Two Minutes that Changed the World

I am completely and utterly exhausted right now, but wanted to make this post to commemorate this amazing and awesome day. Standing in a crowd of somewhere between 1 and 2 million people, I was witness to one of the most inspiring events of my life. And there was one particular moment in today's celebration that was particularly moving. It was the moment that Barack Obama became our 44th President.

The reaction of the crowd surrounding me was at least as inspiring as the event itself and is something I'll never forget.

There's so much to talk about and share regarding this incredible experience I had that I want to dedicate several posts to it. But not tonight. Instead, I plan to shortly collapse into the bed in my friend's basement here in Silver Spring, MD, and not move again until sometime around dinner tomorrow night.

Before I end this post, however, I wanted to share an image my brother showed me and I improved upon. This is a satellite image of the area directly in front of the Capitol during President Obama's Inauguration. In case you find it difficult to recognize me, I added an arrow. You might need to click on the image to actually see the arrow (and me).

A cool click and zoom version of this that lets you explore the entire National Mall image can be found here.

A Witness to History

Sonja and I are now faced with a decision. Do we want to be witnesses to history?

Yesterday I got an email from Senator Jon Tester's (D-MT) office. See, the day after the election I had emailed Montana's junior Senator requesting to be placed on a waiting list for inaugural tickets. Well, apparently my timing was perfect.

Because I now have two tickets for President Barack Obama's Inauguration Ceremony.

This may be one of the most historic inaugurations ever. Sure, every Presidential inauguration is historic, but only insofar as the potential each President has to make an impact. But for the first time since George Washington (or perhaps Andrew Jackson, as the first President sworn in at the U.S. Capitol building (pictured above)), the inauguration itself is an unprecedented event that will forever be noted in the history books.

I'm already travelling to the DC area at the end of January for work, and we have a D.C. friend who has offered us their futon if we choose to go. So, really, all we'd have to do is get a plane ticket for Sonja (something I think we will need to do very, very soon if we decide to go). It's definitely not out of the question.

But at the same time, I've already had offers to purchase these tickets from me. I'm still torn about that, since I'm of the mind that an event like this should be accessible to all Americans, not just those with tons of cash. Then again, ol' Dubya has repeatedly asked all of us to be "good capitalists" and spend, spend, spend. Ha...

Seriously, though, if you have any ideas for me please share them. I expect we'll make our decision within the next day or so, but would welcome any advice.

Thank You, America!

Yes We Did!

Change is here...

Obama Polls Best Among Rogues and Shamans

Looks like McCain has an uphill battle if he doesn't want to lose the coveted Night Elf demographic, too.

Hope is Coming

With the election only 12 days away, I thought it was time to remind ourselves about the possibilities that face us if, and when, we all stand up together and make the right choice on November 4th. That choice is for a future of opportunity, not fear. A future of unity, not division. A future every American can be proud of.

A future filled with hope is within our grasp, and on Election Day we can change the world.

Yes. We. Can.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

--Barack Obama, January 8, 2008

The Endorsement to End All Endorsements

Colin Powell has officially redeemed himself (to a point) in my view. This is arguably Obama's biggest and most influential endorsement, and should put to rest any further discussion about his readiness for the job of President.

If you don't feel like watching the entire seven minute interview, fast forward to 4:25 and listen to Powell's statements about some of the "accusations" McCain's supporters have been making about Obama. It's quite inspiring.

And then there was this:

"We've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good President. But which is the President that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire; because of the inclusive nature of his campaign; because he is reaching out all across America; because of who he is, and because of his rhetorical ability, and I think we have to take that into account, as well as his substance, he has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful President...of being an exceptional President. I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama,"

I couldn't have said it better myself, General Powell.

100,000!

