Other holidays which celebrate people are a bit specific: Presidents Day, for example, (I know it as Presidents Day, others specifically celebrate it as Washington’s Birthday) is a holiday meant to honor a President (and as Presidents Day, a second one as well). Presidents are a select group of people. Veteran’s Day is meant to celebrate Veterans, those who have served this country. Again, a specific and clearly defined group. Martin Luther King Day celebrates one specific person, Memorial Day is meant for remembering those who died in service to our country. All of these are very clear cut groups of people who are celebrated or honored for something they have done.

And somehow tomorrow is Patriot Day.

I went and looked up ‘patriot’ so I could see for certain what it meant. Merriam and Webster say: one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests. Can someone explain to me how people dying in collapsing buildings makes them patriots? I mean, I have no issue with honoring and remember people who died that day, that isn’t my problem. My problem is that someone dying doesn’t automatically make them a patriot. By that token, if I love and support America, I can’t be a patriot because I’m still alive. I find this disturbing. People who went out of their way to do something (be President, serve their country) are being honored for having done so. People who happened to be in a particular place at a particularly unfortunate time are being honored for it. They did not go out of their way to join the Army or win an election. A lot of people died at Pearl Harbor just for being on those ships, much like the people in those towers died just for being there. We do not honor them, Americans blown up by someone from another country with an axe to grind. We do not honor those who died in another building that happened to get bombed: in Oklahoma City. They died just for going to work too. We do not honor those who died in a plane crash where nobody survived (there are many, pick one). What makes these people different? Special?

Perhaps this would not alarm me so if it weren’t for the fact that the word “patriot” is now supercharged with political meaning and used as a club to beat people into toeing a line.

I want to honor these people, and it is tragic what happened to them. Their families have to get up every day and go on without those people. Honoring them is important. So lay off the politics and the agendas and the hidden meanings and the partisanship. Let’s leave patriotism out of it and show a little respect.

I am writing to express my concerns about Lou Dobbs being scheduled to broadcast the “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” conference. They are considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and it concerns me that someone from CNN would be part of an event held by this organization. Lou Dobbs broadcasting from this event lends this group a certain measure of unwarranted credibility. Would you be happy to broadcast The Situation Room from a Ku Klux Klan event? Would you expend the resources to send 360 to the Westboro Baptist Church Labor Day picnic? I hope the answer is “Of course not”, and I wish the answer to sending Lou Dobbs to this sort of conference was the same. Please stop this from happening.

Today this showed up in my email:

Thank you for your letter on Congress’s response to the financial crisis confronting the auto-industry. The question of whether an additional bailout of the auto industry is good or bad policy depends entirely on how we provide assistance.

Giving the Big Three auto makers more funds to continue business as usual is probably not good policy nor is it a wise use of resources. I have long advocated investments that accomplish more than one objective. In the aftermath of 9/11, for example, I was disappointed that we gave money to the airlines without insisting that they use it to buy quieter, less-polluting aircraft. Today, we have the opportunity to use federal investments to not only help the auto industry respond to future needs, but to strengthen the economy and the environment in communities across America.

We could, for example, create fueling stations for the sorts of cars we need for the future: making sure that people with biofuel, compressed natural gas, and plug-in hybrids are able to get the energies they need for operation. We don’t yet have the infrastructure we need to make it easier to sell the products of tomorrow. Investing in such infrastructure would have a profound effect.

As the largest buyer of vehicles in the United States, the federal government could play an important role in shaping the auto market of future. If all federal departments and agencies were committed over the next three years to buy hyper fuel-efficient cars, plug-in hybrids, and flex-fuel or compressed natural gas vehicles, we could have a profound effect on the industry. This one requirement would provide a modern fleet for our operations, improve the efficiency of our departments, and reduce long-term operating costs.

We could also dedicate a portion of Detroit’s bail-out request to removing old, polluting cars from the road, trading “cash for clunkers.” This would improve the environment and help people who are probably paying too much to operate dirty, unsafe vehicles.

In short, we have a prime opportunity to stimulate a market, improve our own operations, and give people the incentive to upgrade their vehicle.

At a time of unprecedented economic stress, while we are struggling to protect the planet, reorient the long-term practices of auto industry, and change consumer habits, we can either provide a narrowly-defined knee-jerk reaction that has little or no effect, or a more thoughtful policy that will reap numerous benefits and get us where we want to go faster.

Again, thank you for your letter. I look forward to continuing our conversation on the financial challenges facing America.

Sincerely,
Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress

I was very impressed with this thoughtful response. I also appreciated hearing back. It made me feel like someone received and read that message and sent me a reply. I was heard. Maybe I was the only anti person, maybe I wasn’t. I am completely aware there are staff people who spend a vast percentage of their time on reading and replying to communcation (calls, letters, email) on behalf of Mr Blumenauer. But the point is, SOMEONE (Earl or not) took a moment to send me a reply and while that may not have been a big deal to them it is a pretty big deal to me. I want to make sure I give credit where credit is deserved, and Earl’s office DEFINITELY deserves credit.

