Behind the Scenes Obama

Browsing through my Facebook friends' updates, I was intrigued to see where my friend Shaun King had posted a link to Barack Obama's Flickr page.

Get out! Barack does Flickr!?

Yes he can, and yes he does have a Flickr page, where there are photos taken at the Hyatt on Tuesday night, photos of him and Michelle voting, of him playing basketball on Tuesday afternoon, and tons more (more than 50,000 photos, in fact!).

(Both of these photos are credited David Katz/Obama for America)

In fact, his account goes back to Feb 2007 when he announced his candidacy in Springfield. Yep, this is one more reason why I like this guy. He's sending out text messages and emails to everyone who signed up on www.barackobama.com, and he's also photo-chronicled his campaign and put it out there for anyone to see (and comment on). He functions in the digital age.

One friend who went to Grant Park on Tuesday night said that one of his major impressions of the evening was all the digital devices present. Everyone who was there had a camera, a cell phone, a video recorder, some kind of device to record the proceedings. One of my favorite images I saw from that night is a shot of the distant stage, with many arms raised in the foreground, all holding cameras or cell phones! As one flickr comment read, "We're all press now."
(ED. Since posting this, I've revisited his page, and the election night photos have been pushed back to page 45 by much less interesting photos of his and Michelle's visits to NV.)

Us and Them

Us and them.

I think that maybe the majority of people do tend to think in terms of 'themselves' (and their people, or people just like them) and 'others', unless they have made a conscious effort not to.

This is fostered in us from an early age. Take our love of team sports, our faithfulness to our schools. Our national pride. But it translates to state-vs-state rivalry, to genders, to political parties, to races...

It's been a number of years now since I saw the movie "Bowling for Columbine", but the part that always stuck with me was the cartoon section (A Brief History of America), where they talk about fear and guns going hand in hand. That cartoon section highlights the tendency to separate into groups of us and them.

Probably since prehistoric times, the 'us vs them' mentality has been a means of survival, one tribe versus another, one country versus another. Ignorance of who 'they' are, what 'they' are like, translated into fear and hatred of 'them'.

But ignorance CAN be conquered.

Minds CAN change. People can change. Who we are now does not have to limit who we can become.

Twelve years ago, my church called a female to be our pastor. In a survey beforehand, only one person checked 'female' when asked whether they preferred a male or female pastor. One. But a woman candidated at the church and absolutely blew us away. We realized that God had led her to us, so we called her. And after a short time, maybe a few months, basically everyone wondered why they had said they'd prefer a male. It was simply the unknown that they were afraid of. It was like a switch was turned in their minds, saying, "this is okay. better than okay. this is GOOD."

I realize that the opposition toward women in ministry is significantly different than racial prejudices, even though both run deep. It's not a perfect comparison. I don't have a lot of hope for the hardcore haters. But I do think that lots of people who are unsure about the efficacy of any person of color in the presidency, whatever their reasoning, who will be able to realize the unfounded nature of their fears, once they are continuing to live their lives as usual under his presidency.

I have been overflowing with excitement for what I hope President-elect Obama's administration will do to turn that switch in lots of people's minds that it IS possible for people of color to have authority, to have power. And it will be a GOOD thing, not something to fear, hate, or a cause of suspicion.

There's so much "us-and-themming" going around, whether you're talking race, politics, religion, gender... I really liked what he said in his acceptance speech, about no red states and no blue states, just united states.

But a long time ago another public speech was given, which said that there is no more us and them. We are all one.

Still gazing in wonder.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, He's Ours!

I'm still too overwhelmed (and tired!) to speak coherently on my excitement and wonder in the knowledge that Barack Obama is our president elect. As usual, songs do it best for me, and the words of Sam Cooke have been playing through my brain for the last couple of days.

It's been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change gonna come. Oh, yes it will. (Sam Cooke)

I'm proud of our country. Oh, yes I am.

