Yes We Can

Thousands of hand-written messages to President-elect Barack Obama fill a 24-foot wide wall between the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008. The tribute was erected by Avaaz.org., an environmental group.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

I would love to be in Washington, DC to see this wonderful wall with messages. What a terrific piece of graffiti! Pure love is showing through.

President-Elect Obama's First Press Conference

President-elect Barack Obama (C) answers a question during his first press conference following his election victory in Chicago, November 7, 2008.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES)

With his economic team, Vice-President elect Biden, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel standing behind him Mr. Obama trys to settle the worries of a nation where the jobless rate has reached 6.50 %. The stock market fluctuated during his press conference and went down about 100 points but rallied after the conference closing up 250+ points.

In my estimation his words were measured, soothing, and showing a bipartisan attitude that is needed at this time. He reminded the public that he is not the president and that if the lame-duck administration cannot pass a stimulus package before he takes office in January it will be his first priority.

Nothing earth shattering in this speech, but reassuring in the fact that he is addressing the problem. He will announce his economic cabinet appointment when he has decided. He will be deliberate in his choice and it will be a choice not made in haste. He's already on the job and I am reassured by that.

It's Official ... Barack Obama Wins the United States Presidency!

"This Victory belongs to you."

Fabulous!!! Congratulations America!!!

Election Day!! Will tonight's celebration be even grander?

It’s 4 PM Central time on Election Day 2008. Three more hours until the polls close in Texas. I was at my polling place at 7 AM. By 9:30 AM 213 people had voted, but almost half of registered voters in my county voted early. All the Obama supporters are so absolutely excited and somewhat apprehensive about the outcome of today’s election. Hopefully tonight will end 8 years of Republican direction of the country and a new day will begin!!! All Obama supporters are eagerly awaiting the outcome of today’s elections. Will tonight's celebration be even more grand than that of the convention??

We wait...

Cheryl Visits Democratic Headquarters in Bryson City, NC

On a recent trip to North Carolina I stopped in the Democratic Party Headquarters for a little visit. It is sooo cute. They have decorated it using political signs from the various candidates. They had each candidate come in and decorate their own area some using handmade signs! In the front window there are rows of red shoes reminiscent of the ones Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz. The point of this is to send the republican senate candidate (Elizabeth Dole) back to her home state of Kansas.

Note the red shoes in the window...

“Click your heels together Libby and go back to Kansas!”













Cheryl at the Dem Party Headquarters, Bryson City

Why I am a Democrat

In most of Texas being a Democrat is a four-letter word. I feel like a minority although I don't feel discriminated against. As a matter of fact I feel elite. The purpose of this article, which I hope I can keep short, is to clarify why I have chosen to be affiliated with the Democratic party. (Democratic Party Icon from iStockphoto)

I grew up in a small town in Georgia in the 1950s and 60s. By the time I was 10 years old (1956) I had begun to realize the way people were treated. Being in a segregated society I realized that people of color received little respect. I was reprimanded by my mother for saying "yes, ma'am" to an elderly black woman. As a preteen I noticed a clean-cut young black man working the elevators in a department store and commented on how handsome he appeared and was reprimanded about that statement by my father. In the summer I could look out our kitchen door and seen black people loaded into the backs of pickup trucks and trailers being taken out to the fields to pick cotton. These people appeared to get no respect from white people.

As an eighth grader, I disagreed with the social studies teacher when she said that one always votes for the party. One does not pick and choose who to vote for based on the individual. Of course at that time the south was mostly Democratic so she was talking about never voting the Republican ticket. If she were still alive now I'm sure she would have changed her stance on which party to support. At that time I was learning to think for myself so I didn't think any choices should be dictated to me ... I still think that way.

Even though I still weigh the issues, I now realize that it is also the party platform that directs the person on the political ticket. I became a Democrat because of that very reason. The Democratic party is the party of the people ... all the people, not just the wealthy and socially elite, but the middle and lower income Americans as well.

