Friday FAQ

In MPA school we spend a lot of time talking about public policy and how policy affect public administrators and since my class is a pretty liberal crew we discuss our opinions with each other ad nausem. In this most historic American week of my lifetime, Barack Obama was elected to be our 44^th president (Yay) California banned gay marriage (boo), and in the most boring Public Administration conference ever I learned that America is indeed in a recession and it will probably get worse before it gets better (Argh!!!).

So, today, I will answer 2 questions that I have been asked over and over and over… and one question that I asked on Twitter that no one took the bait on.

1. What do you think about the Obama Victory?

I am super excited that Barack Obama was elected President. Why, you asked?

Because this was the first presidential election that my baby sister has ever voted in (she’s 18), and I wanted her to have a positive experience.

Because lots and lots of people who have never voted before took part in our political system (and the system f-ing worked!!!!)

And not only did he win, he BLUEd up some states. North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, some other midwestern states that I can’t think of!!!! I am so proud of my country right now. America rocks!

Obama (whether you like him or not) inspires people. He has restore hope and optimism to a bunch of cynical, hard-hearted, apolitical Americans and  I hope to see more good people entering politics because of him.

He has restored the WORLD’S faith in America. His election proves that Americans aren’t as stupid as I (and every other country on the planet) thought they were in 2004.

He and Michelle are just so f-ing cool! I really just want to be their friend and chil-lax in the White House having conversations, babysitting the girls and hanging out with the family.

This is the first presidential election that I have ever voted in where the guy that I voted for won.

This is the first election that I think people 18-35 had a candidate that they could truly relate to and believe in. Gens X, Y and millennials actually made a difference. Several of my best friends has been working TIRELESSLY for the Obama campaign and I KNOW that their efforts made the difference.

The election of Obama signifies the end of an era and I am so glad to see it go.

(****notice that none of my reasons have to do with him being a Black man****)

And a follow up: This historical election is one of those things where people ask, “Where were you when Obama got elected?” Here is my answer: When CNN and NBC called the election for Obama, I was at home sharing the experience with the gf (over the telephone). In one moment the news anchors were talking, and then all we heard was screaming.  I was indisposed at the moment (in a unspecified location in my house, ahem) and couldn’t get up to see what the screaming was about. Luckily the gf was able to tell me that Obama had won. I couldn’t believe it. I’m still a little in shock.

2.  What do you think about the passage of California’s Prop 8 that bans gay marriage?

I am so disappointed at California. California has always been a beacon of life to a little lost black girl like me. It also seemed like the one place where all the people who were a little different, a little alternative, and little (or a lot) less normal could go and be accepted and thrive.  I have to rethink California now. And it makes me a little sad.

And I sit and think, how can the country, on the one hand, elect Barack in a landslide and then other the other, (in arguably most liberal state in the country) vote to ban gay marriage. I’m so confused and sad.

I mean, everything happened on the same ballot, so logically it follows that a lot of the people who voted for Obama voted for the ban. Right? What the f*ck is up with that?

Let’s assume for a moment.

Lots of Black people can out to vote for Obama. Could it be that historically oppressed Blacks voted to oppress another segment of society? Have they forgotten that equal and separate is NEVER really equal?  Have they forgotten that it took a coalition of Blacks and whites to affect change for Black people?

Homosexuals need our straight brothers and sisters to stand up for and with us if we are going to emerge from this constant battle of 3 steps forward, 2 steps f-ing back. *Sigh. This just reminds me of why I hate incrementalism.

Of course, I don’t know who actually voted for Prop 8, but lots of people seem to think it was people of color .

3.  Does the bust always follow the boom?

Economically speaking, it sure as hell seems that way. Every time someone explains economic policy, in terms of the current crises and the recession, I see a pattern Boom.Bust.Boom.Bust.Boom.Bust. The little squiggly lines on economic graphs show cycles of good and plenty, followed by deep dark recessions. In my life, I saw the dot com boom and bust and now the housing boom and bust.

For once I’d like things to be on a little flatter line. I think that a flat line would indicate folks having enough money (and nice nest egg savings) without the rampant consumerism that seems to drive the high boom.

Essentially, what goes up must come down.  So, if we never have those super high times, then we don’t have the far to fall.  Hence, no bust.  (this is all in my completely unprofessional non-economic opinion, of course.)

Happy Friday, party people. Be E-Z

 

What I learned from a Republican

A friend and I had a conversation a few weeks ago, and as is the case often with me, the topic strayed to politics. Apparently, I stuck my foot in my mouth one too many times when I said something about Bush being an idiot, and how if McCain had been the 2000 Republican nominee, and had he subsequently won the general election, that America wouldn’t be in the sh*tcan now.

