11 posts tagged “obama”
I didn't go on the cruise. Please don't leave me any "Oh, I'm so sorry!" comments. I don't mean that in a harsh way--I just mean that I didn't go because I was really anxious about flying with my ears still being kind of plugged up. I've had horrible hay fever--the pollen is so thick right now that the cars are covered in it. The artist's manager who'd handled my arrangements understood. Told me he suffers from bad allergies, too, and has had a couple of flights where he thought his eardrums would explode upon descent. They're finally starting to open up and I simply didn't want to mess with flights. So don't cry for me, Argentina. ;) I get the weekend to just...exhale...move to my own rhythms...have some space... And all of it is much needed after feeling so stressed out the past few weeks.
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On a separate note (and I haven't even told Jeffrey about this yet--he was gone most of yesterday and this morning we were focused on getting him packed and to the airport)... By accident (via reading a link and then being reminded of someone and Googling him) I learned yesterday that one of my oldest, dearest friends died last summer. I was devastated to read that news online. I hadn't spoken to him in years, but he still pops up in my thoughts occasionally. It gets worse. What I also saw online was that four years before his death, he'd been beaten by two police officers in the town where he'd lived for decades. (A very liberal, white university town...just like this one.) He wasn't charged with a crime and when he took the city to court, he won a quarter million dollar lawsuit. But his injuries had led to surgery and left him with a permanent limp. I (obviously) had no idea that he'd been through all of that (we were off the mainland during that time). It broke my heart to read about it. I'd known him for 35 years. He was my first love. Imagine for a moment your first love. Now imagine that person being dragged from their car and beaten by two people with metal clubs, all while the person stood there open-palmed--taking, not resisting, the blows.
I'm sorry to be sharing such upsetting news, but it's been a helluva 24 hours. Canceling my getaway...and then being utterly shocked and upset over that news. I try not to talk too often on this blog about politics or issues or race--at least I try to bring them up less than I did at my previous blog. But this is the reality I live in. As I've said before, I'm supporting Barack Obama for President because I honestly believe he's the best candidate with the best character for this critical time for our nation. I'm not voting for him because he's half-black. But his race is an important part of who he is, and I personally haven't spoken to anyone who wasn't moved by the speech he gave on race on March 18th. (If you didn't see it, I encourage you to join the more than 3-1/2 million people who've watched "A More Perfect Union" on YouTube here.) Those of us who came of age in the early days of feminism (early 70's) have been seen to be disloyal to our sisterhood by not supporting Hillary Clinton. Today The Root posted an extraordinary letter written by Alice Walker that so beautifully puts that into perspective. I encourage you to read it here.
This morning, already weepy over missing my getaway with my sweetie and my heart aching over thinking of my dear friend being beaten, I watched this video from last May by slam poet Darian Dauchan..."Damn you, Barack Obama..." (It includes profanity, but I think you can handle it.) And I broke down. This one's for you, A, wherever you are...
Remember when I posted the YouTube video of Derrick being drilled by a random guy outside the L.A. debate on why he supports Obama? He explained Barack's health care proposal better than Barack does! That video is here.
Well, Derrick later posted a video explaining a few things: how he wasn't a plant for the Obama campaign, how he'd never met the interviewer before that moment...and most importantly, why he supports Obama. This made me cry...
The whole town of Obama, Japan is pulling for Barack! :)
Since health care is one of the biggest hot-button issues of this election season, I thought I'd share this video because this is the best articulation of Obama's health care plan I've seen yet. (Derrick lays it out better than Barack!) :) I believe Hillary misleads voters by constantly saying she's going to provide "universal health care" for all of us. I just had a conversation about this with a teacher at school last week. He was supporting Hillary and honestly thought she was going to give us socialized medicine--that our government would be giving us free health care under her plan. I explained that she's proposing a mandated health care plan where we'd be required to buy private health insurance. It was only this past weekend that she said she'd enforce it by garnishing the wages of anyone who doesn't voluntarily sign up.
And since we just learned on Wednesday that the Clintons have put $5 million of their own money into Hillary's campaign, I thought I'd point out that in December Bill Clinton was heard at an Iowa event saying (in a jab directed at Michael Bloomberg who's considering a run) that although it's a constitutional right, he believes self-funding a campaign "violates the spirit of campaign finance reform." :) Here's the link from that New York Sun article.
I fell asleep at 7:30 last night--it's been a crazy 10 days or so. We've got a very busy day at work today, so I apologize for putting any sort of creative effort on hold. Looking forward to our weekend getaway so I can recharge a bit. I will get caught up on my blog-reading...promise. In the meantime, happy Thursday!
I went through more than one tissue watching the story of Joshua Stroman...
