Life goes on

Today I planted bulbs. Grape hyacinths and giant globe alliums.



Yesterday I planted my feet and stared hatred in the eye.

I worked all day as the polling place captain for the Obama campaign at one of the reddest precincts in the reddest region of the red state of Missouri. I was told I should be ashamed of myself. I was rebuffed when I offered a simple "Good morning!" or "Thanks for coming out!" I was ignored, reviled, bumped, falsely accused of profane language, blamed for the injury of an idiot who wasn't watching where she was going (although I was nowhere in her vicinity), shouted at from the street, flipped off, called a communist, intimidated, harassed and stalked. Absolutely stellar "Christian" behavior from allegedly God-fearing Republican voters.

And, yet, I can't stop smiling.

As we stand on the verge.....

Chris Matthews said tonight, "I'm getting that Christmas Eve feeling." I am getting that night before the BIG exam feeling, that night before surgery feeling, the anticipation of a good outcome if I can only make it through a difficult challenge, the promise of the reward that will make me forget the trials endured to achieve it. Anxiety washes over me when I remember how elections have been stolen in the past, and the dread of the consequences if the polls prove wrong. My nebulous angst about the election in general is translating into doubts about my ability to manage the task at hand tomorrow. It will fall to me to keep the voters lined up in such a way that the sight of them waiting will not discourage other voters from joining the line. I will have to be the resource person for people who can't find a place to park, or don't think they can stand in line that long. My job is to keep them happy; my job is to keep them there. It's going to be a long, long day.

I don't believe I have ever cared so much about the outcome of a presidential election. I started this journey last autumn when I began to read The Audacity of Hope. Now, nearly a year later, I have experienced the overwhelming presence of the man himself. The sheer energy, determination, intellect and yes, love that emanates from him is indescribable. I would not have believed that I would ever stand in a line that was more than a mile long to hear anyone speak, but I did and I would do it again. "With a righteous wind at our backs," we can change course. There is absolution, after all. I must remember that tomorrow night, no matter the outcome. The hope is real. The possibility for redemption is real. The time is now.

Just in time for Hallowe'en, Joe McCarthy rises from the dead

"I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that."

-- U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

Modern-day McCarthyism is rearing its ugly head, ladies and gentlemen. Sarah Palin speaks of the real America, the pro-America parts of this country. As opposed to bogus America, anti-America parts? Where, exactly, would those be? I'm guessing inner city neighborhoods, college campuses, the ravaged, hurricane-scoured Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the entire state of California maybe, just for starters. What about the parts of Alaska that harbor secessionists? Sounds pretty anti-America to me. But Palin's husband "palled around" with the founder of the Alaskan Independence Party, and was himself a member. There's a word for that, let me see if I can remember.... I think it's TREASON.
Look, I'm old enough to remember the height of the Cold War, the paranoia and suspicion that pervaded my childhood, the threat of Soviet ICBMs coming over the Arctic to vaporize our cities, the mushroom cloud that hung over daily life in the Fifties and Sixties. I also remember the lies that got us deeper and deeper into Vietnam, the invocation of "law and order" that Nixon used to divide the country and garner more power for himself. If you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. Here we go again.
Apparently Ms. Bachmann has attempted to back-pedal, denying she ever called for an investigation of anti-American Congressmen and Senators. I refer you to the opening quote. Yet, in the very same statement she continues to say that Barack Obama is "not for America." I think I'll send her opponent some money. His name is Elwyn Tinklenberg, and he's received 1.3 million dollars in new contributions since Ms. Bachmann tried to play hardball with Chris Matthews last Friday.
Wake up, voters. This country is being overtaken by false patriots who do not understand the Constitution they claim to defend.

An open letter to Barack Obama

Barack Obama, you have created a monster. You have awoken me. You have galvanized me. You have politicized me.
In the last two months, I have emailed my Congressman twice, signed petitions and volunteered for your campaign, put a yard sign out in your support, and now I've written my Senator about energy policy and the oil lobby.
I'd like to share that letter with you:

Dear Senator McCaskill,
We've all heard the chanting from the Republican National Convention echoing in our memories: "Drill, baby, drill!" It's a short-sighted, and one-sided, solution. In fact, it's no solution at all. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge will not impact our current energy situation, and will eventually do little to reduce the price of heating oil and gasoline in the next several decades. We won't even begin to see peak production the ANWR until well into the late 2020's or early 2030's. Additional off-shore drilling will similarly not have a significant effect in the near future. The answer is not to just reduce dependence on foreign petroleum, it is to maximally reduce dependence on petroleum from any source, period. I'm tired of subsidizing the oil companies' profits, and I'm tired of subsidizing petty and dangerous oil rich dictators like Chavez. We need to stimulate research and development of alternative energy sources, provide incentives for conservation and strive to protect and cherish the wilderness areas that survive, rather than sacrificing them on the altar of political expediency. Thank You for your kind attention.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline B. Watkins, RPh
Springfield, MO

Look what you've done.

Obama's newest volunteer

Me!

I haven't done this since college. I'm so darned excited I could burst!

Feels good to be just a little bit subversive again.

January 20, 2009 cannot come soon enough

Ah, just a little piece of the Constitution stuck there, sir.