To which she replied that WE didn’t know that W. was stupid. My eyebrows raised, and I said WE? And my beautiful, wonderful, African American, enlightened friend precedes to tell me that she is a registered Republican and that she voted from W–twice. And my jaw hit the floor, the room started spinning and I had to remind myself to keep breathing.

Once I woke up from my faint and was able to close my mouth (*only kidding slightly) I asked her why. (just a little hysterically)

Her response surprised me, and amazingly, I agree with some of her points, (intellectually, at least).  I will share them with you.

She said that the Democratic Party tries to be everything to everybody. I know this is true and I have complained about it, actually a lot, when I was involved. I mean, I understand wanting to be the party of inclusion, but there comes a point, as my friend told me, that you spread yourself too thinly, you’ve got too much going on, you have too many folks with their hands out, and you don’t have adequate resources to take of the most important things. And there are some things that are super more important.

Democrats, you gotta prioritize. You can’t do everything. People of color, gay people, environmentalists, socialists, poor people, working class, the disenchanted, city folk, country folk, the educated, artists, leftists of all persuasions flock to the Democratic Party. And part of me thinks that is great, but part of me knows that time and money are precious commodities ( I learned that from Seth)

I also learned from Seth that you have to be the best– and apparently Americans haven’t considered the Democrats to be the best. Which makes me sad. The Dems fail by dealing with so many differing agendas and priorities.  I imagine it being like herding cats, or some other wild animal. Impossible, tiring, and not pleasing to anyone involved.  Pick things that will be the most uplifting for your party and keep it moving.  I’m not saying forget all the really small obscure folks, but you can’t let them water down the message.  Message consistency is important.

Next, my friends said that while she agrees that the most fortunate have a duty to the least among us, she hates to see ineffective government spending. She used housing policy as an example. She asked me to recite some of the names of Housing Acts that are supposed to help lower income people afford nice places to stay. I started naming them (I am studying housing policy this semester so I could do that).

When she asked me why there are so many (and there are) I told her that some of the reasons that there are a multitude of housing policies is that some of them aren’t funded enough, that each policy focuses on a particular group of folks, that there are a lot of homeless and almost homeless folks in America to deal with, and that the policies continue to be tweaked and renamed.

She, in turn, forced me to think about other ways to reach and help people with housing aid (other than giving them a check/voucher), and she forced me to think about all the projects/policies that don’t work, but continue to get funded. And I got a little pissed off. Because she is right.

I’ve met dirt ass poor people in western North Carolina that prove her point. The Feds pours money into social policy—and they should because it helps people, but policies need to prove that they work. There should be performance measures that show that people are being helped and aren’t being reecycled through the system. Because when policies don’t work but continue to be funded, they make us socialists look bad. And public money is wasted, which sucks.

Poor, proud independent people vote Republican because they don’t take advantage of the social service system and are abhorrent about supporting it through taxes. They don’t want to pay taxes, period! And they definitely don’t want to pay taxes for social policy they don’t want, that threatens their independent nature, and is seen as charity. These are folks who would rather not have indoor plumbing and would prefer to live in a shanty than to talk to a non-profit or government agency on how to rehab their home, install plumbing, get on food stamps, etc. I think this is stupid, but that is just me.

So why do non-super rich people vote Republican? Well, apparently some of them have logical answers.  But mostly, I think they don’t see themselves reflected in the Democrats,or they see others that they don’t agree with reflected more in the Democrats than they do in the Republicans and they chose, what to them is the lesser of two evils. It is absolutely horrid, but true.

None of this post is to say that I, or anyone else should ever, ever vote Republican. That would be a stupidly bad decision. I would call you names, I may throw rocks at you and you won’t be allowed in my house.

But seriously, the Republican Party gets it wrong on so many levels. They get it wrong on health, they get it wrong on women’s issues, they get it wrong on taxation, they get it wrong on war, and they get it wrong on diversity issues. The only thing that they don’t get wrong is how to increase the gap between the rich and the poor while increasing the national deficit like crazy.

But as my unlikely conversation with my friend (we are still friends, btw) proves, the more you know the better off you are. I’m the first to admit that the federal system is broken, it needs to be overhauled. But I’m not enough of a masochist to go to Washington and fight to fix it. For now, I’ll just work on making my little piece of community here at home the most awesome place ever, and I’ll keep talking to you on the information superhighway, of course.

