Obamarama!

FINALLY!



I wish I was there. As it is, I'll be watching the inauguration during my lunch break, and possibly crying tears of joy and relief.

Mikey Likes It forwarded me this story from The Onion from about 8 years ago. I had seen it before, but re-reading it made me shudder with how prophetic it was. Vanity Fair has a wonderful oral history of the Bush Administration.

Man, I can't tell you how relieved I feel now with the knowledge that these long 8 years are finally fucking over. As Vanity Fair says, farewell to all that. So long to that shit-eating "I just smelled a fart" grin of Bush's, all while fucking up the country and our status in the world. Farewell to juvenile nicknames for respected world leaders. Goodbye to cowboy politics and arrogant "I'm the decider" agendas. Auf Wiedersehen to keeping your father's buddies in your pocket and making a cabinet up of Yes Men and unqualified buddies. See ya later, to collectively spending over two years of your 8 years in office on vacation, including the days leading up to 9/11 and during Katrina, to say nothing of your most recent vacation during the conflict in Gaza (which you refused to interrupt your vacation to make a statement about). So long to constantly feeling downtrodden and apathetic. Farewell, you weenie-dicked piss ants of the Bush Administration.

I have no doubt that Obama will make mistakes. I harbor no illusions about this Presidency — the people of the Obama administration are not miracle workers, and they won't be able to magically fix the state the country is in come Jan. 21. They will make mistakes, they will "spin," and they will pass legislation I disagree with. They are politicians, not saints.

However, I firmly believe they are going forward with competency and the desire to do good. I believe they want to show America's might not with guns and military force, but with diplomacy and responsible leadership. I believe that when they make mistakes, they will be willing to stand up and be held accountable.

And most importantly, just by being elected, this administration had restored our faith in ourselves. The ability to stand up and make a change, to mobilize and get things done. WE did that, the voters, the American people. Yes we can, indeed.

A new day

I'm dying for someone to photoshop a Captain America suit on him.

From his acceptance speech:

There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

I know there are many out there who voted for McCain. And I know their concerns with Obama are valid - his inexperience, his distribution of wealth policies. These are the primary arguments I had with my parents over and over again. And while I disagree, and I think that Democrats are just as invested in capitalism as Republicans and I'm tired of the world "Socialist" being a dirty, bad word and the idea of helping people put food on the damn table being classified as "Marxist," I understand where you're coming from. Sort of. But not really. I'm trying though.

In any event, that our President-elect is humble enough to know and admit that there are people who disagree with him and that he may learn from them, is very comforting. It inspires open-mindedness and encourages dialogue and learning. It's so much more refreshing than the closed "I'm the Decider" mentality of the past 8 years. So take heart, McCain supporters. Your voices and concerns will not only be heard and considered, but valued and appreciated. I truly believe it.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too...

...For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow...

...This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Also, this is my 500th post, and I can't think of anything more fitting.

Make it count

Tank of Gas - $27.60

Tolls (roundtrip) - $5.00

Time in the car (roundtrip) - 2.5 hours

Walking to the polls with my father, being greeted warmly by my neighbor and polling place worker, and performing my civic duty - SO TOTALLY WORTH IT.

GO-BAMA!

ETA: Woo, Pennsylvania!

ETA 2: OMG OHIO!!!

ETA Infinitiy: CNN just called it for Obama. No lie, I got choked up, especailly when they cut to the footage of people in Grant Park chanting "Yes we can!" This is so inspiring and wonderful.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Hey, did you know there's an election today? Your vote is important, exercise your rights, stand up for what you believe in, etc.

I myself am driving an hour and 15 minutes to make sure my vote is counted. Surely you can walk to your neighborhood polling place and cast yours.

And given how this election season has featured not one, but two prominent female politicians, I thought this was appropriate:



Well done, Sister Suffragettes and Rock the Vote.

