Me? I kind of like the guy and what he has been doing so far. Luckily some intrepid souls were able to capture both Republican and Democrat reactions to this news. I have some of the footage linked below.

Republican Reaction

Meanwhile, most Democrats were feeling a bit more jovial about this.

Democrat Reactions

On a more serious note this is something that while expected has happened a lot sooner than anyone anticipated. Obama being in the position to appoint someone to the Court is I think a good thing. The fact we are losing Souter is a shame as he tended to vote with the more liberal side of the Court. Souter was always a disappointment to the Right though. Appointed by Bush I he was seen as something of a turncoat to the Republicans with how his views changed over time.

The speculation has begun as to who the president will nominate. I am certainly waiting. The SCOTUS is a powerful and far reaching body when it comes to not only the law but also the very fabric of our Society.

Technorati Tags: democrats, obama, Politics, republicans, scotus, video

It is, I think, important to reflect on what that means not only for us as individuals, or the political parties, but for the country as a whole. We are to borrow an overused term, – at a crossroads. When you look at where we are it could almost be a book or movie storyline. We have two wars we were led into. One of which was a clear case of being misled into it. We have an economic situation that is the worst since The Great Depression. We have a federal government that celebrates incompetence and cronyism. Plus we have climate change worries and the national infrastructure is crumbling. It sounds like a situation only a madman would want to willingly step into. Instead we have Barack Obama. I do not envy his task.

I am hopeful that the damage of the last eight years can be alleviated, repaired, undone. I am also confident that things will get worse before they get better. Our economy will worsen, we will learn things we did not want to know. And we will be angry, depressed, and hopeful. We will, as a nation, need to work hard to fix all these problems. We will need to be involved in our local communities. But that will not be enough. We will need to be involved at the state and federal level. For so many years apathy has been the rule for myself as well as others. Apathy is not the answer, that much is now obvious. We’ve seen something amazing happen. We’ve seen the people finally respond.

Now comes the hardest part. Not only for you, for me, or Obama, but for all of us equally. We’ve seen many bad things happen these past eight years. I want to see an accounting for all those things that were done. I want to see justice for those crimes that were committed. But I am also wary of my motivations for wanting this. I know that any accounting that is had must be in the interest of justice and not simple vengeance. We must be sure to right the wrongs and not simply extract our pound of flesh. I think that Obama realizes this. His behavior so far seems reinforce this. I wish others would realize this.

So come tomorrow I will give my new President the chance to act on his promises. To put his words into action. Only then will I hold him accountable. I will let him, and other elected officials know what I think. But I will give them the chance. I see many simple wanting to get revenge, or acting out in anger at the last eight years. That road is dangerous. So I say we fix what is broken before we look at punishing the guilty. If someone sets your house on fire you don’t go after them while the house is burning do you? No, you put out the fire than get them. Let’s not let the house burn down while we seek justice.

Technorati Tags: bush, obama, Politics

I myself have faced discrimination which I find rather ironic. Many people mistake my race based on whatever preconception they have. I’ve been called things, had service attempted to be refused, and had to deal with other random bullshit. I’ve also seen the flip side where people would confide in me the nastiest, most racist comments and notions. I can recall one manager where I worked in my early twenties making comments about “those jews.” Whenever I see this stuff, I am reminded of the poem by Langston Hughes – “Let America Be America Again” and I wonder about the ideal. I think about what we, as a society at large, strive to be versus what we really are. While we’ve come a long way there is still a long way to go. One of my largest hopes for Obama winning is the chance to move us all closer to the ideal. I’ve included the poem below.

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed–
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean–
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today–O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home–
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay–
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again–
The land that never has been yet–
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose–
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath–
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain–
All, all the stretch of these great green states–
And make America again!

Technorati Tags: barack, hughes, langston, let america be america again, obama, Politics, racism

Ever since Vietnam and Watergate Americans generally have been very cynical towards politics and politicians. We see these modern scandals and are unsurprised when a public figure falls. We expect to be disappointed and act accordingly. At some point, the process becomes self-fulfilling. We elect those we expect to fall so as to avoid the disappointment. I have found myself feeling that exact way about many of our elected officials.

Things began to change though in 2008. What caused it? A speech given on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. It was the speech given by Obama on that day that made me take notice. It has been building since that day really. It’s the general attitude that does it. When listening to Hillary it’s always about her. It is what I can do, what I mean, what I say. With Obama? It’s “Yes We Can.” That one word has such a powerful meaning that one has to stop and notice.

It goes back to the MLK speech. I know I cannot as a single person change the world. I know that if I can get just one person to go along with me it won’t change the world. I know I won’t do anything dramatic. But what if it were not just myself, or even just one other person? What if it were I, my neighbors, and many others. To quote Obama.

And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope – but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone

In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

That is what I want. Not to have someone do it all for me, not to sit there and support someone to do what they want. I want someone to walk with; I want someone to be a leader of a movement. Someone to change the world with me, not for me. Not to change it, or not change it, based on their need for power or control.

His speech last night continued this. He spoke not of what he would just do. He spoke to his rivals for the nomination, how their efforts are part of a greater whole. He spoke of respect for them; they are not his enemy really. We are on the same side after all. He spoke about what he thinks we all can do, not as a single person, not as a just one man running for President of the USA. He spoke about what he could do because of and with us. The difference is powerful. That is why I support this man in his desire to become President. Not because of what he will do, but because of what we can all do.

Technorati Tags: clinton, obama, Politics, presidental election, speeches, video, youtube

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it.”

There is some video of the interview on youtube as well.

Now many think this was just some gaffe, and it may have been. The point is not really whether it was or not. It is the inferences that can and have been drawn from the statement. Some people play it off as just a dumb remark. It definitely was that but the deeper meaning if you read into it is more disturbing. I can see many thinking “well she is saying that if Obama gets killed I can step in for the nomination.” That is a horrible thing to say and rightly pisses some people off. This got me to thinking about the importance of what we say, how we say it, and when we say it.

Language is a powerful tool that can shape the outcome of many things. A harsh word at the wrong moment, a kind word at the right one. Words that can inspire both love and hate. It’s remarkable how much we are controlled by speech and language. And it does control us. Not only does it allow us to express ourselves, but it also modifies our behavior. I often wonder how this came to be, why we developed speech to begin with.

I am not trying to speculate on the origins of language right now. But it does amaze me how powerful language is. How words we use can have a powerful effect, intentional or unintentional. So in the end I guess one should be careful about what they say and when. I know I am an expert of inserting foot in mouth, but I do try and control it.

Technorati Tags: clinton, language, obama, Politics