OK, well, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that there are many e-mails circulating that provide false information about Barack Obama. Well, some of his supporters have compiled a list of facts about him in the hopes neutralizing this misinformation campaign. I feel he’s a pretty swell dude, so I’ll post it here. Please feel free to pass it along in the name of informed voting:

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American’s duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones:

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.” Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.

Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It’s upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There’s only one artist on Barack Obama’s iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama’s new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama’s skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.

Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.

Pass it on!

Just a quick update on our friend Jana’s Nature ReCreations fund-raising efforts. So far, she has raised enough to sponsor 24 kids! She is so very grateful for all of the support she has received so far, but she has not quite reached her goal.

If any of you are considering a donation, but have yet to take the plunge, now is the time! She just needs enough to sponsor 6 more kids in order to reach her goal, but she leaves on Monday, so time is short.

Donations can be made via paypal to account name janainavmarques@gmail.com.

Click here if you’d like to view the original announcement and flyer.

My band, Batala, will be playing at Artomatic this Friday night, June 6th at 9:00 pm. We will be performing with a fire dancing troupe, so we’ll be playing outside the building on 1st St., NE!!! It should be a blast!!!!

Artomatic is a month-long multimedia arts event that draws together visual artists, musicians and performers and brings their work to the community for free. This year it is housed in a building near the intersection of M and 1st Streets, NE near the New York Ave Metro station. Check out the Artomatic website for directions, info and other goodies. And here is the website for Batala.

Hope to see you all there!

Erika

This summer, our friends Pedro and Janaina will be heading out to Montana. While they are there, Jana will be running an art workshop and environmental education class for low-income children called Nature ReCreations. The workshop will focus on teaching the kids how to create art out of everyday items, particularly those that are bound for a landfill. In order to make this happen, she needs sponsors for the 30 children that she hopes to enroll. Please see her note and the flyer below, visit her Web site, and consider helping our children learn to become artists and the future good stewards that our environment will need!

Dear friend,

I’m writing you to ask for support in realizing a dream opportunity for 30 low-income children this summer: the chance to participate in a 10-day art workshop. I’ve designed a unique program, Nature ReCreations, for children aged 6-12. This hands-on class will use materials found in nature, and transform materials normally destined to landfills into works of art. The idea is to reinforce that art is all around us, even in everyday objects.

I love teaching art and as you may know I am an after-school art teacher in four Montgomery County elementary schools (Bethesda, Somerset, Garrett Park and Burning Tree). My training through the Young Rembrandts program complements my ten years of experience as a graphic designer, film producer and craftswoman.

My husband, Pedro, will work for the summer in Montana for the State Department of Environmental Quality. I have decided to travel with him and offer this class to a community of disadvantaged kids in Missoula. This workshop will help me prepare a curriculum that I plan to develop further through a Masters Degree in Art Education, beginning in September.

To realize this plan I need to raise at least $3,000 to cover class materials and other expenses. The cost for each child is $100. With your help and the help of your friends, I hope to be able to offer this opportunity to this group of children in Missoula. Please take a look at the attached flyer and my Web site to learn more. Keep in mind, my deadline to confirm the space is June 13^th. Please pass this message along to friends.

$100 will support 1 child for the full 10-day workshop,
but any donation is welcome. Donate via Paypal* or check^

Thank you so much.

Yours truly,

Janaina Vieira-Marques
janainavmarques@gmail.com

*Donations can be made via paypal to account name janainavmarques@gmail.com

^Make checks payable to Janaina Vieira-Marques and send to:
5526 Greystone Street
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Alright, well, for some reason the long, sad story of Rush Limbaugh finally has me pretty angry. He has resorted to essentially calling for riots in an American city (at the DNC in Denver) and he is mounting a campaign titled “Operation Chaos” that seeks to prolong the Democratic primary.

“Operation Chaos“? What does he think this is, a civil war? Or, maybe he doesn’t think it’s a civil war, but wishes it was. Maybe he wishes America would fall into the chaotic abyss that is Iraq if he can’t have his Oxycontin-addled version of America. Check out this quote from his site:

“From Operation Chaos headquarters, I am commander Rush Limbaugh, here at the Excellence in Broadcasting Network, the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. “

I think Rush Limbaugh is insane. I’m surprised he didn’t cap that off with “I love the smell of microphone in the morning.”

I think Rush Limbaugh needs a taste of his own medicine (and I don’t mean the medicine he so gleefully guzzled while ranting about the depravity of all other drug addicts in the world). I think “Operation Chaos” is just what his own life and talk show needs about now. Who knows: maybe a shaking up will help him recognize that he still has an addiction problem: it’s not drugs, which he’s supposedly kicked, it’s egomania. He’s the radical zealot of an eponymous movement, and he’s doing everything he can to foster divisiveness in a country that has unity as its basis.

How any one can seriously think he cares about this nation’s well being is beyond me. Hyper partisanship is horrible for this nation. Political movements should not be saddled with advocating violence. Provocateurs like Rush Limbaugh are bad for a healthy democracy.