 

I hate them, I swear I do

Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy…. And the flip-flopping, man, oh man.

See, America, the Republicans aren’t immune to flip-flopping. But unlike John Kerry, who the Republican machine smeared relentlessly on changing him mind on an issue, when they do it it just means they are becoming more enlightened. (*tongue in cheek)

The more likely story is that it isn’t that one shouldn’t or can’t change/adjust on a position as long as there is enough time between the changing of opinions that no one (i.e. dumb numb Americans) remembers…. except The Daily Show.

Check it out

 

Rain and Politics

Two things:

1. It rained like crazy today. Today was the first in my life where I needed some rubber rain boots and I really f-ing wanted some. Someone please buy me a pair. I ruined a pair of tennis shoes swimming through the deluge. I mean, really. I was knee deep in water. Size 10, por favor.

But most importantly:

2. You did good Hil. I’m proud of you. I know that making that speech was difficult for you. There were some points where even I raised my eyebrows, and felt kind of bad for you. You conceded with poise and grace, and I almost believed you. One day I hope to be that good. You are officially reinstated as my hero. Love, Monica

 

Why Aren’t There More Women in Politics?

I was listening to the radio this morning, and apparently today August 26, 1920 was the date in history on which women got the right to vote. Yay for voting!!!! (you should try it) The radio talk show host talked for a bit about the numbers of women who vote, and according to them, women vote more than men do. Then they started talking about the very small number of black women who run and are elected to office. As they were talking, I kept thinking that, in my experience, the numbers of women, in general, who run for public office are very, very low, especially in relation to the large numbers in which women vote.

I, at 24 and 25 have been asked by my county political party to attend candidate trainings so that I can go ahead and be in the pipeline to run in the future. I know numerous other women in North Carolina who have been asked to run for higher office; be it on a city or county level, or on a state or national level. And I know that these women refuse time and time again.  And often, when an older women wants to retire from office, there aren’t any qualified women to take her place, and that’s sad.

Sometimes women refuse to run for monetary reasons, they work and can’t afford to quit or they can’t afford childcare, or sometimes they simply can’t afford the campaign. Sometimes potential female candidates site the stress of the campaign trail, or the ugliness of campaigning. Sometimes, potential candidates don’t want to put their life under the public’s microscope.

However, the excuse that I have heard most often for why women don’t run for office is that they don’t want to take the time away from their families.  And every time I hear that, I roll my eyes and shake my head.  I HATE this excuse.  How often do men worry about being away from their families when working or bettering themselves?  I’d bet that generally men don’t worry very much about being away from their families. Men understand that the better they are, the better their families are.  And I get frustrated that women continue to put themselves in the back seat and allow men to take the drivers seat in politics and determine all of our destinies.

 

I heart the Olympics

This week I’ve been practicing being a housewife. And believe me, I could seriously get used to this. My days consist of waking up just enough to wish the gf a good and productive day before she goes to work. Then I roll over and go back to sleep. Around 7:30 I move from the bed to the couch where I take a nap until 9:30 or 10. Once I’m awake, I find something to eat and try to find an internet signal in the house (not having much luck). I’ve also been packing my clothes, books and other assorted stuff since I’m going home at the end of the week. Fortunately, I didn’t bring as much stuff with me as I thought I did so it hasn’t been very hard to pack.

The only problem with being a housewife that I can foresee is not having any money. It sucks that I’m unemployed right now and I don’t have any funds. It means that I have all this free time, and nothing to do. Yesterday, I cooked salmon, pork chops and pasta. Not because we needed it, but because I was bored and I cook when I’m bored.

Being poor and unemployed this week leaves me lots of time to watch the Olympics. And let me tell you, I am obsessed!

I don’t think I’ve ever watched the Olympics. I don’t remember Athens at all, and the only thing I remember about the 1996 games is that they were held in Atlanta. I may have seen bits and pieces of the games, but nothing on the scale that I’ve watched and been involved for the past few days.

I think I have watched every beach volleyball match that Misty May and Kerrie Walsh AND Rogers and Dalhouser have played, I’ve watched synchro diving (men and women) , I’ve screamed and cringed with every fall, slip, and stick of men’s and ladies’ gymnastics. I’ve watched every stroke of swimming that Phelps, Lochte, Hoff, Couglin, Peirsol and crew have swam. I’ve watched rowing and water polo and basketball. I’ve watched the opening ceremony over and over and I am so crunk about everything! The Olympics’ are so cool.