Disappointing my mother

This morning, I received an email from my aunt, who happens to be my mother's twin sister. My mother was also a recipient of this email from my aunt, and the contents were basically: Sarah Palin is the best thing to happen to politics! Here's a poll where you can vote and say she's qualified for this gig! Which, of course, caused me to have a brain aneurysm. So I responded to my aunt and hit "reply all," copying my mother on the response, which was pretty much pulled word for word from my blog:

I hate Sarah Palin and everything she stands for. But then, I don't like most people who are diabolically anti-choice, hunt wolves by chasing them down in planes and then shooting them when they get tired, supports tearing up the environment, banning books, and privatized healthcare. So, you know. Shocker. I think she gives a bad name to feminism, and is the kind of woman who achieves her power by doing everything modern women believe they do not have to do: presenting herself as maternal and sexual, sucking up to men, evincing an absolute lack of native ambition, instead emphasizing her luck as the recipient of strong male support and approval. I don't think she's qualified. "I can see Russia from my house!" Are you kidding me with this? Shut up, lady, and quit winking at me. I think she's precisely what's wrong with the Republican party, and given that she can spend $150,000 on her clothes and hair in a month, I shudder to think what she would do with a national budget. McCain chose her solely to pander to the alienated Clinton supporters, and I find his choice in her both troubling and offensive. To say nothing of my complete disgust with McCain's rolling over and playing lapdog to the Bush administration these past 8 years. "Maverick" my ass. Voting for McCain is voting for McSame. I hope the Obama/Biden ticket TROUNCES McCain/Palin.

My mother responded with:

I am sorry you are not open and respectful of other people's beliefs. It is a side of you I haven't seen before and I feel I have failed you as a mother. I thought I had taught you that every person has worth. The Obama Media knows only how to report such negative and unfair criticism. It is ok to disagree with someone but to express such hatred is unacceptable.

This gave me a bit of pause. Mainly, the "I feel I have failed you as a mother" bit.

So this was my response to her:

Don't think you have failed me as a mother. While Sarah Palin may very well be a very nice person to meet on a one-and-one level, the hatred I express here is for her political and public persona. Which I frankly do despise. I think she presents a bad image for women everywhere. Saying that Sarah Palin is bad for feminism doesn't mean I think she's worthless. Disagreeing with her politics with fervor doesn't mean I don't respect her as a human being. But it does mean I feel nothing but contempt of her as a politician.

AND ALSO: I think you did precisely the RIGHT things for me as a mother, helping me recognize that my personal worth as a human being is not based on my looks nor my ability to convince men to like me, but rather on my intelligence, wit, and compassion and creativity. I think I am quite open-minded, thanks to you and dad, which is another reason I find the Republican Party in general and people like Sarah Palin specifically so frustrating -- there's an "all or nothing" quality. Only "real Americans" are going to be voting for McCain, the maddeningly narrow definition of the word "marriage," the idea that women and their uteruses are public policy, the fact that you're not qualified for a tax break unless you make $200,000 a year, etc.

I think, as a mother, you taught me to voice my concerns and beliefs. To stand up and shout when I see wrong things being done. After the past 8 years, I believe it is my duty as an American to stand up and point at the party in charge and say loudly, NO MORE.

I think you taught me that compassion should not stop at the white, privileged and Christian, but should extend to everyone: Gay, straight, transgendered, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan, male, female, poor, middle class, educated, uneducated and everyone in between.

I think you as a mother taught me that education, both personal and academic, is paramount and key to my successes. It's why I read the newspaper everyday. It's why I'm constantly reading, writing, thinking and and arming myself with information. It's why you had to pry books out of my hands and threaten to withhold them from me as punishment. It's why I'm continuing my education, why I'm constantly gratified by the support you and dad give to me. It's why I think being "elite" is a good thing, a quality to strive for.

I think you and dad taught me that I am not just an American, but also a global citizen. To realize that the choices I make in voting affect not just this country, but the entire world. That I have responsibility not just to my country, but also to brother and sisters in other nations. It's why I'm so excited to go to Wales in a few weeks; why I thank you, dad, Aunt Mary and Mom-Mom for the opportunity to go to Germany all those years ago.

