Friday, September 30, 2016

The Endorsements Come Rolling in for Hillary Clinton

39 days to go and the print media is not only unrolling endorsements, the most staunchly Republican and conservative among them are lining up for Hillary.
The Chicago Sun-Times endorses Hillary Clinton for president. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) ORG XMIT: ILMR130
The Chicago Sun-Times endorses Hillary Clinton for president. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) ORG XMIT: ILMR130
Meanwhile, in the Wall Street Journal, Dorothy Rabinowitz sheds some light on why cable media insisted today in dismissive terms that newspaper endorsements do not mean much and probably do not influence votes.


Hillary-Hatred Derangement Syndrome

She alone stands between America and the reign of the most unstable, unfit president in U.S. history.


Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., Sept. 28. 
Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., Sept. 28. Photo: Zuma Press
There were cheers when Donald Trump assured his Virginia audience last weekend that the wall will be built and, yes, that Mexico would pay for it. But the cheers lacked the roaring ecstasy his promise used to evoke at rallies. No one has the heart, by now, to pretend that such a wall will actually be built, but that’s all right with Mr. Trump’s dauntless fans, who can find plenty of other reasons for their faith in him. The NeverTrump forces, appalled at the prospect of a Trump presidency, are no less passionate.
The NeverHillary forces are another matter entirely—citizens well aware of the darker aspects of Donald Trump’s character but who have nonetheless concluded that they should give him their vote. They are aware of his casual disregard for truth, his self-obsession, his ignorance, his ingrained vindictiveness. Not even the first presidential debate, which saw him erupt into a snarling aside about Rosie O’Donnell, could loosen his hold on that visceral drive to inflict payback, in this case over a feud 10 years old.
The NeverHillary forces are aware, too, of his grandiosity—his announcement that he knows more about Islamic State than any of America’s generals will long be remembered—his impulse-driven character, his insatiable need for applause, the head-turning effect on him of an approving word from Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader’s compliment late last year was of the mildest kind—he referred to Mr. Trump as “talented” and “colorful”—but it was enough to make the candidate’s heart go pitter-patter with gratitude and engender instant expressions of his faith in Mr. Putin’s integrity and leadership. As Mr. Trump himself has explained, “if he says nice things about me, I’m going to say nice things about him.”
Such are the values that drive the Republican candidate’s judgment—a fact interesting to contemplate as one imagines a President Trump dealing with international conflict and rogue heads of state. Still Mr. Trump is now the choice of voters who have concluded that of the two flawed contenders running, he would be far preferable.
Read more >>>>
So while Andrea Mitchell & Co. blow off the newspaper endorsements as insignificant and irrelevant, it is undeniable that something is up with the conservative and Republican endorsements multiplying like loaves and fishes while Trump stands, as Chris Matthews just pointed out, with his finger in the air like Jesus on the Mount.

Most sound-minded Americans do not buy into Trump's dark and stormy vision that this country is in its worst shape ever.  That is not to say that what is not working doesn't need fixing and what works cannot be made better. It does indicate that most of us know that we are not looking for a redeemer.  The U.S. remains the most powerful country on earth. What we need is a clear-eyed, forward-thinking leader to put this country on the road to the 22nd century.  It is a century unlikely to be seen by anyone voting in this election.  But that is what elections are supposed to be about - the future.

Messianic prophecies of doom and gloom offer nothing for the path forward.  This is not a religious crusade, and underneath it all, Trump's positions smack exactly of that.  It is an election. It is secular.  We need a president for all of us. That person is not Donald Trump.

To date, Donald Trump has not been endorsed by a single major print news outlet.

It's the last night of the last quarter.  Stand with Hillary now!  Chip in!
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Hillary Clinton Rallies Voters in Coral Springs

Hillary disembarked her plane at Fort Lauderdale Airport this afternoon and headed for a campaign rally at the Coral Springs Gymnasium.

