Remember them………..







~moderator

Team,

Here is another message that came in within the past day or so. I found it to be both articulate and well thought-out. I have not had a chance to write a response to it, but I would appreciate if some of you could take a crack at responding in a civil and appropriate manner (which shouldn't be too hard with this person).

Thanks!
PJ

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: [.. snip ..]
Date: May 23, 2007 1:59 AM
Subject: Curious about your page

I read over your page tonight after I got a friend request.  I'd really like to learn some more about your agenda, and why you feel that Obama is only getting some of the information from his campaign headquarters. So, please bare with me, I'm not looking to challenge your views, only to be educated more on the continued problems you see happening.

My Take on the My Space Joe/Barack issue.

I was a friend on Joe's site, and did move over to the "Official" site.  I kept up on the different blogs, bulletins, etc. I do understand that Joe put in an amazing amout of time and effort to that page, that is one fact that just can't be disputed by anyone.  However, on the other side of this, Obama is running for the highest elected official in our Nation, with this comes the need to protect his image, information flow, etc.  My understanding is that Joe was getting behind, and there were some things on the page that weren't quite accurate.  All in all, starting with the information about Joe requesting compensation this thing took on a life of it's own.  People on both sides of the argument were posting misinformation, allegations of misconduct, and all of the other "stories" that hit the media. So how do you determine who is telling the "truth"? Is my "truth" any different than yours, probably not, but the bias is there... and in this case, the bias and rhetoric has taken on a variety of personalities, all claiming different viewpoints and recollections of the series of events that have taken place since this hit mainstream media.

One thing I know for sure is that this incident has caused a lot of negativity for both Joe and Barack..

Now, please hear me out, hear my take on this, and then please respond so I can learn more of your side of this issue.

I think that the more that people continue to make this a big issue, the more distorted and out of context this issue becomes.  I think that this is between My Space, the Barack campaign and Joe Anthony.  The truth is, some people really like a "scandal" and they will jump on this, repeating things they have read, and I guarantee the majority of information will become diluded with half-truths that will cause more harm than good. Sort of like the game we played as kids? Send the message?  When you get a line of kids, you start with one message, and by the end of the line it's nothing like what was said originally.

Personally, I would like Barack to be focusing on the Immigration Reform Bill, and of course the Iraq Spending Bill. I want him out, campaining about issues that affect us every day, and what he plans to do to change these things. I want to know about the issues that affect my life and the lives of the people I love.  I want military families to have their loved ones home,

My gut feeling is that people are not looking at the reason that this happened in the first place, Obama is running for President! If the shoe was on the "other foot"? I would want my image, name and information protected too.

I also think that the more people continue to make this an issue, the more it affects the image of Joe Anthony in a negative light. Sure, there are people that are still upset about how this all happened, but where is Joe Anthony in all of this?  Is he wanting this issue to be continued and talked about each day?  I can't help but think that the continued effort to keep this issue alive is not serving the greater good of anyone, including Joe.

So, there it is.  Like I said before, my intent is not to challenge your opinion, or this page, but to get a better understanding of what the overall message is that you are trying to promote through this page.

I hope to hear back from you soon,

Sincerely,

[.. snip ..]

This article was just published a couple days ago, but it looks like their interview with Joe Anthony took place last week or earlier.

http://www.gelfmagazine.com/archives/between_barack_and_a_myspace.php

~PJ

Team,

As we reach out and invite more people to join us, we have gotten several messages in the last day or so from people who are either against what we are doing, or have questions about it.

I will post the most substantive messages we receive, so you can respond to them directly.

Here is the most inflammatory one I've seen so far, along with my response. This person is very upset. Please respond in a civil, polite, appropriate, and non-provocative manner. Getting upset back at this person, will not be helpful to them, or to our cause.

Thanks!
~PJ

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: [ .. snip .. ]
Date: May 22, 2007 11:15 PM

Senator Obama's team NEVER took over the 160,000 friends list.  What a freaking bunch of crap

This is rediculous.  Is this all you guys spend time on?  Like "lice" coming out of the woodwork that you can never get rid of. You come out and snap at a respected US Senator and Presidential Candidate because poor little Joe, the untrained political wannabe didn't get his money for volunteering on a FREE webpage?

