenty of Social Security cake to go around.  It’s just that greedy Republican politicians want to get their hands on it and take the whole cake… leaving average Americans with the empty plate.

From the other events:

In Redding, two Jeff Morris supporters who, at 73, are both the same age as Social Security, pose with Jeff’s Social Security cake.

And Julie Bornstein?  Well, she’s going work to protect Social Security and make sure there’s a piece of it available for every American -- not just a few wealthy investors.

Sign up here if you'd like to join with other Democrats like Beverly and Leonard and be on the front lines when John McCain, George W. Bush, or Republican Congressmembers like Dan Lungren make an appearance in your community. You can tell them not to be selfish with Social Security! Join the California Democratic Party's Rapid Response team today.

John McCain will be appearing in Lake Forest on Saturday, August 16; Sacramento on Monday, August 25; and Del Mar on Tuesday, August 26. To be included in our updates and activities, please send an email to rapidresponse@cadem.org

I just received a message from Chairman Howard Dean over at the DNC, and I wanted to share it with you.  As you may know, Jerome Corsi, one of the masterminds behind the swiftboating of John Kerry in 2004, is back at his dirty work, now trying to smear Barack Obama with the same kind of hateful lies in his new book Obama Nation.

Here's the message from Chairman Dean:

In 2004, the media let right-wing crackpots like Jerome Corsi spread lies about John Kerry. Now Corsi is publishing another hit piece attacking Barack Obama.

This year I'm drawing the line -- we're not going to let Corsi and the Republicans get away with it again.

Scroll down to check out Corsi's track record of ideologically driven lies and conspiracy theories, then sign up for the DNC Rapid Response Team and help keep these dirty tricks from ruining another election:

http://www.democrats.org/rapidresponse

I hope you'll forward this email to everyone you know, too.

Thanks,

Howard Dean

In a conference call last week, California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres and Congresswoman Hilda Solis criticized senior advisor to John McCain and potential VP pick, Carly Fiorina, as another Republican in the mold of Bush/Cheney.  Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is just the latest of many potential McCain VP picks to land a spot on the DNC's website, “The Next Cheney.”  The site showcases all the ways Carly Fiorina (and the others) would be no different from the current VP, Darth Cheney.

On the site, you can find out that Fiorina was thrown out as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, because she had 5 1/2 rocky years there, fighting against the founding families of the company and failing to follow through in her promise to make Hewlett-Packard a profitable company.  It also notes that she called the outsourcing of American jobs “Right-Shoring” while many Americans were losing their jobs as companies moved their businesses overseas.

If this isn't proof that Fiorina would be a dangerous VP candidate, then I don't know what is. Having no experience in public service and being a part of the Hewlett-Packard scandal should be a red flag that she is trouble.

Today is the birthday of Social Security, and Democrats around the country will be celebrating the program that has provided stability and dignity to seniors for the last 73 years. During the last few years, George W. Bush, John McCain and the Republicans in Congress have done their best to try to dismantle the protections that Social Security has built over the years.

"The American people said 'no' to George W. Bush and John McCain when they tried to privatize Social Security, and they'll say the same loud and clear to John McCain this November for promising more of the same," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "The same people who brought you Enron can't be trusted to gamble away the Social Security trust fund on the ups and downs of the stock market. John McCain is wrong on the privatization of Social Security, and he's the wrong choice for America's future."

Throughout the US, Democrats will be visiting Republican legislators and taking them copies of this birthday card. Here in California we have several special events taking place.

Up in CA-02, Democratic Candidate Jeff Morris, who is challenging the do-nothing Republican incumbent, Wally Herger, will be holding his Campaign Kick-Off at the Social Security Office in Redding. If you’re in the area, stop by and meet him and his wife, Judy, and their many dedicated supporters.

Where: Social Security Office, 2195 Larkspur Office, Redding, CA 96002

When: Thursday August 14th at 9:45 am

Down in CA-45, Julie Bornstein, the Democratic candidate who is challenging Republican Mary Bono Mack, will be celebrating both the Social Security Birthday and the opening of her campaign office in Palm Springs. There’s a rumor that cake may be involved…

Where: 1027 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA

When: Thursday August 14th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm

Or, if you’re in the Sacramento area you can join Beverly and Leonard and some of their friends. Beverly and Leonard live in CA-03, and they’re going to be honoring the birthday of Social Security by taking some birthday cake to their Republican Congressman, Dan Lungren. You see, Beverly and Leonard aren’t exactly rich, and they depend on their monthly Social Security payments to make ends meet. That’s why they’re not too keen on those risky privatization schemes that Republicans like John McCain and Dan Lungren have peddled. Here…they’ll tell you all about it.

So come out and join Beverly and Leonard (or Jeff Morris or Julie Bornstein) today as they stand up in support of our Democratic values and the programs like Social Security that have served so many millions of Americans so well.

Where: Dan Lungren's District Office, 2339 Gold Meadow Way #220, Gold River, CA 95670

When: Thursday August 14th at 11:00 am

And tune in tomorrow to find out what happened…

You may notice the lines at your DMV getting longer in the coming weeks.  Oh yeah, and forget about going on Saturday.  Thanks to the brilliant plan concocted by the Governator, many DMV offices across the state will be closed August 16, most definitely increasing the wait times during the week.

According to the Sacramento Bee:

About a 1,000 DMV employees – most of them counter staff – were furloughed as part of Schwarzenegger's executive order last week that terminated 10,133 temporary and part-time state workers to deal with the state's budget impasse.

The suspended Saturday hours will disrupt service at DMV offices from Yuba City to Chula Vista – 53 offices in all – that typically open on the third Saturday of each month, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Of course, it’s never that simple when Arnie’s involved.

Democrats in Yolo County are fired up and ready to go. They met last night at the historic Palms Playhouse in Winters for a rally sponsored by the Western Yolo County Democratic Club.

Over 100 people came out to listen and cheer as guest speaker CDP Chairman Art Torres, along with candidates Lois Wolk (SD-05), Mariko Yamada (AD-08), and Jeff Morris (CA-02), talked about “Why Rural Families are Voting Democratic – Taking Back Red California.”

Oh, and the old-time music and the free spaghetti dinner weren’t exactly deal-breakers either.

The speaking schedule was full. In addition to the politicians, there were local food and farm activists, as well as local organizers like Claire Black-Slotton, the executive director of Yolo United, and Ryan Loney, the Northern California Field Director of Students for Barack Obama and an Obama delegate to the Denver convention.