It’s not a guarantee – it’s only an opportunity.

The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this opportunity for change?
That’s why I came here tonight: to tell you why I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.
Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn’t really matter who became President.

Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity. Some assumed we would continue both no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn’t matter.

Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq, we would have pursued Bin Laden until we captured him.

We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis, we would be fighting for middle income families.

We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution, we’d be protecting the rights of every American regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

And we would not be denying the climate crisis, we’d be solving it.
Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now – because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, the same policies all over again?

Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous.

With John McCain’s support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact; their readiness to sacrifice the long-term to the short-term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few, and short-circuit the rule of law.
If you like the Bush/Cheney approach, John McCain’s your man. If you want change, then vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Barack Obama is telling us exactly what he will do: launch a bold new economic plan to restore America’s greatness. Fight for smarter government that trusts the market, but protects us against its excesses. Enact policies that are pro-choice, pro-education, and pro-family. Establish a foreign policy that is smart as well as strong. Provide health care for all and solutions for the climate crisis.

So why is this election so close?

Well, I know something about close elections, so let me offer you my opinion.
I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents.
There is no better example than the climate crisis. As I have said for many years throughout this land, we’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. Every bit of that has to change.

Oil company profits have soared to record levels, gasoline prices have gone through the roof and we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. Many scientists predict that the entire North Polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer months in the first term of the next President. Sea levels are rising, fires are raging, storms are stronger. Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of climate refugees destabilizing countries around the world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented extinctions.

We are facing a planetary emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we’ve ever experienced in the history of humankind.

In spite of John McCain’s past record of open mindedness on the climate crisis, he has apparently now allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of mandatory caps on global warming pollution.

And it just so happens that the climate crisis is intertwined with the other two great challenges facing our nation: reviving our economy and strengthening our national security. The solutions to all three require us to end our dependence on carbon-based fuels.

Instead of letting lobbyists and polluters control our destiny, we need to invest in American innovation.

Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas Edison said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”

We already have everything we need to use the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to solve the climate crisis – everything, that is, except a president who inspires us to believe, “Yes we can.”
So how did this no-brainer become a brain-twister?

Because the carbon fuels industry – big oil and coal – have a 50-year lease on the Republican Party and they are drilling it for everything it’s worth. And this same industry has spent a half a billion dollars this year alone trying to convince the public they are actually solving the problem when they are in fact making it worse every single day.

This administration and the special interests who control it lock, stock, and barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight-of-hand on issue after issue. Some of the best marketers have the worst products; and this is certainly true of today’s Republican party.

The party itself has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last eight years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control the Republican Party are so powerful that serving them and serving the national well-being are now irreconcilable choices.

So what can we do about it?

We can carry Barack Obama’s message of hope and change to every family in America. And pledge that we will be there for Barack Obama – not only in the heat of this election, but in the aftermath as we put his agenda to work for our country.

We can tell Republicans and Independents, as well as Democrats, why our nation needs a change from the approach of Bush, Cheney and McCain.
After they wrecked our economy, it is time for a change.

After they abandoned the search for the terrorists who attacked us and redeployed the troops to invade a nation that did not attack us, it’s time for a change.

After they abandoned the American principle first laid down by General George Washington when he prohibited the torture of captives because it would bring, in his words, “shame, disgrace and ruin” to our nation, it’s time for a change.
When as many as three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias and Thomases and end a woman’s right to choose, it’s time for a change.

Many people have been waiting for some sign that our country is ready for such change. How will we know when it’s beginning to take hold? I think we might recognize it as a sign of such change if we saw millions of young people getting involved for the first time in the political process.

This election is actually not close at all among younger voters – you are responding in unprecedented numbers to Barack Obama’s message of change and hope. You recognize that he represents a clean break from the politics of partisanship and bitter division. You understand that the politics of the past are exhausted and you’re tired of appeals based on fear. You know that America is capable of better than what you have seen in recent years. You are hungry for a new politics based on bipartisan respect for the ageless principles embodied in the United States Constitution.

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the challenge of a present danger, shaking off complacency to rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of embracing change.

A century and a half ago, when America faced our greatest trial, the end of one era gave way to the birth of another. The candidate who emerged victorious in that election is now regarded by most historians as our greatest president.
Before he entered the White House, Abraham Lincoln’s experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his state legislature in Springfield, Illinois and one term in Congress – during which he showed the courage and wisdom to oppose the invasion of another country that was popular when it started but later condemned by history.

The experience Lincoln’s supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire hope in the future at a time of impasse. He was known chiefly as a clear thinker and a great orator with a passion for justice and a determination to heal the deep divisions of our land. He insisted on reaching past partisan and regional divides to exalt our common humanity.

In 2008, once again, we find ourselves at the end of an era with a mandate from history to launch another new beginning. And once again, we have a candidate whose experience perfectly matches an extraordinary moment of transition.

Barack Obama had the experience and wisdom to oppose a popular war based on faulty premises. His leadership experience has given him a unique capacity to inspire hope in the promise of the American dream of a boundless future.
His experience has also given him genuine respect for different views and humility in the face of complex realities that cannot be squeezed into the narrow compartments of ideology. His experience has taught him something that career politicians often overlook: that inconvenient truths must be acknowledged if we are to have wise governance.

The extraordinary strength of his personal character – and that of his wonderful wife, Michelle – are grounded in the strengths of the American community. His vision and his voice represent the best of America. His life experience embodies the essence of our motto — e pluribus unum — out of many, one.
That is the linking identity at the other end of all the hyphens that pervade our modern political culture. It is that common American identity – which Barack Obama exemplifies, heart and soul — that enables us as Americans to speak with moral authority to all of the peoples of the world to inspire hope that we as human beings can transcend our limitations to redeem the promise of human freedom.