Obama and Prosper

...more evidence that Obama is the intelligent choice!!

(although when he talks about CHANGE we can believe in, I don't think this is what he has in mind!)

Women's Right to Vote

Yes, I realize I've posted this photo of my grandmother before. I've got it up again because today, Sunday, November 2, celebrates two anniversaries. It is my grandparents' (88th!) wedding anniversary. They were married in 1920.

November 2, 1920 is also the anniversary of the first time women in the United States voted. The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed August 26th, giving the right to vote to women. The first election this affected was two months later, when Warren G Harding won by a landslide, replacing the by-then unpopular Woodrow Wilson.

Some other interesting dates in US voting history:

February 3, 1870: 15th Amendment passed:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

August 18, 1920: 19th Amendment passed:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

August 6, 1965: Voting Rights Act passed.
The Constitution alone apparently not enough to guarantee all citizens the right to vote, this act was passed to outlaw discriminatory practices which prevented many people of color from voting. The odd thing about this, though, is that it is not permanent - it has to get re-ratified every 25 years. The last time it was renewed was July 27, 2006, when G W Bush signed a 25 year extension.

July 1, 1971: 26th Amendment passed: lowered the US voting age to 18.

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

November 4, 2008: The first time a person of color is elected as President of the United States. Okay, so it's positive thinking. See me about it in two days!

In the meantime, my women friends (and men friends, for that matter), if you haven't voted early for the historic election, GET OUT AND VOTE on Tuesday. Women suffered and even died so that we would have this privilege; let's honor their sacrifice, do our civic responsibility, take advantage of our ability to participate in our government.

Piece of the Past

Last year, after Mom died, my siblings and I went through my parents' home, dividing and distributing many of their possessions - Mom's jewelry, framed art, old photos, etc.

One of my sisters went through the strong box Dad used to keep under the bed. She found a couple of Dad's old wallets. Dad had only been in the nursing home under a year at this point, so my sister was surprised to see slips of paper that looked old - years, even decades old.

One of the documents was a 50 year old receipt. Only for a small amount, less than $2.00, I think. But Dad had held onto this particular receipt from when they had lived in Texas. It was for the poll tax. That small amount of money he paid in order to cast his vote. That tax, that for years was used to erect one more barrier for people of color to be able to participate fully in our country's democratic system.

Here's an example of a poll tax receipt - I don't have a copy of my Dad's. This one is also from Texas, a few years after my family had moved back north.


We were somewhat astonished that Dad had kept this little piece of history, and proud of him that he had recognized it for what it was.

On Tuesday, I'm going to the polls to cast my vote. I won't have to take a made up 'citizenship quiz'; I won't be threatened and bullied; I won't have to pay a tax. I'll just go in and vote.

And like many other of my fellow Americans, I will be proud and excited to cast my vote for president, for the first time in US history, for a person of color. For free. For free.

The Democratic Process

Can a cynic also be an idealist? I think so.

I still get inspired listening to audio of JFK's speeches, even though we all found out years after his death what a womanizer he was. Same goes for Clinton, although the reveal came much sooner! I believe even as good and Christian as Jimmy Carter was painted, he had to be just a little bit crooked or compromised to make it all the way to the Oval Office.

I think there's good and evil in most of us. The proportions might be different, and some of us might hide the evil (or the good) better than others.

All this to explain why we see so many examples of people spewing ignorance and hate. Videos show rampant name calling, rumor spreading, and lying at political rallies. Internet searches for political posters for my candidate yielded anti-propaganda results that are disgusting and immoral, not to mention untrue. I'm almost afraid to read articles or view videos anymore because it's so nauseating to witness the naked hate expressed by women, men and even children. (I could link to examples, but won't because they were just so offensive.)

I know my candidate is not perfect. Neither is the other candidate. Both of them have good and evil inside them, because they are human.

