THE SAD HATRED SHOWN TOWARDS BARACK OBAMA

An interesting position on life and the election.  I can see how this might play out.  I bet you can, too.  While I may not agree with their position, I find it somewhat fascinating.  The issue of race has, in my humble opinion, has been somewhat covered up, set to the side, and/or forgotten in recent years (at least in the mass media).  And again, while I do not agree with the positions expressed by the commenters of the linked article, at least they are honest with how they feel.  But then again, it is somewhat ironic that every time something bad happens we immediately blame Arabs and Muslims.  Think back to the Oklahoma City Fed building bombing - as soon as it happened “they/we” were ready to hang every Muslim/Arab out there.  Then it was uncovered that the culprit was a White Christian Male who was born and raised in the United States of America… maybe we should fear all white christian males from now on, too, hmm… that would include McCain, Bush Jr, Clinton, Bush Sr, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, FDR… George Washington for that matter!!!  Again, interesting and something to think about.  What leads us to believe in these different ways?

Tomorrow we vote.  Tomorrow my brother will be at war.  Tomorrow may change the world I know into something I could never image.

My younger brother is a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy.  He has just deployed to the Middle East on his first tour on the USS Springfield, a Los Angeles Class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine.  He’ll be out at sea at least until the early spring.

I haven’t seen my brother in a few months, and I wish I could have seen him before he deployed.  It is a horrible thought when you never know if you will see someone again, especially someone you love.  And don’t let anyone tell you that we’re not at war.  Just because it’s not written on a formal piece of paper does not mean we’re not at war.  Take a look around… how often is it that you hear of another soldier being killed, of another bombing strike hitting civilians, of another helicopter crash… is that normal?  Is that what YOU want as normal?

I’ve heard many stories about war.  I’ve seen many images on TV.  I’ve read books and magazines and seen movies, yet - it - never really hit me.  A month back when my brother and parents told me he’d be deployed, it never really hit me then either.  It never really hits many people.  That it is fear, and it hit me today when I spoke to my brother as he was preparing to board his plane.  I could hear it in his voice, “oh my gosh, this is real, I am actually going to war.”  It hit me and it hit me hard.  The crazy thing is that it hit him even worse.  My brother is a strong, smart young man, and when he is scared, I am fearful.  But that means I have to stand up even stronger for him now.  He needs someone to take away the fear.  I hope I was able to do that for him when I told him that he is smart, that he is well trained, that he is in the most elite Navy in the world, but most importantly when I told him that I loved him and that I believed in him.  I’d like to say it all came out that eloquently.  It didn’t, but he still got the message and by the time we hung up, I could sense a little more calmness in his voice.  I hope I was able to give him that vision of a positive future and take away the fear.

I write this because tomorrow we vote.  I will vote for Barack Obama.  I will vote for him not because of his economic plans, his race or creed, nor his view on the War on Terror and the current conflict in the Middle East.   Tomorrow I will vote for Barack Obama because he gives me hope and he takes “it” away.  He gives me a vision of the future that I want to believe in.  A vision of peace.  A vision of openness and calmness.  While he may not have served in the armed forces, he knows what it feels like and he will be the general who stands at the front lines.  He is the true definition of a leader, a person who instills vision, embodies values, and creates an environment for the things that can be achieved.

Tomorrow I will vote for Barack Obama.  Tomorrow I will vote for my brother.

Fact Check: The myths that wouldn’t go away

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/10/26/diaz.tx.foreclosure.angel.wfaa

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage,
including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage
daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating
class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after she had

a severe disfiguring car accident?

What if Obama had met his second wife and had a long affair while

he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to
painkillers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable
organization?

What if Cindy McCain had graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating
Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989,
igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Saving and
Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a more charismatic, eloquent speaker than Obama?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included
discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on

many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama’s family had made their fortune from beer
distribution?

You could easily add to this list.  If these reverses were fact,

do you really believe the election numbers would be as close

as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes
positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities
in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Backgrounds:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University 1 semester

North Idaho College 2 semesters - general study

University of Idaho 2 semesters - journalism

Matanuska-Susitna College 1 semester

University of Idaho 3 semesters

B.A. in Journalism

Education isn’t everything, but this is about the two highest offices
in the U.S. as well as that country’s standing in the world.

Baltimore Marathon. October 11th 2008.  2 days away.  8am start.  It’s going to hurt but we’ve got to do so we can check it off the bucket list.

SNL VP Debate

I’m putting my “bucket list” up on my website.  I need some new creative ideas, things I may have missed, things I never before thought about.  I know you read this so why don’t you leave me a comment with a few ideas.  Thanks.