And now, the rest of life

Since this blog has been primarily about election stuff for the past couple of months (that and my mental health), I wonder now what I'll be writing about. I'm just about getting post election mental fatigue. I'm a little sick of hearing that having a black prez means America is "redeemed" for slavery (actually heard a guy say that on tv today), or that this is a "post-racial" election.

That's really stretching it. But I'm excited. Funnily, I see Barack Obama as mixed race, not black. And that's me seeing it through the lens of, "I'm mixed race, so he is too." He is obviously very much a symbol for a lot of people, of all colours. Watching the faces of people in Grant Park last night was pretty amazing, and this morning a (white) news anchor on CBS was tearing up after talking to Maya Angelou. It's a little weird.

But good weird.

Off to a medical appt.

Yes. We. Did.

Whew.

What's up with the election, google-style

Can't change my mind!

Vote

Yet another YouTube about voting. It's a bit charming though. I'm excited that I already voted. And I really can't wait for the election to be over!

"Redneck Support for Obama"

Great video from the BBC. Stuff like this makes me feel really good - gives me hope.

Barack Obama is AWESOME

Seriously, look at this picture:

Doug Mills/The New York Times

That guy is awesome.

Tonight I'm gonna watch the Obamamercial, and while that sort of stuff is usually hard to swallow whole (I'm still not sold on the whole politics thing, I'll be honest), you *know* it's gonna be a well produced 30 minutes of politics. A couple of things I watched during the Democratic convention choked me right up, and I imagine a little of that will happen tonight. A friend of mine said he thought there would be a backlash against Obama because of it, but I don't think it will happen. People who have already decided to vote for him aren't going to suddenly not, and undecided voters* will or will not be swayed by seeing this thing. In any case, I think his committed base will be energized by it. That's my guess. And that can't be bad for his campaign.

*What the hell is wrong with people that they are undecided at this point in the game? There are a lot of theories floating around in my head, none of which pass the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything" test.

My oldest turns 13 next week and he totally loves Obama. He is reading his autobiography right now. I got him a book of photos of Obama for his birthday. What do you get teenagers anyhow?

UPDATE: Here is the Obamamercial on YouTube. I really, really liked it.
Barack Obama is awesome!!! And yes, I'm his base, but still. Nice piece of work.

On what Sarah Palin actually stands for...

There is much that has been said about the VP pick on the Republican side of the aisle, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I personally see the pick as a transparent and desperate bid to appeal to women who are on the fence about voting for Obama, as well as a ploy to change just what the election is about.

The scary thing is that Sarah Palin's nomination is roughly equivalent to Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court. Her lack of experience and her odd political background (as well as ultra conservative stance on abortion) is obscured by the uniqueness of her as a choice.

Anyhow. We all know that her underage daughter is pregnant out of wedlock (but she'll be married, soon, which will make it ALL BETTER). But what we did not know is that Gov. Palin cut money which funded a state wide program in Alaska which helps teenage mothers get their feet on the ground.

According to the Washtington Post,

... earlier this year [Palin] used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."

Here's a picture of the actual bill, with Palin's initialed changes.


This kind of funding cut shows a lack of "family values", in my opinion. Not every teenage girl has the kind of family Bristol Palin has, one which will no doubt take care of her and her child for many years to come. If people want to force all women to carry unplanned/unwanted pregnancies to term, those same people are duty bound to provide funding and secular assistance to those same women, no matter what their age.

In a way I'm sick to death of reading about Palin, but in another way, I'm deer-in-the-headlights fascinated to see just how deep the depths of her story go.

This woman is so unfit to be in the position of Vice President, it's not even funny.

I gotta admit

This whole Joe Biden thing is getting better and better. His son's introduction speech and now his speech accepting the nomination for vice-president have been really really touching.

I was not a big fan of the Biden nomination, but I saw the utility. Now that I hear him speak, I see the wisdom of his selection. "He's not a bad guy" is what I keep thinking. He actually seems decent.

Yep, I've drunk the kool aid.

But I actually feel better.

Also, did you see Michelle Obama crying after his son's speech? Priceless, I tell you.

