Dear Friend,

Because of your efforts, yesterday a blue wave swept this nation and elected historic numbers of Democrats at the local, state, and federal levels.

To all of you who phoned, walked precincts, talked to your friends and neighbors, gave money and made this victory possible -- I thank you.

This election was about nothing less than the future of the world, and the American people spoke loud and clear: America is better than what we've seen under George Bush and his Republican allies. It's time to clean up the mess in Iraq; restore our moral authority to lead in the world; put the needs of ordinary families ahead of wealthy special interests; and begin to address the issues that George Bush has ignored or made worse during his six years in office.

I want to particularly congratulate the state minimum wage coalitions that did incredible work in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio, where voters passed ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation. Winning these minimum wage ballot initiatives is a huge step toward lifting millions of working families out of poverty.

Democrats scored incredible victories across the country, winning governorships in states in every corner of the country and winning critical state legislative seats. We also reclaimed control of the House and made impressive gains in the Senate -- the first step in putting the brakes on George Bush's nightmarish regime -- and today we should celebrate this historic victory.

But tomorrow we must begin anew. Yesterday's results are not the end, but the beginning of a historic transformation that our country must undertake in the coming years. We have to change direction -- not just put on the brakes. And in the coming months I look forward to working with you and building upon the incredible success of last night -- and building the One America that works for all of us.

Thank you, again, for everything you're doing to put our country back on track.

Your friend,

John

Dear Friend,

I just returned from a trip to Uganda and wanted to share my experience with you. Uganda is home to one of the greatest unreported humanitarian crises in the world — millions of people have been displaced from their homes and subjected to horrific violence. And with the exception of extraordinary groups, like the International Rescue Committee (IRC), whom I traveled with, most of the world is ignoring this tragedy.

Uganda has been plagued by a long civil war and a rebel army/terrorist group called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Among other things, the LRA abducts children, turns them into soldiers, forces them to commit atrocities, and in some cases, turns them into sex slaves.

We first went to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp outside Kitgum, just over 30 miles from the Sudan border. The people at IDP camps are the same as refugees, but they have not crossed a country border. This camp was one of hundreds throughout the region, and many of the people in this camp have been stuck there for several years, some for twenty years.

I sat under a tree with three adults and lots of children. They told me the stories of what they'd been through and what their hopes were. I met a little girl, about a year old, whose mother said she had never smiled — her father was killed by the LRA. I tried to get her to smile and almost got one.

The living conditions at the camp were awful — open sewage, little water, malnourished children.

There were children that had been abducted by the LRA, forced to commit atrocities against others, including their own families, but had escaped and come back to the camp.

The next day we flew to Lira, another region of northern Uganda. There, I visited with a family that had taken in a young girl, an orphan, named Lilly. Lilly's parents had been killed by the LRA. She was about eight or nine years old — around my daughter Emma's age. Lilly carried one baby in her arms and one on her back. It was heartbreaking to see her providing childcare for babies instead of going to school.

We then went to the Kira School, which is run by the IRC. In spite of everything they'd been through, the children at the school were remarkable — they still had hope and lots of love to give. A 14-year old boy performed a song that he had written. He had lived on the streets for 13 years, and a year ago had been taken in by the IRC. In front of us and hundreds of his classmates, he sang a song about how happy he was to have a new life.

I also had the opportunity to meet with the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni. I talked with him about what I had seen, the critical importance of the peace process and what we can do to help it along, and all the suffering we had witnessed in Northern Uganda.

Although I am back in the United States, I know I will never forget the faces of the people I met in Uganda, especially the children.

What's happening in northern Uganda is similar to conditions elsewhere, like Darfur. But with a peace process underway, this is a great opportunity for Americans to show we care about the suffering of people around the world. But before people can care, they have to know what's gone terribly wrong. You can help spread the word about what's happening in Uganda by forwarding this message to a friend. Please help us spread the word.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this message.

Your friend,

John

Dear Friend,

Nearly a year has passed since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast near New Orleans, killing more than 1,400 of our fellow Americans and driving hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Who could possibly forget the images from that awful week? People stranded on rooftops. Chaos at the Superdome. The desperate anguish of those unable to escape, simply because they didn't have a car or the cash to evacuate, or because they didn't want to leave behind the few meager possessions they had. I know that I can never forget the faces and stories of the people I met when I toured evacuation shelters in Baton Rouge shortly after Katrina hit.

Hurricane Katrina didn't just blow away lives and dreams, it blew away the shroud that was hiding the invisible poor and, for the moment, put home grown poverty in the epicenter of the national consciousness. It was a horrifying wake-up call. How could this happen right here in our own country?

To be sure, this disaster also brought out the best in America. Good neighbors all over the country opened their hearts, their homes and their wallets to people they'd never met. Many gave their precious time to bring comfort and relief to those who suffered in this disaster. I saw it with my own eyes; it was inspirational and my spirits soared when I joined 700 college students who gave up their Spring Break last March to help dozens of families devastated by Katrina clean up their homes in St. Bernard Parish. Individual Americans reached out to help one another. But individuals eventually have to get back to their lives.

In recent months it has become increasingly clear that, a full year after Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the pace of recovery is agonizingly slow. People continue to hurt in a big way.

Despite all the official promises about "doing what it takes" to get New Orleans back on its feet, much of the city still looks as if the hurricane hit yesterday. Thousands upon thousands of homes remain deserted, windowless and covered with flood grime in desolate neighborhoods. The water and sewer systems are still in terrible shape. Fewer than half of the city's hospitals have reopened, and there are not nearly enough health clinics to adequately serve all the low-income families who need care. Vast areas are still littered with mangled cars and piles of debris.

Last week, the news media reported that New Orleans schools are turning children away because there just isn't enough room for them as the educational system struggles to recover. "It's hurting to your heart when a child says 'Mama, I want to go to school,' and you can't find one," one resident was quoted as saying.

To hear of a child being turned away from a school is disturbing enough. But how do we even contemplate the notion of a new and better New Orleans without there being a decent educational system to lead the way?

Just as Katrina's wrath exposed the two Americas in our midst, the sluggish road to recovery serves as a reminder to us about the everyday challenges faced by the underprivileged in our society — not just in the Gulf Coast but in impoverished neighborhoods and communities across the country.

The lesson is that the fight against poverty is an ongoing one — for government, for communities, for all of us. I know you join me in demanding accountability and pressing government leaders to do what's necessary to get hurricane-ravaged areas back on their feet. Joining together with the beleaguered residents of the Gulf Coast, something good can come out of this tragedy. The resurrection of the Gulf Coast can herald the rebirth of a core American value that we are all one nation, moving forward together — and that no one shall be left behind.

For the moment, in their hours of desperation, I ask that you continue to keep Hurricane Katrina's many victims foremost in your thoughts, remember their plight, and offer what you can to help and comfort them.

And let us continue to work together to ensure that America fully responds to the wake-up call delivered on Katrina's winds one year ago.

Your friend,

John