I'm Voting for "That One"

I recently had the pleasure of attending a speech by Sen. (Pres-Elect) Obama. I had decided way back in primary season that he had my vote and I've listened to several speeches on TV, but I wanted to see the future President in person. What took me by surprise is how deeply I was moved by his words. He damn near brought me to tears!-S.O.B. I had heard many of the things he was saying before, but he is just so passionate about his belief that this great country can be repaired. He promised to improve our education system, but challenged parents to do their part and keep their kids on task. The stirring promise of a brighter future while calling all citizens to action evoked patriotic pride in the crowd of the kind Americans must have felt in 1960. BHO is definitely the heir apparent to JFK.

Obama spoke with an enthusiasm that belied his excruciatingly long campaign trail. He made spontaneous jokes and made us believe he cared about the issues important to working class families, such as health care and education. It wasn't just broad generalities either-he had real concrete ideas like providing college assistance to students willing to volunteer in their communities. No one denies that Obama is eloquent, but it is the sincere emotion and inspiration behind the words that gave me hope that this country will still be a grand beacon of opportunity and freedom for my grandchildren.

Religion

I was listening to NPR recently and heard something very disturbing. They were talking to a panel of voters about race and one woman said she would not vote for Obama because she suspected he was secretly Muslim. Obviously he is a devoted Christian, but all I could think is "So what if he was Muslim?!" Why are we vilifying Islam? Haven't we learned from the Crusades? Islamic teachings are not inherently evil and Muslims as a whole are not our enemy. Fundamentalist extremists are our enemy. There are plenty of nutjob fundamentalist Christians inflicting harm on others because of their misinterpretations or exploitations of their doctrines.
Read Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer if you haven't.

America is supposed to be a nation of religious tolerance, but some are trying to make Muslim the new Communist. What does that say to Americans who happen to be Muslim? Should we put them in concentration camps until the Iraq war is over? (facetious, rhetorical question). Over 20% of the world is Muslim, and most of them just want to live in peace and raise their children to be good people. Over 30% of the world is Christian, and most of them just want to live in peace and raise their children to be good people.
You are not allowed to hate what you do not understand.

Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

-John Lennon

Tag- I'm it

Fine, I’ll do the blog tag thing…thanks Sweetie , but I can't pass it on because I don't know any bloggers other than the ones Cindy just tagged.

1-I love my job. How many people can say that? As a hydrologist, I get to work outdoors much of the time and there is always something new or interesting to deal with, be it domestic beaver violence (they don’t like being dam evicted) or dodging shotgun pellets from crazed rural residents hurling epithets such as “the gov’ment put a chip in my brain, but I’ll be damned if it gets my water!”

2-I miss school. As I said I love my job and wouldn’t trade it, but sometimes I long for the simple life of a student. Sure, being a student costs you money instead of earning it, but after being in school for so long (yes, I went to college for 10 years and didn’t become a doctor) student life becomes comfortable and it is hard to give up. I miss the camaraderie of like-minded peers and the energy emitted from knowledge being dispensed and absorbed. If you have spent time on a college campus (other than Arizona State-jk) you know what I mean-it is palpable. I think if I went back for my PhD I would graduate a bachelor (Cindy was patient and supportive for long enough).

3-I enjoy Q-tips more than I probably should. There is almost no better way to start your day than a good ear-cleaning. I’m thrifty when possible, but Q-tip brand cotton swabs are one of those products where you can’t buy the generic store brand (I’ve tried and they suck). If we run out, it ruins my day.

4-I love my wife. That is not random, but what is inexplicable is that after 10 years of marriage and 3 kids, the passion has not dwindled. I’m talking about that intense spark that emerged the first time your looked into that person’s eyes and realized you wanted to spend your life with her. I realized we were right for each other when we spent a month back in ’97 driving across the country. We were together 24/7 and never fought once. It was blissful and I proposed on the way home in a secluded campsite in Illinois. Observing other married people I always assumed that passion evolved into a different kind of love that was just comfortable. My best friend tells me we are the exception to the rule, but I hope there are many other couples out there as happy as we are. Cindy and I are still guilty of PDAs, much to the irritation of friends and family.

