Obligatory Overbose Voting Day lj.
Hiya gang.
I don't talk or post much politically. Certainly not as much as I used to. Working on both Dark Ivory and Dawn at the same time leaves me so tired & frazzled that the idea of typing any more than I absolutely have to..shudderrrr..
Also, I want to be careful what I say, to folks who I know like my & Joe's works. I want to share my passions, but respect that those reading it may differ with me.
But heck..it's a historic day. I just cast my vote for a black man for President of the United States of America. I wanna talk about it. Now that you know who I voted for, you can feel free to skip the rest if you don't want to hear it. :D
Race has always been a huge part of my existence. I lived in a city, so most of my friends were "minorities" (actually, where I lived, my family was the minority!) Although I've lived in all different kinds of neighborhoods, the ones where I am happiest are always funky, diverse areas that reflect the more positive aspects of city life.
Sometimes when I move to a new town, as well as scoping out the physical neighborhood, I'll see if they have a local online Wiki or craigslist for that area. Scoping out the rants-n-raves section, or a political forum, is a good quickie primer on the issues that are on people's minds. I now live in a mid-size city which previously made its collective living in various types of manufacturing. The online talkies are pretty passionate; there's a lot of racism, fears about unemployment & cynicism.
But when Barack Obama appeared on the scene, there was a sea change, where I live. Kids are excited. Old people are excited. Even busy, cynical in-between-those-two are jazzed. Although the skeptic in me is tired, & the loss of Hillary still stings, I have to say the election (I hope, I hope!) of Barack Obama would represent a total shift in philosophy for the country.
Heard from the sidelines this week: Oh, you're just falling for that silver-tongued devil..you think you can just live on "hope" and "change"?....You know what? I do want change. It's not all that I want, but it's high on the list. I'm gonna talk about it for a moment as if I don't care about Barack Obama individually, & ALL I want is change from how things are now.
The money is what matters, no matter who says otherwise. Our NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK has run out of digits, we're so deeply mired in debt. We spend between 2 billion PER WEEK and 12 billion PER MONTH in Iraq, when nobody who wants our soldiers to stay there has any idea when they can really "win" that war. (I'm not going to critique the cost of the war in Afghanistan,as that's where the folks who actually perpetrated 9/11 are hiding & we did, & do, have to chase them until we know they are gone. Though I still think better strategy needs to be applied there too.) Our own country has people losing their jobs, homes & savings while Iraq has a budget surplus of about $80 BILLION. Although McCain opposed Bush's huge tax cuts for the very wealthy when they were VOTED ON IN 2001 & 2003 (must scroll down to see), now that he's running for President,he says he would make them permanent. How come nobody's crying "flip-flopper" on that one?
As for McCain's general style, that is overall more of the same as well. He opposes diplomacy w/ Syria & Iran, of any sort, which given how well our lack of diplomacy has worked out for us recently, is a seemingly unwise position. At the top of the same article, McCain says he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. That's more of an Administration's religious beliefs tainting people's individual rights. No thanks. I am pro-separation of church & state. Lastly : "Mr. McCain was a key backer of the 2006 legislation that allowed detainees to be tried in military courts and abolished habeas corpus rights for detainees labeled "enemy combatants" by the administration." The right of habeus corpus is one of the basic things that lifts our democracy up above others. The fact that we ignored the Geneva Convention when it suited our needs is shameful. As I've said before, the whole point of America is that we should live up to our ideals, not down to the standards of our enemies. Our foreign policy has been an embarrassment that has cast us in a bad light in the rest of the world & made our boasts of truth, freedom & the American Way something empty. Torture? Yeesh.
I'm a feminist, too. So I was asked if the election of Sarah Palin as Vice-President would excite me. Um..NO! Just because two people have ovaries doesn't mean they have anything else in common. I disagree with her about EVERYTHING. & for folks crying sexism in the media's dealing with her? Can it. You people didn't stick up for Hillary 'cause you didn't like her. You're only sticking up for Ms. Sarah because of her hot-for-teacher looks. Her stance is far conservative right; people like her (but don't respect her); she has no knowledge of the rest of the world or even the duties of the job she's asking for; she claims kinship w/ the Joe-6-packs of America..sound familiar? That's right, take away that clever bouffant & add a few years..it's GW Bush all over again.
