Speechless

Becoming speechless is what sometimes happens when I'm oh-so-excited! Life IS good ... especially after an Obama win! Something super good has happened in our country, the world, and life itself and I'll have to sit at some point and elaborate for myself so that I can actually taste it. Right now it just comes in waves. I shall share. For now, it just feels AMAZING!

P.S. I must say thanks to the many Republicans who immediately offered their congratulations on our big win. As one of them said "Listen, he is OUR President now. We have to be behind him and I want him to be as good as you feel he is for all of us to benefit." Exactly!! Such cool, classy people. Thanks, guys!! MUAH!Only wish every Republican (and Democrat, when we have lost) was that mature. One can always HOPE! :-) Oh my gosh, we're SO-SO happy in this household! Gooooooooooooooo President-Elect OBAMA!!

Turn Your Car Lights On ...

Pass it on ...

Whether you voted for BARACK OBAMA or not ... and, especially if you did ... turn your car lights on to show your support of, and respect for, the next President of the United States of America today, Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 and the rest of the week!

This e-mail has been started in Miami, Florida, USA. Enter your city or country below and send it on to everyone on your list until it goes around the whole world!!! Please be sure to copy TheNextUSAPresident@gmail.com so that we can keep track of how many places this e-mail reaches throughout our planet and keep you posted on the same. All the best to everyone!!!!

1) Miami, Florida, USA
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GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

President-Elect Barack Obama!

President-Elect Barack Obama ... I SO like the sound of that!!!!!

It's a BIG Day in America!

Election Day is finally here! What a HUGE day for America. Whether you like or supported Bush or not, after 8 years of the same president, we get to choose someone else. In fact, not only do we get to choose someone else, we get to CHOOSE, period, first and foremost.

Don't take this very basic right for granted. Cast your ballot today for whomever you want, whatever your reasons. May they just be true and honorable, with dignity and without any kind of hate or personal attack. It's simply unnecessary and unbecoming.

Just vote ... women, especially since we couldn't always. We're all so darn lucky. What a privilege it is to live in this country! May you be present to that today and always.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL & GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Had To

This made me laugh so much, I had to post it. (Don't know if I embedded right, by the way, but the link is here just in case the video doesn't show up below.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/26186923#26186923

Only The Good Die Young

Tim Russert was my # 1 go-to-guy in political analysis. That man knew his stuff and was just such an infectious, enthusiastic lovey. I cannot imagine the rest of the Presidential race being covered without him. Total bummer. :-(

I'm SO Happy For You! I'm SO Happy For You!

That's what I want to say to each of us but more so to the black community and especially to the older black generation.

Listen, in the beginning of this campaign, the latter were voting for Senator Clinton in large part because they believed Barack Obama was unelectable due to being black. Once they saw that was not the case when he won in Iowa, most got right behind him and supported him all the way to victory in the end. They came out for him like they came out for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and supported him not only because he was black but because his ideas are good and his intentions genuine.

Yesterday I saw an older black lady going into the store and she had a beautiful and vibrant deep purple Obama shirt on. Favorite color, favorite candidate, and not a shirt I've seen so as I passed by her, I commented on it. I said to her "Ooh, that's our man right there!" but she didn't hear me so I said "Your shirt, I like it but I like him even more!" And she was so surprised and delighted and said "Oh, yes, yes." It was awesome.

Later I thought of that little old lady who in her youth never dreamt a white person would address themselves to her, much less with respect and joy over another black person, much less one coming into power and I could understand the look on her face of perplexement mixed with joy and just being so pleased. She just cannot believe this is happening.

It's what I was talking about a couple of days ago and why I say I want to say to them - the older black generation, more than anybody - "I'm SO happy for you!" This is SO BIG time to these people who lived through hell. It is big to the younger generation as well, although perhaps not as much since they have grown up with blacks "making it" so to speak, but still plenty since they have grown up with the history being told at their homes of what their families went through.