5-I enjoy math (and many other nerdy things I won’t mention). When I’m on a long drive by myself I’ll come up with a problem that is hard to do in my head to pass the time. I take it as a personal challenge to not use a calculator when I’m doing field work. In high school I was the one that everyone cheated off of during tests. College calculus was a different story though. It’s strange to suddenly be average when you’re used to being the best at something. Higher education is good at humbling big fish from little ponds, then pushing them to strive even harder (or humiliate them until they drop out).

6-I like cold feet. Most people freak out if you put your cold feet on them under the covers…so I’ve heard…whereas I enjoy the visceral sensation, which works out well for Cindy because she always needs warming up. It’s a little odd, but I don’t think it’s a fetish or anything…right?

7-I’m a Bolts fan. I have never been to San Diego and have no affiliation with that city whatsoever, but I have been a San Diego Chargers fan for as long as I can remember. I vaguely remember my dad giving me a helmet when I was very young and that may have been the catalyst. Keep the faith-we’ll get over .500 yet!

Cheers

Aid

I was pleased to hear Pres Bush say it would be a mistake to cut back on foreign aid even though our economy is floundering.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102102523.html?hpid=topnews

Despite his many, many shortcomings, I will give W. props when it comes to providing assistance to impoverished nations. We should follow our nation's example and give when it hurts to do so.

The following is a partial reprint of something I posted awhile back on The Sweetest Thing:

I implore everyone to take action against the injustice of extreme poverty in the world. I understand that many of us are reevaluating our own budgets with the current economic downturn, but think about giving the gift of food and water to those that need it this holiday season. Every dollar you can spare will help a fellow human being. When you do give, make sure it is to an organization with a proven track-record of getting the money where it will do the most good, such as UNICEF or OXFAM, both of which allow you to buy tangible things such as bed netting, vaccines, and even farm animals for those in need. You can also give these things as a dual gift, by donating them in someone’s name. What do you get for the person who has everything? -A goat (that will provide food and/or milk for a starving family).

If you simply can not find spare money to give, then at least lend your voice to the cause. Visit http://www.one.org/ and join the cause of ending extreme poverty and the associated diseases. The ONE campaign is an unprecedented mass-scale grassroots campaign initiated by Bono and others using the power of the internet. The ONE campaign does not solicit money. Instead, they educate and alert via email about issues where the public voice can make a difference. When important legislation issues are moving through congress that will impact the impoverished, you will be presented with the facts about the bill and asked to sign an electronic petition or contact your local representatives, exhorting them to do the right thing when it comes to international and domestic aid.

One thing we cannot do as citizens of the humanity is proverbially stick our heads in the sand. Some Americans say we should be isolationist as a country and just 'protect our own'. That type of ethnocentric sentiment is ignorant and completely unfeasible in the modern world. “Where you live should no longer determine whether you live.” -Bono.
We all need to educate ourselves and stay informed on global issues because the butterfly effect is real, and if our generation does nothing to alleviate the beating wings of starvation occurring half a world away, we will surely be judged harshly by future generations when the hurricane is at their doorstep.

What's In A Name? -Part Deux

I think it is fantastic that Barack Hussein Obama is proud of his name and his heritage. I've actually heard people say that his name is a major turn-off to his campaign and that it may affect his or her vote. It sounds insane, but I think we are all guilty of name discrimination at one time or another. I remember hearing that the new President of Iraq would be Jalal Talibani and thinking "that's a terrible person to put in power, we are fighting the Taliban." Of course names like Hussein are incredibly common worldwide, but I think many Americans are guilty of tunnel vision when it comes to name association. Ask yourself, would you leave your kids with a nanny who had glowing references and happened to be named Lizzie Borden? Would you eat at a 5-star restaurant if you heard the chef's name was Jeff Dahmer?....food for thought.

What's In A Name?

