Mark Warner introduced him.  A cell phone or two rang during the introduction and Warner encouraged people to leave their phones ON.  Does he make money off of that, too?

Man of hope is explaining how bad things are under Bush… I better go listen.

Starnews has live streaming video HERE.  Watch if you can - my guess is that he doesn’t have a teleprompter….

So today’s the day… Obama’s on his way…

As Emeril has already stated, reports continue to trickle in that the “town hall” meeting is not only invitation only, but that in order to be approved for the “golden ticket” invitation, you must sign a pledge of allegiance. (Actually, a pledge that you intend to vote for BO but I couldn’t resist.

Starnews, led by Charles Roark is doing an AWESOME job of covering this event. Without him and his efforts, those of us “unchosen” would be in the dark…

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Chosen One (Barack Obama) has chosen you, too!  Unlike his visit to Martinsville, his campaign has announced that he’ll be at John Tyler Community College in Chester, Va.  His campaign tried to keep his Martinsville location(s) “undisclosed” but learned the hard way that there are no secrets in Martinsville…

Like us, the event will be “invitation only.”

Sen. Barack Obama will hold an invitation-only event Wednesday in economically battered Martinsville, joined by former Gov. Mark R. Warner, who made inroads with rural Virginia voters.

Obama, set to accept the Democratic presidential nomination next week, will meet with workers and families who have been affected by what his campaign calls the “failed trade policies of the Bush administration, policies [Arizona Sen.] John McCain promises to continue.” Richmond Times-Dispatch 8/17

Obama will hold a town hall-type meeting with displaced workers and their families. The meeting’s location will not be released publicly because attendance will be by invitation only, Griffis said. He said community leaders and local Obama campaign officials will identify people who will be invited to the meeting. Martinsville Bulletin 8/17

Obama will speak about his ideas for making trade agreements fair to American consumers as well as American workers, Griffis said. He also will discuss his plans for ending tax breaks to companies that send jobs overseas and creating new tax breaks for companies that create jobs in America, Griffis added. Martinsville Bulletin 8/18

So the “Chosen One” has chosen Martinsville… and only specially chosen people will be invited to the undisclosed chosen location (I won’t be one of them and I’m not just saying that so that I will be). Hmmmm…. Where to begin?

Let’s start with the assertion by the Chosen One’s campaign that the woes of Martinsville are a result of “failed trade policies of the Bush administration.” All I can figure is that this statement must’ve been made by one of his enthusiastic young whippersnappers that was three years old when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law under the CLINTON administration (1993). Seems like most people I know who were born after 1990 have been indoctrinated to believe that every bad thing in the world can somehow be traced back to George Bush. From the price of gas to the pimples on their butts, Bush is behind it somehow.

No doubt, NAFTA put a hurtin’ on furniture manufacturing but what about our textiles? When I drive by the former textile factories to buy clothes, the country of origin for the majority of them is India, China or Pakistan. Even my outdated globe plants these countries firmly away from the continent of North America. More failed policies by the evil Bush administration? Nope. Trade accords with China (and later accords between China and Pakistan, et al.) agreed upon during the 1990’s have brought Martinsville and other manufacturing towns to where they currently stand.

It must be remembered, though, that on the whole, “free trade” has had a positive result for the majority of the country. Hell, the economy where I last lived was booming so rapidly that I had to move!

From Many Winners and Some Losers in Trade Accord With China written by Louis Uchitelle, published in the New York Times, in 1999 (before the “failed policies of the Bush Administration”):

For American International Group, the giant insurer, the new trade agreement with China is a long-awaited go-ahead to sell insurance everywhere in China, not in just a few cities. AT&T sees the door open to provide Internet services in China. But Milliken & Company, the big textile manufacturer — forecasting doom — says that President Clinton’s negotiators have signed a death warrant for textile makers in America.

Many industries — commercial banking, auto and aircraft manufacturing, farming and food processing, investment banking, electronics, money management — hailed the agreement yesterday between China and the United States as a wonderful opportunity to expand rapidly into the giant Chinese market. The Clinton administration gave its blessing to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in exchange for numerous market-opening concessions.

Okay - I’m tired of looking back. Those who have convinced themselves that Bush is responsible for their bad hair days and failed relationships have already stopped reading by now. Anyway, I prefer to look forward:

The Chosen One will “discuss his plans for ending tax breaks to companies that send jobs overseas and creating new tax breaks for companies that create jobs in America.” And I’m not throwing my slightly used but no longer amusing piranhas into Philpott Lake. Give me all the tax breaks and incentives you like for the fish I’m not throwing, but it won’t change anything… I have zero-fish throwing liability and the majority of our companies have zero-tax liability.

Let’s hope Obama has a “Plan B” - one that involves him staying in the Senate and voting “aye” on fair tax legislation as well as fair trade agreements. I need to see a record of bipartisanship, not just be promised a future one. He’s not the first and I doubt he’ll be the last man to offer me promises of hope and change.

I’m confident that Martinsville can charm and bedazzle Obama as much as he can charm and bedazzle us during our historic brush with the historic candidate. I enjoy the excitement and seeing my community caught up in the “Obamarama.” I’m just sick of seeing people getting their hopes up, thinking that a political leader can magically fix their problems…

I better run now… the global warming caused by the Bush administration has caused my grass to grow (again!) Gotta go mow the lawn before the Chosen One’s arrival -

What part of EVIL = Al Qaeda, Taliban, et al. does he not understand?

See what’s possible when our information isn’t spoon fed to us? Viva la discussion and viva la Rick Warren!