I'm getting excited about the election all over again.

Yes, we can.

It will be imperfect (hey, it's politics!), but it will be better than what we have now.

Pam says it far more eloquently than I ever could

Pam Spaulding at the Blend takes on this latest mess coming from the Sen. Hillary Clinton camp. I have a difficult time explaining to people why it would be a kick in the ovaries for me to pull the lever for Sen. Clinton come November, but this pretty much is the last nail in that coffin:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There's a pattern emerging here," she said.

Pam says, "Wow. Just. Wow..." and then breaks it down for us. Please go give it a read if you don't (or do) understand why the way the Clinton Campaign is being run is more divisive than it may appear on the surface.

ETA: Karnythia over at Angry Black Woman weighs in too. Check it out.

Whew, I was angry

I was REALLY angry when I wrote my last post.
And you know what? I'm still angry.

But not so much about GF. It's Bill Clinton I'm angry with, among others.

Because he said this:

"I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country. And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

Oh. No. He. Didn't.

Oh yes, Lavalady, he did. He did! Yes, friends, he went there.

And where, you ask, is there?

It's the place where they keep the original race card.

He played it, hard.

"Once we get that boy out of the way, we'll be able to focus on what is important"

ZOMG.

What I find interesting is that the main thing people seem to get out of this quote is that Clinton was "questioning" Sen. Obama's "patriotism". But what jumped out at me immediately was that he was saying, "we won't have to worry about RACE in the race anymore," while also, perhaps, taking a swipe at Sen. Obama. It was a two-fer, I guess.

Many people won't see it as I have, I know. But Gottdamn, Bubba, you lost what little respect I had left for you with that statement.

So, yeah, I'm still a little angry, but I gotta remember, what got me so fired up in
the first place were the words and energy of the Obama campaign.

And I'm gonna keep that audacious hope in my heart.

no punches pulled, no words minced:

Geraldine Ferrarro needs to shut the fuck up, now.

We just never noticed...

So funny. A satirical message from "the Clinton Campaign" about our post-racial society, and how they just never noticed their opponent was black.

Obama won Texas

Although from what I've read, the delegates could get to the convention and vote however the hell they like, most people believe he wonthe most delegates, when his caucus numbers are added to his delegates from the voting process.

The race is closer than I'd like, but seeing as I heard first hand that Republicans were voting for Sen. Clinton in the open Wisconsin Primary, and anecdotally that they were doing it in Texas, I think her numbers could be exaggerated both here and there.

Aha! "Jack Turner" at Jack and Jill Politics posts a comment from a Texan on the ground with a compelling [yes, still anecdotal] story about Clinton votes by Republicans in Dallas.

One More NON Anecdotal story of Republican crossover, this time from Ohio. Check it out.

He's the one that I want

After the Clinton wins in Ohio and RI (and what will end up being a draw in Texas), the media flocked to her side, much as they had been doing with Sen. Barack Obama. But the thing is...he'd won (by margins large and small) more delegates than she had, and although I'm not one to say she should drop out of the race, it's not as though she kicked his ass on Tuesday... (It's not over yet)

Anyhow. Barack Obama is the candidate I want to be president. And I really really think he *should* be president. Not like when I was supporting Kerry/Edwards, because I could give a crap if Kerry was president. I just wanted bushco out of there (as I still do).

So, there it is.

And here is an awesome video called "Si Se Puede Cambiar", which made me cry at the end because, damnit, Obam-entum just gets me!

But what of the caucuses?

Senator Clinton pulled out a big victory in Ohio, but her other triumph (by much smaller margin), Texas, isn't necessarily a lock. While she won the popular vote, the caucuses are a different story. A story which we won't really know until the Dem convention in June. But fortunately the Texas Democrats have taken pity on us and made an unofficial total count available:

Unoffical Texas Primary Caucus results updated every 3 minutes.

Cool! I need to back off of this and write 1000 words for class.

Just needed to get this up!

ETA: The Texas Dems site doesn't seem to be updating the numbers on the page I reference above, but the Obama campaign has put out a statement with their projections about how it all shakes out.