Guys, I don't care if I like whoever gets to be President! But I do want to respect them. So if ALL I wanted was change, I think it would be enough. 'cause I sure don't respect our current Administration.
A pal who's voting for Nader argued with me that Barack Obama was just like any other politician..doesn't mean anything he says. My response? OK, let's say that's true. *I* think the sheer, powerful symbolism of electing a black guy - 'cause even if he is café au lait, he's no paleface - would speak volumes about the desire for healing in the USA. We really do want the same things, under the skin: to repair the economy; the lessen our impact upon the planet; to defend our country & to plan better for its future, & health care so we can take better care of ourselves.
You know what many people are scared of? A black man running the country. I bet you that there are many on the fence people who say that are gonna vote for Obama, but then when they get into the booth to pull that lever or push that button, they won't be able to bring themselves to do it. Change is scary as well as thrilling.
***
One of the many news articles I've read basically paints the election as a contest between a hot temper & a cool one, between a warrior & a priest. We've seen where the warriors have gotten us.
I voted priest.
The actual voting rpcoess: I was in & out of my local polling place w/in 20 minutes. The machine was absolutely archaic, I was agog! My last Presidential vote, which was in a large city in NJ, there was touch screens, almost full-length curtains, & many people checking you in & out. I now live in a mid-size city in upstate NY, on the edges of the rust belt, & it looks like the voting machine was of a previous era, for sure. Curtain only came halfway down my back, the type on the machine itself looked right out of an antique store & it rattled as I pulled the lever. There was only one machine & two people checking signatures.
People seemed upbeat & said turnout was good! That's exciting. AWESOME fall trees out, too. Purdy.
Happy red, blue & ultimately purple voting to all. Get out there!
..VOTE..!
Happy rest o' week to you,
Ms. Eva
I don't talk or post much politically. Certainly not as much as I used to. Working on both Dark Ivory and Dawn at the same time leaves me so tired & frazzled that the idea of typing any more than I absolutely have to..shudderrrr..
Also, I want to be careful what I say, to folks who I know like my & Joe's works. I want to share my passions, but respect that those reading it may differ with me.
But heck..it's a historic day. I just cast my vote for a black man for President of the United States of America. I wanna talk about it. Now that you know who I voted for, you can feel free to skip the rest if you don't want to hear it. :D
Race has always been a huge part of my existence. I lived in a city, so most of my friends were "minorities" (actually, where I lived, my family was the minority!) Although I've lived in all different kinds of neighborhoods, the ones where I am happiest are always funky, diverse areas that reflect the more positive aspects of city life.
Sometimes when I move to a new town, as well as scoping out the physical neighborhood, I'll see if they have a local online Wiki or craigslist for that area. Scoping out the rants-n-raves section, or a political forum, is a good quickie primer on the issues that are on people's minds. I now live in a mid-size city which previously made its collective living in various types of manufacturing. The online talkies are pretty passionate; there's a lot of racism, fears about unemployment & cynicism.
But when Barack Obama appeared on the scene, there was a sea change, where I live. Kids are excited. Old people are excited. Even busy, cynical in-between-those-two are jazzed. Although the skeptic in me is tired, & the loss of Hillary still stings, I have to say the election (I hope, I hope!) of Barack Obama would represent a total shift in philosophy for the country.
Heard from the sidelines this week: Oh, you're just falling for that silver-tongued devil..you think you can just live on "hope" and "change"?....You know what? I do want change. It's not all that I want, but it's high on the list. I'm gonna talk about it for a moment as if I don't care about Barack Obama individually, & ALL I want is change from how things are now.