Today Sonja and I spent a couple hours volunteering for the Obama campaign in Kalispell. I didn't even have to twist Sonja's arm to get her to help me knock on 50 doors to distribute information packets and encourage people to vote early (have you voted, yet??? Why not?!?). It felt really good to contribute to this historic campaign, and made me even more excited about the seemingly very likely possibility of an Obama Presidency. Sonja even got to speak to a Vietnam Vet who will be voting for a Democrat for the first time in his entire life. He said that Obama's lack of military experience is completely irrelevant and that Obama "has the right ideas."

Rock on! Talk about breaking down barriers!

Obama held a campaign rally underneath the Arch in St. Louis today. I hear a couple people decided to show up and see him:

And here I thought Missouri was supposed to be a "red" state. I think it says something quite profound when over 100,000 people show up ANYWHERE, let alone a Republican stronghold, to see a Presidential candidate. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. This makes me so incredibly hopeful for the future of this country...a feeling I have never had.

Has McCain ever drawing a crowd even 1/10th of this size??? How inspiring is it to see so many people take the time and energy to go listen to a Presidential candidate? It's like New Years Eve at Times Square! Or the Superbowl! I never thought I would see so much excitement, so much energy, so much enthusiasm and passion for politics in America. Has Obama turned American voter apathy on its head?

It sure as hell looks that way to me!

And if you weren't amazed enough, check out this story from an Obama volunteer in Pennsylvania, reported on my new favorite website:

So a canvasser goes to a woman's door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she's planning to vote for. She isn't sure, has to ask her husband who she's voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, "We're votin' for the n***er!"

Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."

In this economy, racism is officially a luxury. How is John McCain going to win if he can't win those voters?

Shocking and sad, but hilarious!

When Life Imitates Art

I'll let you decide who is imitating who.

Personally, I don't think I could ever have come up with a better comparison. Either the producers of Batman were incredibly prophetic...or the McCain campaign stole all their "best" lines from this episode.

"That One" for President!

Want to show your support for "That One"? Visit my store and buy a cool new bumper sticker I just made!

This Makes Me Happy!

So does this...

And this...

And especially this.

Have I mentioned that blue is my favorite color? And 270 is my new favorite number?

Distractions are Good

I need to stop ignoring all the stupid polling going on right now. It's giving me an ulcer. How can the American public be so bloody blind to the fact that Sarah Palin is NOT who she says she is?!? And how in the hell did the race get so damn close??

I'm beginning to think that McCain isn't as stupid as I thought he was when he picked her as his VP. I'm beginning to think he also realizes just how bloody stupid a large percentage of the voting public really is...that they would not only accept a neo-conservative, speaking-in-tongues-speaking, oil-loving, global warming denying, machine-gun toting creationist, they'd fall all over themselves to see who can adore her the most!

It's revolting to watch. And the worst of it all is the new Republican chant being shouted at all their campaign events, "Drill, baby, drill!"

Can someone please save America from all the fat, greedy, "consume till you croak", bible-thumping, Earth-raping Americans before it's too late? Please, America...WAKE THE F**K UP! This world cannot handle another four years of the Bush Administration!

Big sigh...ok, enough of my "elitist, left-wing liberal ranting." Sonja and I needed something to distract ourselves from the depressing state of American politics. So we hopped in the car with Harvey and Luna and headed for the hills.

We haven't explored much of the area outside of the park, yet, and as a result haven't had a chance to take the dogs for a good hike. To change that I whipped out the map this morning and tried to find a suitable road into the surrounding mountains where we could go exploring. I found a squiggly red line that looked promising, so we loaded up and headed out.


(as you can see, we didn't take Gilbert, our beloved mountain-climbing Subaru. He's been hibernating in the garage for the past month and when we tried to wake him up for the drive he responded with a resoundingly silent, "I ain't goin' nowhere"...Yeah, I guess we should have had that "service engine soon" light checked out when it turned on about a year ago, huh?)

Anyway, once we got to an elevation that seemed to get us above all the locals with chainsaws, we headed up the road to see what we could see.

