As a Washington resident I gave up a Saturday morning, along with my husband and three non-voting age children, to caucus with my neighbors. We then found someone to watch our children so we could spend most of another Saturday sitting on hard bleachers for hours and hours to represent Barack Obama at the County Caucus. Having done my part as a citizen, I find myself rankled by a candidate who claims to have won the Popular Vote while conveniently ignoring the caucus states.
I can only hope that the Super Delegates are paying more attention than the hard-working white Americans who didn't attend college.
And for the rest of us, hard-working Americans with a variety of ethnic and educational backgrounds who are paying attention, here are ALL the numbers, popular and not-so-popular:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html
If you haven't had a chance to see it, this is an amazing video.
(and if you are under the age of 13, please ask your parent/adult before you view it, it does have some troubling photos from Iraq.)
http://agonist.org/schecter/?p=8152
If you are desperate for a shirt/pins/stickers/a hat check out CafePress. There are vendors who will donate the money they make off the items to Barack, be sure to look for them. Some of the products state "Made in the USA" on the item picture, make those your first choice. :) They even have some in organic cotton.
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/barack+obama
My 7 year old is recovering from almost 2 weeks of a nasty respiratory infection. After thinking she was getting better, last Sunday night her ear began to hurt. She has been really good through all the coughing and congestion but that night she was feeling really bummed that she would be missing more school.
As she worked through her feelings she said, "Why did this germ have to pick me? I'm only in 1st grade!"
After a few more moments of muttering and grumbling she sat quiet on the couch under her blanket. Then she looked at me and said, "I have hope."
"Like Barack Obama?" I asked.
"Yes We Can." was her reply.
The past two weeks I've had sick children home in various combinations. Yesterday I had my 2nd grader and 5th grader home. They were getting restless so I had them join me in writing our women senators who endorsed HRC prior to the caucus that resulted in Barack getting almost 70% of the vote in Washington. Learning that you can write letters to your senators seems to me to be a very good life lesson. While I helped my 2nd grader plan out her letters, my 5th grader took off on her own. In the end I was very impressed, hopefully the senators (or someone in their offices) will be, too. My 2nd grader took the time to draw spring pictures at the bottom of both the cards after she carefully copied her message. My 5th grader used her best handwriting and made sure to mention that she thought Barack Obama could win and become president.
I wrote my own letters to put in the mailbox, however, I have to think that words written in pencil that drift down the page to 8 year old art work of flowers and butterflies will probably have a bigger impact.
Barack has stated that no matter what the outcome of this race, he and Michelle agreed that they would leave the political/election process better because of his campaign. I think they have reached that goal.
Barack has inspired many young Americans to vote, to get involved for the first time, and to understand the issues. Last night when I tried to turn off the political commentary on PBS my 7 year old daughter protested. At the same time my 8 and 11 year old daughters were in the office watching the debate on MSNBC.msn.com because we don't have the required cable channel. They didn't always understand the issues being debated. But they definitely knew how to read the body language and that seemed to give them some accurate insights about the candidates.
There is no apathy in these three, and there seem to be a growing number of children like them. They are the Hope of the future.
As adults we need to set the example. We need to get involved, be informed and talk about the issues. We need to show our children that elections and voting are important. That voting is a right and a responsibility that we take seriously. We need to raise them up on Hope supported by Action.
That brings me back to what I said yesterday, "I have hope and I'm not afraid to use it."
Got Hope? Are you supporting it with Action?
It has been said (of course I have no idea who said it first), "If you don't have Hope, what do you have?" Hope is an on going theme in my life. If I didn't have hope, I would have crawled under a rock years ago.
Someone once said to me in a disparaging tone,"You are always saying it's going to get better." And it's true. I would say, "Summer vacation is coming and life is going to calm down and get better." "My husband is going to be changing jobs next month and things are going to get better." "When I'm 40 (I made it!) my girls will all be able to get themselves dressed and brush their own teeth and help around the house, and my life is going to be better." Her point was that if I was always clinging to something and thinking it would make things better, perhaps I should just admit that life was always a struggle and I should stop saying it was going to get better. But if I hadn't had hope, what would I have had? When your baby is up all night crying, you cling to the hope that some day you will get a full 8 hours of sleep. When you empty your savings account to pay the bills you have hope that some day you will have the money to open a savings account again.
