With all the back and forth nonsense about President Obama’s speech to kids, this morning, read it now. Then decide.

Now, I ask you: Why wouldn’t you want your kids to hear this? I’ve read the speech, and I just can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want their child(ren) to hear it. Well, yes I can. The same people who don’t believe that President Obama was born in the United States, and those who believe that health care reform means euthanasia for the elderly and infirm. And the people behind the scenes who egg them on. The fear-mongers. They don’t want children to be inspired by the first black president of the United States. There. I’ve said it out loud.

Glen Beck called him a racist and Sarah Palin called him a communist. I really hoped these denizens of the dark would skulk back into their caves after the election. I really hoped that the politics of fear would be replaced by civil discourse and exchange of opinions and ideas with the mutual vision of a better future for all.

We are a nation of freaking sheep, and I guess I’ve been watching too much Star Trek again.

*p.s.* Recipe Monday (on Tuesday) appears below.

All I can say is: It’s about freaking time. I give you my new hero, Senator Barney Frank of the Great Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxgLXDupHaI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1]

Even though I was born and raised in Ohio and have lived in Florida for over 30 years, I always wondered why I felt like I was coming home whenever I flew into Boston’s Logan Airport…

I’m not a huge fan of Greenpeace – they’re frequently reckless, dangerous, and frankly, violent. And I stand by what I’ve said before, that I brook no extremists of any stripe, even when I agree with the cause. So you won’t find any links to their website here.

This time, well… They managed to get our attention without hurting themselves, or others, or even damaging this American icon. This stunt was clever. And cerebral. And pretty goddamn funny, whether humor was part of the intent, or not. And, well, Awesome.

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’ sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.” –President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009

Okay, this is where an actual sob escaped me. A small one. Here was the promise I was hoping for – the return to the rule of law, not malicious caprice. The impending death of the “Patriot Act”. The cessation of spying on fellow countryman and clearing the air of paranoia. We are indeed waking up from the nightmare, America.

Here we go, people — you wanted change, well hang on tight! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride…

Not that you couldn’t find it without me, but if you’re interested, here is the full text of President Obama’s (I do love the sound of that!) inauguration speech.

**A note: I just took on a new advertiser, Rainebrooke Colorful Laptop Bags. I only mention it because of the reasons I took them: This is a woman-owned and run company with a proactive commitment to the environment and leaving a zero carbon footprint. You can read about it here. I don’t get paid for writing about them. I only get paid if someone clicks on that ad in the sidebar and buys a bag. This is part of the new green economy, guys, and I think worthy of our support. No pressure.

Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Its… Finally… Almost… Over….

Where will you be when President Obama takes the oath of office? Me? I’ll be at work, dammit. They say they’ll have TVs available, but no cable. Sucks.

But, as the faux Time Magazine cover I posted last week states triumphantly, our national nightmare is nearly over. Well, at least part of it. I still want to see indictments. And trials. And jail time for the lying bastards….

Okay, okay. Tomorrow. But for today, billions of people all over the world are celebrating with us. And for today, my heart swells with pride and joy. I’ll probably even cry.

I know I haven’t written in a couple of weeks. It isn’t like there’s a shortage of material out there, both political and personal. It’s just that, well, Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday, and while the world still seems bound and determined to go to hell in a handbasket before Barack Obama’s inauguration in, what is it now? 56 days? rushed in no small part by The Shrub, I try to rein myself in around this time, and think about all the things for which we as a nation and I personally, have to give thanks.

Whether or not you believe in a Higher Power in some form or another, isn’t relevant. I don’t think there necessarily has to be a deity to whom to direct your thankfulness (here comes that bolt of lightening!). In a recent study: “Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress... Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.”

I was reminded of this today, when I received the following e-mail from a soldier serving in Afghanistan, to whom we sent a package a couple of weeks ago:

RJ and MJ,

I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Civilians here at *** appreciated the care packages that you all sent. They were absolutely stuffed with goodies that are hard to come by here in Afghanistan and served to remind us all of not only the comforts of home, but of how much support we have from patriots like you all. It is gestures like this and folks like you that make serving in this environment a lot easier and I thank you on behalf of all the *** service members for that!

Just so you know where your package ended up, *** is the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Task Force here in Afghanistan. Our mission is to defeat the enemy’s ability to use IEDs against our troops. Given that IEDs are the primary cause for US killed and wounded over here, our charter is significant and we work tirelessly going after the enemy and his devices. I’ve attached a picture of some of us so that you can put some faces to the joy that you have spread with your generosity and concern.