* This does not mean we are not a racist country. This does not mean there are not more people who will take a shot (literally) at him. People who are Americans.

* This does not mean we are finished. Not by a damn sight. If you made calls for Obama (as an official volunteer or using the iPhone app) you need to keep doing that sort of thing.

* This does not mean things will be immediately better. You heard the man himself say so: It may take MORE THAN A TERM to really set things right again.

* This is the first step in a long long journey to restoring the world’s faith in us and our reputation. Do not think for one second that President Obama automatically gives us back our cred.

* This is the time to knock off the cynicsm. Stop acting like you can’t make a difference. Clearly you can. And you have. Now that you get a crack at this don’t screw it up. Trying to RE-do something is always harder than doing it in the first place.

* This is the time to remember. Hit that little “Record” in your brain and try to capture this night. How it feels, how YOU feel, how you were part of it, what you did to help this night happen (hint: YOU VOTED. R or D or I or whatever, it doesn’t matter as long as it was a vote. If you didn’t, leave this blog immediately.). I know most elections aren’t really of this magnitude, but you were part of the process and that is always a good thing.

* This is NOT the time to stop. Winning the election was not the finish.

* This is HUGE for America. Whoever you voted for, please support the new guy until you have a reason not to. When John Wayne heard that JFK won he said “I didn’t vote for him, but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.” Let’s try to keep that in mind, ok?

* This is the perfect time to remember what the new guy has said all along: There are no red states or blue states, just the UNITED States of America.

I do some of these things already. Here’s a list of things I do now to be part of the process:

* Subscribe to Megavote. I can keep up on how my Senators/Reps vote VIA EMAIL.

* Contact people! Congress.org has a spot there on the left where you can enter your zip code and find your Congressional folks. Get ahold of them and tell them what you think! You can also check out places like True Majority and MoveOn.org to find out about issues being discussed or voted on and sometimes it’s as easy as replying to an email to get your name listed as supporting or opposing a particular issue. And you have a cell phone right? You probably aren’t using EVERY space for contacts. Put your Congresspeeps in there and tell them what you think.

* Get informed. I know I’m lefty but watch Rachel Maddow once in awhile even if you aren’t. She’s not a shouter, she LOVES talking policy, and never makes personal attacks on those who disagree with her. She loves to be engaged and in total disagreement with someone. I think you’ll like it. She’s fun to watch and there are a fair number of people watching her who probably don’t necessarily agree with all her views but watch anyway. Try it!

* Admit you’re wrong. It happens. Stop forwarding crazy emails even if they support your point of view, quit repeating things you aren’t absolutely certain are true, and mostly STOP running around saying something to people SIMPLY because CNN or Fox or MSNBC told you to. Come to your own conclusion and use that quote to back you up. (:

* Don’t gloat. Quit feeling superior, stop being smug, knock off all the superior nonsense. We are still pretty majorly buggered, and that’s not going to change just because we elected him. We gotta help him get it done.

I may add to this later when I am awake. But for now, check those out and if I missed anything please let me know.

Here in Oregon we have two candidates for a Senate seat: Gordon Smith who holds the seat now, and his challenger, Jeff Merkley. This is my attempt to work out some of my conflict over who to vote for.

Gordon Smith Pros:
* From Pendleton
(He lives near my mom, actually. I like the perspective this gives him. As someone from ‘out east’ he has a point of view that Portlanders don’t have.)
* Sits on several Committees/Subcommittees (Ranking Minority Member on at least 1)
(Do you know how long it takes to become someone with enough power to get on a committee? It’s a LONG time. And it gives us visibility.)
* Has deviated from Party Lockstep ™ from time to time
(This matters to me because it means he has a stance of his own. NOBODY should ever march in complete lockstep all the time. Thinking for yourself FTW!)

Gordon Smith Cons:
* Republican
(We all know what this means. There are some larger issues I disagree with him on.)
* Fudging a bit on the “pro gay” issue
(He says he’s all gay friendly or whatever, but he’d vote FOR a Constitutional ban on gay marriage and that’s wrong in like 8 different ways. He just helped pass hate crime laws. Good, certainly, but not enough IMO.)
* Helped Trent Lott maintain Minority Whip position
(Trent #$@ * Anti-abortion stance
(I can't call it pro-life, I just can't. He thinks it is wrong and I can't get behind that.)
* Pro Broadcast Flag
(Kind of a big deal really. This matters to me a LOT.)
* Running sleaziest/most negative campaign ads on TV (except maybe Merkley’s)
(Seriously. They are SO bad!!)

Jeff Merkley Pros:
* Democrat
(So we agree on some of the bigger stuff.)
* Unanimously elected to Oregon’s Speaker Of The House position
(In Oregon I’m pretty sure a unanimous anything is a big frigging deal.)
* Director of Habitat For Humanity’s Portland chapter
(This is good. I like that he’s done something that helps other people.)
* Pro “gay marriage”
(I use quotes because it should just be “marriage” and it should be for everybody. He agrees.)