Hope doesn't mean that there won't be challenges. Hope lets you believe that you will face the challenges, get through them, come out stronger on the other side and be ready to face a new challenge with your hope intact.
This is exactly why Barack Obama's message speaks to me and so many other Americans. He understands that we have to have hope. And he understands the power of hope.
This morning I watched a clip of Hillary Clinton mocking Barack's message of hope. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/25/clinton-gets-sarcastic-mocks-obama/ I couldn't help thinking, so what is she offering us? Anti-hope? If we don't have hope how do you expect us to weather the challenges that lie ahead as we change the course of our Country?
You cannot mock hope when we have young (and not so young) men and women in constant danger far from home. If you take away a soldier's hope that she is going to make it home to see her children again how do you expect her to keep serving her country? If you take away a parent's hope that their son will return home mentally and physically whole, how do you expect them to make it through tomorrow?
You cannot mock hope when people's lives are destroyed because they don't have health insurance.
You cannot mock hope when our country has lost its luster. When other countries no longer see us as a great nation.
You cannot mock hope when the climate is changing and we will most likely run out of oil by the time my children reach the age of 40.
As a country, if we don't have hope that the next President can help guide us as we pick up the pieces from the last eight years and move forward in new directions then why should we bother to vote?
This morning I thought to myself, "I have hope, and I'm not afraid to use it." The truth is, we have to have hope because with out it, we can't survive.
Today if your hope needs a boost, check out this recent poll that shows Barack Obama 14% ahead of Hillary in Texas"
http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/decision-analyst-obama-texas-ohio-mccain-022308005.html
Got Hope?
For those of you who have children, or are in touch with your inner child :) there is a coloring page of the Obama symbol on the kids' page. It's a good size for posting in windows and a great option for anyone frustrated by the current back order status of Obama signs in the store.
Here's a link to the kids page - scroll down a little and look for the black and white symbol, click on it and it will open in a new window, all ready for printing :)
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/kidshome/
Or click on "People" at the top of your screen, then click on "Kids."
Can we color our own signs?
Yes We Can!
One of my neighbors said to me, "I'm not sure if I should vote for McCain or Obama. Obama is going to spend so much money." My reply was,"McCain says we can stay in Iraq for 100 years, don't you think that will cost money?
We have to invest money in our children, environmental protection, sustainable energy, the health of our citizens and infrastructure. That's an investment in the future. Spending money on a war in Iraq is not an investment, it's just a black hole.
If anyone needs a reminder of the money spent in Iraq while programs went unfunded in our own country, please visit the National Priorities Project Cost of War Calculator. This tool can show you how much we have spent and what the money could have funded in our country and in our local communities. I encourage you to check it out:
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
or type
www.costofwar.com
It wasn't on the official list posted today, but The Columbian Endorses Barack Obama:
https://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/02/02032008_In-our-view-McCain-and-Obama.cfm
The "Yes We Can" music video is on the front page of the Obama site and I'm hoping you've all watched it by now.
If any of you haven't watched the parody about John McCain, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwqEneBKUs
I can understand why Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray originally endorsed their sister Senator, Hillary Clinton. However, with Barack Obama winning the majority of the delegates from Washington State, I feel they need to reconsider who they will vote for in August.
In the day and age of everyone and their uncle sending e-mails, I have decided that good old fashioned letter writing would be a more effective way to express my opinion on this matter. If, as it says on Maria Cantwell's site, it's true that it takes 3 weeks for a letter to get through security, then perhaps faxing and e-mailing are also viable options. Since we have months to go until the Convention, I will be using e-mail and snail mail to try and get the attention of our Senators.
For anyone living here in Vancouver, they have offices in the Marshall House and nothing is stopping you from dropping by in person.
