{"id":6032,"date":"2020-07-20T13:39:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T18:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?p=6032"},"modified":"2020-09-30T06:31:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T11:31:21","slug":"energize-the-vote-i-do-the-best-i-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?p=6032","title":{"rendered":"Energize the Vote!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VvB9NYa-bHY\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">By Tom Smith<br \/>\n\u00a9 2020 Peabody Hill Publishing (ASCAP)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lisabastoni.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Lisa Bastoni<\/a>, paintings and animation<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><H5>Join me and commit to VOTE!<\/H4><\/p>\n<p>Right now we need everyone to do the best they can &#8211; for the sake of our children, our Democracy, our planet! If you will be 18 years of age or older by November 3rd, please take three simple steps to make a positive difference: (Note: All of the following voter info links direct you to pages of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">National Association of Secretaries of State<\/a>, the nation&#8217;s oldest, nonpartisan professional organization for public officials.)<\/p>\n<ol>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Now:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-I-vote\/voter-registration-status\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Check your voter registration status<\/a>. You may be surprised to find that you are not registered! If not, then please <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-i-vote\/register-to-vote\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">register to vote now<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Now:<\/strong> Click for info <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-i-vote\/absentee-early-voting\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">to vote early or by mail<\/a>? Every state\u2019s election rules are different, and some are still defining how they will respond to the pandemic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>November 3rd:<\/strong> Vote in person if you haven&#8217;t voted early or by mail. Click here to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-i-vote\/find-your-polling-place\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">find your polling place<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For more information about voting in the US, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-I-vote\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">click on the image below<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.org\/can-I-vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Voter-Info-300x143.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"286\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Voter-Info-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Voter-Info.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><H5>Want to do more? Great!<\/H4><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tom-smith-music.bandcamp.com\/album\/planting-in-a-drought\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planting-in-a-Drought-Cover-thumb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planting-in-a-Drought-Cover-thumb.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planting-in-a-Drought-Cover-thumb-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planting-in-a-Drought-Cover-thumb-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/tom-smith-music.bandcamp.com\/album\/planting-in-a-drought\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Purchase Planting in a Drought<\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<ol>From now until November, all proceeds from the sale of my new album <em>Planting in a Drought &#8211; New songs of struggle, protest and encouragement<\/em> will benefit <a href=\"https:\/\/movement.vote\/about\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Movement Voter Project<\/a> (see below). <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are the seeds that will keep us surviving!\u201d ~ Matt Smith, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.passim.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Club Passim<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the album the world needs right now. These are the songs that will help us get angry when we need to get angry, feel pain when we need to feel pain, and find hope when we need to find hope.\u201d ~ <a href=\"http:\/\/mallysmith.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mally Smith<\/a><\/p>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/movement.vote\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Movement-Voter-Project.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"130\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6060\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/movement.vote\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><H5>Movement Voter Project<\/H5><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<ol>&#8220;<em>Movement Voter Project<\/em> works to strengthen progressive power at all levels of government by helping donors \u2013 big and small \u2013 support the best and most promising local community-based organizations in key states, with a focus on youth and communities of color.&#8221;<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?page_id=6153\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Painting-Rainbow.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6162\" \/><\/a> <H5><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?page_id=6153\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">More ways to get involved.<\/a><\/H5><\/p>\n<ol>\n<ol>If you would like to help elect candidates who support positive social change, racial justice, fair elections, climate action and wealth disparity at the national and state levels, please consider helping any of the following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?page_id=6153\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">additional organizations or projects<\/a>. <\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Thank you for your active support for overwhelming participation and victory at the polls in November 2020! Certainly, our success is important but only a single step in the right direction. It will not end racism. It will not unify the country. It will not make civil discourse the norm. We have a lot of work ahead of us. <\/p>\n<p>Steady on!<\/p>\n<p>~ Tom Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tom Smith \u00a9 2020 Peabody Hill Publishing (ASCAP) Lisa Bastoni, paintings and animation<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-6032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6032"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6372,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032\/revisions\/6372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6032"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Flocation&post=6032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}