Thank you again,

JP

I’m thinking he’s grateful that he doesn’t have to be out there doing his job in this:

Yes, Boys and Girls, it’s raining mud.

So, today I am grateful for people like JP, who volunteered to put their bodies on the line to go wherever, whenever, on behalf of us. I may not like it that he’s there – hell, if you asked him, he’d probably tell you he’d rather be home with the wife and kiddies, hisownself – but I’m grateful that he’s willing.

And I’ll send him a package or two to share for Christmas. You should too. Go to AnySoldier.com and pick one out. And say Thank You.

On Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), several weeks ago, MJ and I went to my brother’s house for the traditional holiday dinner. I discovered several nasty things about my family that evening. Not about my brother, mind you, but his wife, her sister, and her husband. Namely, that my sister-in-law’s sister’s husband is a Republican. And watches Fox News. And that the SIL and her sister were actually planning to vote for McCain.

I suppose it happens in the best of families, but like the people you see on the news who are asked about some random horrible personal event, you never expect it to happen to you.

This revelation took me by surprise on so many different levels. These are the daughters and granddaughters of New York International Ladies Garment Workers Union stewards. And when I asked why they were planning to do something so contrary to their heritage, they replied: “Because Obama is anti-Semitic and against Israel.” Where had they gotten their information? I asked. They didn’t know, couldn’t remember, read something, heard something… you know, the usual sourceless, rumor, drivel.

I hate that. If you’re going to make a statement like that – especially accusing someone of holding a particular position – you’d better be prepared to give me a source. Preferably several. I won’t go into the rest of the conversation, because, well, it pisses me off all over again.

So, when President-Elect Obama (I love the way that sounds!) named Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff, I took that as a sign from God. So, take THAT you rumor-mongers!

‘Rahmbo’ takes Washington

ALLISON HOFFMAN, Jerusalem Post correspondent in New York , THE JERUSALEM POST

NEW YORK – On Rosh Hashana, Rahm Emanuel called his rabbi with a question: Could he violate the holiday to sit in on a conference call about the $700 billion bank bailout package that congressional Democrats were fiercely trying to revive?

“I told him it was my halachic opinion that the financial system was on the point of failing and it could be a disaster, and this was a matter of life and death, to get this passed, as long as the violation was kept to a minimum,” Lopatin told The Jerusalem Post.

“This is modern Orthodoxy at work – committed to Judaism, but committed to making it a better world,” Lopatin said.

As Democratic officials confirmed Thursday that Emanuel, 49, had accepted the job of chief of staff in US President-elect Barack Obama’s new administration, friends and colleagues from Chicago to Washington described him to the Post as a dauntless political warrior and peerless tactician who had cemented his reputation as a consummate Washington general with his leadership of the Democrats’ congressional takeover in 2006.

“He tends to be more pragmatic than ideological – as a leader of the party, he’s been more focused on the practical aspects of moving the agenda forward,” said Richard Foltin, legislative director for the American Jewish Committee’s Washington office, who first met Emanuel during his stint as an adviser in president Bill Clinton’s administration.

Yet Emanuel was also described as a fiercely principled Jew and supporter of Israel, where his pediatrician father, Benjamin, was born and volunteered for the Irgun before moving to America.

Emanuel, whose family name comes from the first name of an uncle killed in a 1933 skirmish with Arabs in Jerusalem, went to summer camp in Israel as a boy and grew up speaking Hebrew with his father.

“He is unabashed about his own connection to Israel,” said Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish United Fund-Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

“If he goes to the White House, he’ll be going to serve the president – but Israel will have a friend in the White House,” Kotzin told the Post.

Emanuel’s selection was to be formally announced on Friday.

The man nicknamed “Rahmbo” – derived from his political style, not his record as a volunteer helping the IDF during the First Gulf War – got his start in politics after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981, where, a talented dancer, he studied ballet.

Emanuel worked for a consumer rights organization in Chicago and then for a Senate campaign in 1984, as well as for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, before becoming a fund-raiser for now Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1989.

In 1991, after returning from Israel, Emanuel joined Clinton’s campaign as a fund-raiser and stayed on as a White House adviser – developing a power base in the capital, and also becoming a model for Josh Lyman of The West Wing, the popular television show written by Clinton alumni.

Emanuel returned to Chicago in 1998 after marrying his wife, Amy Rule, and went to work for investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein – a move that he acknowledged in a 2002 interview with The New York Times had netted him $7.3 million, enough to guarantee financial stability for his family, if not to compete with the millions his younger brother, Ari Emanuel, rakes in as a powerful Hollywood talent agent. (The younger Emanuel also serves as the model for a television character – the explosive Ari Gold of the HBO show Entourage.)

