Obama campaign unlawfully misuses proprietary firearms industry media list says trade association

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The Obama campaign in Indiana, on September 27, unlawfully obtained and made unauthorized use of a proprietary media list belonging to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms industry. Sen. Obama used this list to e-mail a press release (http://www.nssf.org/share/PDF/100808-003.pdf) concerning National Hunting and Fishing Day.

Earlier today, NSSF sent a “cease and desist” letter (http://www.nssf.org/share/PDF/100808-001.pdf) to the Obama campaign demanding that they immediately stop any further unauthorized misuse of its proprietary media list.

The list contains the names and addresses of members of the media that attended the NSSF Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) - the world’s largest firearms trade show and the 23rd largest trade show of any kind in North America.

The list can only be obtained from NSSF and its use is tightly controlled by NSSF (http://www.nssf.org/share/PDF/100808-002.pdf). Neither the Obama campaign, nor its operations in Indiana, obtained any rights from NSSF to use the list.

NSSF’s letter also demands that the Obama campaign destroy all copies of the list, identify how they obtained the list and pay monetary damages to NSSF for its misappropriation and unauthorized use of the association’s intellectual property. NSSF demanded an immediate response from the Obama campaign and has threatened to file a lawsuit against the campaign if its demands are not met.

“NSSF will not sit idly by while its legal rights are harmed, particularly for partisan political gain,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.

NSSF is also encouraging sportsmen and gun-owners to visit the NSSF Voter Education Web-site (http://www.nssf.org/VoterEd/) and educate themselves about the candidates’ records and positions on issues important to them in this election.

Barack Obama to visit Purdue for national security discussion

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s Wednesday (July 16) visit to Purdue University will require traffic rerouting on campus.

Sen. Barack Obama will visit Purdue for a roundtable discussion on national security.

Some areas near the Purdue Memorial Union will be shut down for security purposes, said Purdue police Capt. Tim Potts. The service drive just north of the Union will be closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The left lane of Grant Street between State Street and Northwestern Avenue will be closed to create parking space for media satellite trucks. Visitors to campus for the event are encouraged to use the Grant Street Parking Garage.

The Purdue Students for Barack Obama chapter is sponsoring Obama’s visit as part of an invitation-only roundtable discussion on national security.

Obama is scheduled to arrive at the Purdue Airport around 10:30 a.m. and then proceed to the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom where the summit will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Topics for the discussion, “Confronting 21st Century Threats,” will include issues related to nuclear nonproliferation, bioterrorism, cybersecurity and emerging national security threats.

The Students for Barack Obama chapter, which has about 150 active members, helped arrange the visit, said organization Vice President Ashley Rozier.

“By choosing to visit Purdue, Sen. Obama shows that he and his campaign are really taking Indiana seriously,” she said. “The topics of the discussion are very relevant to the community, state, nation and world.”

According to a news release on the Obama campaign Web site, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn will take part in the national security discussion. The panel also will include two experts on biosecurity, Tara O’Toole of Center for Bio Security at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. David Relman of Stanford University Medical School, and cybersecurity experts Paul Kurtz, a former senior member on the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council, and Alan Wade, former chief information officer for the CIA.

African-Americans mark independence; celebrate Juneteenth

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — African-Americans across the country will participate in Juneteenth events this month, continuing a long history of celebrating emancipation and freedom.

“The son of a white woman and African man has morphed into an African-American, mostly as a matter of skin color,” Bynum says. “But his candidacy still brings hopefulness to this year’s celebrations.”

The Juneteenth holiday dates to June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas, freeing 250,000 slaves in the state. They were the last slaves freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln two and a half years earlier.

African-Americans have long celebrated holidays of freedom, many specific to a certain region, says Cornelius L. Bynum, a Purdue University assistant professor of history.

“Juneteenth is kind of a catchall for these regional celebrations,” he says. “The best way of thinking about Juneteenth is in the context of the Fourth of July because both are about independence.”

This year, Barack Obama’s candidacy for president brings a fresh sense of hope to Juneteenth celebrations, Bynum says.

Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, offers “a modern manifestation of a long and deep commitment of both blacks and whites to overcome racial divisions,” Bynum says.

Yet Bynum says that Obama also represents the ambivalence and ambiguity of race in the United States.

“The son of a white woman and African man has morphed into an African-American, mostly as a matter of skin color,” he says. “But his candidacy still brings hopefulness to this year’s celebrations.”

In the late 19th century, Juneteenth celebrations were fairly common in Texas and surrounding states. But the aftermath of Reconstruction in the late 1800s and racial violence early in the 1900s caused Southern whites to put social pressure on the celebrations. In the 1930s, the Depression added economic pressure. Juneteenth revived at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s as Southern blacks who migrated north brought the tradition with them.

NAACP Float in the Juneteenth Parade in Houston, Texas

Texas passed legislation in 1979 that made Juneteenth a state holiday.

Bynum says Juneteenth celebrations are mostly communal festivals and aren’t necessarily on or around June 19.

“My mother’s family is from Kentucky, and they have a neighborhood or community gathering in August. It’s a homecoming celebration for some,” he says.

Because of its Southern roots, traditional Juneteenth events revolve around food, with self-improvement, educational, prayer and recreational activities also often being included.

An interactive map that lists state-by-state Juneteenth celebrations can be found at http://www.juneteenth.com.

Obama scheduled to visit Lafayette today, April 10

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — According to a blog post by CBS News’ Maria Gavrilovic, Barack Obama has begun a three-day bus tour of Indiana that will focus on the economy. Obama’s first stop is Gary, and he has several retail stops scheduled before he ends the evening in Lafayette.

Hillary Clinton holds single digit leads in most state polls, and will campaign in Indiana on Saturday.