In the midst of all this negativity and cynicism about our country and our fallen nature, I still hold on to (cling to, even) the following ideals:
* my vote matters
* there is hope for this country
* things can get better
* we can unite to help bring about change

I'm going to vote first thing next Tuesday, and stay up late waiting for the returns to come in. If my candidate wins, I'm sure tears will be shed. (Probably the same would be true if the other candidate were to win, God forbid!)

God Bless America. God bless our democratic process.

One more reason to love 7-Eleven

Here's yet another reason to love 7-Eleven.

You can go in for a tasty cup of Joe (can I call ya Joe?), and come out supporting your candidate for President!

There's an arrow pointing to the UPC symbol that says "this is how we count your vote!" And you can see how the candidates are doing, by checking 7-Election.com.

They have an online political java-map, which is looking encouragingly blue these days. You can also read results of 7-Election 2004, which came out eerily similar to the national results!

Yes, I do love my 7-Eleven and my Obama coffee cup. I just wish they had it in the 24 oz. size!

(ED. 3 days before the election, and it seems like all area 7-Elevens are out of the blue cups! Gobama!!)

Political Junkies Unite!

I've found a great website for polling results. Every day their US map is updated with whatever polls have been conducted. One of their links has an animated history of how the polls place our candidates, beginning with June 2, 2008.

	Strong Obama
	Weak Obama
	Barely Obama
	Exactly tied
	Barely McCain
	Weak McCain
	Strong McCain
	Needed to win: 270

Sarah Palin taught me a vocabulary word.

HANNITY: Senator Barack Obama yesterday was attacking Senator McCain for saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Do you believe that the fundamentals of our economy are strong?

PALIN: Well, it was an unfair attack on the verbiage that Senator McCain chose to use. The fundamentals that he was having to explain afterwards, he means the work force, he means ingenuity of the American people. And of course, that is strong, that is the foundation of our economy. So that was an unfair attack based on verbiage that John McCain used. Certainly, it is a mess, though.

(Thanks to The Huffington Post for this quote.)

Verbiage. Dumb old me, I didn't realize it could be pronounced with three syllables (Merriam Webster says 'ver-bee-age' and 'ver-bage' are both correct). I also didn't realize how negative a word it was until I looked it up for the pronunciation and spelling confirmations. Hmmm. Sarah's talking about her running mate, her potential boss and commander-in-chief's (God help us!) "profusion of words usually of little or obscure content." Do we give her too little credit for her insights?!

Speaking of a profusion of words of little or obscure content, the other night I listened to the debate (sans Bingo card, unfortunately), rather than watch it. I've been watching it online today (and forgot to use my Bingo card AGAIN!), and the difference is incredible. Body language adds a whole new dimension to the conversation. Biden has been called to task for appearing condescending - I was astonished to see Palin acting like that a number of times toward him! As my sister said to me, "she's a little too condescending for a relative newcomer."

You know, it's so easy to make fun of her, to celebrate the latest SNL skit, but the video clips I like are from various news shows, because so many of them are including SNL clips in their newscasts! CNN, Fox, MSNBC are all including Tina Fey's impersonations in the regular news!

The clip below gives Gwen Ifill's (and Queen Latifah's) reaction to the VP debate.

And just so all you grammarians can have fun, too, here are a couple of sites that address her rather, erm, unusual oratory style: Palin Grammar and Palin Poetry.

It is God's will that I don't listen to the Republicans!

Can anyone convince me that John McCain has a serious chance of winning this election? I don't think so!!

But I like to think of myself as a fair and open minded person, and so while I thrilled to hear the Democrats' speeches last week, I would make the effort and listen to the Republicans' speeches this week... except that God apparently has other plans for my listening ears. Because the audio absolutely doesn't work on the Reps' website. None of their videos have audio to them now. And it's not even a problem with this computer - I can listen to iTunes just fine.

My story and I'm sticking to it is that God's ways are higher than mine, and who am I to question them?

:)

Enough with the non-point!

