Why?

Ok, here we go.

I support Obama for President (I know, shocker). This is why.
(And equally important - why I do not support Clinton.)

First some stats:
Obama has over 10 years of elected political servitude between his years in the IL Senate and US Senate.
Clinton has 7.

Committees currently serving on:
Obama (4)- Homeland Security & Government Affairs; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions; Veterans' Affairs and Foreign Relations (serving as chairman of the Subcommitte on European Affairs).
Clinton (4) - Armed Services; Environment & Public Works; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions and Aging.

Money taken from lobbyists:
Obama - $76,859 ($6,755 form PAC's - 74% from ideological/single issues)
Clinton - $567,950 ($748,052 from PAC's - 56% from business)
**Opensecrets.org

Now, opinion.

I have been on both candidates websites. While similar in structure and spin, Obama's focuses on getting his message out in a positive way and does not include digs at the other candidates. Hillary's site has an entire section - The Fact Hub - dedicated to defensive counter attacks. The very mud-slinging she is complaining about.
(www.barackobama.com; www.hillaryclinton.com)
Added: **Oops, my bad. Barack has added a similar defense page to his website: http://factcheck.barackobama.com

Hillary keeps talking about how much more experience she has and touting against electing someone that will need "on-the-job training". Obama actually has more experience in elected office than she does. Her years as First Lady don't count. If she is claiming they do, she needs to provide documentation to support that fact. Why should we just believe her? I don't think it's fair if she's running on her husband's merits.

I see Obama's lack of experience as an asset. He is still new, fresh and relatively uncompromised. He hasn't been corrupt by the current politcal system that she proudly claims to have been a part of for 35 years.

I see Obama as a face to unify not only our country, but the world. He sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, co-wrote the Lugar-Obama initiative to prevent wmd smuggling, supports the Non-proliferation Treaty to eradicate nuclear weapons throughout the world and has written legislation to aid the conflicts in Darfur and the Congo. He has family living in Kenya and lived as a child in SE Asia. He understands what it is like to live (even if he was 10) in a culture other than the corporate corrupt America that the rest of the world sees. He can change the way we are seen by the world.

What I fear most about Clinton is the money she is taking from numerous lobbies (defense, insurance, Chinese and Indian companies, etc.). What has she promised in return for these donations? If she really has all of these years of experience in negotiating, how many favors does she owe - and to whom?

She is also the only major Democratic candidate to not support free presidential debates (maplight.org). Why? Without the money she doesn't think she can win?

She has been called a corporate democrat and linked to numerous troublesome people or companies (ie. discrimination at WalMart, outsourcing at Westin Hotels, Mark Penn on her payroll...), but in her defense, her voting record (aside from the Iraq War) has been pretty progressive.

I'm not saying she's the evil queen some are making her out to be, I just think Obama has a clearer vision of where the country could and should be. "A vision that draws from the lessons of the past, but is not bound by outdated thinking." (04/23/07 speech)

Obama was quoted on the campaign trail: "I will wake up every day in that White House thinking about 'How I can make your lives better.'" I believe him. I'm not so sure the same is true for Hillary. If I'm wrong, then shame on me for daring to hope for the America I dream of and know we can be.

Knock, Knock Barack

This is opportunity. Please, I beg you, don't waste me.

Do not listen to the polls. Do not listen to your strategists. Do not let your opponents drag you down into the mess. Listen to your heart, your soul - run on what you believe and know. Let the rest of us step up and elect you.

I know this is wishful thinking. I know this is not how our current election process (for lack of a worse term) is run. I know you will have to pander and make mistakes and "get dirty", but I wish it weren't so. I wish for everyone to simply and clearly understand what you bring to the table. For you, for me and especially for our world.

Tom Hayden's article, "An Appeal to Obama" (11/09/07 on Huffington Post) discusses problems with the campaign's strategies from lacking a definitive constituency to trying to distance itself from the 60s generation. While most of the article is critcal of these perceived missteps, Hayden also offers a succint glimpse to your unique promise:

"The greatest gift you have been given by history is that as the
elected tribune of a revived democracy, you could change America's
dismal role in the world. Because of what you so eloquently represent,
you could convince the world to give America a new hearing, even a new
respect. There are no plazas large enough for the crowds that would
listen to your every word, wondering if you are the one the whole
world is waiting for. They would not wait for long, of course. But
they would passionately want to give you the space to reset the
American direction."