Here is contact information for our lady Senators if anyone else wants to contact them:
Maria Cantwell:
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/
WASHINGTON, DC 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3441 202-228-0514 - FAX 202-224-8273 - TDD
If you are planning to send corrspondence to me through the U.S. Postal Service, it will take about three weeks for your letter to be delivered due to screening procedures. Other packages may take even longer. I ask that you be patient with written correspondence to and from my office, and when possible use alternatives such as email , phone, or fax. Thanks.
SEATTLE 915 Second Avenue Suite 3206 Seattle, WA 98174 206-220-6400 206-220-6404 - FAX
SPOKANE U.S. Federal Courthouse W. 920 Riverside, Suite 697 Spokane, WA 99201 509-353-2507 509-353-2547 - FAX
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON Marshall House 1313 Officers Row Vancouver, WA 98661 360-696-7838 360-696-7844 - FAX
CENTRAL WASHINGTON 825 Jadwin Avenue, 204/204A Richland, WA 99352 (509) 946-8106 (509) 946-6937 - FAX TACOMA 950 Pacific Avenue, Suite 615 Tacoma, WA 98402 253-572-2281 253-572-5879 FAX NORTHWEST WASHINGTON 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9B Everett, WA 98201 425-303-0114 425-303-8351 FAX
For Patty Murray:
http://murray.senate.gov/contact/
Washington, D.C. Office173 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-2621 Fax: (202) 224-0238
Seattle Office2988 Jackson Federal Building915 2nd AvenueSeattle, Washington 98174Phone: (206) 553-5545Toll Free: (866) 481-9186Fax: (206) 553-0891
Everett Office2930 Wetmore Avenue, Ste. 903Everett, Washington 98201Phone: (425) 259-6515Fax: (425) 259-7152
Spokane Office601 West Main Avenue, Ste. 1213Spokane, Washington 99201 Phone: (509) 624-9515 Fax: (509) 624-9561
Vancouver Office The Marshall House1323 Officer's RowVancouver, Washington 98661Phone: (360) 696-7797Fax: (360) 696-7798
Tacoma Office 950 Pacific Avenue, Ste. 650 Tacoma, Washington 98402Phone: (253) 572-3636Fax: (253) 572-9892
Yakima Office402 E. Yakima Ave, Suite 390Yakima, Washington 98901Phone: (509) 453-7462Fax: (509) 453-7731
Bellevue Office1611 116th Ave. NE, Ste. 214Bellevue, WA 98004Phone: (425) 462-4460Fax: (425) 462-4436
And while you're at it, don't for get to thank Brian Baird for endorsing Barack!
http://www.house.gov/baird/IMA/email.shtml
O.O. Howard House750 Anderson Street, Suite BVancouver, WA 98661Phone: (360) 695-6292Fax: (360) 695-6197
This is the time to stand up and speak. This is not the time to wonder, "What will the neighbors think." This is not the time to hope without action. Now is the time to put hope into action, to speak up, to voice an opinion.
Is there anything more important than whom our next president will be? Perhaps, but perhaps not. We have the oportunity to radically change the direction of our country. We have had years of watching and seeing how much damage a president can do to the environment, our international standing, our economy, the future of our country, our planet, and our children. Now is the time to make sure that we stop that destruction and start solving the problems and fixing the damage.
Anyone who is too busy, too tired, or has better things to do with their time than to work towards the election of Barack Obama might want to think about their priorities. We are all busy, tired and have plenty we need to do and things we want to do that we don't have time to do. However, almost everyone has 10 minutes in their day, or even their week, to spend making phone calls, e-mailing friends and family in states that haven't voted, or writing letters to their state Super Delegates http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/primaries/2008_superdelegates.html
When e-mailing friends and family, be sure to copy and paste information from the "Issues" area of the web-site that specifically interest the person you are e-mailing. For examply, there's a section on The Arts for your artist friends and and plenty on the environment for the tree huggers. Saying, "I think you might find this information interesting" is much more effective than just saying,"I'm supporting Barack Obama and you should, too."
:)
