Kizyr for Obama

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

Kaiser Farooque — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:10:19 EST

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and my smaller blog at Kizyr for Obama.

Last Tuesday, there were more people in Washington than I've ever seen in my life. It was a larger crowd than I've ever seen in my life. And what's more, nearly every single person there in the crowd was happy.

I knew it was a day that'd go down in history, so crowds, cold, and closed metro stations weren't going to stop me from seeing it. My sister flew in from Nashville to see this, and the two of us along with some of my coworkers went into the city to see what we could.

Fortunately, no camping out was necessary. We left around 8AM and, after some reverse-metro rides we managed to get to Gallery Place, walk all the way around the White House and parade route, and find a spot near the Washington Monument. In all, we walked something like 7-8 miles that day (check the route above).

Yes, We Did, and This Is Just the Beginning

Kaiser Farooque — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:29:21 EST

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

VICTORY!!!

Stream-of-consciousness style, I'd like to just lay out what my thoughts were as the events of the day progressed. All times are estimated.

Vote Now, No Excuses

Kaiser Farooque — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:47:46 EST

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

No more excuses. Vote now. Long lines? Shouldn't matter--find the time. Lousy weather? You can grab a coat. Fifty years ago I could've had to deal with the Klan threatening my life on the way to the polls. A hundred years ago I wouldn't have been able to vote (and neither would the majority of you, I'll add). When you put it that way, scattered showers and an hour-or-two wait doesn't seem like a very good excuse.

In 2004, I took a flight from DC to Nashville just so I could cast a vote. And that was even a vote in a "Solid Red" state that year. This year, I'm even in a swing state, so there's nothing that could stop me from voting.

Anyway, I did cast my vote. In total, the ballot had:
- President / Vice President (Obama / Biden)
- VA Senator (Warner)
- VA-08 Representative (Moran)
- Arlington County Council
- Arlington School Board
- 4 county resolutions

There are numerous reasons to vote. The point isn't to be the one whose vote influences the outcome of the election, but to contribute to the principle of democratic rule. The idea that everyone, at the very least, can cast a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the things that come up on the ballot. And, it's not only the President you're voting for, but also Senators, House Reps, and local elections (and, if you're in California, something like fifty different propositions).

You may be in a Solid Blue or Solid Red state. That shouldn't affect your likelihood of going to the polls. You may not affect the outcome, but you will make a mark on the numbers. Notice how Virginia has gotten a lot of attention--do you think that would have happened if everyone in this state had just contented themselves to the state staying Republican? You may not be the deciding vote in this election, and you may not affect the direct outcome, but your vote can have an effect on how your representatives will behave in the future.

Anyway, that's enough from me. The polls close in a few hours here, and if you are in the VA/MD/DC area, you should be on your way to the polls if you haven't voted already. Remember that, at least in Virginia, if you're in line by 7:00pm, you can still vote after the official close time. KF

Nothing Is Set in Stone

Kaiser Farooque — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:37:57 EST

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

In 1936, Democrat FDR took every state except for Vermont and Maine.
In 1972, Republican Nixon took every state except for Massachusetts and Washington DC.
In 1976, Democrat Jimmy Carter swept the entire South (except Virginia), while Republican Gerald Ford won the West Coast.
In 1992 and 1996, Democrat Bill Clinton took half the southern states.

There's a simple point I'm trying to make here. It's very easy when trying to predict the outcome of an election to assume one state will go one way, and another state will go another. It's easy to assume that, say, Utah, Texas, and the entire Southeast are eternally Republican, and the West Coast and Northeast are eternally Democratic, that cities are always Democratic and small towns are always Republican.

Things aren't set in stone. And the fact that, now, Barack Obama is winning over many supporters across the entire country, that the Republicans are scrambling in places like North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, and Missouri, should tell us something.

And the fact that things can always change should motivate you to vote, even if you're in a so-called "Solid Blue" or "Solid Red" state. KF

Here We Go Again

Kaiser Farooque — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:30:08 EDT

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

I'm coming back from a business trip this past week, so I'll keep this short. There's just one minor thing I wanted to air some grievances about...

What does the McCain campaign have against professors? First it was Ayers (all the nonsense about him and the connection to Obama is already explained in full elsewhere). Now it's Rashid Khalidi (more information about that is here, but I was going to go in a slightly different direction about that).

Let me start by clarifying a few things...

Obama knows who Khalidi is, yes. But knowing someone does not mean you agree with him (otherwise, everyone who knows me would be out-of-luck with politics for the rest of their lives). Guilt-by-association is the basic principle behind bigotry and prejudice, and it's troubling that it's coming from a Presidential candidate in this day.
The International Republican Institute, while McCain was chairman, provided $500,000 worth of grants to the Center for Palestine Research and Studies, co-founded by Khalidi. So, both candidates have some tie to him. And, both ties are meaningless compared to the candidates' own views.
Obama has articulated over and over his "unshakeable" commitment to Israel. It's one of the few things on which I disagree with him (I believe we need to seriously revisit our relationship with both Israel and Saudi Arabia). But, my overall view of Obama is still such that I support him regardless of that disagreement.

Anyway, what gets me the most is that McCain and Palin are going off on Khalidi and accusing him of... being a Palestinian. They've got nothing more than that--apparently your race and ability to articulate serious problems with the Israeli government and criticism of the US-Israel relationship is enough to make you evil. This ignores the fact that Khalidi was born and raised in New York, and it ignores the fact that the First Amendment protects your right to criticize the government--and that means any government. Your First Amendment rights are not dependent on your political beliefs, nor your race...