As you may or may not know, on Sunday afternoon there was a rally for the Obama for President campaign at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. By the time I remembered it was happening, Caroline Kennedy was nearing the end of her remarks as covered by CNN. But then they cut away for their regularly scheduled programming. Fortunately, C-Span carried the rally in its entirety. It was truly a wonderful event and I feel very lucky that I was able to watch it. Oprah followed Caroline. I admit I've had my issues with Miss O. lo these many years--my affection for her sometimes wanes. But after hearing her speak at the Obama rally today, I feel a lot of love for her because she so beautifully articulated what many of us who are strong, independent, feminist women try to say when we're explaining why we're supporting Obama rather than the female candidate. If you have 13 minutes to spare, I encourage you to listen..
Oprah quoted Toni Morrison, who said this of Barack Obama:
“In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare
authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age,
experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That
something is a creative imagination which, coupled with brilliance, equals
wisdom.”
“If Barack Obama was a state, he’d be California. I mean think about it: diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition, innovative, inspiring, dreamer, leader.” ~Maria Shriver
“I’m voting for Barack Obama not because he’s black. I’m voting for Barack Obama because he’s brilliant.” ~Oprah Winfrey
“Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility.” ~Los Angeles Times endorsement
“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.” ~Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg“I am convinced that Barack Obama is the one presidential
candidate today who can…salve our national wounds and both inspire and pursue
genuine bipartisan cooperation.” ~Susan
Eisenhower (grandddaughter of President Eisenhower and a life-long Republican)
“I
am proud to support Barack Obama, and look forward to him leading this country
toward a brighter, more hopeful future.”
~Ethel Kennedy
I have never been this excited about an election in my entire life--and never more excited to participate in a California primary. Watching that rally in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon right before the Super Bowl, I never felt more proud to be a woman listening to those four powerful, strong, very smart, dynamic women speaking their truth. I believe it's moments like those at the rally that will re-energize us as a country and give new meaning to the United States of America.
I ask only this--that if you're a voter in one of the 23 states or American Samoa that will be voting in primaries and caucuses on February 5th, that you not take your fear to your polling place, but instead bring your truth (whatever it is). Most importantly, please vote! (And if you're a Democrat Abroad, don't forget you have a week to vote!)
P.S. And if you haven't seen the "Yes We Can" song video that I put in the post below, check it out. ;)
Where my energy has gone over the past week...
- forgetting that creativity even exists (except in a few random moments)
- feeling really stressed out about how much I have to do at work in the coming weeks and how much I'll have to rush to meet the deadlines
- spending a lot of time with family since my folks were visiting most of the week
- hauling 5 loads of laundry to the laundromat in the rain
- not sleeping enough
- forgetting to drink water
- spending a lot of time following the election (although I'm not going to feel bad about this since this is truly a history-making time)
- forgetting to buy shampoo
- running out of bottled water at home (we don't drink tap)
- feeling like I spent most of the week 'pedal to the metal'
I'm spending my Sunday winding down...since I have to really gear up the minute I hit work Monday morning. The sun's out and I'm just going with the flow. I'm not going to try to 'accomplish' anything today (although I might get around to putting away the laundry.) Jeffrey was gone all day Saturday at a recording session in Marin County and he's gone till late afternoon today doing his regular Sunday gig. Here's a photo recap of last week...
It's burning up the internet, but just in case you haven't seen Will.I.Am's new song and video for Barack, check it out...
Another busy day yesterday. If I get a work email that requires action but I'm too busy to act on it in the moment, I print it out and toss it in my IN box. I was starting to feel overwhelmed at what might be sitting there un-acted on. So yesterday around 3:00 I finally spent about 20 minutes going through my IN box...and was relieved to find that several things were already done. Whew. Yesterday was another day of one unexpected thing after another. I have a big project I need to get done for the counselors and I've been trying to get to it since Tuesday morning. We'll see if I can finally get to it today. Oh, wait, I just remembered--I have to get to it today because ultimately there are some letters that need to go out...today.
Jeffrey had a gig in San Mateo last night, so he was gone by the time I got home from work. I went from work straight to the bank to deposit my check. (Thank GOD. December 21--when we got our December checks early on our last day of work before Winter break--was a LONG time ago.) Then I raced home with 3 minutes to spare before the debate. Flipped on CNN, logged onto Twitter and the BlogHer open thread, and settled in to watch and listen. Some are saying 2008 is the year of Twitter (just like YouTube and Facebook exploded in previous years.) If that's the case, they need to get more power behind it, because when it gets used heavily it starts getting all wanky. But I am loving Twitter during this campaign season. I get a lot of my campaign news via Twitter links these days. I mostly stayed away from the BlogHer thread last night. When I saw some of the views being espoused by the moderator (there are different moderators), it didn't feel very welcoming. It seemed odd to me to have a right-wing, evangelical Republican moderating the thread for a Democratic debate...but...whatever... :) Everyone's viewpoints are always welcome there and that's a good thing. But when I see someone write that they think rich people are taxed too much...well, it makes me think we're probably viewing the world through different lenses. ;)
This campaign seems like it's been going on for years, so it's hard to believe that we're only 4 days away from Super Tuesday. This will, I'm sure, be an intense campaigning weekend here in California for all of the candidates. I'm just hoping (as someone who has a good rapport with our Latino students whose issues I care greatly about) that Latino voters in my home state will really start looking at Obama's record on immigration. It's a huge issue here and one I care about deeply. Daily Kos posted yesterday about Sen. Kennedy's appearance yesterday on a Spanish-language morning radio show that has the largest audience in the U.S. Kennedy was telling those listeners about Obama's record on immigration.