I think you taught me that no matter how little money I have in the bank, how much it costs to get the car fixed or how much I may struggle to pay my bills, I am very, very, blessed, and pretty well-off. There are people who don't have what I have and not only am I lucky to have the gifts in my life, it is my responsibility to help out others less fortunate than myself. It's why I just donated money -- a small amount, only $10, all I could really afford -- to Sarah's Donor's Choose Fundraiser. It's why I donate to the Dewey Donation Drive every year, which helps fund libraries who've had their budgets consistently cut every year. It's why I mentor. It's why, at the checkout lane in the store when they ask if I want to donate a dollar to cancer research, I always say yes. It's why the change I get at Wawa in the morning goes into the Kids in Need box next to the register.

I think you, as my mother, you should pat yourself on the back.

Wassup

Please tell me you're kidding. PLEASE. MY GOD.

I cannot stand that woman. I CANNOT BELIEVE SHE KEPT WINKING AT THE CAMERAS. As I texted to all my friends: Fuck off, Sarah Palin, with your folksy bullshit nonsense.

Joe Biden, thank you for keeping your crazy at a minimum tonight. Although I really wanted you to wipe the floor with her, there's no denying that you were nothing but courteous and respectful towards Gov. Palin. Thank you for calling her out on her use of the word "Maverick."

How anyone can be undecided in this race is beyond me.

Picture of the Day

Awww. Me too, Kid. Me too.

I'm kind of in love with Bluesgirly

Wow. She says it perfectly. Brilliant.

Feminism vs. Sarah Palin

So to recap, in case you've just joined us: I hate Sarah Palin. No, I won't stop talking about it. The fact that she's managed to woo people and everyone keeps commenting on her feminism is making my head explode.

Stephanie drew my attention to this brilliant article on Salon. It reads, in part:

In this strange new pro-woman tableau, feminism -- a word that is being used all over the country with regard to Palin's potential power -- means voting for someone who would limit reproductive control, access to healthcare and funding for places like Covenant House Alaska, an organization that helps unwed teen mothers. It means cheering someone who allowed women to be charged for their rape kits while she was mayor of Wasilla, who supports the teaching of creationism alongside evolution, who has inquired locally about the possibility of using her position to ban children's books from the public library, who does not support the teaching of sex education.

In this "Handmaid's Tale"-inflected universe, in which femininity is worshipped but females will be denied rights, CNBC pundit Donny Deutsch tells us that we're witnessing "a new creation ... of the feminist ideal," the feminism being so ideal because instead of being voiced by hairy old bats with unattractive ideas about intellect and economy and politics and power, it's now embodied by a woman who, according to Deutsch, does what Hillary Clinton did not: "put a skirt on." "I want her watching my kids," says Deutsch. "I want her laying next to me in bed."

Welcome to 2008, the year a tough, wonky woman won a primary (lots of them, actually), an inspiring black man secured his party's nomination for the presidency, and a television talking head felt free to opine that a woman is qualified for executive office because he wants to bed her and have her watch his kids! Stop the election; I want to get off.

What Palin so seductively represents, not only to Donny Deutsch but to the general populace, is a form of feminine power that is utterly digestible to those who have no intellectual or political use for actual women. It's like some dystopian future ... feminism without any feminists.

Palin's femininity is one that is recognizable to most women: She's the kind of broad who speaks on behalf of other broads but appears not to like them very much. The kind of woman who, as Jessica Grose at Jezebel has eloquently noted, achieves her power by doing everything modern women believed they did not have to do: presenting herself as maternal and sexual, sucking up to men, evincing an absolute lack of native ambition, instead emphasizing her luck as the recipient of strong male support and approval. It works because these stances do not upset antiquated gender norms. So when the moment comes, when tolerance for and interest in female power have been forcibly expanded by Clinton, a woman more willing to throw elbows and defy gender expectations but who falls short of the goal, Palin is there, tapped as a supposedly perfect substitute by powerful men who appreciate her charms.