I love watching these athletes do their thing. The human body amazes me. Not only that, but the control, discipline, and extremely hard work that I know it takes to get to their level of perfection leaves me in awe. These people are my heroes. They make me want to learn how to swim and start running again and just plain ol’ get into shape. I want some muscles to show off

Oh, and does it make me unpatriotic if I want the Chinese to win? I mean, I love May and Walsh, and I love Raj and Jonathan and Justin (my fave American male gymnasts) and I cry for Alisa and Nastia and Shaun (my girls) whenever they fall, I love the American swimmers and I’m really excited every time they win. But for everything else, I’m rooting for the Chinese! They seem so prepared and so posed for success. Say what you want about Communism, but those Chinese athletes seem to truly believe in their country. They are not winning just for themselves. They are winning for all 1.3 billon Chinese. And for me, it is so cool to see the underdog win, even if it means that the Americans lose.

The worst thing about watching the Olympics on TV is the announcers. They suck. These are the most pessimistic people. No matter how well someone performs, it doesn’t matter if they have broken world records, beaten their personal best times, it doesn’t matter. These announcers are going to find the nit-picky mistakes (and jinx the athletes!!!!) that even the judges are not going to deduct. And they ask the dumbest questions. “Hey Phelps, what were you thinking when you were in the pool winning your millionth gold medal?” I just want him to say, well, stupid announcer lady, I was thinking about how I shouldn’t f*ck this up because then I could kiss my endorsements goodbye.” I mean, seriously, we know what the hell he’s thinking about. Winning, bitch, that’s what he’s thinking about!

Olympic commercials have been entertaining as well. Visa and Coke have pulled out all the stops. GO WORLD!!

Good commercials are the best for ADD folks like me. I love NOTHING more than really compelling, emotional commercials. These are better than Superbowl commercials. They are thinking man commericials, not stupid funny. My favorites are the GE ecomagination and the colorful and musical United commercials and the LeBron James-Yao Ming coke commercial. Oh, and the Audi commercial, so unexpected!

And other times, I watch commercials and cock my head to the side, squint my eyes and wonder what the hell they were trying to say. I finally saw the famed McCain commercial that was supposed to be so offensive to Obama. The McCain campaign finally cut the parts with Brittany and Paris (smart boy) but still I was left thinking that the commercial makes Obama look good. McCain’s objections to Obama are not presented in a coherent and logical argument, and it made McCain look like someone’s senile grandpa and solidified Obama’s rockstar status.

On a completely different note, I helped my sister move into her dorm room yesterday. It made me so sad. Her school didn’t put its best foot forward. They had construction going on (and that is NOT what you want freshmen to see), the cable wasn’t working, the Welcome committees weren’t very welcoming (or very informative or helpful, for that matter), and my poor baby sister was not happy. She was really disappointed that such a prestigious school could botch things so badly. And I have to agree with her, I was so not impressed. By the end of the night she’d already had one crying spell and threatened to transfer, so hopefully the school will get itself together so that she can start enjoying her college experience.

 

Presidential Politics

Earlier this week I was in the break room having lunch and watching TV (yes, there is a TV in the break room).  CNN was on and they were showing Obama’s speech in Berlin.  Every day this week I have read at least one article or seen one news report about Obama being in the Middle East, or Obama being somewhere and being welcomed with open arms.  On the flip side, I also have been seeing reports about how pissed off McCain has been because the media is acting like a bunch of Obama groupies.  My co-worker and I laughed that Obama is a rock star on world tour and McCain was playing at the local fair.

 

I am starting to see Obama’s appeal.  He has transcended politics and now he’s just a rock star.  I mean, Bill Clinton was a cool politician, but Obama is just.plain.cool. Obama has swagger.

 

 I watched this man on TV yesterday, and in my humble opinion, I think we have a winner, boys and girls.   I didn’t jump of the Obama bandwagon after his speech at the Democratic convention a few years ago, I wasn’t really impressed with him during his Senate term, I thought he was alright while he was duking it out with Hilary but I really wasn’t feeling him. Why you ask? Because I’ve refused to believe all the hype.  I kept thinking, “He ain’t all that.  Michelle (his wife) is way cooler, smarter, and prettier than him.”  And all that is true, but I beginning to think that he may be the real deal.  This dude may be all that he’s cracked up to be, and wouldn’t that be amazing?

 

But back to the Berlin speech; the first five or ten minutes of the speech were amazing, the crowd was wild for him.  Let me tell you, this guy can work a crowd, and the crowd LOVES him.  He wasn’t even in America, and these folks are ready to vote for him.  I think the rest of the world is ready for American to cross the color line, even if we aren’t.  And don’t we deserve a president that won’t be an embarrassment to us around the world?

