Electing Barack Obama showed the world that the best of what America represents is back! Celebrate your new president and new found sense of patriotism on January 20th by proudly displaying the American flag on a t-shirt or a button.
To order go to the ForFortyFourStore at CafePress.
All profits will be donated to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Note: I am not a professional t-shirt designer and will not receive any profit from the sales. After the election, I decided that I wanted a t-shirt with an American Flag that said "We're Back" on it. When I couldn't find one, I designed my own on cafepress.com. It turned out really well, so now I want to share it with others who feel more proud of their country than ever before. There is a 20% markup on these items, all of which will be donated to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Fox News Soulless Cretins Mock Genuine Emotion
Angry at progress, Fox News continues to provide its brain-dead viewers with bimbos to drool over and jerk wads to feed their thirst for vitriol.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Obama Deification
I recently heard right-wing radio host Glenn Beck accuse Barack Obama of having a messiah complex. This is just one example of how idiots like Beck have misinterpreted the excitement for Obama. Sure, people are impressed by Obama’s intelligence, thoughtfulness, and strength of character; but what is really at the heart of the exuberance of Obama is that people feel a sense of ownership for Obama’s presidential candidacy and victory.
Obama ran for president because we wanted him to. I remember going to a Kerry rally in ’04 and seeing someone wearing a homemade t-shirt that said: “Kerry/Edwards 2004, Obama 2012.” And I remember the speech Obama gave at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. When we got our asses handed to us that November, his speech circulated via email and gave depressed progressives some hope for the future of their cause. He didn’t tell us what are values were. He masterfully articulated the values we already had, and this is why two years ago we insisted that he run for president of the United States.
The fight to make him our candidate wasn’t easy. Almost always, the establishment of each party decides who is next in line. This year, the Democratic establishment was set to anoint Hillary Clinton as the inevitable candidate. However, that’s not what most of us wanted, and for once WE THE PEOPLE decided who our candidate would be and beat the Clinton machine.
After the primaries, we carried our candidate through by finally beating Rovian politics with our commitment and determination. As Arianna Huffington has pointed out, the Internet helped immensely with this effort. When right-wing whackos like Hannity and O’Reilly attacked, we sent letters to Fox and to our newspapers. When misleading videos were put on YouTube, we rated them down and debated with conservatives in the comment sections. Plus the Internet helped us organize and helped raise gobs of money through small donations. Together, we became a force that the Republican establishment could not match.
Obama’s victory is our victory. And because a sense of ownership usually results in a sense of responsibility, there is a very good possibility that we are seeing just the beginning of a new era of participatory politics. WE THE PEOPLE built the Obama administration; WE THE PEOPLE will also make sure the Obama administration works well and works for us. It’s that idea that we believe in and put on a pedestal.
Obama ran for president because we wanted him to. I remember going to a Kerry rally in ’04 and seeing someone wearing a homemade t-shirt that said: “Kerry/Edwards 2004, Obama 2012.” And I remember the speech Obama gave at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. When we got our asses handed to us that November, his speech circulated via email and gave depressed progressives some hope for the future of their cause. He didn’t tell us what are values were. He masterfully articulated the values we already had, and this is why two years ago we insisted that he run for president of the United States.
The fight to make him our candidate wasn’t easy. Almost always, the establishment of each party decides who is next in line. This year, the Democratic establishment was set to anoint Hillary Clinton as the inevitable candidate. However, that’s not what most of us wanted, and for once WE THE PEOPLE decided who our candidate would be and beat the Clinton machine.
After the primaries, we carried our candidate through by finally beating Rovian politics with our commitment and determination. As Arianna Huffington has pointed out, the Internet helped immensely with this effort. When right-wing whackos like Hannity and O’Reilly attacked, we sent letters to Fox and to our newspapers. When misleading videos were put on YouTube, we rated them down and debated with conservatives in the comment sections. Plus the Internet helped us organize and helped raise gobs of money through small donations. Together, we became a force that the Republican establishment could not match.
Obama’s victory is our victory. And because a sense of ownership usually results in a sense of responsibility, there is a very good possibility that we are seeing just the beginning of a new era of participatory politics. WE THE PEOPLE built the Obama administration; WE THE PEOPLE will also make sure the Obama administration works well and works for us. It’s that idea that we believe in and put on a pedestal.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
We are Obama
I'm done celebrating for now. Obama's victory was an historic achievement for everyone involved. Hope beat fear in our nation for the first time since September 11, 2001. That was worth celebrating. And we helped move our nation closer to MLK Jr.'s dream. That was definitely worth celebrating. But now I've stopped celebrating because I remember something someone said at a Democracy for America group meeting in Indianapolis shortly after the 2004 heartbreak. Our group was scheming about what we could do to help bring progressive Democrats back to power, and Tom Hipple, an experienced Indiana pol said: "Hey, don't worry so much about how you're going to get the Dems back into power. Politics are cyclical, so they will be back in power eventually. Worry more about what they will do with that power."
Now I wonder what Obama and the Dems will do and what I can do now to make sure they do help put the country on a better course. We all realize that Obama can't do it alone. As he has said many times, this election is not about him; it's about us. And that means that collectively we are more responsible for making the Obama administration a success for progressive values than he is. He can't bring about positive change unless we push for it because his political capital is worth only as much as congress members think that not supporting progressive values will cost them elections.
Hence, this blog. Why do I think I should blog? Not because I think I have a particularly unique or insightful perspective on today's political issues. But there is a battle of viewpoints out there and quantity is just as important as quality, if not more. Look how effective conservatives have been at affecting public opinion by repeating over and over again the same ridiculous talking points. In the same way, the more progressives talk about and argue for their values, the less strange they will seem to people who have been getting most of their information from Fox News over the past decade. And thanks to the Internet and the Bush administration, we now live during a period of time when people are more passionate about their political viewpoints and are talking and writing about them more than any time I can remember. I believe that this ongoing public discussion is part of what has moved this nation to the left recently. As exposure to values and ideas from the left and right increases so does peoples' realization that progressive ideas are better than conservative ones. Thus I want to do as much as I can to keep the conversation going.
Now I wonder what Obama and the Dems will do and what I can do now to make sure they do help put the country on a better course. We all realize that Obama can't do it alone. As he has said many times, this election is not about him; it's about us. And that means that collectively we are more responsible for making the Obama administration a success for progressive values than he is. He can't bring about positive change unless we push for it because his political capital is worth only as much as congress members think that not supporting progressive values will cost them elections.
Hence, this blog. Why do I think I should blog? Not because I think I have a particularly unique or insightful perspective on today's political issues. But there is a battle of viewpoints out there and quantity is just as important as quality, if not more. Look how effective conservatives have been at affecting public opinion by repeating over and over again the same ridiculous talking points. In the same way, the more progressives talk about and argue for their values, the less strange they will seem to people who have been getting most of their information from Fox News over the past decade. And thanks to the Internet and the Bush administration, we now live during a period of time when people are more passionate about their political viewpoints and are talking and writing about them more than any time I can remember. I believe that this ongoing public discussion is part of what has moved this nation to the left recently. As exposure to values and ideas from the left and right increases so does peoples' realization that progressive ideas are better than conservative ones. Thus I want to do as much as I can to keep the conversation going.
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