Man, it's like we've been on a death march in this country for a LONNNNNNNG time and all of a sudden, we have actually made it to the other side of the bridge or to the water at the end of the desert. It's a beautiful thing and I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU, black community and for YOU too, white community. I'm SO happy for us all. This doesn't erase the past nor make everything all honky-dory but we can now finally truly begin in earnest. YES WE CAN!

HUGE Night Last Night

There's so much that could be said about Barack Obama clinching the Democratic Presidential Nomination last night yet so little really needs to be said. All there is to do is imagine being black and over 50 and having been denied so many rights and what not and now, before your passing, you get to witness the nomination of a young, educated black man to one of the two major political parties. That's emotional to say the least and it's a new day in America, that's for sure. I, for one, am ecstatic for ALL Americans and for the whole world and human race but particularly for the older black folks who never thought they'd see this in their lifetimes. I'm SO SO happy for these grandmas and grandpas. It's still not a level-playing field but man, have we made some progress! Way to go, Barack Obama, way to go!

I Refuse To Pack Up & Move to The Moon!

Some days I just want to cry at how sad it is that human beings are so unable to rid themselves of all the negativity that strips the collective of greatness. I read Barack Obama's books and feel such a heart-to-heart connection with his words and spirit, it is hard to believe anyone doesn't get him. Do we not all feel this kind of basic love? Is it not intrinsic? Is it not what we are all made of?

His words show the best of the human spirit and his voice in them is so genuine and good, I am just glad I am not missing the opportunity to know him. I really like who he is, what he's about. I'm so glad to know there are people like him in the world. Like one of my sisters said in an e-mail the other day: if he doesn't win, I'm packing up and moving to the moon! You ain't kidding, sister!

Prejudice

As we have seen this past week, prejudice - going both ways - is alive and well in America. In this land of stars and stripes, freedom and apple pie, it seems so incongruent with who we say we are and what we say we stand for, it almost leaves me speechless. Really, I can't make heads or tails of the negative energy people put into such hatred.

Still, while it all sure gives me a very heavy heart, I must say it also strengthens my resolve to keep on contributing to the positive side of life. It's the only way for me and I thank God for my still loving, caring heart in what is almost my midlife. If I can go to the grave (or the ocean, actually - I want to be cremated and my ashes let go in the wind at sea), feeling like this, I'll be thrilled as I would've lived in love and in peace.

More Reason

The latest fiasco by both the Clintons of saying Hillary will have Obama as Vice-President is just ludicrous. Can you imagine being in first place and being so disregarded? These people will stop at nothing and it shows you why so many hate them so much. They're so arrogant. The whole thing simply gives me more reason (in addition to his BEAUTIFUL writing in his book Dreams of My Father) to support my man.

I do love Barack's response. He's very diplomatic about it yet very clear. He said:

"Sen. Clinton is fighting hard. She's tenacious. I respect her for that. She is working hard to win the nomination. But I want everybody to be absolutely clear. I'm not running for vice president. I'm running for president of the United States of America," Obama told supporters during a rally in Columbus, Mississippi.

If anyone should be suggesting vice presidential candidates, it should be him, Obama said.

"With all due respect. I won twice as many states as Sen. Clinton. I've won more of the popular vote than Sen. Clinton. I have more delegates than Sen. Clinton. So, I don't know how somebody who's in second place is offering vice presidency to the person who's in first place," he said. Watch Obama downplay talk of 'dream ticket' »

Obama also said the Clinton campaign was "hoodwinking" voters when it suggested he was not ready to be president while also floating the possibility of a joint Clinton-Obama ticket.

"I don't understand," he said. "If I'm not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president?"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/

Makes me love him all the more. :-) Besides, any man who can write such amazing words about his becoming both personally and professionally as he did in that memoir of his has not only my vote but my heart just soul-to-soul, you know? It is poetry, that book ... absolutely beautiful!

Go, Baby, Go!

In a message dated 3/6/08 3:21:48 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, info@barackobama.com writes:

Narah --

I want to add some more news to David's note about the state of the race.

As you know, we've won 27 of 41 contests and have maintained our commanding lead among pledged delegates.