The money is what matters, no matter who says otherwise. Our NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK has run out of digits, we're so deeply mired in debt. We spend between 2 billion PER WEEK and 12 billion PER MONTH in Iraq, when nobody who wants our soldiers to stay there has any idea when they can really "win" that war. (I'm not going to critique the cost of the war in Afghanistan,as that's where the folks who actually perpetrated 9/11 are hiding & we did, & do, have to chase them until we know they are gone. Though I still think better strategy needs to be applied there too.) Our own country has people losing their jobs, homes & savings while Iraq has a budget surplus of about $80 BILLION. Although McCain opposed Bush's huge tax cuts for the very wealthy when they were VOTED ON IN 2001 & 2003 (must scroll down to see), now that he's running for President,he says he would make them permanent. How come nobody's crying "flip-flopper" on that one?
As for McCain's general style, that is overall more of the same as well. He opposes diplomacy w/ Syria & Iran, of any sort, which given how well our lack of diplomacy has worked out for us recently, is a seemingly unwise position. At the top of the same article, McCain says he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. That's more of an Administration's religious beliefs tainting people's individual rights. No thanks. I am pro-separation of church & state. Lastly : "Mr. McCain was a key backer of the 2006 legislation that allowed detainees to be tried in military courts and abolished habeas corpus rights for detainees labeled "enemy combatants" by the administration." The right of habeus corpus is one of the basic things that lifts our democracy up above others. The fact that we ignored the Geneva Convention when it suited our needs is shameful. As I've said before, the whole point of America is that we should live up to our ideals, not down to the standards of our enemies. Our foreign policy has been an embarrassment that has cast us in a bad light in the rest of the world & made our boasts of truth, freedom & the American Way something empty. Torture? Yeesh.
I'm a feminist, too. So I was asked if the election of Sarah Palin as Vice-President would excite me. Um..NO! Just because two people have ovaries doesn't mean they have anything else in common. I disagree with her about EVERYTHING. & for folks crying sexism in the media's dealing with her? Can it. You people didn't stick up for Hillary 'cause you didn't like her. You're only sticking up for Ms. Sarah because of her hot-for-teacher looks. Her stance is far conservative right; people like her (but don't respect her); she has no knowledge of the rest of the world or even the duties of the job she's asking for; she claims kinship w/ the Joe-6-packs of America..sound familiar? That's right, take away that clever bouffant & add a few years..it's GW Bush all over again.
Guys, I don't care if I like whoever gets to be President! But I do want to respect them. So if ALL I wanted was change, I think it would be enough. 'cause I sure don't respect our current Administration.
A pal who's voting for Nader argued with me that Barack Obama was just like any other politician..doesn't mean anything he says. My response? OK, let's say that's true. *I* think the sheer, powerful symbolism of electing a black guy - 'cause even if he is café au lait, he's no paleface - would speak volumes about the desire for healing in the USA. We really do want the same things, under the skin: to repair the economy; the lessen our impact upon the planet; to defend our country & to plan better for its future, & health care so we can take better care of ourselves.
You know what many people are scared of? A black man running the country. I bet you that there are many on the fence people who say that are gonna vote for Obama, but then when they get into the booth to pull that lever or push that button, they won't be able to bring themselves to do it. Change is scary as well as thrilling.
***
One of the many news articles I've read basically paints the election as a contest between a hot temper & a cool one, between a warrior & a priest. We've seen where the warriors have gotten us.
I voted priest.
The actual voting rpcoess: I was in & out of my local polling place w/in 20 minutes. The machine was absolutely archaic, I was agog! My last Presidential vote, which was in a large city in NJ, there was touch screens, almost full-length curtains, & many people checking you in & out. I now live in a mid-size city in upstate NY, on the edges of the rust belt, & it looks like the voting machine was of a previous era, for sure. Curtain only came halfway down my back, the type on the machine itself looked right out of an antique store & it rattled as I pulled the lever. There was only one machine & two people checking signatures.
People seemed upbeat & said turnout was good! That's exciting. AWESOME fall trees out, too. Purdy.
Happy red, blue & ultimately purple voting to all. Get out there!
..VOTE..!
Happy rest o' week to you,
Ms. Eva