This is what we want. This is what we so desperately want, yet the need to campaign is getting in the way of the message you radiate. America is a skeptical bunch. One that is undertandably weary and leery of what seems to obviously be "the answer". It's too easy and we've had our hearts broken too many times before. As huffpo blogger akhinaten says: "Obama is a manifested impossibility that is slowly being deconstructed to find his tribal allegiance." It is safer for us to break you down into systematic categories and pick your every detail apart. We feel the need to define you in a way that makes sense to us instead of believing in our own ability to transcend definition. That way, we can see your shortcomings and somehow justify relinquishing our hope for the future we really want and need.

Barack, you alone find yourself in this precarious position. As the first African American man that has an honest chance of winning the presidency, you are our history and our future. People ask "Is he black enough?" or " Can a black man be elected to the highest office?" Instead of thinking of this as a liability, we should be honoring the fact that we have grown (albeit slowly) as a nation to a place where this is even a possibility. Sad, but true.

Can you live up to your enormous potential? Will you even get the chance? Can we, as a people, put aside all of our prejudice, ignorance and greed and truly step up and start to heal the extensive damage in this country that we say we love? I hope so. It will break my heart if we (you and me) let this opportunity pass.

Hayden also included this memory in his article.

"I sat listening to you last year at an RFK human rights event in our
capital. I was sitting behind Ethel Kennedy and several of her
children, all of whom take more progressive stands than anyone
currently leading the national Democratic Party. They were applauding
you, supporting your candidacy, and trying to persuade me that you
were not just another charismatic candidate but the one we have been
waiting for."

That is pretty huge coming from the Kennedy clan. Let us remember the words spoken by one of their own:

"So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
(JFK's inaugural address - 1961)

PMS!!!

I am suffering from PMS. Politically-induced Mental Stress.

Governor Strickland (D-Ohio) today endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidency. This is somewhat of a coup for Hillary as Ohio has 20 electoral votes and is a crucial swing state. What bothers me is why. Aside from rumors that she may pick him as her running mate, Strickland was quoted in USA Today as saying she "is the one who can win". The NYTimes also states that in a phone interview he "vouched for her electability".

That pisses me off. Shouldn't the primary be about voting for who you really want? Everyone should vote for the candidate that most closely adheres to your beliefs. The one that you honestly believe has your personal best interests and hopes at heart. We should not be voting for who can "get elected" at this stage. That is what the general election is for.

If you think Kucinich, or Biden, or Dodd (notice I didn't mention any Republicans) is your guy, go for it. If you like Hillary for other reasons, fine by me, but don't waste your precious vote on someone because everyone is saying that's your best chance. Not now. There is way too much at stake.

I'm an Obama girl. I'm not telling you to vote for him. (I wish you would, but I'm not.) I'm asking each and every one of you to make a heartfelt, informed (by personal research, not what the media or campaign strategists are telling you to believe) decision and vote for who you think will do the best work for our country.

Oy, I think my head may explode before the primary.

Pushin' 40!

Six weeks ago I turned 39.

Since then I've suffered from:
pain in every old "football" injury (ie. shoulder, lower back, hamstring, knee and foot),
random and seemingly unstoppable gas pain and bloating,
inexplicable deepening of lines and wrinkles around my eyes (hey, I'm using "Hope in a Tube" ok?),
my little patch of gray (normally discreetly covered by cheap dye and a strategic part) scattering across my entire head,
a black eye from the phone at work (hey, can I get worker's comp for that?),
and, a searing calf cramp from (get this) walking!!

Geez. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about getting older. With the whole 50 being the new 40, and 40 being the new 30 crap it gives us of the...let's say age-challenged group a reprieve from the usual aging fears. The number 40 doesn't scare me at all, but if this is what I have to look forward to then I may as well book a room in a local care facility now.

Please come and visit the hot, old maid in room 288. Bring cheese.

I guarantee you it will be a party!

Timely quotes

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain
the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the
government -- lest it come to dominate our lives." -Patrick Henry

"The prohibition against torture [in the law] is considered to be a jus cogens norm, meaning that no derogation is permitted from it under any circumstances." -Naomi Wolf, from blog "What is probably in the Missing Tapes" 12.13.07

"The strategy is to lay low and then blame them for not getting anything done. The truth is, we all lose." -Rep. Ray Lahood, IL. discussing the Republican strategy to undermine the Democratic-held Congress

"When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross." -Sinclair Lewis

"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [America's] heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy." -John Quincy Adams

"Why worsen the situation by threatening sanctions and bring it to a
dead end?" Putin said in a veiled reference to the U.S. push for
harsher international sanctions. "It's not the best way to resolve the
situation by running around like a madman with a razor blade in his
hand." -Vladmir Putin on US proposed Iranian sanctions
(originally published 10/25/07 in the Christian Science Monitor)

"At its best," writes Sullivan, "the Obama candidacy is about ending a
war--not so much the war in Iraq, which now has a momentum that will
propel the occupation into the next decade--but the war within America
that has prevailed since Vietnam and that shows dangerous signs of
intensifying, a nonviolent civil war that has crippled America at the
very time the world needs it most. It is a war about war--and about
culture and about religion and about race. And in that war, Obama--and
Obama alone--offers the possibility of a truce."
(Celeste Fremon in 'Off The Bus' article on The Huffington Post quoting Andrew Sullivan's article in the December issue of The Atlantic)

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln

"The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them." - unknown

Hey Veto! Got a light?