Late this evening, our convention will end with a benediction. As we bow in reverence, remember the words of the old proverb: “when you pray, move your feet.”

Then let us leave here tonight and take the message of hope from Denver to every corner of our land and do everything we can to serve our nation, our world — and most importantly, our children and their future — by electing Barack Obama President of the United States.

In order to survey the impact of massive solar power plants on the environment and wildlife, the federal government is freezing new solar projects on public land for two years! Buying private land is way more expensive for startups than leasing public land.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe the Bush administration has demonstrated more than its share of incompetence. But they semm to have no problem dismissing environmental concerns when it comes to allowing the drilling of oil on public lands, but when it comes to letting the green competetion use that land for solar farms they impose a 2 year freeze to study the problem! Give me a break. This is more than incompetance, this smells like corruption. As a citizen and taxpayer, my vote counts for 1/300 millionth of the US public lands (which I think in this case is mostly desert right? where the sun is always shining.) I say, let them use the land. In fact, let them use it for free and get tax deductions. All of which will help to make this profitable and my energy bill lower and my air cleaner. (Read the story on the NYT)

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The purpose of this presentation was originally to inspire a group of educators at a single school in Colorado to take their job seriously and invest in education. From that intended audience of 250 people, it has now been seen by millions. The message is clear, the world is changing. More and more of my clients are asking me to help them adapt to this change. To prepare road maps and visions and governance models that will help them adapt. What are you doing to prepare?

http://www.teaparty07.com/

There are several options:
1) not use the product or service – this is difficult since often you are not aware of the agreement until after your already bound by it (or so they claim)

2) expose and embarrass the company to change the agreement. I have seen this work several times (like when AT&T changed its Terms and conditions of internet access to say: AT&T can terminate your connection for conduct that “tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.” Basicly they said they can cut off your internet access if you post negative things about them – a few days later they more than reversed after a huge amount of negative publicity and the re-emergense of the whole net netrality debate.)

3) Fight it, rebel or create your own counter agreement – this is the most fun. See below.

4) Don’t worry about it – there seems to be a legal concept of onesidedness – if a contract is so onesided as to benefit one party to the exclusion of the other or is clearly unfair, it is not enforceable.

Not reading these agreements can have real consequences as they often tell you what evil they are about to do. For example, here is the user agreement from Avenue Media’s Internet Optimizer (Warning: do not install this software by the way it is spyware):

“In consideration for viewing of video content, Avenue Media may send email to your Microsoft Outlook contacts and/or send instant messages to your IM contacts offering the video to them on your behalf. By viewing the video content, you expressly consent to said activity.”

The creepy thing about this is they think this gives them permission to do this. The fact that so many legitimate less illegitimate companies have such similar fine print means they can hide in the open with out anyone reading this agreement because they do not read ANY agreement.

Here are some other examples of abusive EULA (end user license agreements):

Need examples of abusive user agreements that you are probably already party to:

From Facebook:

By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant… worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy… and distribute such User Content for any purpose….

Ever browsed Hilton.com to book a room? I hope you talked to your lawyer first in order to give up all rights like you agreed you would:

“Nevertheless, it is your intention, through this Agreement, and with the advice of counsel, fully and finally settle and release all such matters, and all claims relative thereto, which do now exist, may exist, or have existed between and among the parties hereto, including the Indemnified Parties. You hereby acknowledge that you have been advised by your legal counsel, understand and acknowledge the significance and consequence of this release and of this specific waiver of Section 1542 and other such laws.”

When you install the flash player in your browser you agree that Macromedia can audit your computer:

You agree that Macromedia may audit (search your computer?) your use of the Software for compliance with these terms at any time, upon reasonable notice. In the event that such audit reveals any use of the Software by you other than in full compliance with the terms of this Agreement, you shall reimburse Macromedia for all reasonable expenses related to such audit in addition to any other liabilities you may incur as a result of such non-compliance.”

From a Southwest Airlines video contest:

Entrants grant permission to Sponsor to use their names, likenesses, biographical information for promotional or advertising purposes in all media worldwide, without notice or further compensation

RCA Thompson Customer Service aggreement:

In order to ask a question about a product or receive support, you must “register an account” and consent to allowing them to sell your personal information.

And of coarse almost all of them contain this sweet note at the end:

“Please check back on this page often – We reserve the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, supplement, and otherwise modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, or conditions on your use of the Service without prior notification. Such revisions will be effective immediately and incorporated into this Agreement. Your continued use of the Service will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of any and all such Additional Terms.”

If it makes you feel better, here is a fun way to combat it with your own Terms from reasonableagreement.org:

This is a counter agreement they created and recommend that you place everywhere: on the back of your business card, bumper stickers, t-shirt, email sig, etc. Basically it says that that they (the store) agrees that your don’t agree to bogus agreements. That you are immune that any agreement that someone tries to claim you’ve entered into just by using their product or service. In other words, you saying unless you sit down and talk to me like a human being, and we negotiate a contract – I don’t accept it and I’m given them fair and open warning that I don’t accept it, in the same manner they tried to push it on me – unavoidable sneak attack.

READ CAREFULLY. By [accepting this material|accepting this
payment|accepting this business-card|viewing this t-shirt|reading this
sticker] you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all
obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED
agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap,
browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable
use policies (“BOGUS AGREEMENTS”) that I have entered into with your
employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity,
without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further
represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS
AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.

A couple of great websites in addition to those mentioned above:

• Eulascan - a collection of reviews of end user agreements
• Terms of Embarrassment – A good post on info world with lots of comments from intelligent readers
• I’m sure they are tons more but I’m tired of writing, so I’ll let you tell me in the comments