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In Coral Springs, Clinton Calls on Americans To Reaffirm Our Values At the Polls

At a voter registration rally in Coral Springs, Florida, Hillary Clinton urged Americans to register to vote and go to the polls in November to reaffirm the values that make our country great. Hillary Clinton is dedicated to an America where we are all “Stronger Together” and where our economy works for all, not just those at the top. But Donald Trump has called America a nation in decline, has a history of disparaging comments about women and has disparaged anyone who has questioned him, Clinton said, adding, “My opponent believes America is in decline. I’ve never heard such a dark and divisive, terrible image of our country coming from someone running to be president of the United States. When he talks, I lots of times don’t even recognize the country he’s talking about. And why are we already great? Well, it is not just because of the size of our economy or the size of our military. It is because of our generosity; it is because of our ingenuity; it is because of the diversity of our country.”
Clinton’s remarks, as transcribed, are below:
“Thank you! Whoa! Thank you so much. And I am so happy to be here in Coral Springs, in Broward County, in the great state of Florida! And I know there’s a big overflow crowd in the next building over. I think they can see and hear us, but I wanted to thank them for being part of today’s event.
And I’ve got to recognize Joshua Simmons, who just introduced me. He is a civics teacher at Pompano Beach Middle School, and boy, are his students lucky to have him and his enthusiasm. And I want to also commend him for talking about his mother and how hard she worked, and his sister who he helped to raise. We really are stronger together, and that starts in families and neighborhoods and communities.
Well, you heard from a lot of my friends who represent you, starting with my great friend and former colleague, your Senator Bill Nelson. And I am looking forward to working with Bill as we make sure to continue the progress that will move us all forward together. And I sure hope Florida sends some reinforcements to the Senate and elect Congressman Patrick Murphy. I think Florida deserves a full-time senator, don’t you? And I want to thank my friend, someone who has just worked her heart out not just for her constituents but for Democrats across America – Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And another great friend of mine going back more years than we care to remember – I’m so pleased he’s here with us – Congressman Alcee Hastings. And I know that Congressman Ted Deutch, who represents this district – is over in Israel for the funeral of a great, great man, Shimon Peres, and I want to thank Ted for all of his support and his hard work.
Before I get started and really talk about everything that’s at stake and what we have to do the next 39 days to make sure we win this election, I wanted to say a few words about the tragic passing of Jose Fernandez. When he left Cuba, he did not speak a word of English. He didn’t let that stop him. He pursued his dreams. He wanted to and he became one of the best baseball players that Miami has ever seen. And he never forgot where he came from. He worked hard to give back to the community that had given so much to him. Jose’s life really embodied the American dream, and at 24 years of age, he was just getting started. I’m sure you join me in saying that our thoughts and our prayers are with his family, with his fans, and everyone whose life he touched during his extraordinary career.
I also want to mention another resident of Coral Springs, and that’s a man named Bob Levinson. My heart goes out to Bob’s family. He disappeared in Iran more than nine years ago, and it is long past time for the Iranian regime to provide us information about his whereabouts and let him return home to his family.
Now, did any of you see the debate the other night? Well, I think it was pretty clear there are two very different choices for our country based on two very different visions of the kind of America that we want to have. My view is we are already great, and if we work together, we will become even greater in the years ahead. I believe America is an exceptional nation. My opponent believes America is in decline. I’ve never heard such a dark and divisive, terrible image of our country coming from someone running to be president of the United States. When he talks, I lots of times don’t even recognize the country he’s talking about. And why are we already great? Well, it is not just because of the size of our economy or the size of our military. It is because of our generosity; it is because of our ingenuity; it is because of the diversity of our country. I think our diversity is one of our strongest assets.
This morning, I laid out my plan for more national service so that more people of all ages can serve America, serve their communities. Because America is great, when you really strip it all down, because America is good. And we can’t ever forget that.
I have laid out specific plans about how we’re going to make our country even greater. I’ve actually got a book here with Tim Kaine, my running mate. I have this old-fashioned idea: if I’m asking you for your vote for president, I should tell you what I’m going to do. I shouldn’t just talk in generalities and use rhetoric and never answer questions about what we can do, but to lay out how we’re going to make the economy work for everyone, not just those at the top.
That means new jobs – new jobs with rising incomes, jobs in infrastructure, jobs in advanced manufacturing, in innovation and technology, and yes, clean, renewable energy jobs.
