In honor of our past and current military members on this Veterans Day Since this video was made, unfortunately the death tolls in both Iraq and Afghanistan have increased. It is an important reminder of why we have to end the wars and bring our troops home safely.

The destiny of one man is tied up with the destiny of a nation. There is nothing false about hope. Now we vote. He has done his part, now it is up to us. VOTE! - Ava Lowery first time voter, and proud supporter of Barack Obama http://www.peacetakescourage.com

John sure knows how to take care of his wealthy friends with his tax cuts, but will he take care of you? Visit http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ to compare your tax cut under the Obama plan with what your tax cut would be under the McCain plan. - Ava http://www.peacetakescourage.com

Watch the high quality version here: http://peacetakescourage.com/2008dnc.mov A few short clips from the footage I shot at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Here's a short summary of each day: Day 1 - I sat on an airplane parked on the runway for an hour, so my flight was late getting in. I managed to make it into the convention during Senator Kennedy's speech and was able to catch most of the major speeches on night one. Day 2 - I got onto the floor for the day, and went to the "Sweet Home AlObama" state party convention headquarters for a watch party during Senator Clinton's speech. Day 3 - That morning Former President Jimmy Carter spoke to the Alabama and Georgia delegations. The rest of the day I got to see a little bit of Denver. I spent most of the day checking out some of the political activities going on in downtown Denver, and there were a lot of them! The 16th Street mall was filled with convention goers, protestors, and lots of political swag. After checking all that out, I headed back to "Sweet Home AlObama" for the night's speeches. Day 4 - It took three hours of standing in line to get into Invesco Field. During that time I ran into the "God Hates Fags" folks, who were singing "God Hates America" instead of "God Bless America." Absolutely disgusting people. I did run into some nice protesters though. There were some young guys there protesting for "World Can't Wait." Though I disagree with them on supporting third party candidates, they were very polite to the people passing and certainly weren't disruptive at all. I can't really describe how amazing it was to be there in Invesco Field. The energy in the audience is completely undescribable. It was the most inspiring thing I've ever witnessed. An absolutely amazing end to an amazing and inspiring week. If you aren't registered to vote, make sure to register ASAP. And let me just stress to my fellow young people how important it is for us to get out there and vote on November 4th. Voting isn't just a right, it is an obligation. We cannot afford to let this country have 4 more years of the last 8 years. We MUST bring about the change that our country desperately needs. We MUST elect Barack Obama. We can do it, but you have to get out to the voting booth on election day. VOTE! - Ava http://www.peacetakescourage.com Music: "Ghostwriter" by RJD2 - http://www.myspace.com/rjd2 "You Fly Me" and "Rock the Whole Planet" by Fingathing - http://www.myspace.com/fingathing "Music For A Found Harmonium" by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra - http://www.penguincafe.com/ "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_XIV

Some clips from the 2007 AFSCME Leadership Conference in Washington DC. I gave a speech and then participated in a forum moderated by Donna Brazile. The day after I spoke the presidential candidates all participated in a forum moderated by Chris Matthews. I was able to go back stage and meet candidates which was a really cool experience! The person who went with me followed me around with my camera that day and played documentary journalist, lol. Most of the time the camera was on me I didn't know. I threw a few clips together quickly, so it isn't the best editing, but here it is. ;-) Check out AFSCME at: http://www.afscme.org/ The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the second- or third-largest labor union in the United States and one of the fastest-growing, representing over 1.4 million employees, primarily in local and state government and in the health care industry. AFSCME is part of the AFL-CIO, one of the two main labor federations in the United States.

Here is the video from my second appearance on CNN. The interview was live on March 17, 2007. http://www.peacetakescourage.com/

FALLOUT: COMING FROM THE WAR IN IRAQ - My name is Ava Lowrey and I am a 17 year old homeschooler from Alabama. I was inspired to make this short film because it isn't often that we hear about war's effects directly from those who are effected: the returning troops. As someone who has military family members who have been in past wars, and the current wars, I felt it was important to hear directly from a veteran of the Iraq war. This is how the Iraq war has affected one soldier.