 

Obama fanatics are starting to feel bad because he has had to be a politician.  Duh, what did you expect? We all want a liberal utopia, but for now we live in the real world where, sometimes you have to bend your morals and not live up to the ideals of others so that you can get sh*t done.  Don’t be mad; understand that he’s not perfect.  I don’t think that perfection could handle DC and I don’t think that Americans would even vote for perfection.  We want/need someone in DC that shares our values and ideals, is smart enough to think in terms of cause and effect, and understands how the world works and won’t wimp out when tough decisions must be made.  And I think Obama may be the Rock Star that we need. And it doesn’t hurt that he can use a f*cking computer.

 

(But I still think that John Edwards would have made a good president too)

 

Random rants and observations

I’m tired of having a period. I swear, I’d sell both my ovaries and all my eggs for $50,000. I’ve eaten so many advil (and other stronger painkillers) over the past 24 hours that I’m sure my liver is MAD at me. If I could go back to the Garden of Eden, I’d whup Eve’s ass myself.

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I was never bitten by the Obama bug, the only reason I voted for him in the primary was because I was angry and disappointed in the way Hillary continued to run her campaign. And honestly, I identified more with John Edwards’ politics than Hill or Obama. So when I hear interviews on the radio like I did yesterday where the interviewer is an obvious Obama dickrider I get really annoyed because I know that nothing substantive is going to come out of the interview.

Or today, when the same radio station had three candidates (one incumbent and two newcomers) talking about what they would do in Congress and it’s clear that the newcomers are completely clueless idiots that are talking bullshit and are backing policies that A. Won’t get passed; B. Wouldn’t work anyway; C. Makes them look stupid. It starts my day on the wrong foot because I end up with a headache from yelling at the radio.

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On the Marta train yesterday we were packed in like sardines. And I had to stand up on a lurching train for about 20 minutes. Another person that was also standing yelled to the crowd that this wouldn’t happen on the North South train and that the only way that things would get better is if we call MARTA and complain.

Part of me wants to agree, surely we can change things through our voices, but part of me knows that as crappy as the East-West trains are, I can’t afford to drive to work everyday. I bought gas today at $4.03 a gallon and my heart broke a little. So regardless of the quality of the train, I really don’t have any other transportation options. And many of the people who are riding the MARTA are in worse financial condition than I am. I wonder how many complaints MARTA got last night.

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I still have a month to go in my internship, but I’m already thinking about what I’m going to do for work when I get back. I have some feelers out, and I already have one offer on the table. I want make the best decision, but I don’t know what that means! Doc Barnes would tell me to stop worrying and just make a decision. And this book I’m reading Blink, says that thinking a problem to death does not increase your chances of making a better decision. *sigh*

 

North Carolina’s votes are in…. and the winners mostly suck

I’m a little sad today. North Carolinians (myself included) finally had a chance to vote in our late as hell election on Tuesday. At first I wasn’t excited about voting, and I had no plans to work the polls, which I always do in the general election in November.

That is, until I got a phone call from my favorite precinct worker asking me to work with her. I love her and we have worked the polls together in the cold and rain, so it was a no brainer to work with her; especially since it’s May, warm and sunny.

Also this is my little sister’s first election and she has been so excited about the process and so motivated by the candidates. She asked me to go with her to help her pick candidates, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy since I have been dragging her to political events for the majority of her life

So, anyway, my excitement grew over the last week. I finally picked my candidates, and arranged to take a half a day from work so that I could volunteer. May 6^th I voted and I helped so many other people make a more informed decision and exercise their civic duty.

And today, May 9^th, I got around to seeing who actually won. And I am a bit disappointed. One of my candidates won (but that was inevitable). In the most important state-wide races, change did not occur in North Carolina. Granted, I am in the Bible Belt Former Confederate South and I shouldn’t be surprised that politics as usual will continue to play out here. But I was hoping that all that “change” that is supposed to be in the air would have at least touched down here. Not so much, however.

And I’m disappointed, for myself and for my sister, who really didn’t need my help… she knew most of the candidates that she wanted to vote for and they matched mine to the tee. (I am the best big sister ever and I have indoctrinated her, politically, since her birth.)

She was so excited about getting to vote for the first time, and what do I tell her now? Now that she can see that our votes didn’t get our people elected. I, of course, will continue to tell her to vote, but it definitely gets harder when it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

So today, I’m left asking; who the hell did all those Obama supporters vote for in the other races? They certainly didn’t vote for change.