Jeff Merkley Cons:
* Took away my Sudafed
(HUGE red flag for me. Sudafed is prescription only in Oregon now, and one of the biggest tines on the VOTE YES fork was “who, pray who, will think of the children!?” and it bugs me when someone is swayed by that. We still have a lot of meth, btw.)
* Claims he “grew up in a mill town” but graduated from a Portland HS
(I don’t get this. Why would his ad say it? It was super easy for me to determine this was hooey. They moved to Portland after FIRST GRADE. That barely even counts as living in the wilderness! I graduated high school from a teeny town where I spent my whole life. That’s a huge difference, Jeff.)
* Increased school FUNDING, but not school ACCOUNTABILITY for funding.
(If someone says they need ten dollars and you give it to them and a week later they need ten more, how many times do you give it before going “what are you doing with all that cash?” This is what already aggravates me about school funding.)
* Running sleaziest/most negative campaign ads on TV (except maybe Smith’s)
(Seriously. They are SO bad!!)

So while it would be nice to have Smith’s experience and committee seats, knowing that Merkley could possibly help the Senate hit the filibuster proof 60 votes would also be really nice.

If you know something I should be considering, or if I’m mistaken on something already in this list, please let me know. Thank you!

At the very end of Hardball today with these two particular guests on (whose names escape me at the moment) Chris Matthews asked, “You know, every candidate for President in our lifetime has had a very succinct message if he won the Presidency: ‘Get this country moving again’, Jack Kennedy, ‘It’s the Economy stupid’, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’, I can’t think of the line from Obama yet.”

Buchanan (OMG yes THAT Pat Buchanan*): We can’t stand four more years of what we’ve had for the last eight years?
Matthews: Do you feel like four more years of this!? That’s what I’d say.

(he goes on)

“All I know is I’d go to the numbers…every time the Senator from Arizona spoke, I’d say let me read those numbers to you John McCain, you got a tough act to defend here, and you gotta defend it because you’re the republican candidate that’s why you’re standing here. You got an unemployment rate that’s spiking, you got a debt that’s growing, you’ve got a surplus that’s disappeared into a deficit and you’ve got gas prices at four bucks, your side has BLOWN IT, don’t ask for four more years.”

To which I say AMEN! I don’t want Obama to go out and say terrible things about McCain (and while he doesn’t know how to send email is TOTALLY TRUE it is one that they are crying foul about), but I want him to go out and speak truth to power as it were. If repeating “I said thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere” over and over is going to make it true, then why not repeat things over and over that ACTUALLY are true? I wonder how well THAT would go over. How do you beat him up over things that are TOTALLY accurate? More “sex ed to kindergarteners” nonsense? Even KARL ROVE said your campaign is a little out of line.

*Not only is it THAT Pat Buchanan but that link is to his blog. McCain can’t send an email, but Pat Buchanan has a blog (E I E I O).

“I think the Church must come round and see people as they are now. Gone are the days when we assumed loving relationships would be solely between men and women. It seems to me that commitment is the issue, and if anyone comes to me and says: ‘This is my partner; we are committed to each other’, then I don’t care what their sexuality is. I’m not going to judge; I’ll leave that to God.”

And to that I say AMEN! This is line I referred to in the subject. Who are you to stand in judgment of someone’s personal decisions? Isn’t the whole point of things like Christianity that you are to stand in judgment after you die and that’s when you find out if you chose correctly during life? (Mormons was the correct answer.) Because, you know, when I went to church I remember the lesson being “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” But then I haven’t set foot in a church of any sort for full mass in a long LONG time so my memory might be fuzzy.

So when I heard Rachel was gonna get her own show I was very pleased for her. She does a great job on Olbermann so I was looking forward to seeing how she handled things on her own. I was also looking forward to seeing what her show ended up being since she does fine wtih Keith’s format but when it’s HER name on the title, what will it look like? So tonight I got a chance to see.

I like her show! Right now it’s a fair amount of campaign coverage, so I also want to see how her show evolves when the campaign is over. But for now it’s campaign coverage and then some time with Pat Buchanan and some guy who “gives me enough pop culture knowledge so I can be allowed out in public”. I liked that part because they touched on Britney and he said “I have more if you want it…” and Rachel said “No, I’m good.”

So here’s the show:
I like Rachel. She asked some interesting questions of all her guests who actually weren’t the Keithy usuals.
I liked that she had “my fake uncle Pat” (Buchanan) on, and that she stood up to him on some things. It was fun to watch civil disagreement instead of just shouting. What a switch!
I liked the pop culture bit and it was a brief snarky thing that was a nice change of pace from politics.
I felt like they were trying to show that Rachel could do it on her own, but I also think she really shines when she gets to put the hard questions to guests, so I would like to have more back and forth.
I think this could do well for a number of reasons. I like that she’s a girl but I don’t watch JUST for that, it’s bonus. (grumble McCain playing me grumble) I will save the politics for a different post. But I wanted to say that Rachel’s show is interesting and fun and I think she gives me a different enough perspective from Keith that I can watch two shows for a nice perspective and get info from another source.

Believe you me I have so much to say on politics lately that I barely know what to do with myself. I need a good outlet for all that political opinionating and pontificating. Maybe I’ll find one, you just never know. (: