Seen, Heard, Read

News from the Road, If I Were On The Road

What’s Snoo?

• Unemployment figures for the month of October: 240,000, which means that Americans have lost approximately 1,000,000 jobs so far this year
• Claims from aides in McCain camp: Sarah Palin thinks that Africa is a country (no . . . this is is a joke, right?)
• Claims from Sarah Palin: The most that she ever asked for was an occasional diet Dr. Pepper (okay, governor)
• Republicans want Joe Lieberman to caucus with them; Dems don’t want to lose a Senate vote since we are so close to the all-powerful 60. I say we should buy him a new wardrobe and let Joe the Plumber decide.
• Joe the Plumber who hates Socialism has benefitted from that entitlement program called “Welfare” on two occasions. Hmmmm
• W. has given permission for uranium drilling within three miles of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, which provides drinking water for three states. Way to go George! Just when I thought that you couldn’t do anything more asinine, you go and prove me wrong. Who needs a natural monument that is eons old? Who needs fresh drinking water? What a bunch of sissies. You show ’em. After all, you’re going to be far, far away in a land called Oz.
• Michele Bachmann, who just weeks ago was calling for McCarthy like hearings into anti-American liberals in the Senate had this to say about Barack Obama’s presidential win: She was“extremely grateful that we have an African-American who has won this year.”
• Gay marriage was defeated in California, but the defeat is not sitting well with the Gay/Lesbian community, as it shouldn’t. Expect to hear a lot more about this issue.
• Since President-elect Obama’s election, the Iraqis have been more willing to sign the security agreement that they had been stalling. The Iraqis were worried that the agreement for withdrawal of forces by December 30, 2011 would not be honored by a Republican White House. However, they are more willing to negotiate an agreement with the upcoming change in the White House. The new agreement also prevents the launching of attacks of other countries from Iraqi soil (such as Syria).

  

  Eugene Allen (Clark/Washington Post)

• And finally, if you want to know who really makes the White House run, please read this incredible story about Eugene Allen. If this doesn’t touch your heart, then you are made of stone. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008361980_webbutler07.html

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor

This time last week we were getting ready to watch the returns from what would become one of the most historic elections in our country. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this process. I only wish that I could take it a step further and apply for a job with the new administration. That would be like something out of a dream, to participate in an administration that is going to make sweeping changes. I mean, I know that it’s going to be a really hard row to hoe.

The problems that this country faces are enormous: Unemployment is creeping up every month, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit double digits. Our three major car companies are going under and need major help. This is probably going to be one of the worst holiday seasons for retail in a dozen years. I know that I won’t be out there spending my usual amount. That’s for sure. One of the only companies to turn a profit last quarter was Wal Mart; even Target recorded a loss. And we all know how I feel about Wal Mart. Everyone is hurting.

So I don’t delude myself that President-elect Obama is going to take office and miracles are going to happen. His first year is going to be hell, and there are going to be a lot of people pointing fingers and saying “I told you so,” because there is so much blame, and he is the easiest target. But I also have no doubts that given enough time, his plans can work.

The best laid plans of mice and men, and all of that. Everything worth having is worth waiting for, at least that’s what the cereal boxes and fortune cookies say. I just hope that when the finger pointing starts, and the naysayers begin with their doom and gloom, they remember how this country has felt for the past eight years, how as a nation, we have collectively lost hope, lost faith, lost our status as a global leader,

And so, like the Eugene Allen’s of the world, we must remember to put our coats on one sleeve at a time, and go to work, and do our jobs, and carry on, and give this man who we believed in enough to put into office a chance to do his job.

Here endeth the lesson. More later. Peace.

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Post Election DTs

This was bound to happen. I mean, I half expected it, sort of, but not really. It kind of crept up on me. I’ll confess. I’ve been mainlining for a few months now, and I didn’t really go cold turkey until about Friday. I mean, there was still an abundance on Wednesday. Plenty of it was around. It was just so easy to get. I mean, it was everywhere you looked. A hookup was the easiest thing in the world, so I really wasn’t worried about getting a fix.

Thursday was still good, too. Although, I could sense that things were changing. There was something in the air. And you could see it in people’s eyes: a glassiness. That’s when I realized that it was going to be harder to get my hourly fixes. Because by then, once daily wasn’t enough. I was up to six, seven hours a day, and I often went into the wee hours of the morning.

I wasn’t able to write on Thursday. I mean, there werethings that I could write about, but I just didn’t have it in me. I actually began an entry, but it died on the page, just kind of fizzled out like a defective sparkler on the Fourth of July. I recognized it for what it was: I was starting to feel the withdrawal symptoms. It wasn’t too bad yet, but the beast from Moria was entering my brain, and I knew that it was coming: a withdrawal/stress migraine. And then, too, I was facing my worst day of the year. So I didn’t force it. I turned off my desk light, and hid under the covers. I tried to read a regular book, but it was so unsatisfying. Even my three hours of MSNBC didn’t soothe me: Hardball, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Rachel Maddow Show. Something was missing.

Friday arrived and the culmination of events finally proved to be my undoing. I took to my bed like a groundhog going into hibernation with no intention of emerging until Willard Scott and his Smucker’s jam called me out. I was certain that an invisible ice pick was protruding from my right eye.

On Saturday I finally faced the fact that I had an addiction that had to be faced: I was a political campaign news junkie. And now that Obama was president elect, I had to find a new way to carry on my everyday life. I mean sure, I could still write about politics in my blog, but it wouldn’t be the same. Sarah Palin had scurried back to Alaska with the claim that she had only ever asked for a Diet Dr. Pepper once in a while. John McCain wasn’t talking, and the Republicans had gone into hiding to try to figure out what to do about Senator Stevens. The only truly interesting thing going on was the custody battle over Joe Liebermann, and I had to face the fact that that simply wasn’t enough to feed my habit.

I mean, President-elect Obama gave us a scrap with his first press conference, but it that thirty minutes just wasn’t enough. I realized that it was going to be a long two months until January 20 unless W. did something really interesting, and let’s face it, anything that he tried to do, Obama was going to undo as soon as he took office.

I tried to recapture some of the high by watching Keith Olbermann’s hour-long review of the campaign, twice, but it just wasn’t the same. Who would I mock now that Joe the Plumber had retreated into obscurity? What would I do now that Thelma Drake had finally conceded to Glenn Nye in the 2nd Congressional District? The only things that I had to look forward to were Al Franken’s runoff election and what happened to the felon in Alaska . . .

It’s just not the same. I never thought I’d say this, but I kind of miss Sarah P. But not to worry, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of her. Until then, I’ll just have to regulate my dosage, and satisfy myself with writing about the usual shenanigans of politics as usual, you know, people like Michele Bachman, Rush Limbaugh, and of course, Sarah P., who doesn’t have sense enough to let a spokesperson issue a statement for her, because she is, after all, a governor, and governor’s shouldn’t go around calling people “jerks” on the record.

As always, more later. Peace.

A Time for Reconciliation

Two Men, Two Speeches

John McCain’s Passion

I just happened to catch John McCain’s last campaign speech on Election Day, and I have to tell you, it was pretty impassioned. His delivery was great. He had his audience. There was no mention of socialism. His message was about the issues. It was as if McCain had stepped through my Twilight Zone re-do door and had slipped back to that time before Palin and all of the silliness and nonsense and was still on point. And he was good. And I turned to Corey and commented that if he had remained that John McCain, things would probably have been much different.

Less than ten hours later, I was watching a very gracious but defeated John McCain deliver his concession speech before his supporters at The Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife Cindy by his side. He silenced boos in the crowd, and he won them over with statements such as this: “Let there be no reason now … Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.” And then he took the onus on himself: “We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.”

The crowd responded loudly with a resounding “NO.” And I agree, somewhat. There is plenty of blame to go around, but he is the captain of his ship, and as he did in the beginning of his speech, he could have said “no,” and he could have said “stop” to his campaign at any time, but I think that it all just got away from him.

But in the end, he met his defeat with his head held high. No word on the governor, though.

 

 

Barack Obama’s Grace

If this was the President-elect’s acceptance speech, I am beyond edge-of-my seat in anticipation of his inaugural address.  This man has been graced with an ability to turn phrases in a way that so captivates and enthralls that has not been seen since the days of the truly great speakers in this world, the Churchills, the Roosevelts, the Lincolns, the Jeffersons, and back to the days of the inception of oratory: Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Socrates.

Do I exaggerate? No, I really don’t believe that I do. His voice is steeped in the classical oratorical skills of the masters. It is rich in rhythms that politicians have tried to achieve but have not quite attained. JFK was one of the few. But Obama also has that quiet dignity and a way that touches the heart of even the poorest, least-educated person in the crowd, and lets him or her know that he has not forgotten of his existence, nor will he in the days and months to come.

This kind of skill can be learned, but more often than not, for it to be perfected, it must come from a place deep within and be fostered by something that most people do not ever quite come close to achieving: true grace. That Barack Obama is the person he is today is most assuredly a testament to the people who nurtured him, who instilled the values in him, who taught him about love, respect, honor, equality, humility, bravery, the necessity of a good education, and most of all, the importance of daring to dream.

Because this man has shown us, average Americans, that it is all right to dream, and to fight for our dreams, and to do it with respect, and honor, and humility. He dared us to come along. He challenged us to be the best people that we could be, and when we wanted to take the fight down to a level that was unworthy, he reminded us that that was not what we were fighting for. He kept us focused. He kept us honorable. And in so doing, he allowed us to win with dignity, right beside him. And for that, we should all be eternally grateful to this man who started out with nothing more than intelligence and a dream and the family to help him find his way.

What an extreme honor it has been to help you in your campaign for the presidency of the United States of America, President-elect Barack Obama.

 

Grant Park Embraces Their Favorite Son

I must say that I would have sucked up my long-ingrained fear of crowds to have been in Chicago in Grant Park, or among the thousands more who spread into the loop for a crowd of approximately 240,000 people, by the fire department’s estimation, to hear President-elect Barack Obama deliver his acceptance speech.

But I have to tell you, the one thing that just slayed me, and I never would have expected this, was the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a man who is not known for his silence, just standing there with tears streaming down his face, no words needed. That was it for me.

 

 

In Closing . . .

And so, to borrow a phrase from John McCain, my friends, that’s it from me today. I’m spending the rest of this cold windy day in bed with the dogs. Won’t Malia and Sasha have fun in the White House with their new puppy? It’s has been an incredible, wonderful experience. I only wish that I had been able to begin it sooner.

I hope to have the other blog site, politicofemme, operative soon. I’ll explain more on that later, but I have high hopes for it. But for now, it’s a cup of tea and some chocolates (I’m out of twizzlers).

More later. Peace.