In 2002, Emanuel decided to make a run for an open congressional seat on Chicago’s North Side.

He earned support among adults who had been his father’s patients as children and from the legions of police officers and firefighters who took the endorsement of Emanuel’s uncle, a police sergeant. However, he faced a bruising battle in the Democratic primary that included anti-Semitic broadsides raised by Polish supporters of one of his opponents.

In response, he gathered religious leaders to condemn the smears, which included allegations that his loyalty was to Israel, rather than to America.

“They tried to bring out the worst of ethnic divisions, and by being strong, he showed he wasn’t going to tolerate anti-Semitism,” recalled Lopatin, who was among the clergy Emanuel called on.

Emanuel – whose spokeswoman did not reply to a request from the Post for an interview – later said the moment was one of his proudest.

Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

You did it, America! You made History! And in a good way!

We went over to the Shoes’ last night for a little viewing party with Miz Shoes, the RLA, Star, the Surrogate Daughter #3 (hers, not mine), Yogi and BooBoo (don’t ask – they chose their own names). We ate. We drank. We agonized over just WTF was taking Indiana so long. The first great cheer occurred when Ohio went BLUE. I was so proud!

We had our first inkling how Florida would go when one of the talking heads on MSNBC noted that our beloved (Republican) governor, Charlie Crist, had to return to Tallahassee on some “urgent legal matter” and left McSame’s “victory” party. Heh heh heh. When both my birth state and my home state turned BLUE on the map, my heart swelled with pride.

Senator Obama’s speech was inspirational and motivating, tempered by realism. I was moved practically to tears. Once again, I was watching a pivotal moment in history. And a movement away from the politics of fear to the politics of ethics and HOPE.

May I have another glass of Kool Aid, please?

With apologies to Crystal Gayle, et.al., here’s a little ditty I just whipped up in honor of the Blue Wave that’s coming:

Don’t It Make Those Red States Blue
(Sung to the tune of “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”)

How long since the map’s so blue?
I know what’s come over you
We finally got a clue
And don’t it make those Red States Blue

Republicans can pack their bags
Forgive us if we’re none too sad
A new day dawns a brilliant hue
And don’t it make those Red States Blue

Eight years of secrets, Eight years of lies
Gave us no reasons, gave us alibis
Held us hostage to fear, then laughed while we cried
Gutted our freedoms, said God’s on your side

We’ll be fine when Bushy’s gone
We’ll just party all night long
America can Hope anew
And don’t it make those Red States
Don’t it make those Red States
Got to make those Red States Blue!

Don’t it make those Red States
Don’t it make those Red States
Got to make those Red States Blue!

Don’t it make those Red States
Come on all you Red States
Got to make those Red States Blue!

Just a little something to hum while you’re standing in line to VOTE this Tuesday.

Am I getting a little ahead of myself? Of course, I am. I want this change so badly, I can taste it. But to make this vision a reality, you must VOTE on Tuesday (if you haven’t already done early voting). I’m serious, people. We can’t stand another 4 years like the last 8. We can’t let the dream slip away because of a little rain or snow, or a few cops standing around the polling places. White, black, and every color in between, we’re all in this together!

Ooo! Ooo! What do you think of “I Can’t Stand McCain”, sung to the tune of “I Can’t Stand The Rain”?

I know, it looks a little weird. So if you didn’t get an e-mail from me, here’s what’s going on:

My friend Kris had, what I thought was an inspired idea, and I promised I would spread the word. I hope you will, too.

Let’s all go BLUE for the next week, between now and Election Day, and particularly on Election Day – especially if you live in a heretofore RED or “battleground” state! Like Florida. Or Virginia. Or Ohio (my actual original home state – Go Buckeyes!) Very simple, and doesn’t cost you a dime – wear the color BLUE everyday at work and at play, to indicate our desire for CHANGE.

It’s subtle, requires no conversation (unless someone actually notices and says something like, “Hey! You’ve been wearing blue all week – forget to do your laundry?”), no banner-waving – just a quiet statement that you demand CHANGE. It’s kind of a grassroots thing. Maybe folks will notice and will feel encouraged, empowered. Maybe I’m delusional.

Coincidentally, I’m wearing a blue shirt today, so I’m off to a flying start. Join me and spread the word by e-mail and blog. I’ll be blogging about it for the duration on Flamingo Musings and however possible on Flamingo Fotos, in fact, I’m turning my blogs BLUE for the next week, until Election Day.

Think of it as a meme. Come on – tag yourself. Let’s turn the States BLUE! Join me?