The veto pen has mighty power. The tobacco industry has even more.

President Bush said today that he would once again veto the proposed SCHIP bill that Congress has vowed to send back to his desk. Why? It's not because he is concerned about the poor children that supposedly aren't getting a fair shake, or his excuse that Congress is spending irrationally (that truly is laughable coming from him). He doesn't want to piss off Mr. Big Tobacco (given name: Veto).

Cbs.com's coverage stated that "...the president told House Republicans in a private meeting that he would veto any measure that raised tobacco taxes, asignificant hardening of the administration's public position...". The Democrats new proposal would raise taxes on tobacco and includes a 61-cent raise per pack to fund the $35 billion projected cost of the bill. The proposal from House Republicans made no mention of the tobacco tax increase.

Just your same 'ol money and power issue. Cough.

Now, this is funny. This scene happened at a fundraiser Bush attended back in 1992:

"To your health, Mr. President," the toastmaster said as 4,100 well-wishers at the Washington Convention Center lifted champagne glasses embossed with the words: "The United States Tobacco Co." Bush smiled and the black-tie gathering roared approval.

The largest contribution of the evening was for $100,000 from US Tobacco chief and CEO, Louis Battle, but there was no discussion of tobacco at the GOP fundraiser last spring - just Republican politics, George Bush and money.
(originally printed in a feature by Tom Ferraro - multinationalmonitor.org, 1992)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not on my "I hate Bush and all Republicans" bandwagon...again. (Although I do get a kick out of the lefty bloggers that call them Repugs or Repukes.) The tobacco lobby gives tons of money to both parties. I have great issue with lobbying in general, but that will be addressed in a future blog about my ideas on campaign finance and election reform.

I just think it is sick that an industry that kills approx 400,000 per year - or 1 in every 5 deaths in the US (CDC.gov)-- is what is controlling the decision to refuse increasing medical assistance for our children and our poor.

November is here!

It's November. I love fall -- the leaves are changing, it's football, sweater and chili weather. So far it has been unseasonably warm, but it's starting to get chilly. The cold is coming.

This is a great time of year -- just before the holidays. I love Thanksgiving. It evokes familial images of large gatherings, feasts and games (think Norman Rockwell at his best). I always think of a snowy New England home, a fire glowing, a rowdy game of football in the side yard and sledding. I still get excited thinking of that kind of holiday even though mine typically involves a quiet dinner with my parents -- and now, my dog.

Truthfully, I could be almost anywhere and Thanksgiving would still be my favorite holiday. Reminiscing, giving thanks, being with friends and family, watching the parade...that's all good, but really it's all about the food. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, (any kind of casserole!), crescent rolls ( a tradition at my house) and, best of all, pumpkin pie.

I am a self-described pumpkin freak. I love pretty much anything that has pumpkin in it -- as long as there are absolutely NO RAISINS. They are evil. However, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, pumpkin ravioli...ok, you get the idea and I'm starting to sound like Bubba Gump.

Past years were always difficult for me. When I was still dancing, Turkey Day came a week before our Nutcracker and I was always already in full performance mode - (read: not sleeping, nervous and definitely NOT hungry -- I had to be in front of 2,500 people in pink tights!!). So, my "I've been waiting all year for this" meal turned into a little tasting of each thing, except the cranberry salad, and maybe, if I portioned it just right, a small slice of pie. Sigh.

Those days are long over, so now I look forward to that feastful Thursday with salivous and satious glee (I know, I'm so excited I'm making words up). I've already been warming up. This October I had pumpkin cheesecake candy, pumpkin coffee (with pumpkin pie flavored cream) and pumpkin muffins. I have a pint of pumpkin ice cream in the freezer too.

I am enjoying this inceasingly brief season (yes, even the Bears) for all it's worth. The bone-chilling wind, cold and snow is just around the corner. A local radio station already started playing it's All Day/Every Day Christmas Song Marathon. I sang along to "Let it Snow" on my way to work today. Not right, but "'Tis the season"...