First of all, you gotta give Hillary props for her speech last night. That girl spoke her butt off! I realize I can be a sucker for political speeches, but I won't lie. I got teary-eyed. Partly because I was wondering how she was feeling, speaking on behalf of Barack and Joe, instead of herself. Partly because - hey! - she was inspiring! And she really came through. Like she said, she is a proud Democrat, and she proved herself to be a real team player.

There's only one thing. She kept doing the non-point. You know, that not-quite-pointing, kind-of-fist that someone makes when they want to point but don't want to seem like they're pointing at you.

It seems to me that this little gesture was made popular by none other than Hillary's husband, when he was running for president. And now not only politicians but a lot of other people have inexplicably embraced it as a nice non-offensive point-making... non-pointing... thing.

And I'm sorry, but it just looks weird. Point at me if you want. Or use your whole open hand. But the non-point looks like your almost fist is on an elastic band where your arm can't quite stretch out; it bounces back in and just looks awkward.

G'head! Uncle Sam did it - he inspired a whole nation to enlist by pointing at them! Be direct. I want YOU to make your point!

County Blues

My son recently hurt his ankle. He couldn't put any weight on it, and he was even having a hard time not crying, the pain was so great. He had a totally useless visit to a physician, who told him to ice it, keep it raised and keep off it (really - not even an Ace Bandage). If the pain was still there after two days, go to the Adult Clinic at County Hospital. Thanks, doc.

So last Wednesday, we set off to Cook County Hospital (I refuse to call it the new name they've given it). We had been told to get there at 7:30; we actually arrived at 8:10 am.

Let's back up a bit. Wanting to be prepared, on Tuesday night, we tried looking up the clinic online, so we'd know right where to go, where I had to drop him off, etc. Right. Trying to get information from their website was about as helpful as the other doctor had been. So right off the bat, I'm pretty annoyed with them.

Okay, forward back to 8:00 Wednesday morning. We got up later than expected, so the day started off badly. Of course I had to stop for coffee, and my car cupholder is not very deep, so one sharp turn started spilling my scalding hot brew on his good leg.

After a stressful drive down to their campus, we were driving around, trying to find where in the world the front door was. The old building is still there, being taken down brick by brick apparently. I dropped Son off at the new main entrance and started circling back around to find the parking. After accidentally trying to go into the employee entrance, I turned the corner to find the visitor entrance, and was greeted by a man who shoved a paper into my hand, saying, "This lot's full - go park down at Juvenile Hall."

I don't think so. Screw it - I decided to park at Rush and not care about the price. As I walk over, Jazz called telling me that he wasn't in the place where I let him off; he was across the street from it, and he gave me the street address of the clinic. And told me he had to turn off his phone because he was inside the hospital building.

You'd think people should know a little about their workplace. Oh, well, you'd think a lot of things that never come true. Anyway, after asking around a while, I finally made it to the place where Son was waiting for me, in Fantus Clinic waiting room. He had already gone to the first counter and given them his name.

This place is way worse than the DMV. Everyone sits there waiting for their name to be hollered or broadcast over the PA. We waited for a while, and they finally called his name - hooray, finally get to see someone. Wrong. They took his temp and blood pressure.

So we wait again. This time, after an incredibly long time, they called his name. This time he came back to the seats with a registration card in his hand, good for one year. We wait... and wait... and wait... way longer than we've waited the first two times. Finally at about 2:30, Son went up to the front to see if he had missed his name being called. They said that, no, the doctor he needed to see wouldn't be at the hospital until 5:00 pm. And if he did want to leave - which they didn't advise - he'd have to be sure to be back by 4:30 at the latest. By now, we decide to just gut it out.

Okay, let's pause this for a second to take a little look around the Clinic. During the entire day I was there, I could count on one hand the number of White people there. That included me, and I wasn't there for services. Two of the other White women were speaking some eastern European language. Everyone else was Black or Hispanic.