Get over it.  Boy has he have you guys all snowed!

You only know what HE is telling you and you know what?  I have had enough of you idiots who have nothing better to do than play your attack games.  It  is time for Senator Obama's supporters to strike back and I intend to and you and Joe are not going to like what you get.  You have no idea the people you are dealing with and we can go after him with a vengence.  This is the last straw.  This was unsolicited, you are taking Senator Obama's friend's list and contacting people who have not requested contact by you and I for one am getting an attorney and taking you people and myspace to court.  This is the final straw!

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From:Do the Right Thing, Barack
Date: May 23, 2007 11:16 AM

Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry you are so upset.

I have read some of your comments on the "official" Obama MySpace page, but was not able to respond to them there, since they have not yet approved me as a "Friend".

Just so you know, Joe Anthony had nothing to do with setting up this site. He didn't know about until it was already setup. He isn't behind it and he has no say in how we run it.

Also, just for the record, I've never met Joe Anthony or spoke to him. I do not know him other than through a some messages we have exchanged since this site was setup.

Also, as for us being on MySpace, I - for one - was never on MySpace before I heard about this issue through the news. Since the health and well-being of online civic participation is highly important to me, and the Obama campaign's actions have (IMO) done some serious damage in that area, I felt I could not sit around and do nothing about it.

I do realize there are two (or more) sides to every conflict. And I, personally, am open to hearing more about this from both Senator Obama's campaign staff and from MySpace. I am also open to adjusting my viewpoint based on whatever new information they provide. I welcome their input.

However, they have chosen to remain silent these past couple weeks. That has been their choice. So, we have to work with the information we have.

And, I feel the information that is publicly available clearly shows that the Obama campaign (not necessarily Senator Obama, but some of his staff) acted in a way that is not only morally and ethically untenable, and in a way that is a direct contradiction to what Senator Obama has publicly stood for, but also in a way that substantially damages the future health and wellbeing of online civic participation.

This last thing (damage to the future of online civic participation) is a far bigger issue, to me, than any candidate, any election, or any individual person. It is something I take very seriously, as it is the foundation our democracy - and democracy worldwide - is moving forward on. I will take a stand against anything, or anyone, who chooses to act in a way that substantially damages online civic participation - and proceeds to not undo the damage they did to the degree that they can. And, Senator Obama's campaign staff have chosen to do just that.

They are not victims. They are not helpless. This is a mess of their own creation (IMO). They have the power to clean it up. And, (IMO) they have the responsibility to clean it up.

If they choose not to, then they are choosing to damage Senator Obama's chances at winning election.

Again, as I said in the beginning, many of us ARE Obama supporters -- or we used to be and/or we want to be. But, Senator Obama needs to fix this mess his staff created in his name. Trying to minimize it, dismiss it, and/or ignore it will not make it go away.

The future of online civic participation, treating people well who have given greatly to Senator Obama's campaign (i.e. Joe Anthony), as well as integrity and accountability in a Presidential candidate, are all very important matters to me - and to many of the people on our "Do the Right Thing, Barack" site. That is what we are taking a stand for. That is what we are trying to achieve.

Thank you, again, for your input.

Best Regards,
PJ Public
http://myspace.com/pjpublic  

Please take a few minutes out to go join our (low volume) mailing list.

This mailing list will help us in several ways. It will allow us to:

I now realize this last one is especially important. Just yesterday, Papa2Girls posted this comment on our site:

May 22, 2007 6:28 PM

If that happens to us, having us all already on a mailing list elsewhere will allow us to quickly re-connect as a community, and re-setup our site -- perhaps somewhere else.

So, again, please take a minute or two to go sign-up for our (low volume) mailing list. It will be used for announcements and occasional updates, send out by myself or other designated people, only.

Have a Great Day!
~PJ