I Voted!

Yippee!! I voted! I left work, picked up Eric and we went to vote around 10:30 a.m. so there were NO LINES! Yup, we avoided a chunk of what everybody else faces when they go before and after work. whew!

Here I am getting ready to vote. You can see the empty polling stations:

Here I am voting:
Um, I need to loose a few freakin'-frackin'-filthy pounds! But that's not the point of this entry, is it?

And don't I look happy after voting?
Yeah, I know what angles work best for me and it's not from a distance.

So who's happy? I am! I am!

I found a cute PBS video encouraging the voters to get out and do their thing.


Barack Obama votes:


I choose hope over fear.
I choose unity over division.
I choose a better history.

Feeling the Wow of Obama

My vote is yes!
I want Obama as my next president.
He has a deep vision of what is needed and wanted in a country that is reeling from a presidency and administration that has ignored it's people and done more harm than good. He wants the same rights for all Americans, not just the elite few who make more in one month than most of us will make in a lifetime. There's a very real sense of fairness about his ideals and politics and person. There is a feeling of genuine love and compassion for the ones he hopes to represent. I don't know that I have ever felt this passionate, this dedicated or this profound feeling of oneness with any presidential candidate before him.

Obama's speech at the convention last night, stirred in me a desire to get up and do something. To show my patriotism by action and service.
What specifically did I like? Well, let me count the ways:

1. Acknowledgment of the economic frustration we feel today; the money crunch AND the expression that it's not a government issue alone:
"Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."

2. Recognition for who John McCain is BUT also a reality check on what he has come to stand for:
"Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisers - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners." ...Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know."

3. The definition of success:
"We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 ... We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work."

4. Obama's expectation of the government:
"Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper."

5. The the changes Obama wants to make are the ones I'd like to participate in and see happen:
"Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced."

Amen! Barack Obama's speech is a gold mine of motivation and the will to move forward. His speech delivered the specifics I was seeking about his plan for the future and I'm eager to see the debates play out.

I had to include the video of his biography and speech because to summarize it more means to cut out all that is good about what he believes and what I loved about his speech.

Obama's convention biography:


Obama's history in politics:


Obama's full speech:


In the end, I hope Obama becomes our next president. I hope that others feel moved by his passion and desire to move this country forward. I hope others listen and really hear what he has to say and that they, too, will catch the vision.

And more than that, right now, I hope that whoever you choose to vote for, you know the why - the specifics of that why. That it's based on something real - something more than an unspoken obligation to church, family or fear.

I have put my support behind the man I hope to be our next president: Barack Obama.

That said, I will watch the Republican Convention with interest for what kind of plan John McCain has. I want to hear from his own mouth, what he hopes to accomplish in the next four years that he hasn't already tried to do in the last 26 years he's been in office. What's different now?

Making History

Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention, brought a most historic day to the American history books. Forever more will people know the name of Barack Obama.

We’ve heard on the various news programs that it’s a day of history and yet it felt like it was just words. I thought about the big picture and here’s what I saw:

White men with property were the only voters for a chunk of time in history. They made the financial decisions for their homes, towns, cities, states and the country. It’s not that they didn’t want a better tomorrow for themselves and their families because they did, but they were fairly limited in their vision; one sided.

In 1870, we saw the first of many steps taken toward equalization in the form of the 15th Amendment, which prevented states from preventing any person from voting due to race or skin color. Big moment.
The next big step in history was made in 1920 with the passing of the 19th Amendment, which opened the polls to women. Obviously a big moment in history.
Another big moment in the steps of history was made in 1971 with the 26th Amendment which lowered the voting age to 18 years.

Now I think back and wonder about Martin Luther King Jr. and President Kennedy and John Lennon and so many other fighters from the days of slaves to the 60s to now...can you imagine taking a step back in time and looking to the future? Can you imagine telling one of those fighters that one day a black man will be nominted with the high probability of being an American President? What would they tell you?

These aren’t the lone steps that took us forward in our American history but they are big steps, big moments in time. Clearly we lived to see a new large step taken yesterday with the first African American being nominated by a major party. Make no mistake, it’s a great time to live through and to witness. I’m glad I’m here for it.

So – to the speeches:

Bill Clinton was the key note speaker and did a pretty impressive job in explaining his reasons he has for backing Barack Obama. He, or course, articulated what many of the previous speakers had done, which is to emphasize that John McCain is too much like George Bush, so if you want to continue to feel like you might lose your home, job and future, vote for him.
I really liked that one line he said: “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power….The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a Senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.”