This is a hugely exciting campaign. To think that we're arguing over whether to elect an African-American or a woman...I just never thought I'd see the day...
The minute the debate was over I threw on my coat and ran around the corner to meet up with my family for dinner. I took C across the street afterwards for Baskin-Robbins while my brother grabbed their car. Then I came home, curled up in bed with my book (that it's taking me months to read) and fell quickly asleep.
Sorry I haven't been posting much in the last week. I've just been on the go. And there was something else afoot, too, I realized in retrospect. I was getting very depressed about what was happening in the Presidential campaign. I know some might not understand that. Some might say: jeez, girl, relax--it's just politics. But it was getting so personal. You all know I'm supporting Obama and I'm honestly not trying to sway anyone in who you choose to support. I'm just speaking for me. I felt what Bill Clinton did last week was blatant race-baiting. I felt strongly that he was trying to marginalize Obama and paint him as 'the black candidate.' So you can probably imagine how happy I felt on Saturday when voters in South Carolina of all colors and ages and genders supported Obama enough to give him a resounding victory. If there's one thing America doesn't need right now it's further damage to our already fragile race relations. If you didn't see Obama's victory speech, I suggest you watch it even if he's not your choice for candidate. I think it's a speech that speaks to all Americans. "Out of many we are one." The video is here. I was overjoyed to hear that Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg endorsed Obama, comparing him to her father. Her Sunday New York Times Op-Ed piece is here. And as I write this, Teddy Kennedy is about to endorse him, too. Like many Democrats, I believe there aren't huge policy differences among the three Democratic candidates, so it comes down to things like character and vision. I know I'm not alone when I say that Barack Obama makes me feel proud to be American again...and I haven't felt that way since childhood.
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I said one of my steps would be to write two poems a week. I wrote two this morning...to catch me up for last week. :) The first was for the Sunday Scribblings prompt of "miscellaneous"--it's here. The second one is here.
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My family likes to get together for dinner to celebrate each of our birthdays. Because of schedules, we still hadn't had my birthday dinner, but my sister-in-law was insistent that I swing by their house Friday evening before going to my nephew's basketball game. She wanted me to come by before she'd be taking C. to her dance recital. My brother and I would be going to the game and all of us would be attending C's performance on Saturday afternoon. When I opened my gift, I understood. Marty, Chelle and the kids gave me a camera. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. It made me cry. I told her that I'd just put a new camera on my Mondo Beyond list. She said, "Well, you document our entire lives!" (I maintain a private blog for the family.) I asked C., "Is this because I'm 'the official family photographer?'" She laughed and said, "Yeah!" Chelle wanted to give me one with a great zoom and good video capabilities. I'm still trying to figure out the settings, but I played with a zoom a bit at C's recital yesterday. I also shot video of every one of her performances and it really does do good video. I'm having a hard time uploading the clips--maybe the files are too large. Not sure, but I'll get it figured out. But here are a few tentative first shots...
In the post below, I gave you the intellectual reasons I support Barack Obama. Now let me give you the personal ones. Let me tell you that as I sat refreshing my Twitter page (because, yes!..."IowaCaucus" live Twittered the event and I read precinct results as they happened!) when MSNBC announced that NBC was projecting Barack as the winner, I began to cry and do my happy dance around the room. I gave Jeffrey the biggest hug--not just because we support Obama, but also because of what this victory could mean in our nation's history.
I'm not going to go into personal details, but can we all just agree that racism is alive and well in America? So for Barack Obama, a black, bi-racial person, to win the caucuses in a state that's so predominantly white speaks volumes about how ready many in this country are for change. If we had to pick our candidates based solely on what they're saying and not how they look, I'd still choose Obama. I'm not supporting him because he's black--I'm just thrilled that the person I feel is best suited to move this country forward at this point is black. Because on a fundamental level, this country must begin to heal its racist past. And a candidate who's mixed-race? Doubly thrilled! I believe Obama's heritage and history give him the best vantage point among the candidates to deal with the problems in America and the world. This is a man who has immediate family members in Africa--he's a man who's lived in Indonesia. Compare that to George Bush who used to say he had no interest in leaving the country to see any of the rest of the world.
My mate is African-American and his teenage son is bi-racial (black and Chinese). Barack Obama is not other from me--he is us. Barack Obama represents the America that I live in...every day.
