The Obama Project@WindonWater.net

It seems odd to me to think that this is even a debate, and it seems odder that the press acts as though the only legitimate criteria for sound judgment is polls.  Our free press (are they still free?), with a journalistic obligation to truth-telling, and with a unique worldview born of covering national and international figures and events over time, nevertheless fails to aggressively pursue a line of discourse about John McCain’s choice of vice presidential candidate that reflects a genuine concern for the respect of office? It seems unpatriotic and a waste of the 4th amendment for the press to only report on how “popular” such a wrongheaded move is.
Well.  Here’s Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic on the same subject: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2224950/33157262

I promised a post about community organizing by Monday – and here it is Wednesday and I’ve got nothin’!

It’s not for lack of trying – just that the weight of organizing a funeral fell on me entirely, and so I just couldn’t get to it.  My dad was buried yesterday with military honors, and I’ve got to find a case for the flag, along with time to talk about the service he was more known for.  I guess we give out flags for military service – but I didn’t even know if my father had served long enough to have earned such honor.  Meanwhile my father’s community service was exceptional, and yet here we are today, with people claiming that community service is a responsibility-free task, and otherwise thoroughly dishonoring it.  If Barack Obama is elected, I would like to see a death honor for community service.  We don’t have to have national cemeteries, but maybe a service medal to be hung from the coffin, and then given to the family prior to interment.  Something that genuinely recognizes the value of service outside of the military.

Anyway – the premise of my promise was that I had not done a community service post.  That’s not entirely true.  I had done one, here.

When life settles a bit, I hope to write more, and I hope everyone still peeks in from time to time.

Editing to add: I did a search on the term “community organizing” and came across this wonderful site – I think it is for community organizing in California – but it gives a great look at community organizing at a CAREER… and reading the page gives you a broader understanding of Barack Obama’s campaign:

http://www.marininstitute.org/action_packs/community_org.htm

QT

I started to answer Sarah Palin’s speech point for point, but it just got tiring.  Here are tools to find out the facts for yourself:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin_part_ii.html

http://www.obamataxcut.com

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/presidential_candidates.cfm

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/09/palin_v_reality.php

But these statements need answering:

This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn’t just need an organizer.

Hard not to take that personally, but I long ago promised a post on the submect of community organizing and I’m delinquent.  It will be up by Monday, in honor of my dad, who I will bury that day.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

Yet another character insult, and this one highly offensive.  I wish John McCain has used his career to stay the course of change, but instead he is now lock-step with the far right of the republican base – the very same who have been running the country for 12 of the last 20 years, including the last 8.   But alas, it was not to be.

What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

Frankly, though the nation may not be fully appreciative, if this were “all” that was accomplished – notwithstanding, this will have been a LOT to accomplish.

http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?showtopic=53990

http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?showtopic=48360&hl=cities
QT

1. Some women do not consider abortion a “choice.” They consider it a consequence of a variety of circumstances Unlike Ms. Palin, I think rape and incest should be counted in to those circumstances, but in general, I think the circumstances should be health specific and not lifestyle specific. But the discussion of the issue as a “choice” largely obscures the discourse, and makes it hard to talk about the nuances involved.

2. One’s medical history is supposed to be private

3. The privacy of minors is always protected.

Hence – the idea that privacy and “choice” are part and parcel is quite a bit off. That’s just the framing so we can have a political argument.

Finally – I think it’s sad and distasteful for anyone to be taking issue with Obama”s sensitivity to the needs of a young girl, whose life is already largely altered, permanently, by her circumstances. The larger women’s issues can be discussed without dragging Bristol into it – and everyone knows it. Or do the privacy and choice advocates exalt their rights over the rights of this young girl?

I continue to support, wholeheartedly, the wonderful decency that is the Obama/Biden ticket. And I continue to be grateful not to belong to any political party.
More on Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I have been watching the unfoldment of John McCain’s Vice-Presidential choice with a great deal of dismay. For one thing, many in the liberal camp began immediately to dismiss the choice as foolish. The party was on, and I was alarmed at the arrogance, and lack of awareness of the feelings on the other side of the debate.. Then there was the sexism. Sure its easy to cry sexism when someone else is doing it, but how about when it rears its ugly head on your own side? Terms like G/VPILF were offensive – and were introduced by the liberal camp. Even today I saw a headline calling Sarah Palin’s vetting process a casting couch. Classy, huh?

But the biggest sense of dread I felt has finally crystalized into something I’m ready to write about…and that is the clear and obvious difference between McCain’s and Obama’s vetting process. On the one hand, you have a careful, thorough process, on which Obama was involved with, and one which set clear standards intended to ensure good governance. That process yielded Joe Biden. On the other you have a minimum amount of vetting done to justify the term, a candidate who seems imposed upon by outside forces in the selection process, and seemingly no thought given to governance issues – only electoral ones. The high energy invested in protecting this choice reeks of the same cronyism apparatus that has plagued the Bush presidency, at the expense of lives (see: Katrina), and stubborn defense of bad judgement (see: Iraq II).

Is it too much to hope that we would elect a man who demonstrates thoughtfulness instead of rashness, soberness instead of bluster, and humility in service instead of selfish ambition?

QT