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Hope: A Revolution

I just rediscovered this article written by Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Pitt grad. He wrote it in February. In part:

"To support Obama, we must permit ourselves to feel hope, to acknowledge the possibility that we can aspire as a nation to be more than merely secure or predominant. We must allow ourselves to believe in Obama, not blindly or unquestioningly as we might believe in some demagogue or figurehead but as we believe in the comfort we take in our families, in the pleasure of good company, in the blessings of peace and liberty, in any thing that requires us to put our trust in the best part of ourselves and others. That kind of belief is a revolutionary act. It holds the power, in time, to overturn and repair all the damage that our fear has driven us to inflict on ourselves and the world.

And when we all wake up on Nov. 5, 2008, to find that we have made Barack Obama the president of the United States, the world is already going to feel, to all of us, a little different, a little truer to its, and our, better nature. It is part of the world's nature and of our own to break, ruin and destroy; but it is also our nature and the world's to find ways to mend what has been broken. We can do that. Come on. Don't be afraid. "

Jesus Love Me

This is why we ...Democrat and Republican of all faiths, backgrounds, orientations....must work to end the influence of the so called Christian right. The Jesus I think I know would hate these people.

Quote of the Day

"McCain feels with his heart, but he thinks with his base. And when he picked Sarah Palin, he told the United States of America to go fuck itself," - Leon Wieseltier, TNR.
Thanks, Andrew.

I Was Born in a Small Town

Thanks, Jon Stewart, for saying what we all think. I was born in a small town, raised in that "pro-America" part of the country. There are many of us from there and still there (my mother, for one) who think Sarah Palin is anything BUT American. Real Americans don't scapegoat other Americans; we don't blame working people who want to own a home and reward Wall Street suits who make up risky investments so they can buy that house in the Hamptons. They don't send young men and women from those small towns to fight and kill and die on a lie and then vote against a new GI Bill. Real Americans care about their neighbor who can't afford medical treatment. They just want to send their kids to college and keep their decent jobs and raise their families in peace. Sadly, too many people who live in those small towns think like Palin and McCain and their lot, my mother excepted. Thanks Mom. And, thanks Jon.

"She said that small towns, that's the part of the country she really likes going to because that's the pro-America part of the country. You know, I just want to say to her, just very quickly: fuck you."

Go PY V!

Straw Man

McCain continues to flail around for ways to make Obama seem either like a typical liberal tax and spender OR a foreigner, unAmerican, unsafe, consorting with quote enemy.
From WaPost:

'Who is the real Sen. Obama?'' [McCain] asked Monday. ''Is he the candidate who promises to cut middle class taxes, or the politician who voted to raise middle class taxes? ... Is he the candidate who promises change, or is he the politician who has bought into everything that is wrong with Washington? And he's bought into it, big time.''

McCain drew loud cheers when he said the Democrat has written two memoirs but ''he's not exactly an open book.''

McCain also raised the specter of illegal foreign donors to Obama's campaign and special ''earmark'' spending requests for campaign fundraisers. ''Why has Sen. Obama refused to disclose the names of people funding his campaign,'' McCain said as the crowd booed. ''His campaign had to return $33,000 in illegal foreign funds from Palestinian donors.''

In fact, McCain's reference was based on a Newsweek article that said the Obama campaign had returned the money to two brothers living in the Gaza Strip. According to the article, the two Palestinians ''had bought T-shirts in bulk from the campaign's online store. They had listed their address as 'Ga.,' which the campaign took to mean Georgia rather than Gaza.''

Democracy In Action...in Afghanistan

An article in today's NY Times illustrates the ability of democratic institutions to change the lives of citizens. Just when our political process is once again sinking to new lows (see John McCain and William Ayers) folks new to democracy are proving it can work, that government can indeed be effective in providing opportunity for many, that when we allow all of our citizens to participate, the lives of all are made better. Step by step, region by region, person to person; that's how nations are built.

Imagine what it took for this woman to break the ceiling of religion, culture, poverty and war that kept her and her sisters oppressed for generations. This is what we send our young men and women to fight and kill and die for.

"As the government began development programs in the provinces, Najiba was elected head of a newly formed women’s development council, representing her village and the neighboring village. Its job was to plan how to spend a government development grant.

The men’s council decided the area needed a road, and flood barriers to save the farming land near the river. The women’s council wanted instead to buy livestock for each family, traditionally the women’s domain in Afghan households, to improve the food supply for families. The men won that debate. “We did not get the farming project,” Najiba said. “We are still suggesting it was valuable; we are trying to work on our projects so we don’t have to depend on the men.”

The women got their way with the next project: solar panels to provide light to groups of four houses. That project has opened up all sorts of ideas, for computers, televisions and educational and election programs, she said.

Women have participated in literacy and tailoring training programs, too. Najiba laughed as she explained: “We have changed our way of life. Now I have lots of skirts.”

She added, “It all comes down to the council.”

Then there's this, American democracy. That shining beacon. A woman running for the second highest office.

Quote of the Day

"Despite the terrible erosion to our standing in the world, we remain for many people a house of dreams. And 1,000 George Bushes and 1,000 Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down." Bruce Springsteen

Great Name for a Band

Ahmadinejad and the Castro Brothers.

Thanks to Sarah Palin.