A Blog Called Hope

We at the Democratic Party would like send our most heartfelt condolences to Lynn Lynch, wife of our chairman, Bill Lynch, and the entire Perna family on the recent passing of Mrs. Lynch’s father, Anthony Perna, of Providence. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers.

If you would like to post a note of condolence to family, you may do so here.

PERNA, ANTHONY A., 72, of Smithfield Ave., Providence, passed away on Wednesday. He was the son of the late Angelo and Teresa (Sylvester) Perna.

Mr. Perna was the Owner of North End Auto Body on Smithfield Ave. in Providence. He was also a communicant and usher at St. Raymond Church in Providence and often volunteered in the Church’s efforts to feed the homeless.

He leaves his daughters, Denise DeCesare and her husband Marciano, Lynn Lynch and her husband William, Lindsey and Ashley Perna; his son, Anthony A., Perna, Jr. and his wife Kathy; his grandchildren, Marciano, Anthony, and Jason DeCesare, Jarred and Blair Lynch, Katelyn and Alex Perna; his sister, Angela O’Brien; and a niece, Lori Golato. He is also survived by his former wives, Ann (Lambias) Perna and Cheryl Perna.

Visitation Friday MORNING, 9:30 - 11 AM in the A.A. MARIANI & SON Funeral Home, 200 Hawkins St., Providence, with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:30 AM in St. Maria Goretti Church, 155 Power Rd., Pawtucket. Burial in St. Francis Cemetery, Pawtucket. In lieu of flowers donations to: St. Raymond Church, 2 Matilda St., Providence, 02904. WWW.MARIANIANDSON.COM.

The DNC is breaking the lid off the

McCain Presidential ticket in 2008

At a press conference to be held later today, the DNC plans on revealing the Republican ticket for this upcoming election. John McCain’s running mate is of course…

EXXON-MOBILE!

I know this may shock some of you. You MAY have been thinking Mitt Romney or some other misguided Republican surrogate. But who has done more to prop up John McCain and carry the Republican machine this election cycle than Exxon-Mobile? Not only has Exxon-Mobile donated well over $2 million to the McCain campaign, but Exxon-Mobile has also posted record quarterly profits as Americans struggle to afford the lofty price of gas. What’s more Republican than leasing a candidate and his votes and fleecing the average American?!?

Personally, I think Exxon-Mobile is the PERFECT choice for the Republican ticket in ‘08.

Approaching McCain’s VP pick, America wonders (worries), who is the next Cheney???

After eight years of Bush’s maniacal mastermind, it’s time to start thinking about who the next virulent VP will be.

Perhaps Mitt Romney? A real people-pleaser. And if by people, you mean George Bush and John McCain. Mitt Romney has shifted his positions to align himself with the President himself and McCain.

Maybe Governor Crist? That’s if you want a man who breaks the laws of campaign fundraising and steadfastly praises the work of Bush when it comes to Katrina recovery and the war in Iraq.

Okay, what about Tim Pawlenty? If you’re comfortable having a VP who has a history of breaking the law, standing by Bush, and fear mongering, then Pawlenty is your man… Or you could ask Dick Cheney to hang around for four more years and serve as McCain’s VP.

For more information visit, The Next Cheney.

Image courtesy of Tarfumes.com

After McCain’s switch on offshore drilling, ten Hess executives dump money into McCain campaign

Here is the scoop from Talking Points Memo:

“Ten senior Hess Corporation executives and/or members of the Hess family each gave $28,500 to the joint RNC-McCain fundraising committee, just days after (Republican John) McCain reversed himself to favor offshore drilling, according to Federal Election Commission reports.”

Here is more from USA Today:

McCain and the Republican National Committee received a burst of oil money after that shift. The New York Times said “the largest collective response from a single company” — more than $300,000 — came from Hess. On its Caucus blog, the paper delves into “whopping” contributions from two people with apparently modest incomes.

The newest ad from the Obama campaign highlights Senator Obama’s plans for energy in America

Senator Obama stresses the need to break our dependence on foreign oil and enhance America’s energy infrastructure

Today, Senator Barack Obama outlined his energy plan for the United States. Central to his proposal is the need to shift away from America’s reliance on foreign oil and find alternative energy resources.

Senator Obama’s plan calls for tapping into our own oil reserves. In addition to the utilization of our reserves, Senator Obama set forth three steps to increase energy production and reduce the cost of energy for American consumers. These include:

“To do this, we will invest $150 billion over the next decade … and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses American energy and creates 5 million new American jobs,” Senator Obama explained.

In addition to his energy plan, Senator Obama expressed his support for windfall profits taxes on big oil that will provide $1,000 to people struggling with the high energy costs.

For more on this story visit, CNN.

To learn more about Senator Obama’s energy policy, visit BarackObama.com.

Here is the video from Senator Obama’s speech.

Obama in Lansing, MI on August 4, 2008.

Click below to view Senator Obama’s newest ad on energy.

Senator Obama’s “Pocket” ad

Friday, Senator Jack Reed announced the acquisition of $2.5 million in federal aid to build new middle schools in Woonsocket

“U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that the city of Woonsocket will receive a $2.5 million boost in its efforts to build two new middle schools and recreational facilities off Hamlet Avenue.

The new schools will replace the existing middle school at Park Place.  In April, Reed helped secure $600,000 in federal funding to clean up and restore this former industrial site.

“I am pleased we were able to provide the City of Woonsocket with a flexible source of financing to help build these new schools,” said Reed, a senior member of the Banking Committee, which oversees federal housing policy, and member of the Appropriations Committee, which provides all federal spending on HUD programs.  “This redevelopment project will help relieve overcrowded classrooms and improve the city’s public school system.”

For more information visit, Jack Reed’s website.

Despite an array of personal attacks by Republicans, Obama promises to only question McCain the politician, NOT the person

“I’m not going to assault Senator McCain’s character. I’m not going to compare him to pop stars. I will, however, compare our two visions for our economic future.

Senator McCain wants to keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. I want to end them and start giving incentives to companies that create jobs here at home. Because I don’t think 463,000 lost jobs this year is economic progress.

He wants to give $300 billion worth of tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Under his plan, more than 100 million middle class families won’t see a penny in direct tax relief. I want to put a tax cut of up to $1,000 into the pockets of 95% of working Americans. And if you’re a family making less than $250,000 a year, my plan won’t raise your taxes one penny — not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.

Senator McCain is opposed to regular increases in the minimum wage — I want to index it so that it rises with rising costs. He thinks the Earned Income Tax Credit is fine as it is — I want to expand it. He has no plans to make childcare more affordable or help people get paid sick leave — while I do.” -Senator Barack Obama, August 2, 2008.

National Urban League Annual Conference, August 2, 2008.

Check out this new ad from the DNC highlighting the fact that, despite promising to “wage a respectful campaign,” McCain has resorted to questioning Senator Obama’s patriotism and launching false and misleading attacks that have been widely debunked. His campaign has stooped so low that one of McCain’s former advisors called his most recent ad “childish” and said the campaign’s strategy “diminishes John McCain.”