My opponent’s only infrastructure plan is to build a wall. I love that he went down to Mexico and he choked. He didn’t even raise it. He’s been going around telling people for months, ‘We’re going to build a wall and we’re going to make Mexico pay for it.’ So he’s sitting with the president of Mexico and he doesn’t even bring it up. He finds it a lot easier to insult women than to talk to the president of Mexico about building a wall. I mean, really, who gets up at 3 o’clock in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack against a former Miss Universe? I mean, he hurled as many insults as he could. Really, why does he do things like that? I mean, his latest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him. It proves yet again that he is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander-in-chief. I have said it before and I’ll say it again: A man who can be provoked by a tweet should not be anywhere near the nuclear codes.
So I’m going to keep talking about what we can do together after this election. Getting those new jobs. And I’ll tell you, another area I want to emphasize is small business. As I said the other night, my dad was a small businessman. He made a lot of sacrifice and he worked really hard to give us a good, solid, middle-class life. I’m really proud of that. And I’m sure glad he never got a contract from Donald Trump, who stiffs small businesses, doesn’t pay his bills to people like my dad. But we need to do more to get small business started and growing – here in Broward County, throughout South Florida, across the state, and beyond.
So as we grow the economy, we also have to make it fairer. I want prosperity to reach everyone, not just the privileged few. So we are going to raise the minimum wage because if you work full-time, you should not still be in poverty. And you know, two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are women, most of them supporting kids. And if you work full-time on a minimum wage job, at the end of the year you’ve made $15,000. I think we can do better. And I think we should because we want everybody to have a chance to get ahead and stay ahead and go as far as their hard work and talent will take them.
Something else we’re going to do is we are finally going to guarantee equal pay for women’s work. Now, this is not, my friends, just a women’s issue. If you have a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, who is working, it’s your issue, too, to make sure she is paid fairly. That will raise family incomes.
And then the third thing I want to do is to make sure – to make sure – more companies share profits with the workers who helped to create those profits in the first place. The other night at the debate, one of my guests was Mark Cuban. He was sitting in the front row. And one of the reasons I was proud to have him there is he believes in profit-sharing. He’s always, in his companies, shared profits. And by the way, he is a real billionaire. And when he sold his first company, he shared the profits from the sale and 300 people who worked for him, who helped to make him a success, became millionaires. I want to lift up and use as examples business leaders like that, not somebody who stiffs contractors, who doesn’t pay dishwashers and painters and plumbers and glass installers and architects and marble installers and so many else, but somebody who has the right attitude, that we’re stronger together in business just like we are in government and America.
And the other thing we have to do more of is to make sure that we help deal with some of the stresses that American families are facing. It is hard to balance family and work, isn’t it? I think we can do better. I want to see us have paid family leave, earned sick days, affordable childcare, and affordable college that includes tuition-free and debt-free college.
Now, after the primary was over – and Senator Sanders and I ran a tough primary, but you know what? I was really proud. We ran a campaign based on issues, not insults. He and I got together and we said, okay, what are we going to do to make sure that more young people can actually get a college education? Because right now, it’s way beyond what a lot of families can afford. And if you go into debt, you come out of it with so much debt that remains a burden on you.
So the other day Senator Sanders and I were up in New Hampshire together, and we were rolling out our plan. And it’s pretty simple. You can go to my website, but let me just tell you briefly. If you are in a family that makes less than $125,000, you will not pay tuition to go to a public college or university. And if you make more than that, you will pay what you can afford, but you will not have to borrow money because it will be debt-free for you to go. And we put together a calculator on my website. You can go to hillaryclinton.com/ calculator and you can see how much you will save, how much your child or your grandchild would save under this plan.
But I also believe a four-year college degree, which is an important part of getting an education to get ahead, should not leave you mired in debt. So we are going to help you refinance your debt, get the interest rates down, and if you’re willing to do public service, national service, we’re going to forgive your debt over time.
But not everyone has to go for a four-year degree. I want every person, not just young people but people who are looking for a different opportunity or may have to retrain – I want to everybody to have a chance for a good, solid job. I think we made a mistake when we took vocational education out of high school. We need to put technical education back into high school.
And we need to make sure that community colleges are free so that young people starting in high school can take courses at community college to get the training they need for a good job. And I want to see business and labor unions working together for real apprenticeship programs – not the kind that lead to being told, ‘You’re fired,’ the kind that lead to being told, ‘You’re hired.’