This is a plea to all mothers to stop stealing boy's names for their baby girls. Anyone who knows me personally has heard this rant before, but it makes me feel better, so here goes. If you don't know me and just happened across this site by accident, you are probably thinking Lindsay Rants has a female author. NO! I have man gear that I was born with (don't make me prove it). My ancestry is part Scottish and my father had actually lived there for 2 years as a young man where he became good friends with a guy named Lindsay, who I am named after. In Scotland, Lindsay is a very common, very manly name. In America, the name was fine and masculine until that damned Bionic Woman (Lindsey freakin'-Wagner) came along. The Bionic Woman aired the same year I was born (1975) and thousands of mothers started naming their babies Lindsay, usually with some basterized, cutsey spelling. My wifes laughs at me because I still fume whenever her stupid dial-a-bed comercials come on the TV.

I've never met a female Lindsay older than myself and I've only met a handful of male Lindsays (all older than me). Despite being a Republican, Lindsey Graham (Rep-S.C.) helps my cause a bit. I actually know a guy who is so embarrassed of his name Lindsay that he goes by his middle name...get this, Ashleigh. Which starts the long list of names abducted by girls: Sidney, Leslie, Marion, the list goes on and on. Once a name is feminized then those of us men who already have it get sissy jokes hurled at us our whole lives. Actually, Marion Butts and Leslie O'Neal probably didn't get too much crap...or, maybe it made them the hard-hitting NFL stars they turned out to be. The unfair part is that is doesn't work in reverse. If it did I would have named my first boy Stephanie out of spite. The truth is, being teased as a child made me swear I would never give my children androgynous names....'bout that..somehow my two boys ended up Justice and Tristan, which are both considered unisex names-whoops.

I used to have I crush on a girl named Tyler-what if we had ended up together? It just wouldn't work on paper. I've also met girls named Ryan and Devon-where does it stop? Please mothers, there is an endless list of beautiful girl names out there, so stop pilfering from the boy list. If you want to be original, go with something nutcase like Talulabelle or Apple.

Just for Grins

This is one of my favorite desktop backgrounds.

Try to look at this picture for one minute and not think of anything naughty.

...couldn't do it, could you? They're clouds, just wholesome clouds! What's wrong with you....sinner.

Actually, these cloud formations are known as mammatus derived from mamma, which is Latin for breast. The photographer, or whoever put this pic out labeled it "tight jeans."

Vote Early, Vote Often

I found out that 50% of my audience is clamoring for my thoughts on the final debate, so I will indulge her. I enjoyed the format of the last debate more than the others. The fact that they were sitting across from each other and allowed to respond directly to comments made for a lively interaction. At first it almost seemed as if Obama was tired-literally worn out from getting his message across for 20 grueling months. But then I realized he was just comfortable, cool, at ease...presidential. The debate was won by Obama because he was speaking to swing voters-people who are struggling financially and need some good news. McCain was speaking to his base-people who would vote Republican even if the candidate had sex with an underage page in an airport bathroom shortly after declaring unilateral war against a stable nation because his running mate needed to pay off some political favors with defense contracts! Sorry...got a little worked up there, but my point is that McCain is not persuading anyone who is on the fence.
The candidates both came across well at last night's Alfred Smith dinner. It was nice to see there was no ugly mudslinging, just humor. With that last meeting together out of the way and no horrible gaffes, we can finally breath easy. Early voting starts tomorrow in my state; I say let's get this thing over with. Let's put McCain out of his misery before Nov 4th. Let's face it, I was right-Obama is going to win and it's going to be a landslide. Woo-HOO!
P.S.- Does anyone know how to make an animation morphing Pres. Bush into a mallard with a broken leg?

Terrorism

I watched the flick "Catch a Fire" recently and it made me pause and rethink my perception of terrorism. In the movie the 'terrorists' were fighting against South Africa's apartheid regime. These freedom fighters were opposing injustice, but they were terrorists because they were causing destruction and subverting the government. I realized that not all terrorists are inherently evil as our fear-promoting government would have us believe (if you haven't read "Culture of Fear" by Glassner, you should). It seems like whenever the Bush administration wants to get some controversial foreign policy item past the U.S. taxpayers or congress they just say "go along with it or the terrorists will gain strength!"
(I'm paraphrasing of course).

