January 19th, the day we celebrate Martin Luther King, jr. and his dream, and the day before Barack Obama takes office as President of the United States, Democrats around the country are declaring a day of service to America. What a cool way to show your patriotism the day before Obama is sworn in! I want to highlight some events around the country where people can give back to their local community. I posted this as part of an earlier diary but realized that since the diary was aimed at people in Washington, D.C., no one who would be interested would see it. So, if you live in Washington, D.C., you can find some community service events for January 19th here. But if you live in Arkansas, Colorado, Virginia, Florida, Wyoming or Washington State, read on:

Democrats Work connects Democratic volunteers with visible, tangible service projects in their communities – cleaning up neighborhoods and parks, supporting schools and teachers, planting trees, sponsoring soccer clinics, and working at food banks. Democrats Work has events on Jan. 17th-19th in:

* Arkansas: Arkansas Foodbank Network in Little Rock

* Colorado: Denver Rescue Mission; Canned Food Drives in Denver with House District 5 here, here, or here (all on January 17th); Serve Lunch at The Crossing in Denver; Food Bank of the Rockies; Jeffco Action Center; Cleanup Tollgate Creek in Aurora

* Florida: New Smyrna Beach Cleanup

* Virginia: Clifton Road Cleanup

* Washington State: Work at the Northwest Harvest Foodbank in Kent; Restore Cheasty Greenspace in Seattle; Planting at the Duwamish Riverbend Hill in Tukwila (January 17th)

* Wyoming: Help at Interfaith-Good Samaritan in Laramie

America is about to enter a new era, leaving the Bush fiasco behind. Start this new era by reconnecting with your local community.

I got this from the National Jewish Democratic Council:

Please join the National Jewish Democratic Council and other Jewish groups on:

Monday, January 19, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Rd.
Bethesda, MD

for an afternoon of giving back to the Washington, DC community in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.

Participate in a variety of service projects including:
decorating placemats for the Children’s Inn at the National Institute of Health, making cards for soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, making 1,500 bag lunches for area homeless shelters, a bone marrow drive, and much more!

To learn more and to register please click here!

If you have any questions regarding this event please contact Abby Bruell at 202.216.9591 or at abby_at_njdc.org.

What a cool way to show your patriotism the day before Obama is sworn in.
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Tom Perriello was one of the candidates I most wanted to win...but who was definitely a long shot. I figured it was a case of someone I HAD to support because he was so good, but I'd probably lose.

Why did I like him so much? His diplomatic experience was superb and I figure we need some of that right about now. You can read about the context of his diplomatic experience with regards to Sierra Leone in my book review of a book about the Sierra Leone civil war.

Well, with the recount all done, it is now official: Tom Perriello won the Congressional race for the VA-5 district. He won by about 750 votes. Yet ANOTHER example of how EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS, and why YOU should be active in your local politics. You matter!

Here is Tom's comments on officially winning:
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The most kick ass quote of the evening:

"Oh, Virginia Went for Obama, By the Way."

Oh, by the way, a formerly slave holding state that included the capital of the Confederacy just was declared for a black man for President.

History HAS been made and Virginia just made a huge statement for progress.

Wow. Just wow.

Well, I think 21 states is about my limit. Was considering trying to put together West Virginia and Oklahoma pages, but I think the following are all I can do before election day rolls over us. Look for your state. I cover whatever caught my attention from school board and port authority up to Governor and Senate races. It is compiled from Progressive Majority, INDN List, Daily Kos efforts and my own research. The only controversial one I endorsed was in Washington State, and you can see the contrary comment in that section (from a Republican with a chip on his shoulder, but still with a valid point). So here they are, the 2008 Culture Kitchen Twenty-One State Endorsement Roundup:

NORTH CAROLINA ENDORSEMENTS

MINNESOTA ENDORSEMENTS

ALASKA ENDORSEMENTS

MONTANA ENDORSEMENTS

OREGON ENDORSEMENTS

COLORADO ENDORSEMENTS

WYOMING ENDORSEMENTS

VIRGINIA ENDORSEMENTS

NEVADA ENDORSEMENTS

OHIO ENDORSEMENTS

IOWA ENDORSEMENTS

PENNSYLVANIA ENDORSEMENTS

WISCONSIN ENDORSEMENTS

MICHIGAN ENDORSEMENTS

WASHINGTON STATE ENDORSEMENTS

MISSOURI ENDORSEMENTS

NEW JERSEY ENDORSEMENTS

CALIFORNIA ENDORSEMENTS

ILLINOIS ENDORSEMENTS

ARIZONA ENDORSEMENTS

TEXAS ENDORSEMENTS

Please forgive me if I skipped your state or skipped candidates in your state. I am just one person!

Virginia continues to be a key state in setting the political tone in America. I have believed since 2004 that Virginia is a state that can be slowly turned blue. The elections of 2005 and 2006 support my belief. This year the trend continues as we may well easily win the VA Senate race, and Barack Obama is consistently well ahead of McCain in this once safe-red state. But the House races also interest me, both because of our chances of winning a few, but also because the Dem candidates seem to be a particularly good bunch. I think we have a shot at winning VA-11, VA-10 and VA-2, and, with a little more effort, maybe even VA-5. And in each case the Democratic Candidate offers experience that America definitely needs after 8 years of Bush mismanagement. Let me give you a rundown of these four candidates. For all of them you can help by donating through my Virginia Act Blue Site or by volunteering through their websites.
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