Now, I’m excited about this. I really am. I am confident and optimistic about our country. We never get anything done if all we do is get down in the mouth and feel bad and complain and try to blame somebody for something else. That’s not who we are as Americans. We need to lift ourselves up, and we need to roll up our sleeves to get to work to make sure that future is what it should be for our country.
And while we’re doing that, we’re going to make sure that our country’s safe and that America provides strong and steady leadership around the world. Sometimes, when I listen to my opponent, it kind of seems he doesn’t know who our friends are versus our adversaries. He has this weird fascination with dictators. He’s kind of signed up for the Vladimir Putin wish list. He doesn’t care whether NATO falls apart, and he is really cavalier about other countries getting nuclear weapons. He said he doesn’t care. Let Japan, South Korea, even Saudi Arabia, get a nuclear weapon. Whoa! That’s the kind of dangerous, reckless talk that people around the world pay attention to.
As I told him in the debate – he actually said, ‘Well, we may or may not defend our allies in Asia.’ Words matter. And America’s word matters. We have to be reliable and trustworthy. People have to count on us. And we’ve got a lot of work to do around the world. We need to work hard for peace and prosperity. We need to tackle climate change together.
Climate change is real. Florida knows that. My opponent thinks it’s a hoax created by the Chinese. And what that means is he would not be able to take advantage of the economic opportunities that climate change presents. You see, some country’s going to be the clean energy superpower of the 21st Century. I think it’s going to be either China, Germany, or us. I want it to be us, and it can be us if we make up our minds for that to happen. Let’s deploy a half a billion more solar panels. Let’s produce enough clean energy so that every home in America can be powered by it. There’s so much we can do together. And that means we’ve got to work with other countries and we’ve got to demonstrate that we support our allies, whether they’re in Europe, the Middle East with Israel, or Asia, that we stand with those who stand with us.
And then, finally, one of the next priorities that I have if I am so fortunate enough as to be your president is to bring our country together. I’ve got to tell you, look, disagreements, political disagreements, that’s fine. That’s who we are. I don’t know any two people in America who agree on everything politically with each other. And I’ve known, been fortunate enough to know, a number of our more recent presidents. I didn’t always agree with them either, including my husband. But I’ll tell you this: Republicans and Democrats alike, I never doubt they were trying to put the country’s interests first. They were trying to bring people together, not pit us against each other. And one of the things I will do from the very beginning, the very first day of my administration –”
AUDIENCE MEMBER: “Day one.” HILLARY CLINTON: “– is to make them day one – you’re right – is to make sure everybody in the country knows I’m the president of every American, every single person.
Now – so in order for me to do any of this, anything that’s in this book and making sure that it’s paid for by the wealthy and corporations who have to pay their fair share finally, all of that, depends upon whether we win in November. The stakes could not be higher. So here is what I am asking all of you. How many of you know you are registered to vote? So we need to get everybody to be registered at your current address by October 11th. If you’ve moved, you may need to reregister. Here’s how you can find out if you are registered. You can go to iwillvote.comiwillvote.com. You put in your name. You put in your address and make sure you’re registered. If you need to get registered, we have volunteers here. Right? And they will – they have – they have clipboards. We’re kind of low-tech about it. They have clipboards. They can help you get registered right here and now or, as I say, you can go to iwillvote.com and check your registration. And, remember, you can vote by mail startingOctober 24th here in Broward. And the other thing you can do is convince everybody you know to make sure they’re registered and to help them know how to vote by mail so they could get their vote in without making any fuss or inconvenience.
So make no mistake. This election is going to be close. They always are. So every call you make, every door you knock on, every person you register could make the difference. So I’m asking you to go ahead and text JOIN, text JOIN, J‑O‑I‑N, to 47246 to get involved or go to hillaryclinton.com. And you can volunteer and become involved. If we win Broward County by as big a margin as we should win it, we win Florida.
And, like I say, I’m not just excited about winning an election. I’m excited about doing the work. I’m excited about listening to Americans. I’ll continue to travel our country. I’ll be here in Florida so much you’ll get sick of me because I want to be a good partner for Florida. I mean, Florida is already suffering from climate change, and you have a governor who ordered the state government never to say the word or write the phrase. That’s kind of hard to believe. So there’s a lot we’re going to do together: jobs, rising incomes, opportunities. And that’s what gets me excited.
So here’s what I hope you will do. When you leave here, if somebody says, ‘Where were you this afternoon?’ you say, ‘Oh, I went to a rally for Hillary Clinton.’ If they say, ‘Oh, that’s great,” get them registered. If they say, ‘Oh, my gosh. How can you do that?’ if they’re seriously thinking about voting for my opponent, stage an intervention, really, because, remember, remember, friends don’t let friends vote for Trump. And what we believe and what we’re going to prove on November 8th is love trumps hate. Thank you all so much.”