The New Hampshire Speech

Another Obama YouTube (go ahead, roll your eyes).

The speech (a CONCESSION SPEECH, btw) which inspired the "Yes We Can" song/video.

Please watch and listen to this and then tell me that this man is NOT inspirational. Seriously, this speech kicks ass. And before you ask, no, it's not a policy speech.



People are saying (and it has become a buzz in media and on the streets) that there is some sort of over-enthusiasm in the Obama crowd. It's bizarre to frame that enthusiasm negatively. Could we also not say that there is a decided (or comparative) *lack* of enthusiasm in other supporters? Or even less controversially, say there is a different kind of enthusiasm? I think we could fairly say that.

Trust me, I am no more in the market for a saviour than I am... I dunno, a motorcycle. Although people keep accusing Obama of aspiring to be a saviour, I don't hear that in this speech or in other things I've read about his campaign or policies.

He's not saying anything that other politicians haven't said about working together or whatever, but he has the heart and voice of an organizer. He *gets* people, and although I've heard little about them (which, I think is a good thing), his campaign managers are doing an amazing job.

I feel oddly that I want to write about this, but I really do. I want to say that I, a person who has felt so hopeless in so many ways, has been, if nothing else, inspired by both the candidate Barack Obama and the reaction to his candidacy (although some of it depresses me, the shaded racist stuff I'm beginning to hear, for one).

The Boyfriend brought up a good point about Sen. Obama's policy, that he has pledged to raise the military budget, and what occurred to me (and what I said in response) was that *any* president will raise the defense budget. I am personally against both militarization and defense spending which outstrips domestic, but I understand that on that count I'm likely to remain disappointed for the rest of my life. I'm dealing with the reality of that.

Anyhow, I don't agree and won't agree with EVERYTHING that candidate (then President) Obama says or does. I've never found a regular human being that I feel that way about.

But I believe in him, in his ability and talents and "electability" (despite my grave misgivings about racism, which, admit it, takes a place in this race along with sexism). And even if he is not the Dem's choice for presidential nominee (which, I would point out to Democrats, is a bad idea), I'll still be believing in what his campaign and what his words have brought to me this year.

G-OBAMA!

Just rocked my vote for Sen. Barack Obama, and I wasn't gonna write about it, BUT, when I checked my mail I had two mailings from the Hilary Clinton campaign, one of them extremely negative.

And to make things worse, the negative mailing had one of those horrible photoshopped pictures of people (some old people, some middle aged, a few young people) who weren't actually standing together. WTF?

The smart as always 8 year old pointed out that the other mailing used the "Yes We Can" slogan from Sen. Obama's campaign on the "What I will do" for you part of it. It was very untoward, in our esteemed opinion.

Anyhow, it made me feel mad, annoyed and disappointed. And contrarian as ever, very happy to have cast my vote for her opponent.

Get my Vote on!

Good thing: day of registration at the polls in Wisconsin.
I'm already registered in the old community where I voted this past spring, but not yet registered at my new polling place.

Bad thing: My driver's license has my old address on it. My utility bills are all delivered online, so I have none to present within the last 90 days. My bank statements ditto, and I don't have a paycheck to show. I've gathered a lot of things which I think should prove my residence beyond a shadow of a doubt, and will soon be going to casting my vote!

I really don't want to leave the house as I believe my headcold has begun to evolve into bronchitis. A walk in the -2 windchill doesn't seem the stuff to ensure my health, but I've been resting up in anticipation.

Yes, We Can

I have officially gotten way into the Barack Obama run for the presidency. Despite my best efforts, I'm getting excited about it all. I'm thinking this cold will keep me from waiting outside to see him speak here tomorrow. But I'm trying to rest up the best I can to get better ASAP!

I found this funny McCain themed parody of the "Yes We Can" video (which juxtaposes Sen. Obama stump speeches with celebrity singers and actors singing or speaking along), which prompted me to finally go watch the original. And yes, I cried. I really do love the idea that we can change some of the awful stuff that's happened in our country.

First the McCain themed parody:



Now the original.