OK, first of all: Mr. Donnie Deutsch. EW. I totally just threw up in my mouth. Fuck off, shut up, go away bletch.

Everyone else: Read the rest of the article. It's phenomenal.

From the mouths of others...

More political natterings for your perusal. Renee linked to this journal entry and I agree that it is very well said.

Even better? Rob's reaction to Sarah Palin over here.

And for a daily dose of funny, (because if I seriously don't laugh at this bullshit, I might go insane) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the Republican Convention:

Flames! Flames, on the sides of my face.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, I don't like Sarah Palin. But then again, as a Jezebel article says, I don't like most people who are diabolically anti-choice, hunt wolves by chasing them down in planes and then shooting them when they get tired, supports tearing up the environment, banning books, and privatized healthcare. So, you know. Shocker.

However. Let's talk about this "community organizer" bullshit.

Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign have thrown this "insult" out a whopping 4 times in the past two days, as a way (in my opinion) of snidely insinuating Obama's lack of experience and belittling his work in the South Side of Chicago. The New York Times features a parsing of the phrase where liberal Ezra Klien feels the Republicans are being vaguely racist. I don't know that I even want to touch that notion with a ten foot pole, because MY GOD PEOPLE.

My issue, is this: For a party that is all about small government and in favor of individuals supporting each other instead of governmental bureaucrats, this "community organizer" insult is especially hypocritical and retarded. Because if you're not going to have government agencies do it, you know what you need to pick up the slack? COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. You know what else? Given McCain's call to service in his acceptance speech the other night, YOUR "INSULT" IS PARTICULARLY STUPID.

And also:


(with thanks to the Redhead)

So once again, Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign, I'm asking you to shut your freaking pie holes already, unless you plan on making some damn sense.

And while we're on the subject of Sarah Palin, The Daily Show has been hitting home run after home run:





I don't want to harp and linger on this Bristol Palin flapadoodle, because I do think that poor girl deserves her privacy as she tries to come to grips with the changes her life is facing. But I think that final clip very aptly points out that Brisol and her now husband-to-be had a choice in what they did. (Just as they chose to have sex without using birth control.) It's the same choice her mother had when she found out that she would be having a mentally disabled child. A choice that they don't want others to have, it appears, but it's fine for them right now. Nobody likes abortion. But having the ability and personal freedom (and thus, responsibility) to choose is vital.

This is an argument I've gotten into with Krista at least once, and other conservatives many times. There's no easy answer on abortion, because it's essentially linked to your belief on where life begins. However, it's not like abortion is ever going to go away, even if Roe vs. Wade is overturned. It's just going to become dangerous and occur in risky and unsanitary conditions. Therefore, abortion needs to be made safe, available, and -- key word here -- rare. Which requires better sexual education programs, more free clinics, and better health care options -- all things Republicans are statistically against and do you see what I'm getting at here?

So yes. Sarah Palin insights a white-hot rage in me, is my point. I think she gives feminists a false light and bad name. I think she's nothing but subordinate, but knows how to "play the game," making it look like she's in control. If that makes any sense, at all. It's also, as Gloria Steinem says, about not about having a woman as a VP candidate. "Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere." Which...as I've illustrated above I don't think Palin does. I think Palin is insulting, smug, and most importantly unqualified.

Christ, this was supposed to be just a couple quick notes on the whole "community organizer" bull shit, and it's turned into a missive. To be continued, possibly.

Well, now I can breathe easy

All this nonsense in Denver? Puh-Shaw! Pundits? Take a back seat. We have official confirmation that the Weekly World News Alien is supporting Barack Obama.

Note that WWN Alien has correctly predicted every election since 1980.

Randoms of Politics and Doctor Who

• I've got to love a political comic with a Doctor Who reference.
  
