E pluribus unum

I'm spent. It's been a long, emotional week so far. I've been full of excitement, anxiety, elation, sadness, and fatigue. It's been an overwhelming roller coaster, that's for sure. I've never made my political affiliations a secret. I respect anyone who chooses to, but I'm happy to say that I'm over the moon for our new President-Elect, Barack Obama.

Back in July of 2004, we gathered in some friends' back yard to watch the Democratic National Convention. We wore straw hats, we ate apple pie, and we watched the DNC on a big outdoor screen. I was blown away by the keynote address delivered by Barack Obama, an unknown to me Illinois State Senator. E and I agreed that "this guy will someday be President." Who knew it'd be so soon?

I've cried a lot this week, which may partially explain the exhaustion. I've just been so astonished by what has been accomplished, as well as what steps backwards we've taken. I really can't articulate everything I'm feeling and thinking at this point, but I think you get the idea.

Along with hope and joy, came sadness too. A friend passed away and I'm preparing to attend her services this weekend. Our President-Elect also suffered a great loss this week. Together we grieve, we carry on, we hope. Out of many, one.

Help Me Obi-Wan Kylenobi, You're My Only Hope

I turned 18 right before the 1988 Presidential election and was very excited to participate. I vote every chance I get and do feel like it's a civic duty. I understand there are a lot of excuses people have to not bother. I do think if our system was less complicated and uniform across states, there might be a higher turnout. I do believe that if you don't vote, you can't complain.

My youngest brother turned 18 a few months before the last Presidential election. Even though I live across the country, I did what I could to help him get registered and he didn't get it done in time. I was disappointed.

Politics is a rather sticky wicket in my family for some very good reasons that I won't go into. The issues range from apathy to staunch conservatism. I have hope that some of the next generation will get involved and take part in the process. I spoke to the youngest one tonight and begged him to vote. He was actually knowledgeable about the candidates and I might have gotten through. I have several months to work on him. I did leave him with this thought, "Just think about it this way. You could cancel out your grandmother's vote," which gave us a good laugh.

It's not about imposing my views onto my brother, but to open up a discussion and encourage him to be a part of the process. I'm a little optimistic. He truly is the best hope at this point.

Due to a class I scheduled months ago, I will be unable to attend CFI-West's Darwin Day celebration this coming Sunday. I volunteered at last year’s event and had a blast, so I’m a little bummed to miss out. However, I did make it to a screening of Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus at The Egyptian Theatre last night, which CFI co-sponsored as a lead up to Darwin Day. Quite a few people from my book club were there, as well as some other friends.

I really enjoyed the film, which takes a somewhat light-hearted look at the intelligent design vs. evolution "controversy" that has been created to keep people confused and to push religious and anti-science agendas into our schools. The filmmaker, who was formerly an evolutionary biologist also highlighted the scientific community’s inability/unwillingness to articulate the case for evolution/against ID.

This is another topic, like global warming and stem cell research, that our government, with the help of evil entities such as The Discovery Institute, surrounds with confusion and controversy.

Oh, My Aching Jaw

It seems amazing that my left jaw and ear did not hurt much at all during the long weekend I just had. I don't want to blame my TMJ issues entirely on being back at work though. I think listening to part of GWB's press conference this morning has a lot to do with it.

I hadn't even heard the part where he teased the legally blind reporter!

Just To Be Different...

...I decided to do what most other Californians did not do and voted. Now I feel like I have the right to complain about the election results, if I need to.

Thank You, Al Gore

Please run in '08. Please! I will vote for you, I promise.

Noodle Muffin

Indie 103.1 has been playing a great song by Noodle Muffin. It's political. If you love GWB, you will probably hate it. I love it.

I do wonder though about this name. It reminds me an awful lot of a group a couple of friends are part of that is called Spaghetti Cake. (You can check out that website for an actual recipe).

Election in Wonderland

Today was Election Day here in California. It's a non-traditional year for elections, but several states had special votes. The Govenator spent upwards of $250 million to try and pass a bunch of propositions crap that will hopefully fail. I really wish that money had gone into something like our pathetic schools.

Anyway, I always try to be a good citizen and vote. My polling place varies, but is usually in the auditorium of the elementary school up the street. It has also been in a nursing home lobby, a couple of churches (doesn't seem right somehow), and even a neighbor's garage. Today, however, it was in a hookah bar. The locale was recently a coffee shop, but has a new name--Amsterdam Cafe--and a giant hookah on its sign. It doesn't look like they were quite set up for smoking yet, but maybe that was to make room for the voting stations.

Only in California. And maybe Turkey or India.

Quotes of the Day or So Much for Not Getting Political

I never thought I'd agree with Newt Gingrich, but...

Gingrich said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina “puts into question all of the Homeland Security and Northern Command planning for the last four years, because if we can’t respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we’re prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?” (AP)

And from Sri Lanka...

"I am absolutely disgusted. After the tsunami our people, even the ones who lost everything, wanted to help the others who were suffering," Sajeewa Chinthaka, 36, as he watched a cricket match in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

"Not a single tourist caught in the tsunami was mugged. Now with all this happening in the U.S. we can easily see where the civilized part of the world's population is." (Reuters)