I missed John Kerry and Joe Biden last night, but caught up on Biden’s speech today. It’s clear why Obama likes him and chose him: experience, tenure and leadership.
Biden said so much and I feel I can identify with:
“Like millions of Americans, they're asking questions as profound as they are ordinary. Questions they never thought they would have to ask:
* Should mom move in with us now that dad is gone?
* Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars to fill up the car?
* Winter's coming. How we gonna pay the heating bills?
* Another year and no raise?
* Did you hear the company may be cutting our health care?
* Now, we owe more on the house than it's worth. How are we going to send the kids to college?
* How are we gonna be able to retire?
That's the America that George Bush has left us, and that's the future John McCain will give us. These are not isolated discussions among families down on their luck. These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.”
I would love to quote his whole speech here, but it’s worth the watching and the listening.


Tonight, a much anticipated speech as Barack Obama accepts his nomination from the Democratic party. I'm so excited to watch the energy created as it explodes around the world. I'm excited to hear his thoughts and plans for the future of this nation. I am so excited to be part of history, and watch him accept this nomination. It's a sure thing: everyone will feel his presence, everyone will know his name.

Convention Day Two Thoughts

On Tuesday night the Democratic convention continued with various speakers. I find it interesting and maybe even borderline inappropriate that the news agencies covering the convention are too busy analyzing and discussing everything to show the actual speakers prior to the prime time speaker. Oh you can see them in the background, but I've had to flip through the various channels to find someone who is actually airing the speaker so I can form MY OWN OPINION! I'd like to HEAR the speach and not have it summarized for me.

Through the various flipping of channels, I had three speakers I really enjoyed, infact, loved watching: Mark Warner of Virginia (key note speaker), Brian Schweitzer (from Montana) and Hillary Clinton.

I had been wanting to hear Mark Warner. I had heard of some of the changes he's made in Virginia and was curious about him. Whatever ideas I may have had about him, he did not disappoint. He was incredible (and I guess you'd have to be to speak to a convention going crowd).

He talked about President Bush and some of his failures and the economic woes we see in everyday lives. The same worries I have: my education - how can I afford it? the house - supposed to be safe, but what if you can't afford the payments because of the loan you have and now the interest has increased your mortgage? my healthcare - constantly we hear of increasing premiums and decreasing benefits.

What really caught me most, was this:
"People always ask me, "What's your biggest criticism of President Bush?" I'm sure you all have your own. Here's mine: It's not just the policy differences. It's the fact that this president never tapped into our greatest resources - the character and resolve of the American people. He never asked us to step up.

Think about it: After September 11, if there was a call from the President to get us off foreign oil, to stop funding the very terrorists who had just attacked us, every American would have said, "How can I do my part?" This administration failed to believe in what we can achieve as a nation, when all of us work together.

Barack Obama knows that we need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground. We need leaders who will appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats, but first and foremost as Americans."

Rhettoric? Maybe. But I like it.

Next was Brian Schweitzer of Montana who rallied the crowd and really prepared them for Hillary Clinton. Really, I can't BEGIN to do this speech justice. You have to watch it. It's definitely worth the viewing time.


The night ended with Hillary Clinton encouraging her followers to follow the next democratic nominee. I had been interested to see to what extent this encouragement would go and I believe she used all her feelings and pain to back up Barack Obama.

When she began to list the reason she had run for president, I was worried. But then she told the crowd that the same reasons she had run, were the same reasons people should put their support behind Obama. I loved that she asked her followers if they had followed because of her or because of what she stood for. She was incredible and if you missed it, watch it:


So tomorrow's speakers I'm looking forward to watching:
Bill Clinton
Joe Biden

From Closings to Openings

There are comments on the radio and TV; in newspapers and blogs, all talking about the closing ceremonies and the reflection of what the Beijing Olympics brought to the world.

I just want to add my two cents in: I think China did a FABULOUS job with these summer games - despite all the negative chatter prior to the games from various sources, they forged on ahead and brought a fantastic show.

Elida sent me this gymnastics video and I thought it would be fun to add here.


NOW onto the new show: The National Democratic Convention.
http://www.demconvention.com/

What to watch for this week:
1. Monday: Michelle Obabma will be the prime-time speaker (and I'm eager to see how she is because I don't know that much about her). Obama will be speaking from a currently, undisclosed family's home in NC.
2. Tuesday: Hillary Clinton. Will she say kind words of support? or will she drip of anger? hmmmmmmmmm.....we'll have to see. How unified will she be? Will her body language give the same message?
3. Also Tuesday: Virginia Governor Mark Warner will speak. I don't know much about him, but will watch him and see.
4. Wednesday is Joe Biden's turn. (Former President Clinton will also speak)
5. Thursday is the big night: Barrack Obama, himself, will speak and accept the nomination.

What I will avoid:
1. Jesse Jackson speach. In fact, once the full-of-hot-air-introduction begins, I will flip to something more interesting; Like flowers growing or paint drying or my dogs panting in the heat.

Voting Republican

I know, I know - it's going around the emails right now, but I loved (LOVED) this video!