  
• Stephanie and I had a Whosday yesterday and watched the latest two episodes which were ohmygod SO GOOD and made us covet a library planet, afraid of the dark, and cry with broken hearts, all at once.
  
  
• As sad as I am that Russel T. Davies is leaving Who, I am very excited about Stephen Moffat taking over.
  
  
• I am so totally wearing my "The angels have the phonebox" shirt that Renee gave to me, in honor of la Moffat.
  
  
• Shut up.
  
  
• Back onto politics: Dennis Kucinich, bless his liberal heart, has presented 32 articles for impeachment against President Bush to Congress. IT'S ABOUT FRICKIN TIME. Judging by the lack of media coverage from any major news organizations (including the BBC!) means that fuck all will be done about it, sadly. And this is why I hate politics.
  
  
• This LJ post completely made me snarf all over the place. And also, I say yes.

More to come, soon. I have weekend updates and photos for you guys.

Finally

(image by Shepard Fairey)


You know, I have to say I do admire Hillary Clinton. Girlfriend worked it, right up until the end. There's something to be said for tenacity, and she certainly has it. At the same time, I am so glad that she's not the nominee. I am currently of two minds on if she should be on the same ticket with Obama -- on one hand, it would be so immense and historic and more importantly, it would unite the party. On the other hand, Hillary and Obama don't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of issues, not to mention all the other qualms I have about Hillary.

Obama continues to impress me with his humility and kindness:

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We’ve certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who’s shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning – even in the face of tough odds – is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children’s Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency – an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He did not have to say all of that. All he had to do was congratulate Clinton on her victory in South Dakota and thank her for running a fairly clean campaign. (Well...debatable, but you know what I mean) You could argue that him saying all of that was a calculated attempt to sway Clinton supporters or prepare his supporters for the possibility of having Clinton on the ticket. But you know, I believe in him. I believe that he's a decent, stand up guy who specifically chose to say those things because he sincerely means them. He's nice, this Obama guy, and I'm glad he's our party's nominee.

Something else that stuck me was that during Obama's speech when he mentioned Hillary everyone in the audience clapped and cheered for her. And this is something that I've noticed about Obama supporters as opposed to Clinton supporters: Obama supporters don't dislike Clinton -- they like her and they respect her, but they like Barack more; are more inspired by his vision. I mean, as mentioned, I have qualms about her, but come November if it was her as the party's nominee, I would vote for her no problem. Whereas Clinton supporters have a tendency to be more fanatical and one-sided. I've heard several Clinton supporters announce that if she wasn't on the ticket they were voting for McCain. Which is so counter-productive, it drives me nuts.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It’s not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

OH, BURN! Prior to Hillary and Barack speaking last night, John McCain made a speech, putting into sharp relief how vastly different the two sides are, how content John McCain is to just totter along in the same path that George W. Bush has forged. I've lost such respect for John McCain in the past 8 years, as he's blithely allowed himself to follow whatever Bush has said.

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.[...] America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

I AM SO READY, YOU GUYS. LET'S DO IT.

Obligitory Morning-After-Election Post

So Obama did not win Pennsylvania. Which is, sadly, what I was expecting. I was hoping for a tighter margin, 6 or 7%, but I have to say in 6 weeks Obama closed the gap between him and Hillary by close to 15%. I will take that 10% and turn my hopes to North Carolina, which is looking pretty good, and to Indiana, which will be tricky. There's always Guam, I guess.

I would like to register my exhaustion with politics. I am so, so tired. But I can't stop paying attention, because I know what is at stake, I know what needs to be done. I would also like to register my frustration with Democrats, Super Delegates, and political analysts. Democrats I sort of what to shake: point out how inconsistent and conservative Hillary is, urge them to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is this: We need to get a Democrat in the White House. Who is going to have a better chance at taking the Presidential Election? Obama.

Super Delegates can eat my ass. I ask, again and again, what is so wrong with the popular fucking vote? Why not do what your constituents want? Stop fucking up the democratic process.

