Halloween Decorations in San Francisco, CA



Pete_Ipp.jpeg, originally uploaded by hypermodern.

Halloween in San Francisco is on its way!

Arts Positions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Americans for the Arts Action Fund is pleased to present you with its just released summary of the Arts Positions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates. (Also see side-by-side comparison table below.)

As you may know, Americans for the Arts Action Fund launched its ArtsVote2008 initiative in May 2007 in order to educate presidential candidates on issues impacting the
arts and arts education with the goal of securing—for the first time ever—formal position statements from the top candidates.

To date, we have shared with you Senator
Barack Obama’s comprehensive arts policy proposal that he began issuing in February 2008. Unfortunately, the McCain campaign has not been as forthcoming, despite numerous formal requests from the Arts Action Fund and Senator McCain’s own supporters over the last year. However, we are pleased to report that Senator McCain has now issued a short statement that he released in an article for today’s Salt Lake City Tribune.

With this information in hand, we ask you—the arts advocate—to take action by doing the following things:

  1. Share this side-by-side comparison of the presidential candidates with your friends, family, and colleagues.
  2. Blog about this issue on any sites that you are affiliated with.
  3. Post the comparison chart on your social network sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and others.
  4. Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspapers and journals. We’ve made it easy for you by drafting a customizable letter at our E-Advocacy Center that you can personalize. You will then automatically be given the choice to e-mail your letter to all the key media outlets in your area based on your zip code.
  5. Ask questions about policies on the arts and arts education to both your Congressional and presidential candidates in any kind of town hall forums, online chats, or any other
    public forums.
  6. Vote for the candidates that you feel will best advance the arts and arts education in America.

With only a few days left to Election Day, now is the time to act and show your support for the arts!

Arts Positions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates
 

Sen. Barack Obama
Democratic Nominee

Sen. John McCain
Republican Nominee
Campaign has met with Americans for the Arts Action Fund to
discuss policy issues.

 Yes
Meeting held 4/1/08

Yes
Meeting held 4/1/08
Campaign has published policy proposals on the arts and/or arts education.

Yes
Read policy proposal 2/28/08

No
Candidate has made statement on federal support of the arts.

Yes
View Pennsylvania speech on 4/2/08

No
Candidate has made statement on federal support of arts education.

Yes
View Texas speech on 2/28/08

Yes
Read Statement 10/03/08
National party platform includes statement on the arts and/or arts education.

Yes
Read platform statement on
page 49

No
Candidate has pro-arts Congressional record.

Yes
Co-sponsored S. 548, Artist-Museum Partnership Act, 2/25/08

No
Voted to cut funding or terminate the National Endowment for the Arts (see listing of votes*)

*Roll call votes on 7/12/00, 8/5/99, 9/15/98, 9/18/97, 9/17/97, 7/25/94, 9/15/93, 9/15/93, and 9/14/93.
Source:  Americans for the Arts Action Fund, as of 10/03/08

Americans for the Arts Action Fund is the bipartisan advocacy arm of Americans for the Arts, engaging citizens in ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to appreciate, value, and participate in the arts. Arts Action Fund members are citizen activists who are committed to helping make certain that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at every level of government and in the private sector. ArtsVote2008, a program of the Arts Action Fund, was created to secure bold, new policy proposals in support of the arts and arts education in America from candidates in the 2008 presidential campaign.

For more info visit www.artsvote.org, or call 202-371-2830

Inspiration Through the Words of Others

I was just looking through my Phi Delta Theta Pledge manual from 1999 and I found a series of note cards that I used to use as speaking points at chapter meetings.  We were in the process of re-founding the fraternity and the following are the quotes I used to light the fire of change with my peers. 

“As you walk through life, you may be solo, but not alone.”
– Unknown

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

“Guard well your spare moments they are like uncut diamonds.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We are often so caught up in our destination that we forget to appreciate the journey.”
-Unknown

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas, I’m frightened by the old ones.”
-John Cage

“An Idea is salutation by imagination.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.”
– Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Technorati Tags: ,