We did find a pretty little mountain-top lake, but even Harvey found it a little too muddy for his liking, so we continued on.

While it wasn't the most exciting hike we've ever been on, the mountain air was incredibly refreshing, the views were inspiring and the dogs had a great time. And really, that's all we were looking for anyway.

Change

Change is a funny thing. It happens all the time to all of us. Like the cliche' says, it's one of the only constants in life. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not so good. Sometimes, it's difficult to see how there could be any good during a particularly hard change. My family and I experienced a change, recently. It's the reason I haven't posted in a couple weeks.

I actually just got back from Minnesota. I'd like to say that the trip to the land of my birth was just for fun, but no. My grandmother passed away on August 27th, so I went home to be with family and help my mom a bit with all the arrangements.

Changes like this are inevitable, expected even. But it's never easy. What I tried to take away from this sorrowful event was the time I was able to spend with family members I hadn't seen in a long, long time. In fact, I think I got to see almost all of my extended family...I just wish it was under happier circumstances. So, in a way, aspects of this very unhappy change were filled with joy. The joy of coming together as a family to celebrate the life of one of the most amazing women I've ever known. The joy of spending a few short days laughing together, crying together, and strengthening the bonds that hold us together.

I promised some folks that I would post my cousin's eulogy on here, so you can look for that in the next couple of days. I think that it deserves a post of its own.

But for now, I did want to share some news that also relates to change. The kind of change that brings hope to myself and millions of others around the country and around the world. And it all has to do with two men, one of which we got to see today.

Guess who? I'll give you a hint. We weren't the only ones who showed up to see this person.

There were also these people.

And this guy. But he looks too friendly to make that hint useful, so here's another one of a different one of these guys.

Notice the glare he's giving me? Guess he either didn't like getting his picture taken or I just looked suspicious. Still can't figure it out?

One of these was hanging on the wall, too.

No, I didn't get to see the big cheese, himself (although if he ever comes to within a three hour drive of us, you can be darn tootin' that we WILL see him). But we did see the next best thing:

The next Vice President of the United States: Senator Joe Biden!

Yeah, he totally rocked. Said all the right things. Got the crowd jumping and cheering. He really is quite an incredible orator. All off the cuff, too. No teleprompters, no notes. Although he did comment at one point that he felt bad that his staff had prepared such a nice speech for him to give and he'd ignored it for the first 45 minutes.

Both of us were very impressed. Although, I suppose I should admit that there wasn't any doubt we would be. We weren't a very unbiased audience. But neither was anyone else, which made it even funner!

McCain is a Traitor!

I decided to find out what the networks were saying about Obama's trip overseas, so I turned on the CBS Evening News. There I saw Katie Couric interviewing both Obama and Senator McCain. And I must tell you I was SHOCKED when I saw McCain. There he was, sitting in New Hampshire, condescending smile spreading across his ancient, wrinkley features, when I noticed something missing from his lapel. No American flag pin.

He's refusing to wear an American flag lapel pin! Can you believe the audacity of this traitor?!? How dare he show himself in public without draping himself in red, white and blue?!? Don't believe me? Here's the proof (click the image for a larger version):

It's disgusting. I can't believe he still calls himself an American. If this isn't proof that he hates America, I don't know what is!



. . .



. . .



. . .



See how ridiculous that sounds? It's an ugly, stupid, tacky lapel pin that demonstrates absolutely nothing about how patriotic or unpatriotic someone is. And what's with the double-standard? If the media is determined to hold Obama's feet to the fire on such a meaningless triviality, they should do the same for McCain.

Speaking of which, I was appalled watching Katie Couric's interviews with Obama and McCain on CBS Evening News this weekend. She was playing hardball with Obama left and right, throwing him different variations of the same damn question trying to force him to screw up (which he didn't, by the way. tee hee!).

Meanwhile, she lobs stupid softball questions to McCain like, "You seem frustrated with Senator Obama. Why?" and "Why do you think Obama doesn't think the surge is working?" It was laughable, really. And no different than the coddling way the press has treated Bush for the last seven years.