From Jim: "What's so aggravating is that the Dems finally have a great, charismatic, intelligent, motivating candidate -- and the Republicans are so, so vulnerable, and have such a vulnerable, unmotivating candidate -- and yet somehow it seems we may STILL find a way to blow it."

Word.

Political analysts are so, so stupid. CNN and MSNBC need to SHUT UP. Last night they called the election when 1% of the results were in. 1%! That is nothing short of retarded. Now you know why I watch BBC World News.


Confidential to Krista: I sort of feel bad for you because you're the only über conservative in the middle of a whole gang of über liberals. I don't want you to feel like we are attacking you. Because we're not. We just don't understand. Ok, I shouldn't speak for the group. I don't understand. Conservative values elude me. And last night, I was trying, very hard, to understand. And I don't and probably never will. But man, are you good for debate.

Power to the People

If you're one of my Pennsylvania readers you need to get out and vote today. VOTE VOTE VOTE.

Obviously, I voted for Obama, and hope you will too, because seriously I believe with my whole heart and mind that he is the best possible candidate. But that's not the issue.


The issue is about making your voice heard, about being active in the political process. It's been 8 long, hard years. If you would have told me 8 years ago that all this damage would have been done by one presidential administration, I would not have believed you. "No!" I would have said. "Surely we would impeach someone who lied and so blatantly hurt the American people. Surely we would kick them out of office, and Congress would rise up and stand for their constituents!"

I would have not thought it possible that we could be so apathetic as a nation. I would not believe that I would spend the evening of November 2, 2004 crying and bitterly disappointed in my generation, who once again failed to cast their votes. I have voted in every single election since I turned 18. I never understand why people in the 18-25 demographic toss away their chance to make a difference.

But all that is over. Now is the time for change. Now is the time to make a difference and take hold, shape our government the way we want it. To mobilize, and move forward. To check ourselves before we wreck ourselves, because seriously: we've got some cleaning up to do.

And today...Today the Pennsylvania Primary makes a huge difference. Get out and vote.



My breasts implore you to vote. Won't you listen?

The Design of Dissent Democracy.

I haven't been talking about school much in this space, mainly because this semester is a complete 180° from last semester. I'm taking two design classes, both of which are rather low-stress and practical (although I do need to get cracking on my presentation for my color theory class). My digital design class -- which was billed as both "advanced" and "includes InDesign," but is neither -- has been a bit ho-hum as I am light years ahead of most of my classmates and the class functions as a lab. Meaning no lectures, discussions, or critiques, just us sitting at our stations doing our work.

Our "work" is to complete 5 projects by the end of the semester. One of the project ideas given to us was to create these "Vote" posters: posters to inspire the 18-25 crowd to take part in the voting process. To be a bit rabble rousing, if you will. I've made several posters. But just today I stumbled across something very cool.

Power to the Poster.

Very cool. I can't wait to see what else they come up with as the site grows.

April 22 is getting closer!

Bob Casey, I knew I voted for you for a reason.

Tally

5 years.

4,000 U.S. military deaths.

174 U.K. military deaths.

A conservative estimate of between 82,349 to 89,867 Iraqi civilians dead.

An estimate of over 576 amputations performed to U.S. soldiers as a result of the Iraq war; over 725 amputations performed to U.S. soldiers as a result of military action in Afghanistan.

An unknown number of U.S. military personal who have been injured or fallen ill as a direct result of the conflict in Iraq because the number is too great to count. In 2005 it was estimated that the number was 1 in 4. It is generally agreed updon that this number has risen.

A conservative estimate of $505,277,178,411 spent on the war to date

A conservative estimate that over $2 trillion will be spent before all is said and done.

Dick Cheney's response to the report that the majority of Americans are not happy that we are fighting in Iraq: "So?"


My three questions:

AND FOR WHAT?

HOW MUCH LONGER?

WHY ARE THESE FUCKERS STILL IN OFFICE?