The washrooms were just a tad scary. Garbage on the floor, dirty tiles. I had to wash my hands about three or four times just to take this picture while no one else was in there with me.

He got to see the doctor at 4:30, and had to run (hop) across to the main building for X-rays. We didn't make it back in time to be seen before the doc's meeting, so we waited another hour. By this time, the room was really thinning out. There was actually camaraderie building in little groups of people here and there, commiserating at having to wait all day. One man came out saying, "Now that just ain't right. I wait here 12 hours to see the doctor for four minutes. Something's wrong with this equation!"

Finally, Son actually got to see the doctor. He was told he had a second degree strain, and that it would likely be months healing. He was told to ice his ankle, keep it raised, and keep off it. And they gave him crutches. And an Ace Bandage.

We were not the last ones to be waited on. We left there at 7:45 pm.

Son was also told to come back for a check up in a week, but of course no appointment time. This time I left him at the door, it was only a half-day experience, and he was able to take the bus home, as his foot was much better.

During our day there, I couldn't help but think about the thousands and thousands of people (mostly of color) for whom this is a totally ordinary experience. And, God forgive me, I was thankful I was not one of them.

Under 200!

Just noticed we've gone below the 200 point in our countdown of days until the Big Faker leaves the Oval Office!!


196 days and counting...


(scroll down, it's on the right!)

when dreams die...

This is the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. The day before he died, Martin told us that he might not come with us, but he had already seen the promised land. Witnesses say tears were rolling down his face as he spoke these words.

xx Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.
xx And I don't mind.
xx Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
xx And so I'm happy, tonight.
xx I'm not worried about anything.
xx I'm not fearing any man!
xx Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!
(See/hear/read the entire speech.)

Bobby Kennedy was out campaigning at the time, and had planned on speaking in a neighborhood in Indianapolis that the police told him was unsafe; in fact, his police escort left him when he entered that neighborhood. He was the one who brought the news to the largely African American crowd who had gathered to hear him that King had been killed. Below is the text of his speech. (Lots of youtube videos have the speech, this one has a nice montage of photos.)

x Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
x I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
x Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
x For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
x We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
x For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
x But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.
x My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote:
xxx . "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
xxx . falls drop by drop upon the heart,
xxx . until, in our own despair,
xxx . against our will,
xxx . comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
x What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
x So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
x But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
x Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
x Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968

Even 40 years later, the tragedy of promise cut short brings back sharp feelings of pain. Two months and a day after this speech, Bobby also was dead.

How do we honor those who have gone before us? How do we keep dreams alive? Continue to work so that their deaths, their sacrifices, their work is not in vain? Like Bobby suggested, let's start by praying for ourselves, for our country, and for our world as we attempt to live out the answers to these questions.

We Are The Ones Song

Well, this was supposed to have a nice embedded link, showing a couple of videos from www.dipdive.com, a site created by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

Instead, here are some screen shots from the video called "We Are the Ones", and here's a link to www.dipdive.com, so you can go there and watch the two videos yourself!
::

Voting is a Privilege

It's primary season of this election year.

I listened to a story on NPR the other day about Susan B. Anthony. For those of you who know her name only from the least used coin in US history, take the time to read a little about her or about women's suffrage. She worked for women's rights, campaigning for women to be granted the right to vote. She was arrested when she had registered to vote, then voted in an election. The ballot was apparently sent to the head of the household, SB Anthony. They didn't realize that SB was female. When, twenty years later, the same mistake was make by those mailing out the ballots, she wrote them declining to repeat that experience. Susan B Anthony died in 1906, 14 years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

A couple of months ago I heard a story about another important woman, Mercedes Anderegg, my grandmother. Grandma and Grampa got married in 1920 on election day. In the morning she went and voted for the first time in her life; in the afternoon she got married. Interesting the ways history intersects our lives.



(This picture is my Grandma, Mercedes Anderegg, by the way, not Susan B. Anthony!)