OptimisticOwl Wrote:What do they do? specifically, what did Obama do and how is this experience relevant to being president?

ausowl Wrote:

OptimisticOwl Wrote:What do they do? specifically, what did Obama do and how is this experience relevant to being president?

We'll always have wikipedia:

Community Organizing

There's a quick read relevant to Texas regarding faith based community organizing - Cold Anger by Mary Beth Rogers. I assume it's still in print. Essentially a bio of Ernie Cortez (sp?) and political realignment in San Antonio.

How it relates to Obama as president?

As a 22 year old Senator Obama had a job interacting with and motivating marginalized folks.

Obama's exposure to all stratus of society is a positive rather than a negative. Not sure any 22 year old's job is a qualifier for president.

I suspect that Rudy G and Palin, et al, those who laugh at the mention of "community organizer", see community organizer as a caricature of the pissed off minority lookin' to get over on the man. Perhaps that's just my own bias showing as I didn't get the punch line at the Rep. convention.

ausowl Wrote:Sure, we're ALL community organizers at some level.

Anyway on the off chance that question isn't a punch line, I'll put on my earnest hat:

Don't know the details of Obama's work beyond the campaign bromides - "moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment."

If you're seriously interested in the day to day, "what do community organizers do", you might ck out your local ACORN offices. If you can get beyond the liberal, egg sucking stereo types, some of those folks do good work.

Or if you're in a major metro area, see if there's an Interfaith organization. In Houston, this was 20 plus years ago, Houston Metro. Ministries was one example. Quick google search, http://www.imgh.org/ They probably have some community organizing types hanging about. Austin Interfaith is another example http://austininterfaith.org/.

The principals much of these orgs have in common are based on Saul Alinsky's work (again to the Wikipedia Saul Alinsky).

And with that, I'm off to Costco to fill up my gas guzzling minivan and hunt for snacks for tonight's game.

WMD Owl Wrote:Outsider of Rice's own Medical Student turned Communist Revolutionary and instigator of riots, Travis Morales, I'd say Houston's equivalent of Obama as a "community organizer" is former crack dealer and "HPD favorite"...Quanell X ...(center in the picture)

ausowl Wrote:

WMD Owl Wrote:Outsider of Rice's own Medical Student turned Communist Revolutionary and instigator of riots, Travis Morales, I'd say Houston's equivalent of Obama as a "community organizer" is former crack dealer and "HPD favorite"...Quanell X ...(center in the picture)

Yep, that pretty much runs right past "code" doesn't it?

I wonder what the over and under on the McCain camp pulling out that sort of racist BS is these last few weeks? (That this garbage gets posted on THIS particular site hurts my feelings a bit, sort of makes me feel low down, like Rice just got blown out by the Toad or something. And I really will go have that Sheep Dip blended scotch to salve my compounded woes. I suspect an "off week" will help as well.)

Guess we'll see how that works out for y'all, hangin' with the bottom dwellers.

Go back and read (as opposed to watchin') the transcript of the VP date as punishment. You betcha'.

WMD Owl Wrote:Outsider of Rice's own Medical Student turned Communist Revolutionary and instigator of riots, Travis Morales, I'd say Houston's equivalent of Obama as a "community organizer" is former crack dealer and "HPD favorite"...Quanell X ...(center in the picture)

OptimisticOwl Wrote:It is his campaign and supporters that put this forward as relevant experience, apparently equal or greater than that of being a mayor or Governor, and i am just trying to see what it really is.

ausowl Wrote:Guess we'll see how that works out for y'all, hangin' with the bottom dwellers.

ausowl Wrote:Three year old twins in the house will do that to you.

OptimisticOwl Wrote:I truly appreciate your lumping of everyone who doesn't agree with you under one flag. And to think, I was beginning to think we could have a civil discussion.

Gravy Owl Wrote:

OptimisticOwl Wrote:I truly appreciate your lumping of everyone who doesn't agree with you under one flag. And to think, I was beginning to think we could have a civil discussion.

Somebody equated Obama to a communist riot instigator and a crack dealer. Maybe your idea of civil discussion is different from mine.

Gravy Owl Wrote:

OptimisticOwl Wrote:I truly appreciate your lumping of everyone who doesn't agree with you under one flag. And to think, I was beginning to think we could have a civil discussion.

Somebody equated Obama to a communist riot instigator and a crack dealer. Maybe your idea of civil discussion is different from mine.

OptimisticOwl Wrote:That somebody was not me, and Ausowl lumped me in with him

Quote:and then called me a bottom feeder.

WMD Owl Wrote:The question is "What is a community organizer?"

In Houston the widely known examples of a "community organizer" is Morales and Quannell X.

Maybe in Houston its different from Chicago. If you mention the term, that is what I think of.

Who are your examples of a "community organizers" in Houston?

Gravy Owl Wrote:

OptimisticOwl Wrote:That somebody was not me, and Ausowl lumped me in with him

No, he didn't.

Quote:and then called me a bottom feeder.

No, he didn't.

EDIT: I guess I should let ausowl explain himself. I just think you're reaching. I thought you were reaching with "Palinettes" too, which would've been pretty tame even if it wasn't preceded by "Texas Observor reading, Bob Eckhart admiring, Obama-Alinskites on the left."

OptimisticOwl Wrote:OK, Gravy and/or Ausowl, who the hell were he/you referring to with the word "y'all"? The only posters at that point other than him were WMD and myself.