Today (before midnight) was Inauguration Day, and while I know the job has just begun for our new president, I am proud to have seen this day come to pass, and to have been an active part of his election. I donated more this year to Barack’s campaign than to all other political donations combined. I shared my thoughts and feelings on this candidate many times with many people, and while I didn’t make phone calls or go out into the streets, I was a part of this movement.
Now we have a President Obama in the White House. I’m exhaling, and I’m ready, so very ready, to engage with politics again, and to have this President get to work and lead our country out of despair and into prosperity. I’m ready to do what I personally need to do to help him, and to follow his leadership. I am looking forward to his press conferences, and his speeches. Oh, how dreamy, finally a President who is thoughtful, intelligent, reasoned and inspired to do good for all Americans. I look at this man and I see the very best that this country has to offer. No man is more deserving to be the leader of the free world in this day than Barack Obama.
And yet, there is so much to do, and he’s not even started yet. He’s got lots of ideas, has made these ideas and plans public, and is poised, but only now has the power been handed to him. I’m sure that the Republicans felt the same way when Bush was elected 8 years ago – there was such a negative energy towards the Clinton administration, that for the right, Bush was their every-man breath of fresh air. He was one of them, in the same way that Obama is one of us. The only difference, is that Obama has been on the presidential path and public stage for over two years, and in that time, he’s performed flawlessly, shown integrity and cool, shrewd intellect, and deep compassion. And he’s a man who understands working hard in times of hardship – he’s the exact right president for today’s times.
Thank you, Obama, for rising to the challenge and serving your country at a time that would make others quake in their boots and run for the hills.
Now, get to work!

The news of Rumsfeld getting the boot, I mean… resigning… was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stanky administration. We got the house, yes, and we probably also got the senate, but the Dems also promised they wouldn’t impeach the president, which I think is a horrible concession for winning, since this administration more than any other in recent history has been guilty of such major corruption. Oh well, perhaps we’ll still get some accountability along the way. I think the stage is set for an interesting two years that either will go very well, or will peter along in the same way it has been for the last six. It all depends on the new leadership and what they choose to press for, and what they choose to concede.

That’s it, I’m tired, it’s late again. Time for bed.

I stayed up late to find out results on elections and local measures, and all I got was a handful of disappointments and inconclusive results. Looks like the train didn’t pass. I bet a better concentrated advertising campaign would have helped. Oh well, I knew it was a pipe dream. That, and the energy bill that really should have passed, looks like it probably won’t.

I’m starting to feel guilty that I didn’t join one of these phone parties and called up everyone in the known universe to bug the shit out of them to go vote and to vote with real information. But everyone knows that we avoid those phone calls like the plague, and we never listen to the pre-recorded ones. I just delete them.

I guess I should be happy with the probable win of the house. I was hoping for the house + senate, but I don’t see that happening at this point. I still have my skepticism around the validity of the vote, but that problem will likely never be addressed, or not until the Repubs rake us over the coals in the 2008 election… again.

Feh. I need to let go of this and move on with my life. I am so disappointed on the the train measure.

So I finally buckled down tonight and reviewed the issues one last time and pretty much I just want it all to be over and hopefully we’ll win a Democratic victory in congress, but we just won’t know until after all the Diebolt machines come in and the hackers have fixed the vote, but it’d be nice if a few things pass. Of course I’ve voted almost all Democratic except in the case of Bustomante, who I never liked and so I’m voting for Poizner instead. But the candidates are boring. Most of the measures I’m kinda bored with too, but for the record:

1A – Yes

1B – No

1C – No

1D – Yes

1E – No

83 – No (this is not a well-written or well-thought-out bill)

84 – Yes

85 – No (dude, I can’t even imagine the damage this would do if it passes)

86 – Yes (sorry, smokers, but you know it’s killing you)

87 – YES (we need to set an example for the nation)

88 – No (good motivation, bad bill)

89 – Yes (we need all the reform we can get)

90 – No (as much as I’d like to support fairness, this damages the ability to protect open space)

The one that I really REALLY want to pass is R for the SMART train between Larkspur and Cloverdale. The north bay needs a traffic solution, and the train is the right plan. Unfortunately, it’s not popular with Marin voters, but it’s a well thought-out plan, and could solve a lot of our problems in a short time span.

yeah. voting. bleargh. I just don’t trust the process, so it’s hard for me to get overly excited.

This is scary and entirely expected

U.S. Rep Marty Meehan’s staff edit out criticisms on Wikipedia

The Huffington Post has an article raising the flag once again on the war against our voting issues in America. Please read and re-inspire yourself to the most important fight we have to face in America today, against the single most important threat against American democracy.

Brad Friedman: The Fight for American Democracy Continues…: ”

…Whether Those Who Hate America and Democracy Like it Or Not.

(Juris) Doctor Robert(s), you’re a new and better man,

He helps you to understand,

He does ev’rything he can, (Juris) Doctor Robert(s).

I’ve been listening to the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts for the position of chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, and it’s very interesting to me. The position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is one of the most important jobs in the US Government, and because Roberts is so young (50), he’s likely to be in the job for at least 35 years, on average. So, respectably, everyone is taking this very very seriously. I do not believe that anyone is in doubt that John Roberts is very likely the most intelligent, best researched and most highly skilled man to come before review for this position. What appears to be in question, is Judge Roberts’ moral stance, and how or whether his particular ethical responses would affect his judgments on the Supreme Court.

