Reflections

I rang in the victory with some really great people last night. When the call came in at exactly 11:00, we were in the middle of an intense round of presidential trivia. It took about 1.2 seconds for the news to sink in. In unison we started screaming, high-fiving, crying, and embracing. We were so happy. And proud. And relieved. Admittedly we were a little slap happy and alcohol-flushed but we couldn't help but remark that we would remember the night for the rest of our lives. To be honest, I can't stop getting choked up. As I re-watch the tender moment between Michelle and the President elect, the tears slip out and down the cheeks. As I re-listen to the narrative at the end of Obama's speech, the nose starts running.

For me, the night signals a change. A change that I have been hoping for since the night I didn't sleep in 2000. A change in the way Washington approaches issues... A change in the way the American people will view sacrifice, responsibility, and democracy. Obama won, in record numbers, the votes of young voters and racial minorities. People who have often felt left out of the two-party system. It speaks volumes of what Obama signals.

Of course, I can't help but reflect on the areas we still have to "win." California values livestock more than (gay) humans. Turn out was pretty low in key states like Ohio. These things still signal that lefties have a lot of work to do. But we're ready. We're inspired. We have a leader we trust.

I can't wait to see how the next 4 years turn out!

Vote for.....

Because....

* I trust women and I want to see them healthy and happy. I believe in a woman's right to choose and that women's health should never be put in air quotes. 19 million women are uninsured in this country and women are more likely than men to go without care in order to cut costs. I favor health care that is available for all and comprehensive. Birth control and contraceptive methods should be affordable and prevalent. Obama has fought to maintain funding for the Centers of Excellence in Women's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. He also supports legislation to encourage research that will examine gender and health disparities. The same legislation would establish community outreach programs in underserved areas to help women access health care and maintain healthy lifestyles. Obama supports the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods.

* I am middle class and fiscally responsible. Obama will not raise my taxes. I am not an oil company nor in a household making over 200K a year. I don't own a business which exports all my labor over seas. If I was, I might consider McCain. To vote against my economic interests is...in a nutshell... stupid. Inherent in the idea that I'm fiscally responsible is the notion that tax dollars should be used for the good of all. I do not subscribe to tokin'ism. So I believe the Oprah Winfreys, Bill Gates, and Horatio Algers of the world are the exception. Until it is the rule that all people (regardless of race, gender, geographic location, and luck of the birth draw) have a fair shake, I will continue to vote for people who support pooling resources for the good of the many rather than the few. This means I see it as beneficial to financially support things like universal health care and public schools. Despite being communitarian in nature, it is fiscally responsible. It saves the US money in the long run and makes us more competitive world-wide. To be fiscally responsible means to vote democratic.

* I am anti-war.

* I am pro-environment. I believe that global warming is person-made--just as solutions should be. Obama will invest money in green-collar jobs. He supports alternate energy.

* I trust Joe Biden more than I trust Sarah Palin. McCain himself said he "might have to rely on a vice president" for expertise on economic issues. Sarah Palin has none. In these economic times, we need a president with a plan and with good people surrounding him.

* I hope.

For all these reasons and many more....


And I hope you do, too.

SNAP!

Thanks Colin Powell...for lots of things. Including this:

Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.

And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life."

Change *We* Can Believe In

If you are so inclined, add your name to this open letter to Barack Obama. I don't need to remind you of the FISA stuff or the crazy abortion rhetoric statements or his recent comments about energy. Well, I guess I just did. But the letter says it all....

We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy. We understand that the pressures brought to bear on those seeking the highest office are intense. But retreating from the stands that have been the signature of your campaign will weaken the movement whose vigorous backing you need in order to win and then deliver the change you have promised.

If you're so inclined, you're joining good company. The least of which is mine.