Change.org vs. Change.gov: What is the Connection?




I got a strange looking email in my mailbox today. It had a number of instances of "Obama" and "hope" mentions in it so I was surprised. I used Google Desktop Search and I realized that I signed for change.org mailing list to vote for the Health Freedoms. I was asked to do so by HealthFreedomUSA.com.

The strange looking email is included below. It makes me wonder. Change.org was established in 2007, just a year before the election. So my question for you is:

IN WHAT WAY ARE CHANGE.ORG AND CHANGE.GOV RELATED? ARE THEY REALLY AS INDEPENDENT AS CHANGE.ORG CLAIMS? Please comment below! I am dying to see your opinion!

This is the email today 1/24/2008 in its entirety. Note it is all about Obama, and hope. Why??

Change.org Weekly
Jan 19 - Jan 25

Hope for Obama, America, and the World

This week the world witnessed an amazing moment: As Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in front of almost two million Americans and over a billion viewers around the globe, one could sense the emergence of a new era in America - one of change, hope, and responsibility.

President Obama's inaugural message was a clarion call to service and action. "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility," he said. "A recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

The president's message echoed the long-standing American values of hard work, sacrifice, and service. He stated without equivocation that by coming together, rolling up our sleeves, and working our tails off, we can do more than get ourselves out of the rut we're in; we can make lasting change to benefit generations to come.

We couldn't agree more, and in the next few months we will be answering this call to service by providing additional ways for the Change.org community to get directly involved in the work of reinvigorating our nation's civic life. As a first step, our team of bloggers spent this week writing about their hopes for the Obama presidency, providing a sense of the direction we aim to take in the months ahead. Here's a sampling:
Day One, Darfur
One of the many pressing issues facing our new president is the restoration of America's image abroad writes Genocide blogger Michelle. By fulfilling his commitment to make Darfur a "day one" priority, Obama will not only make good on a campaign promise, but will set the direction for a future of American global engagement grounded in both strategic and moral leadership.
Governance dot com
Nathaniel Whittemore has always thought of Barack Obama as a fellow Social Entrepreneur, and he anoints Obama's run as the "entrepreneurial presidency." Inspired by techies working in their garages, Nathaniel offers five ways that Obama can govern like a startup (and that doesn't mean free beer after 5pm or a Wii in the game room).
Focus on Learning
We need more than a hodgepodge of reform to provide a real New Deal for education, writes Education blogger Clay Burell. To come up with a coherent vision for education in the 21st century, Clay suggests that we return education, like the economy, to the hands of public servants rather than the private sector.
Obama to End Slavery?
Obama's election has realized the dreams of many, but Human Trafficking blogger Amanda Kloer hopes that he will end slavery -- a crime that shockingly continues to coexist alongside racism.
Equality and Inclusion
Because Obama spoke about disabled rights and discussed issues that directly affect autistic people, Dora Raymaker has high hopes that he'll follow through with his disabilities agenda and further empower those on the autistic spectrum.
That's a lot of hope in one week. To read summaries from all of our 19 causes, please visit our blog. And stay with us as we expand upon these ideas in the next year and respond to President Obama's commitment that he's listening. As part of this effort, we'll also soon be launching the next phase of our Ideas for Change in America contest, for which we announced the winners last week at the National Press Club. Stay tuned -- there's a lot more to come.

- The Change.org Team

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