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Give Hillary a boost before the quarter closes at midnight.  Chip in what you can >>>>

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Hillary Clinton Campaigning in Fort Pierce

Hillary is in Florida today.  Her first event was in at the Sunrise Theater Fort Pierce.




In Florida, Clinton Calls for a Renewed Commitment to National Service

At a speech in Fort Pierce, Florida on Friday, Hillary Clinton issued a broad call for national service, building on her belief that we must do more to support Millennial activism and create pathways for young Americans to serve and to lead. Clinton set out a new national program dedicated to helping Americans participate in service opportunities with a special focus on younger Americans: a National Service Reserve where 5 million Americans would devote hours of volunteer service time towards solving pressing local challenges in their community. She would also increase AmeriCorps from 75,000 members to 250,000 members annually to fulfill the promise of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act; strengthen the Peace Corps; and expand service opportunities for Americans of all ages. It is a distinct contrast, she said, to Donald Trump's view of America as a hopeless broken place where "I alone can fix it," Clinton said.
She added, "I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. And I didn’t want this campaign to end without me talking about this issue that means so much to me.  I’m going to end this campaign focusing on the issues closest to my heart – and this is one of them [...] And I’ll hope you’ll join me, because this – perhaps more than anything else – speaks to what is great and good about the United States." Clinton said her speech, the fifth in a series of speeches on her vision of an America that is "Stronger Together," stemmed from her lifelong belief in public service: her Methodist faith taught her to "Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." She will take that belief in service that she has carried all her life, since her first job out of law school in the Children's Defense Fund, all the way to the White House, she said. Clinton also believes that one of America's best qualities is our culture of national service and volunteerism, whether exemplified by rebuilding schools, cleaning up neighborhoods, helping people find jobs or families find housing, or any of a million other kinds of service Americans perform every day. Clinton's remarks as transcribed, are below: “Hello! Thank you! Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so very much. Wow, what – what a wonderful welcome. It is great to be here in Fort Pierce in this beautiful theater. I love being in the Sunshine State. I really want to recognize a few people: U.S. Congresswoman Lois Frankel is here as you saw, Randy Perkins, a candidate for Congress, Kim Johnson, chair of the St. Lucie County Commission, Larry Lee Jr., state representative. Everyone, all of the elected officials, all of the students and young people, it is wonderful to be with you. And I want to thank Eileen for her introduction. We know how hard that nurses like Eileen work, and now that she is retired, she is volunteering for our campaign. This woman never quit, and Eileen, we are so glad you are on our team. I am grateful to all of the elected officials, all of the commissioners, the county commissioners, Martin County, St. Lucie, for all you do for the community, but especially for all you did this summer to clean up the algae that polluted the water, that threatened wildlife and made life hard for local residents and businesses. This is a serious and complicated problem, isn't it, for the entire Treasure Coast. And it is a reminder, if we needed it, how important good leadership is. So, I thank all the leaders for their commitment. Now, there are just 39 days between now and November 8th.  Just 39 days left in the most important election in our lifetimes. We’ve got to make every single day count. We have to get more people registered to vote, get more people committed to turn out to vote. We have to drive home the stakes in this election: stronger families, safer communities and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. And underneath all of the rhetoric and the coverage and the back and forth, this campaign really comes down to two questions. What kind of future we want for ourselves, our kids and our grandkids, and how do we make it a reality? Now, as I said it the other night – how many of you saw the debate? Well as I said, I now have two grandchildren, and no offense to anybody, the two most wonderful, amazing, extraordinary. A little girl and a little boy. So I think a lot about the future. And you may have noticed that my opponent and I have different views about – well, nearly everything when it gets right down to it – not just about what makes America great, because I think America already is great – but about what we should do to make it even greater, and about that basic question about how progress happens at all. My opponent believes in what I call a ‘strongman approach.'  He stood on that stage at his convention and described a hopeless, broken nation. I am sorry, I am looking at you. I don't see that. That in no way resembles the strong, vibrant America I know.  