what has Obama's election wrought?

i realize it's been quite a while since i've done any serious posting. other things have been on the agenda. like, i'm supposed to be in Honduras right now working with some of the schools. needless to say, we've had to reschedule because of the political unrest down there. we're now going at the end of the month. [fingers crossed]

that's part of what actually prompted this question about Obama.

i've been watching the upheaval in Honduras very closely, monitoring the newspapers and radio down there daily.

next, we've seen the ongoing drama in Iran. today, the battling has begun again on the streets. violence has erupted again.

then, the Chinese are cracking down on the Uighars and are fighting daily.

and, in Malaysia the people are up in arms because the government wants to put a ban on teaching math and science in English. they believe that will put them behind the rest of the world.


there are a few underlying signs in Venezuela with the mayor of Caracas on a hunger strike against Chavez and he has threatened to close down over 240 radio stations because of their content.

i can't even get into things going on in the U.S., but there does seem to be an underlying tension and a lot of it is not just the economic situation. that is just appearing to be a symptom.

the country appears to be undergoing a crisis in its anima. many people are questioning what has happened, how we got here and what comes next. some of us are even asking, "is it worth it?"

other areas of unrest in the world keep popping up too.

from what i've been observing, there is one thing that they all have in common. the unrest is coming from the people of each country.

is there something in the recent election of Obama that is in some way working on the conscience of the world?

it's something to think about.

and i'm just asking...

a little late...

by a couple of months, i'd say...

important post election question...

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and over fifty for Miss America?

oh, this is the weekender, by the way...


and no sexist jokes, please. we've been in enough trouble with all the anarchy we've been up to this week as it is... [i love being an anarchist again! i soooooo miss the 60's...]

in spite of my cynicism...

if the election goes as i hope it will, i will be one of the first in tears. i've already been feeling moments here and there of emotion.

my godson just texted me to say IT'S HERE! VOTE! VOTE! he is so unbelievably excited about this whole election and has been for a long time. it has been great seeing him involved in something like this in his 26 years. the only other thing he's ever been enamored of is sports.

he sees the potential for something big in an Obama elected. i do also. he sees the start of a promise that has been long in coming. i do also.

i have waited for 40 years to be able to say that the concept of hope with which i sustain my existence may move closer to reality.

yet, It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.

she's warming up right now...

it's not just a right;

it's a responsibility...

i'm upsetting friends...

i have posted my cynicism about this election in a number of different ways. i live in the Chicago area and i believe that it is a foregone conclusion that Illinois will go to Obama, but i'm not sure of the rest of the country. i think that the numbers, the polls, the predictions, etc. are most confusing for a lot of people.

while the media is working on the presumption that Senator Obama will be the President-Elect on Wednesday, i have seen too many unusual things happen with the U.S. electorate. basically, they are fickle and influenced by fear and innuendo most of all.

though many pundits and newspeople are saying that John McCain has run not just a loose campaign but one with a scattergun effect, especially over the last week or so. i have found, working in both the public and private sectors and also in the service industry that peoples memories are short and tend to remember the last thing they hear.

as an example in this election, the word socialism has been bandied about by Palin and the Republicans. unfortunately, to most U.S. voters it is a dirty word, in spite of the fact that we have had socialized medicine for the elderly with Medicare and the Tsar and his minions just socialized the credit, banking and other industries with their baleouts.

when these people use the word socialism they are implying the word communism. at the same time, Palin used the word Marxism in reference to Senator Obama last week. in the belief that the U.S. electorate is actually a stupid body of people, the Mcpains are counting on the confusion of the three to instill or at least implant fear in the minds of people - especially the elderly who remember the witchhunt of Joe McCarthy, the Cold War with the USSR, the battle for Southeast Asia in Vietnam, and many other things that brought fear into the minds of U.S. citizens.

it's a vicious circle that has been perfected by the Republicans, especially, and been used as a master-plan to retain control and prevent the inclusion of new and, possibly, more modern and useful ideas and actions. it's been done for centuries, as i've written in previous posts.

now, back to how i'm upsetting my friends.

i have this very distinct sense that this historical error may actually occur. on Wednesday, November 3, 1948, the Chicago Tribune actually printed this banner headlined front page -

my personal fear and why i'm upsetting my friends? that not just the Tribune but other papers, websites and media will have this headline on Wednesday, November 5, 2008

McCain Defeats Obama

and i can't seem to shake it.

more than this, i can only imagine what the immediate repercussions could be around the country and, of course the long term effects of a Mcpain administration and the possibility of the second dumbest person to hold high office in the U.S. - Tsar George being the first. and, no, i am not talking about John McCain.