He’s been on stage and had the lights and questions pointed at him for the last three days, and while I am not by any means a professional political analyst, I am getting a very positive feeling about him, which most likely differs from many of my more liberal friends. I guess, this is where I show myself to be more conservative in the literal sense, but I really like what I’ve heard from Roberts’ own mouth about his commitment to the rule of law, and to doing his job and nothing outside of the definition of his job. Many on the right are trying to get to the moral core of Roberts and find out what he believes is right and wrong, with the assumption that on the basis of his sense of personal justice, these opinions would determine the outcome of his decisions in the court. I think that this is a sensible concern, and I’ve been happy that these questions are being asked. Nonetheless, I am really liking what I’m hearing from Judge Roberts, though it’s not what the Democratic Senators are trying to get out of him. I like what I’m hearing, mostly because it’s his response not just to the Dems, but also the Reps. on issues of moral opinion. Some might say that he’s avoiding and evading placing any personal judgement out, but to me he’s holding to his highest level of moral dedication — that of allowing the rule of law to be his guide, and to not be persuaded by personal opinion in his decision making — to be as objective as personally able. While in an ideal world where the Democrats own the house, senate and presidency I might hope for a liberal activist Chief Justice, that’s not the world we live in. We live in a world where the Republicans own the game, and will more than likely be able to push through any positions, appointments or legislation they wish. We should be overjoyed, thrilled that they’ve given us a candidate whose highest ethical position is to be objective and to leave lawmaking to the legislature. Really, this is a boon — we’re being given someone… objective and impartial… (if we can believe him at his word) to lead the court whose job it is to be impartial and objective, and to interpret the intentions of the constitution and the laws of this country. The argument against Roberts is that he lacks a moral compass, and some on the left are saying for this reason he’s not the right person for the job in our day and times. Instead, I’m of the opinion that Roberts shows a higher level of moral direction, and will not be swayed by political or personal opinion. He believes in the legal and judicial system, and can restore integrity to the courts — an integrity that was lost when the Supreme Court overstepped their bounds in 2000 and took away a state’s rights to follow their own constitution and its mandate to hold and complete a full manual recount of any election that was closer than a specific margin, and in doing so put a man into the presidency that was not voted into office, but was appointed by the courts. I have a strong feeling that if Judge Roberts were presiding, that case would have never been touched by the Supreme Court in the first place, and would have been kicked back down to the state supreme court where it belonged. It’s just a hunch, and as I said, I’m not a political expert. But, everything John Roberts is saying seems to back up my impression.

In the days and weeks to follow, a decision will be made to allow or deny Judge Roberts the position of Chief justice of the United States Supreme court. If he is denied confirmation, I personally fear who the next candidate may be. Will they be as intelligent? Will they be as committed to objectivity, or will they carry a hidden agenda? One thing is certain, with the extreme government we have right now, it’s not going to be a political moderate. Personally, I think Roberts may be a snafu the administration may not be prepared for. I think they are deceived and think they’re getting someone who’s prepared to push through their agenda. I think Roberts is uncontrollable, and will do his job faithfully. I’m prepared for the possibility that I’m wrong, but in my gut I feel that I am right.

In a very real way, it’s already out of my hands. I’m a spectator in a battle whose outcome is already determined. All I can do is sit back and watch.

Okay, I’ve been avoiding blogging on this, because it’s all over the media and I really didn’t know what else I could add, or say, that hasn’t been said already, and honestly, I didn’t want to live in that place to intensely for too long. The thought of the suffering in New Orleans brings me to tears every single time I contemplate it. I think of all the people who lost their homes, their possessions, their loved ones and their lives, and I feel that whatever petty problems that we in the drier parts of the country think we have, it cannot compare with the immediate suffering of those down in the Big Easy. I’ve thought of those who were caught in NOLA when the levees broke, and how they didn’t have the money to get out of town before the storm, or anywhere to go if they did decide to leave, so they stayed and suffered the plight of being corralled into large buildings and left to live like dogs for days without food or water. I think of children not eating or drinking, of being raped. I think of murders and general lawlessness. I think of hopelessnes, and I think of a police force that is overstrapped and freaking out, unable to handle the pressures of what they’re experiencing. I think of scores of corpses in the streets. I think of stagnant nasty polluted water that is dangerous to even breathe near, much less touch. I think of the administration’s total disconnect with the situation, and their inability to do the right thing because they’ve overcommitted in Iraq, and because they can’t make a right decision to save their lives. I think of Barbara Bush, and her completely insensitive remarks about how the hurricane was actually a good think for the poor of NOLA.

But you know what, I also think — hell, why don’t they just pick up their bags and just walk the fuck out of town? I mean, seriously. Stay in a concrete bunker and live like animals, or find your way to the nearest bridge and get the fuck out of town, right?

Well guess what — they weren’t allowed to leave. That’s right, as I dig deeper and deeper into this story, I’m seeing reports that people tried to leave on foot, but they were held back at gunpoint by the police in neighboring cities just across the bridges. People banded together, and gathered supplies, and tried to camp out on bridges and high ground, but the local police broke them up, divided them, and confiscated their food and water. It’s crazy. It’s the lowest form of hate and fear working, and here’s one account. It’s crazy.

I’m tired, and I’m losing coherence at this late hour, but I just needed to say — WTF?! Not only does the place flood like a fishbowl of toxic sludge, but unless you have a car, you’ve got to stay and stew in it. That’s all new levels of fucked-up.

thepartyparty
Okay, this is a really awesome (and free) collection of songs put together by a DJ that calls himself ‘RX’. I’ve been rocking out to this, and it’s freaking great. Go and download the songs, burn them to a disk, play it for others. Buy the shirt, and help support this creative artist so he can continue to host the album, and create a new one.