And here’s what he said. He said, ‘I alone can fix it.’  I alone? Well, we have learned that that’s his way. One person getting supreme power and exercising it ruthlessly. That’s why he admires dictators like Vladimir Putin so much. But that’s not how change happens in America. It’s never just one person, not even someone as powerful as the president. Every good our country has ever achieved has always happened because people have worked together to make it a reality. Not just the wealthy or the powerful – all of us. We see that every day across America, and I bet many of you have been a part of it. Maybe you taught kids to read, right? Or cleaned up your local park, or the beach, maybe you have organized a cancer walk, or you have run a food drive. Whatever it is, chances are you have done something to serve your community. And by extension, your country. How many of you – just think back over your lives – how many of you have performed some kind of service of some sort for your community, for other people. The reason I know you have is because tens and tens of millions of Americans do some kind of volunteering in your hometowns every single year. It’s one of the best things about the American people. We are doers. We don’t just shrug our shoulders when we see something that needs fixing, we don’t get resigned or pathetic, or blame other people and turn on each other to find scapegoats. We roll up our sleeves, we get to work to try to make things better in our neighborhood, our community, our city, our state, our country. This has been our story, the American story, since the beginning of our nation, and it is still going strong today. Now, for many Americans, including a lot of you here, serving our country has included serving in our Armed Forces. People are starting to call out their services! There is no greater service or sacrifice, and we are grateful to our men and women in uniform, to their families and our veterans every single day. But what’s so great is that national service can take many different forms, and it’s something that I believe in so deeply, that every stage of our lives gives us the chance, from grade school through grandparenthood, to find a way to give back. We’ve got folks here today from AmeriCorps, which my husband created back in 1993, and I’ll tell you, to this day, it is one of his proudest achievements. Because very day, AmeriCorps volunteers are out there. They’re building houses, responding to natural disasters, helping people with disabilities find jobs, find safe places to live, and next week, on October 7th, AmeriCorps will celebrate a major milestone: their one-millionth member. I’ll tell you, Bill is really excited about this and so am I. And by the way, AmeriCorps has one of the best swearing in pledges I have ever heard. Here’s how it starts: ‘I will get things done for America.’ Isn’t that great? I think we should make that a national slogan. Now we also have folks here today from City Year, which is part of AmeriCorps. And every day, they’re working with students who are risk of dropping out of school. They’re tutoring and mentoring and running after school clubs – all to help young people really discover how capable they really are and to be empowered and to stay in school. I’m really grateful to them. We also have people here today from the Peace Corps, which represents the best of America to the world. Peace Corps volunteers are teaching English in Kosovo, staffing health centers in Nicaragua, supporting farmers in Nepal, distributing malaria nets in Uganda. Both as First Lady and as Secretary of State, I got to see the results of their work first hand. They are making the world a healthier, more prosperous and more peaceful place. Now, maybe not all of you have been a part of one of these programs, but I know you serve in different ways. Maybe you volunteer through your school, or with your church or synagogue. Maybe you find through faith-based opportunities, as I did when I was a teenager, service opportunities. Because for many Americans, service is part of our faith. My running mate, Tim Kaine, volunteered in Honduras with Jesuits as a young man, and it changed his life. Or maybe your whole family volunteers together, Bill and Chelsea and I, every holiday season, would work at a food bank back in Arkansas. However you serve, it feels good, doesn’t it? To be part of something bigger than ourselves. To take our time and labor, and put it towards something good that can happen in our country and the world. And you know something very interesting? Service makes us happier, it makes us healthier, and there are studies proving that. It’s not just how we feel, they’ve actually followed people. It can also help us find our next job, or our true calling in life. It’s a smart way to use our greatest asset in life, our people. And service does something important for us as a society. Too often, we Americans can become separated from each other, and I think a lot of people are feeling this way during this election. It’s easy to surround ourselves with only those that think like us, talk like us, look like us, read the same news as us, that’s understandable to an extent. But it comes with a cost because it magnifies our differences, which then makes it harder to put those differences aside when our community or country needs us. There aren’t many places where people of all ages, all races, all backgrounds, all beliefs come together in common cause. But service is one of them, and that’s one of the reasons I think it's so valuable, because in addition to the good work it does, it helps us reconnect with each other to feel more a part of our shared American life. I believe that one of the jobs of President is to encourage more service, to help more Americans answer President Kennedy’s call. You know it: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.’ But sometimes it's hard to figure out. How do you make a difference, especially with everything else going on in our lives? And too often volunteering becomes something only people with lots of time and financial security can do. But that's not how it should be. Everyone should be able to contribute. So what if we, as a country, made it easier for everybody to do that, for everybody to give back?  What if we created more service opportunities for Americans of all ages, invested in programs that work and encouraged entrepreneurs to add a social component to their businesses? What if we strengthened the culture of service in America so it wasn’t just something that we did one day a year, but it became a regular part of our lives. I think that would reflect our values and would tap into something so great about America. I talk a lot about how America is an exceptional nation. We’re not exceptional just because of the size of our military or the size of our economy. We’re exceptional because of the generosity and ingenuity of our people. Way back, nearly 200 years ago, a Frenchman came to the United States, his name was Alexis de Tocqueville. He was travelling around, trying to figure out, ‘What is this new place called America? They fought a revolution. Who are they?’ And he saw how we had set up our government, and we had three branches, and everything that our founders really put into place. But the thing that made the biggest impression on him was our spirit of volunteerism that made a democracy as diverse and ambitious as ours possible. If I’m elected president this fall, I want to build on that strength by making a major push in support of more national service. So here’s what I plan to do. First, let’s triple AmeriCorps. That was the goal of my friend and the great Senator Ted Kennedy. It was laid out in a law named in his honor, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. It’s finally time we get it done. Every year there are hundreds of thousands of more applications for AmeriCorps than there are spots in the program, so if we grow the program from 75,000 annual members to 250,000, we’re going to give more people who already want to serve the chance to do so. Then I want to double the college scholarships that AmeriCorps members earn through their service, and I want to find ways for more students to get college credit for service because I know too many talented, committed young people who pass up serving with AmeriCorps because, with their student loans, they can’t afford it. So let’s lighten that burden. If you do national service, we will begin a program to forgive your loans, because you are giving back to your country. And let’s keep working to the ultimate goal of making it possible for any American to serve full time if they want to. Now second, let’s grow the Peace Corps. Since President Kennedy launched it 55 years ago, it’s given nearly a quarter of a million Americans the experience of a lifetime, and it’s fostered friendship and cooperation between Americans and people in more than 100 nations. We’ve got to do more of that in the world today. We need more Americans of all ages around the world showing our values, serving people. So let’s make it possible for more Americans to be a part of this extraordinary program. Third, let’s expand service opportunities for people of all ages. Right? Now, let’s be fair, the younger generation is way ahead on this. I've talked to so many young people who are deeply thoughtful about how your lives impact others and the world. Service isn't just something to do to check a box before graduation, it really is woven into your lives. And many who are just getting started in your careers, say that having a social impact is more important to you than getting a job that yes, may pay a salary but doesn't give you any meaning or purpose in your lives. Now I also want to get older Americans more involved. Service isn’t something only students and young people do. I know that. So I intend to make sure that 10 percent of AmeriCorps slots go to Americans over the age of 55. Let’s give people an encore opportunity after they’ve ended their formal careers so they can apply a lifetime of knowledge and experience to a stronger community. And finally, I want to create a new means for people to serve in serious, meaningful ways without a full time commitment. AmeriCorps is a full time commitment. The Peace Corps is a full time commitment. The Armed Forces are a full time commitment. But the Armed Forces has another model. The Reserves – right? It gives people the chance to make a high impact contribution while still building careers and pursuing their dreams in other ways. So let’s do something like that in the civilian space. Let’s call it the National Service Reserve. And here’s the idea. If you join the National