i wish for, what to me, would be reigniting of the hopes, dreams and goals of the movements in the 1960's. the Age of Aquarius is not just a short period of history; it is a period of about 2,150 years. by accounts it began around 1844. it's an age of promise for growth and progress, in spite of, or rather because of, the upheavals of the revolutions, world wars, depressions, nuclear discoveries, etc. that put a new sense of humanity into play.

i am not a true believer in astrology but i am a student of history and its cyclical nature. in most cases the cycles begin and end because humankind comes to the realization that the lot they are now part of is no longer working.

of course, on the opposite side are the groups of humankind who fear change and allow themselves to be played by the old guard. this play has been going on for 60 years now. i want it to stop, but i fear that i will not get to see it myself, but i know that...

when hope is gone, life is over...

political yard signs...

I grew up in the community in which I now live. I moved back to the house when my father died about 18 years ago to help my Mom with my sister who was handicapped.

I have seen the community change since I was 5-years old but slowly. It is a small city on the near Southwest side of Chicago. The Chicago city limits is one block from my house.

The median (one of the most inaccurate statistics) income is around $39,000, lower than Chicago and surrounding communities. Per capita income is $19,149. The population of 4,467 is 3.8% Latino and 94.8% White, leaving 1.4% in the other category. Yes, as of the 2000 census, the African-American population was 0.00% and my observation would be that, with the exception of mixed-race children, it is still the same. The median age of residents is 38-years old, higher than most communities. [info from Wikipedia, nationmaster.com & MuniNetGuide]

I'm citing this data to make a couple of observations in my 56 year history with the city. It has always been conservative, mostly Catholic, blue-collar, and family oriented. As the older residents began dying, their children usually took over the homes and stayed. This is my case, as it were, also. I, however, do not fit into the demographic outline for the most part. I am liberal; I made, before retiring, well over $100,000 a year; I left the Catholic church and actually consider myself an existential atheist; and I never married because it is illegal for me to do so in the State of Illinois (LGBT). The only way that I fit into the demographic is I decided to live in my childhood home after my mother and sister died.

So, back to the topic of the post heading - political yard signs...

Normally with elections, the community is very active. You can see supporter signs all over the city. I was in one of the western suburbs (Naperville) the other day and was struck by the literal hundreds of signs I saw.

Driving through the neighborhood in my community it is patently obvious something is going on.

Except for one lady who wrote a letter to the small biweekly paper reporting her Obama sign was stolen, there are no signs for Obama, McCain, Senator Durbin, etc. The only sign on many lawns is to support the Fire District referendum to increase the tax rate that has stayed the same for many years. [I voted for the increase.]

I am not sure what this means, besides it being such an obvious change from past history.

Does it mean that people are supporting Obama but don't want anyone to know it? Or, does it mean they are supporting McCain but don't want anyone to know it?

I really am not sure. I'm going to have to look closely at the precinct results when they come out on Wednesday or Thursday.

at the least, it kind of makes me a little more hopeful.

i would think that most people who live here would vote for McCain...

taxes, taxes, taxes...

i'm really tired of hearing the Mcpains harping on the alleged tax increase interpretation they believe Senator Obama's economic plan will bring.

if you go to Obama's website (Obama-Biden Tax Calculator), there is a calculator that you can enter your income and find out what his plan means to you. my taxes would decrease by about $575. i haven't found the same at the Mcpain website, and, please, correct me if i'm wrong.

so, there is a question that comes to my mind about the Republican nominee's real plan. i don't completely understand it and i think that they are hiding that their plan will continue to support corporate welfare.

there is a very simple solution - a flat tax. [by the way, this link is to the Heritage Foundation. no fly-by-night organization.]

charge individuals the exact same rate - say 17% - with no deductions or loopholes. i might rethink capitol gains or losses, because they may have a long term effect on investment and people could get hit with a large amount all at once that would exceed a true 17% picture.

then, have a separate tax program for corporations that would be similar to a flat tax system but with benefits for growth.

there are a few plans out there and you can find them for yourself by going to a Google search. (just click on the word Google to a search i've begun already)

somehow, though, i don't think that either Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain would go along with this right now. the powers that be are in such dire straits that there would be too much pressure from them with very little logic and fear that they may lose somthing.

however, most of the countries that have gone with a flat tax have shown an economic growth overall.

we need to completely rethink government at this point. it has become so complicated that i don't think the Founding Fathers would recognize it. it's become like the English language: there are rules of grammar and usage to follow but there are so many exceptions it makes it more confusing and difficult.


think about it...

boo...

and i'm not talking about Halloween, since it is now over.

why is it that when there is booing at an Obama rally he says something like, "Now, we'll have none of that."

but at the Palin (especially) and McCain rallies when people boo, they say absolutely nothing?

i'm just asking...

secession back in the picture?