Katie Couric should be ashamed of herself. How she can justify calling herself a journalist after that blatant display of pandering to the whining right-wingers ("boo hoo, Obama is getting all the press, I want my mommy!") is beyond me.

I encourage anyone who prefers intelligent, honest and responsible journalism to boycott CBS "News" until they hire a journalist who has a little integrity.

And Justice for All

Over two million people have watched this inspiring speech. There's a reason for that. As my brothers Steve and Chris have both stated much more eloquently than I could, it's because this is the time when we can begin to seek a more perfect union. And this is the person who can begin to help us as a nation become everything that is in our power to be.

Remember those often hollow words many of us recited by heart every single morning in elementary school? Remember those words driven into our memories with rarely an explanation or discussion of their meanings or implications? Words like "indivisible", "liberty" and "justice". Words that, to a ten year old, are nothing more than words. Well, for years now, those words have seemed antithesis to what my own observations were of what this nation had become. I saw a divided nation, made up of red states and blue states, with little to no common ground between them. I fumed while I watched as our liberties, those very freedoms that inspired a handful of brave souls 221 years ago to forge a new nation, were chipped away due to the politics of fear and hatred. And I despaired that justice for all was nothing but a fantasy, something I would never, could never see achieved in my lifetime.

Well, as Dylan sang so eloquently during the height of the last great American revolution, the times they are a changin'. What I see in this man, what I see in this candidate for the President of the United States, is the will, desire and ability to inspire an entire nation to realize its full potential. I see the potential for the greatest political and cultural revolution of modern American history. I see the possibility that we are not doomed to become the most despised and mistrusted nation on the planet. For the first time in my life, I can begin to accept that perhaps, with this man's help, we might just be able to achieve liberty and justice for all. And I am beginning to have hope that someday I may actually be able to honestly and truthfully proclaim that I am proud to be an American.

Who knows, I might even feel good enough to remove the Canadian flag from my backpack.

Super Tuesday

I followed my heart and voted for Obama.

Why? Take five short minutes and watch this video to find out:


Thanks to Sue and Chris for pointing out this video to me. Obama's is message of change and hope is one that I hope resonates with every American out there. This nation desperately needs it.

Decision Time: VOTE TOMORROW!

If you live in one of the Super Tuesday states, I just have one thing to say to you for tomorrow:

GO VOTE!

If you're still undecided, you can use the following websites to see where the various candidates stand on issues like health care, immigration, the environment and energy policy. Each of the following sites does a fairly good job of summarizing each candidate's position on an issue, giving you a chance to compare them side by side. Of course, they're all in soundbyte format, so if you're looking for depth you'll have to dig a bit deeper:

• CNN


• National Public Radio (NPR)


• NY Times

Unfortunately, neither of those sites cover another issue that everyone should care about, Nuclear proliferation and missile defense. For that, you'll have to go here:

The Bulletin Online: Candidate Positions on Nuclear Issues

It's too bad the national media is not reporting on the candidate's stands on abolishing Bush's dangerous re-establishment of the Reagan-era missile defense system, not to mention what their plans are for re-committing the U.S. to the dozens of nuclear nonproliferation and test-ban treaties that Bush so blatantly and illegally broke.

I'm actually torn right now with respect to who I will vote for tomorrow. My heart still says Obama, but the deeper I dig on issues like non-proliferation, immigration, energy and education, the more my head tells me I need to vote for Hillary.

One example is the awful "No Child Left Behind" Act. The only candidate who has pledged to abolish this embarassing piece of crap legislation is Hillary. Obama says he'll reform it, which to me isn't good enough. Of course, that's just one issue. And no intelligent, informed person would or should ever base their vote on a single issue.

I still have a lot of research to do tonight, but I don't think I'll make up my mind until I standing in the voting booth tomorrow.