I am concerned about the justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court, about education of all our children (No Child Left Behind has not worked), concerned about health care, Social Security benefits, the economy, global warming, oil dependency and the need for alternative sources of fuel, concerned that we keep Roe vs Wade as law, and concerned our standing and interaction with the rest of the world.

Regarding abortion, I don't know anyone who is FOR abortion, but we need to TEACH appropriate sex practices to our young people. Just saying "choose abstinence" is not enough for everyone. We need education as a viable alternative to abortion; but abortion CANNOT be banned because we have health issues of the mother, rape and incest that may constitute the need for an abortion. Being able to choose is still a necessity.

I believe the Democratic Party is concerned about us middle income citizens, but also is concerned about the fate of the disenfranchised. As a matter of fact, we should all be concerned about those who are not as well off or as educated as we. The fate of our nation depends on what we do to educate and bring those who are less advantaged into the general population. We need to prepare people to have a reason to live an upright life free of crime. The Democratic Party platform addresses the issues that most concern me; therefore I am a Democrat.

For all the reasons above and because I believe Barack Obama will be good for ALL the people in our country, I have chosen to support him for President. His energy, intelligence, and statesmanship is what is needed for American in this new century.

Republican Convention

I listened to the speakers from the Republican convention and was left with something wanting. John McCain's speech was the only one that even began to resemble someone I would want leading our country. In many instances I thought he was sincere. There is no doubt in my mind that he is devoted to our country, but I think he is pandering to the old line Republicans in order to elect him. He indicates he wants to bring change to our political system, but can he really do that? Will the Republicans allow the kind of change McCain wants to bring about?

The things against him in my view are age and judgment. I fear at 72 years of age he is too old for the position. If something happened to him we would have a radical right winger in Sarah Palin to lead our country. For a group of people who were shouting "inexperience" when it came to Barack Obama they are now supporting a very inexperienced woman to run as vice president. I realize the purpose was to draw female voters into the Republican fold since Hillary Clinton is not on the Democratic ticket, but Sarah Palin cannot fill the space just because she is a woman. Therefore, I think McCain lacked good judgment in his selection of an inexperienced woman for VP.

Barack Obama - Dynamic Speech

On Thursday night Barack Obama hit it out of the ball park! His speech was nothing less than dynamic. In my opinion he covered the points that needed attention in his 43 minute speech. He addressed the economy, the Iraq war, global warming, the ethical status of the U. S. in the world, and health care which I consider to be the most critical issues of our time.

We are responsible for ourselves and for our effect on the world at large. Presidential nominee Barack Obama illustrated to me that he is ready to be a leader. I did not feel his words were mere rhetoric as some may want us to believe, but rather gave an outline of what he stands for, what the Democratic party stands for, and what America should stand for.

What we are going to do to ensure that our economy regains it's stability, what we do about getting Iraq back on it's feet and allowing them to rule themselves, what we are going to do about the health care crisis in our country, and what we are going to do to help and preserve our environment? There is no quick fix to any of this and we need a thoughtful president who listens to a variety of advisers and has the intellect and courage to make the right decision. We need someone with sound judgment and the right temprament to act on that decision.

I will be listening to the Republican party this week (if they don't postpone their convention) or later if it is rescheduled. I want to know what Senator McCain's plan is for the future. I want to hear Governor Palin speech and see what substance she has. At this point I am disenchanted with what I have heard and read from McCain's point, but I want to at the very least be aware of his point of view. Time will tell whether I am swayed by his words and actions.

Democratic Convention

Each night last week I watched the Democratic Convention and each night there was at least one dynamic speaker. On Monday night the Democrats paid tribute to Teddy Kennedy with a video and then surprisingly Senator Kennedy appeared on stage and gave a rousing speech. Even though he is seriously ill with a brain tumor he promised to be in Washington in January to welcome, most hopefully, Barack Obama as the new President of the United States.

If hearing Senator Kennedy was not exciting enough, the next step was to see a video about the life of Michelle Obama and learn of her upbringing on the south side of Chicago. We learned the dreams her parents shared in giving their son and daughter a chance at the "American dream". I felt that Mrs. Obama was speaking from her heart and connecting with people all across this land. I knew she was bright, but she was even more articulate than I imagined. She will make an honorable first lady.

Tuesday night was Hillary Clinton's night to shine. She was very clear about wanting the 18 million people who voted for her in the primary to cast their votes for Barack Obama in the general election in November. She told of meeting a young Marine who had waited months for medical care, but wanted her to take care of his buddies who were still at war; a mother with two adopted autistic children who is ill with cancer and has no medical insurance; and a young boy who was worried because his mom's minimum wage work hours had been cut and he didn't know how they would make it. Possibly her finest statement was tied to those stories when she said to her supporters, "Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

Then on Wednesday Hillary moved to suspend the roll call and unanimously elect Barack Obama as the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. The convention did just that and elected Obama as the Party nominee.

Wednesday night we heard from President Bill Clinton in another rousing speech endorsing Obama and pledging to do everything in his power to help him succeed in becoming the next President.

Later Wednesday evening we saw a video on the life of Joe Biden and met him and his family. His son, Beau, introduced Senator Biden. We learned what a true family man he is. Even though he is a U. S. Senator he travels by train most nights to his home and family in Deleware. He has two sons, a daughter, and wife. His first wife and their daughter were killed in an automobile accident many years ago just after he had been elected to the senate. He was sworn into office at the bedside of his two sons who were hospitalized with injuries from the accident. Beau said that several years later his father, and my brother and I, married Jill Jacobs. Senator Biden's love of family and dedication to his country shows true patriotism. Biden accepted his nomination for the vice presidency and gave his acceptance speech.

Check back later for the stirring final night...

Bill Miller: Conversation with Dog

Bill Miller is an Episcopal priest at St. Michael and All the Angels in Kona, HI. For about 10 years he was my priest at St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, TX and was my next door neighbor. I always delight in seeing him and hearing him speak. He is a very charismatic speaker and he writes well. Bill is a well read, observant individual with a real zest for life which no doubt is the driving force in causing people to be drawn to him. He has a deep love of animals which lead to the writing of his lovely book, "The Gospel According to Sam". Sam Houston was is beloved Airedale terrier.

Last Sunday, August 10, 2008, my husband, Gerald, along with friends, Ora and Gina drove a couple of hours to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, TX to attend a sermon and lecture by the visiting priest, Bill Miller. The title of the lecture about faith, Sam, and the book mentioned above was "Conversation with Dog". Toward the end Bill read the postscript to the book about the death of Sam Houston just two weeks before his book went to print. It was a two-hankey read ... but then Sam was a good friend of mine too.

The following is a quote from the final chapter entitled, A Postscript on Love: "The week we were scheduled to go to print with this book, Sam developed serious breathing problems. Fearing some sort of tumor or scar tissue from the long ago fire or that he had developed adult-onset asthma like his dad, we immediately took him in for a check-up. Sam's wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Valerie McDaniel, seemed visibly sad as she showed me his x-ray. 'Here's the problem,' she said, as she pointed to his heart. 'Sam's heart is more than twice the size of a normal heart.' We had always suspected as much."

And that was Sam. A big lovely dog that had lived and loved his master and mistress and brought joy to all who knew him. The first chapter of the book really explains how deeply humans cared for this four legged animal. Sam was saved by neighbors from a house fire while we were all at church on Mother's Day in 1995. The week after Sam came home from the clinic there was a big celebration on Baylor Street with banners, balloons, and ice cream to welcome home our Sam. Funny how one critter can bring together an entire neighborhood.

Bill now has a dog that is part Airedale and part "other" or as Bill phrased it he's a poi dog, meaning mutt in Hawaiian. This fellow's name is Willie Nelson and I suspect he helps fill the void left by Sam.