Dear Red States:

If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the country of New California.

To sum up briefly:

You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states...
We get stem cell research and the best beaches...

We get the Statue of Liberty...
You get Dollywood...

We get Intel and Microsoft...
You get WorldCom...

We get Harvard...
You get Ole' Miss...

We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs...
You get Alabama...

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue...
You get to make the red states pay their fair share...

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families...
You get a bunch of single moms...

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in?Iraq?, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite. Thank you.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too.
You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico...

Peace out,

The Blue States


wow, an argument that finally makes the decision difficult...

nahhhhhhhhh...

maybe they'll secede and save us all the trouble.

hmmm? maybe we lost the Civil War after all...

decided to take advantage of the early voting option in Illinois. Tomorrow is the last day. with my back problems getting worse rather than better after surgery six months ago, i decided i probably wouldn't be able to stand in line on Tuesday. voting at city hall i guessed there would be chairs (there were) or at least i'd be able to sit on the stairs.

most of the people there were older. there were only about 4-5 younger people. i wondered what the votes would be like and tried to imagine by playing a little game in my head. sadly, i think most of the older people probably were voting for Mcpain.

i heard some of the young people say that they thought their vote wouldn't count. i was sad to hear that. i told them that their votes did count and no matter what the excuse they were using to think it didn't, it wasn't true. every vote counts. if you think it's because who you want to win doesn't, then you're the reason s/he didn't get into office. they hadn't thought about it that way before.

i have only missed voting in one election since turning 21. it was because i was out of the country and totally forgot to do an absentee ballot. i never did that again and never will. there is no good reason or acceptable excuse not to vote.

this year more than any other election in which i've participated...

the age of aquarius...

i want to believe that the hope and dreams we carried and believed during the 1960's have a chance to be reignited next Tuesday.

the kids today, though they don't realize it and would probably deny it, are actually influenced in their hope for a better and brighter future by the ground that was laid with the battles of the 1968 Democratic Convention and the protestations against a dirty little war in Southeast Asia.

i want to believe. i hear the words in the change that Barack Obama wants to bring about. it has been a recurring dream for centuries of many men and women - the Martin Luthers, the Martin Luther Kings, the John XXII's, the Abraham Lincolns, the Susan B. Anthony's - only to be dashed by those afraid of loosing control and, most important, power. sadly, the power they fear loosing, they really don't have. no one really does...

Age of Aquarius
from the movie version - Hair


When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revalation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

what exactly is the Age of Aquarius? check it out at Wikipedia - HERE.

cross-posted at macarthur park, one of my other sites.

pro-America values...

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

and... no comment.

and now the New York Times...

Barack Obama for President

Hyperbole is the currency of presidential campaigns, but this year the nation’s future truly hangs in the balance.

The United States is battered and drifting after eight years of President Bush’s failed leadership. He is saddling his successor with two wars, a scarred global image and a government systematically stripped of its ability to protect and help its citizens — whether they are fleeing a hurricane’s floodwaters, searching for affordable health care or struggling to hold on to their homes, jobs, savings and pensions in the midst of a financial crisis that was foretold and preventable.

As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.

The Times lays out a very logical and step-by-step explanation of the endorsement. It is worth reading the entire editorial. (just click on the link above)

The last three paragraphs sum it up succinctly:

Mr. Obama has withstood some of the toughest campaign attacks ever mounted against a candidate. He’s been called un-American and accused of hiding a secret Islamic faith. The Republicans have linked him to domestic terrorists and questioned his wife’s love of her country. Ms. Palin has also questioned millions of Americans’ patriotism, calling Republican-leaning states “pro-America.”

This politics of fear, division and character assassination helped Mr. Bush drive Mr. McCain from the 2000 Republican primaries and defeat Senator John Kerry in 2004. It has been the dominant theme of his failed presidency.

The nation’s problems are simply too grave to be reduced to slashing “robo-calls” and negative ads. This country needs sensible leadership, compassionate leadership, honest leadership and strong leadership. Barack Obama has shown that he has all of those qualities.

of course, now remember, this paper is in one of the two elitist cities that Mr. McCain talked about - McCain: Washington D.C. and NYC = Fake America - in an interview he and Palin just did with Brian Williams of NBC.

oh, yeah. The Washington Post endorsed Mr. Obama.

those damn elitists...

weekender...

Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs - almost a tragedy...

The seven dwarfs always left to go work in the mine early each morning.





As always, Snow White stayed home doing her domestic chores.






As lunchtime approached, she would prepare their lunch and carry it to the mine.




One day as she arrived at the mine with the lunch, she saw that there had been a terrible cave-in. Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White began calling out, hoping against hope that the dwarfs had somehow survived.

'Hello!...Hello!' she shouted. 'Can anyone hear me? Hello!'

For a long while, there was no answer. Losing hope, Snow White again shouted, 'Hello! Is anyone down there?'

Just as she was about to give up all hope, she heard a faint voice from deep within the mine, singing....

'Vote for McCain/Palin! - Vote for McCain/Palin!'

Snow White fell to her knees, crossed herself and prayed.....

'Oh, thank you, God! At least Dopey is still alive!'





hey! i liked Dopey. this is unfair...





and we used to think that this guy way dopey....

it IS about race - part 10...

In New McCain Robocall, Rudy Giuliani Suggests Obama Opposes Jailing Murderers And Rapist

Shades of Willie Horton again.

Giuliani has recorded a new McCain robocall in which he suggests, in effect, that Barack Obama doesn't think sex offenders, drug dealers and murders should have to go to jail, according to Jennifer Henderson, a stay-at-home mom in Maine who tells us she received the call.

Oct. 23, 2008, TPM Election Central

The problem with the call is one of omission. What Obama is opposed to is specific mandatory minimum sentences and that's left out of the robocall.

Here we are hitting the fear factor again - rape, murder, drugs - add to the welfare comparisons the last couple of days and it is the old tactics updated with new target words that leave out the explicitness and transparency by couching terms in PC phrasing.

the Divine has spoken and said ...

"Vote for Obama"

i hope you didn't think it was Mr. Dobson's divine!


the Divine Ms. M, of course...









if Bette says you gotta vote for Obama, who am i to question her, even if i have a get out of hell free card.

Bette, i will vote for Obama. i promise.


thanks for the heads-up on this from Towleroad. love ya, Andy, for always looking out for us.


i wonder if Obama could do something about getting rid of those Cialis and Viagra commercials? they drive me more nuts than commercials for yeast infections. and can someone please explain why the couple is always in bathtubs? on the beach? separate ones! if he's using Cialis, shouldn't they be in the same bath tub?

i mean, i'm just asking...

will they link this to Obama?

Chicago has had an on-going police scandal since the 1980's. It deals with members of the Chicago Police force using torture techniques as an interrogation technique and a few other spurious behaviours.

The latest barrage in the case has U.S. District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald [yes that Patrick Fitzgerald] filing charges of perjury against retired police Commander Jon Burge since the statute of limitations has run out on the alleged crime itself. Though it's BIG headlines for the Chicago papers, and even the New York Times has a story today, most people in greater Chicagoland just shrug our shoulders. We go through this a lot. We are pretty cynical about city politics, but we also live in the City that Works. I would have to say it does.

The case had a special result in that it force a former Republican governor, who by the way is in prison for corruption right now, to suspend all capital punishment making world-wide headlines and also had the effect in some convicted murderers actually being released not only from death row but from prison.

If you read the stories and look into the scenario, you will discover that it is a conservative's and right-winger's dream. Liberals at their worst; government run amok; a victory for the bleeding hearts; and democracy being attacked. Of course, there is also the unspoken angle that the vast majority of the prisoners released were African-American.

so, i'm just wondering how long it will take the Mcpains, the Limbaugh's, and other wingers to somehow connect this all to Senator Obama? you know, like they did Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright...

i'm just asking...

economic definitions revisited...

Due to today's rapidly changing stock market and the financial conditions in industry, the following terms have had to be revised for investors in order to more clearly reflect today's economic market place:


CEO -- Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO -- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW -- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS 2000 -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- A past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- an archaic word no longer in use.



what can i say? it's the truth thanks to the Tzar.

now tell me, in hindsight, wasn't a sex scandal better? at the least it was more entertaining and scintillating...

you have got to see this, in order to believe it...

FOX News "hate site" bashes Obama over dying grandmother , AmericaBlog.com, Oct. 20, 2008

Here is just one of the comments posted on the Fox News website -

by joebridges[Oct 20, 2008 10:07:16 PM]
What a bunch of c*ap. Another sympathy move by Omamma to garner votes. Next there'll [sic] be a mock funeral for "grandma" a day or two before the election. The old biddy's probably been dead for years.

check out more on the Fox website here - Obama to Leave Campaign Trail to Visit Sick Grandmother

Oh, and they are connecting it to the Obama detractor Andy Martin, who filed a suit in Hawaii to release what he thinks is the real Obama birth certificate that will show that he is not an U.S. citizen.

People in Chicago know this Martin guy well. He was refused admittance to the Illinois Bar for “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character.” Click on Martin's name link to discover just what the man has done. He was even barred by a federal court once from filing lawsuits unless the court gave him permission. He sues everybody.

where is the outrage? where is the anger?

misplaced?