What worries me is that it's the sworn duty of the President to uphold the Constitution. That includes the entire Constitution--no picking-and-choosing which Articles or Amendments you like. This is where there's another contrast between the McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden tickets, and one of the main things that drew me to support Barack Obama in the first place: Obama's the kind to draw upon his experience teaching constitutional law and defending civil rights, while McCain and Palin continue to demonstrate their lack of understanding of the Constitution. Yet again, I think the choice is clear. KF

The Real Americans

Kaiser Farooque — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:36:11 EDT

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

Where is the real America? Who is a real American? Who gets to decide which is which?

There are some interesting, yet troubling, comments recently made by a lot of the folks related to the McCain Campaign. And once again, it offers a huge, huge contrast to the message that Obama's been carrying throughout. Let me give you the following:

"I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that." ~Rep. Bachmann (R-MN)

Now, to be fair, this came on Chris Matthew's Hardball, after Chris Matthews was clearly acting like a jerk. But still, concluding that interview by suggesting some kind of media witch-hunt? No wonder she now finds herself having to apologize, and donations instantly increased to her opponent without him having to even do anything. Second:

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation." ~Sarah Palin

Again, to be fair, Palin did apologize for "the way her comments came off". It's a bit of a non-apology-apology, but still, her comments are troubling for another reason entirely (which I'll get to momentarily). Third:

"...the Democrats have just come in from the District of Columbia and moved into northern Virginia. And that's really what you see there. But the rest of the state, real Virginia, if you will, I think will be very responsive to Sen. McCain's message. ... I mean 'real Virginia' because northern Virginia is where I've always been, but 'real Virginia' I take to be the — this part of the state that is more Southern in nature, if you will. Northern Virginia is really metro D.C." ~Pfotenhauer, McCain Advisor

Now this one upset me the most. Primarily because Pfotenhauer here had the audacity to say that I don't live in "real Virginia". Now, let me lay down for you a few facts:
(a) I moved here from Tennessee, not Washington
(b) I pay Virginia state income tax.
(c) I had a choice to go to Maryland, DC, or Virginia, and I chose Virginia. I'm here entirely because I want to be, and I like this state. (The lower taxes, rent in metro-accessible areas, and rich diversity of the state, really helps, too. VA's state flag is also the coolest out of the 50 states--seriously, take a look.)

So tell me, why am I not a "real" Virginian? Oh... I know. Because politically I don't agree with you. Does that mean that when I was in Tennessee, despite being born and raised in Nashville, that I wasn't a real Tennessean because I didn't vote Republican? No wonder Pfotenhauer is now scrambling to retract her comments. But, she was given a fair chance to clarify them on the air, and she simply reinforced them. Her apology now means nothing.

Getting Personal - Religion and Race

Kaiser Farooque — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:42:06 EDT

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

I'm sure you've heard the good news by now, about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama (BBC link). I mean, this is incredible as-is, for the number of reasons he cited. But, there's something that Powell said in particular that really struck a personal note, and that I really, really appreciated hearing:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the [Republican] Party say... such things as 'Well, you know that Mr Obama is a Muslim'.
"Well the correct answer is, 'He's not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian'. But the really right answer is, "What if he is?' Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is 'No', that's not America."
~ Colin Powell

Powell touched upon something that has been bothering me since the election season began. There's no easy, or calm way to say it, except... when the —— did my religion become an insult?

This idea that somehow being Muslim is bad, that choosing another religion besides (evangelical) Christianity makes you an bad person... It really infuriates me--to the extent that I really don't know where to begin. Now, I did grow up with a little bit of this; I'm no stranger to being made fun of because of my religion, or my race, and I've been called some very unkind names in the past. So, it doesn't surprise me that there are many people who buy into this. What does surprise me, however, is how this has persisted all the way through the election.

Do they not believe in the freedom of religion?
Do they believe in the freedom of religion, but think that mine is an illegitimate one?
Are they afraid of anything, or anyone, that believes something different?

There's a natural human tendency to fear what we don't understand. And, there're plenty of people who have been fed this idea that all 1 billion Muslims in the world are out to get them, or we're all part of some vast, global conspiracy. When I run into that level of ignorance, well, I just avoid it and get on my way. But, I don't have to worry about people voting for me--in fact, that's specifically the reason I'll never go into politics.

Post-Debates Analysis

Kaiser Farooque — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:21:54 EDT

NOTE: This post is on both my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

It might seem odd, but debates are my favorite part of a campaign. I have a particular affinity for them, since I spent my high school years doing Lincoln-Douglas Debate in the National Forensic League. (Incidentally, my debate coach during high school was the same person who coached Al Gore for his Vice Presidential debates, and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen in his televised debates.)

Anyway, I enjoy debates since it gives you an opportunity to see a certain side of candidates: when and how they've prepared, how they respond to expected questions, how they respond to unexpected questions, how they address one another, how they view one another, what aspects of their policies or doctrines they emphasize, etc. Given all that, I should warn you that this will be a bit long. Also, I won't be covering the specific issues so much; for that, I recommend you just read the transcripts or watch YouTube clips of the debates.

What I thought I'd focus on this time is what the debates said about the candidates' preparation. The way someone behaves and answers questions can tell you how they prepared and what they were coached to do (and coaching is not a bad thing--anyone with common sense will get help before a debate, and the ultimate goal of any coach should be to help you present yourself the way you want to be seen). That being said, there were particular things you could tell Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin were all prepared and coached to do, or trying to do. I'll try to skip over some of the more obvious stuff, and just add a few of my impressions coming from a former debaters' standpoint.