Service Reserve, you will receive some basic training, just like you would in the military reserves, and then when your city or state needs you, you’ll get the call. Say a natural disaster strikes and the Red Cross needs all hands on deck. Or maybe, like the crisis in Flint, and clean water has to be distributed every day to a lot of families. Or maybe your city launches a major public health campaign to reduce drug abuse or promote mental health. You will then be sent into action. Now some of these assignments maybe just be for a few days, a month, some might be longer term. But they will directly address a vital need in your own community. And one of the other advantages is you can help meet that need while still being a full-time student, having a job, taking care of your family. You won’t have to make service your only priority.  Our goal is 5 million people spread across all 50 states, and we will have an open door to people of all ages, but we want to put a special focus on people under 30 who've said again and again they want to have a bigger impact in their communities, but they can't leave their jobs, understandably. We’ll work with governors and mayors, Republicans and Democrats, because I want this to be a true bipartisan, public-private partnership. I also want to include businesses, colleges and universities who have unique resources to offer. And because we want workers and students to know that as they make this contribution, their schools and their employers will have their backs. I really think a National Service Reserve could make a difference for cities and states. There’s so much work to be done and so many people who want to help do it. So let’s bridge that divide, get people working together in ways that can help communities. Now, I don’t think you’ll hear anything about this from my opponent. And you know what? I think that’s a shame, because national service has always been a bipartisan goal. Of course, President Kennedy started the Peace Corps and my husband started AmeriCorps – but President Nixon signed the Domestic Volunteer Service Act.  President George H.W. Bush created the White House Office of National Service.  And both President George W. Bush and President Obama have been huge champions of service.  This should be something that we all can get behind.  And when you listen to what’s being said in this campaign, it can be discouraging, right? It can seem hard to find any common ground so it makes it even more important that we come together where, whenever we can. Now, I am well aware that candidates don’t usually focus on national service in the final stretch of a hotly fought presidential election. Some might say, ‘Well hey, my gosh, you’ve only got 39 days to go. Why aren’t you just out there beating up on your opponent and doing everything to get the vote out and all the rest of it? Well, I’ll do that, but – I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I did not want this campaign to end without talking about it because it means a lot to me. I’m trying to end the campaign focusing on issues that are really close to my heart – and this is one of them. Thank you! For me, service is really all about fulfilling the instruction of my Methodist faith, and you can see part of the creed I like to follow behind me: ‘Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’ Now, I’ve carried those words with me ever since I heard them as a little girl, and it’s an idea that really got into my head and my heart. But you know what’s kept me going are the people that I’ve met. And in a country founded on liberty and equality, I can’t think of a more important notion than every one of us is valuable. We all deserve respect. We all should listen to each other. We all can make our mark on the world. And when we come together in common purpose, we can do so much more than we could ever do on our own. That’s why ‘Stronger Together’ is more than just a slogan. It’s a course of action. So here’s what I want to do. I want you to hear me pledge that this will be a vital aspect of my presidency. And I want you to help me bring our nation together – to solve our problems, strengthen our communities. To join with people across America who care about service, because this speaks to both what is great and good about the United States. America is great because we are good. There are lots of examples. We are going to be putting examples up on my website of people who have served and who are inspirations. But I want everybody here to know that it can be done. We can do more, and we can provide the opportunities to enlist more people. There are so many examples in this community and communities across America – 39 days left. This is the choice: do we lift each other up, or do we tear each other down? Do we listen and respect each other, or do we scapegoat, point fingers, and insult each other? Well, I’ll tell you what side I’m going to be on, and with your help, we’re going to demonstrate on November 8th, what kind of country we really are. Thank you and God bless you!”
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Then she was at Vero Beach airport to hop aboard her plane for her next event in Coral Springs.

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Give Hillary a boost before the quarter closes at midnight.  Chip in what you can >>>>
STAND