Yes, many terrorists commit atrocious acts, sometimes against innocent civilians, and this must be condemned and combated. However, in order to combat terrorism, I think we need to understand the root causes of it: terrorism is bred from oppression; terrorists perceive a threat to their country, family, or ideology and believe it must be defended to the death; and every terrorist we take out becomes a martyr to his or her cause. In the movie, the protagonist was just trying to raise his family and do his job but he was taken by the government, questioned and tortured under groundless suspicion of a terrorist act. By the end he felt he had no choice but to join the freedom fighters, because no one could live peacefully until the oppressors were ousted.

I believe the U.S. military has good intentions, but every time civilians are inadvertently killed we are producing more terrorists in the form of those that cared for the fallen. If a foreign power occupied my city and a member of my family was killed by a stray bullet in a firefight, I would become blind with rage and take up arms against that force and do everything in my power to undermine their cause. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died since this war/operation has begun and no one in America talks about it. Yes we should honor and pay tribute to our fallen soldiers, but we should also apologize for destroying Iraqi families. I think these endless military strikes are like trying to beat out a fire with a lit torch. We need to try more diplomacy because this war can't be won by technological superiority.

My point is that most Americans live relatively privileged lives and some are quick to pass moral judgement on others, when we should in fact try to see the other side and get some perspective. Being American does not make you right. It makes me sad when I hear about our government disregarding the Geneva Convention because those in our custody are not technically prisoners of war. I love my country, but I long for the feeling I had as a young boy when I was 100% certain that we were the 'good guys.'

OBAMA WINS!!!

That's right, I'm beating the networks to the punch and calling the election for Obama. Everyone is so tentatively hopeful right now, saying things like "do you think...he could really...win?" Yes!-and I for one am elated as hell about it. I don't want to jinx the man as in 'Dewey defeats Truman', but since the Broncos won last week and the Chargers lost, I don't believe in jinxes (see Sweetest Thing blog). Actually, I never believed in curses or bad juji-I'm just sorta rational that way.
The thing is, the American people are starting to see the truth about what this country needs and Obama is surging in the polls. It looks better everyday, but as of now McCain would have to win every swing state (of which Obama has slight edges in), as well as the tentative red states in order to win 269 electoral votes. pssst...that's not enough John.
As for those states that are still boldly red (I won't name any names, but you know who you are), they can't honestly believe that McCain's economic plan will be good for the majority of Americans. I think they habitually vote Republican out of fear:

• Fear of a black man in the White House-He's qualified, get over it.


• Fear of abortions-On this issue, no matter who is elected the status quo will remain. John McCain is pandering by saying he will fight to overturn Roe v. Wade. If he does happen to outlive a Supreme Court justice, he could never get an ultra-conservative appointment past a Democratic congress.


• Fear of losing their guns-You won't. Obama supports the 2nd amendment. He of course would uphold the current ban on assault rifles, but would never strip anyone of their hunting rifles and shotguns. Obama also believes it is the right of local communities and states to make laws concerning handguns (e.g. Sarah Palin once opposed an ordinance that would prohibit carrying guns in bars and schools).


• Fear of terrorism-Some think that McCain would combat terrorism better because he was in the military. The problem is McCain has a reputation as a hot-head and when international threats arise, we don't need a President who makes knee-jerk reactions. We need someone with diplomatic skills who isn't afraid to use force as a last resort-I believe that is Obama.

Eight years ago, I really liked John McCain and I may have voted for him against Al Gore. McCain fought against corruption in congress and did much to bring compromise amidst a bitterly partisan atmosphere. However, I think he sold out his convictions in order to secure the nomination and get the backing of the religious right or uber-conservatives.

Conservatives see liberals as morally corrupt. I like to think of liberalism as willingness to change. Conservatives have been on the morally reprehensible side of some the most important issues in American history. I'm not talking about a difference of opinion-history has judged them to be wrong. Conservatives opposed the following based on fear of change:

• Allowing black people to be free
• Allowing women into institutions of higher education
• Allowing women the right to vote
• Allowing black people the right to the same educational opportunities and public services as whites
• Allowing black people the right to vote

If you can't bring yourself to Stand for Change, then at least allow yourself to hope for it.