But today I want to share another staggering number: supporters like you donated more than $55 million to this campaign in the month of February.

That's a humbling achievement, and I am very grateful for your support.

No campaign has ever raised this much in a single month in the history of presidential primaries. But more important than the total is how we did it -- more than 90% of donations were $100 or less, and more than 385,000 new donors in February pushed us past our goal of more than 1,000,000 people owning a piece of this campaign.

From the beginning, this campaign has always been funded by a movement of grassroots supporters giving whatever they can afford. And unlike Senator Clinton and Senator McCain, we have never taken money from lobbyists or PACs.

Despite your generosity in February, I need your help to continue this battle on two separate fronts.

Please make a donation of $25 today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/math

Thank you for your support,
Barack

LOVE! You can donate right to my fundraising page, too. Come on! You know you want to. (wink) :-)

President's Day

Yesterday my Dad came over and saw Ian was out of school and remembered it was a holiday.

So he said to Ian, "Hey, you're out of school! What holiday is it?"

"President's Day, right, Ian?" says mama (me).

"Yep" Ian responds.

"And who's the President of the United States?" Grandpa asks

President Barack Obama! Ian responds.

To which Mom says with a proud wide grin spread across her face: "That's right baby, that's exactly who's going to be President real soon."

Yay, Ian! :-) You bet, baby, you bet!

January 20, 2009 - President Barack Obama shall be sworn.

Reaching

Oh, those poor Clintons ... they'll say and do anything to get elected.

Plagiarism? Really? Mr. Obama may have used some similar words and sentences from his friend's speech but haven't they as well? Haven't they used Barack's words of inspiration? Come on now!

Who hasn't said, "words? just words?" when they try to say that it's just words what Barack Obama is saying and that they are not important. They prove how much they just don't get it when they say such things and come up with these antics the day before another vote, of course.

Words are EVERYTHING. Without thoughts and words, nothing would be created! Life lives in the conversations we have with one another and the thoughts shared in society in general. Words give form to ideas; they move, touch and inspire us to be and to do. How ridiculous to say they're meaningless.

And then to say Mr. Obama walks away from promises because he says he won't accept public funding as he said he would if he's the Democratic nominee because he doesn't need it now since he raised so much money? The guy doesn't want to spend OUR money and he's bad because he said he would when he thought he might need it. That's reaching, baby, reaching!

What it also is is PATHETIC and Mrs. Clinton and her camp should be ashamed of themselves for having to stoop so low to get what they're after. This is what we have to look forward to if she's elected. Can you imagine? "The Clinton White House Drama - Part 2" Blah! I rather have McCain than this woman. She will be a lighting rod for hell on earth and more divisive for this country than the Republicans could ever be.

3 More States Tonight ... Yes We Can!

Experience

So much is being said about experience during this election. I always say experience is only good if you learn from it and today I came across a quote which I think perfectly illustrates my point:

“Experience teaches only the teachable.”
- Aldous Huxley

Endorsing Hillary?!

Someone I dearly love wrote in their blog that they're supporting Hillary over Barack Obama. Waaaaaa! She says that the Clinton family has been one of her favorites for many years and that Hillary wants change.

On liking the Clintons:

I didn't mind the Clintons before, I even liked them when Bill was in office. I thought he did a pretty good job. Except for Monica, of course, and a few other things, it seems he was not bad overall. The Clintons of late leave a whole lot to be desired though.

On wanting change:

Listen, anyone running a campaign against the opposing team wants change. That goes without saying. The only change Hillary wants though is her in the White House. For her this is another step on the career ladder. I think she's probably a hard-working lady who means well and wants to help people but she will do stuff as part of a job, not as a real feeling from the inside that who we could be as a country is AMAZING.

The Clintons are pros at the political game and this position of President is just that, a position to get, a title. That's why they have come out swinging at Barack with all the crappy comments about race and about the Obama campaign being a fairytale (A fairytale? Are you insane?!) etc. etc. They thought they could say these things and actually get away with it. They think they're entitled, that they're some sort of a political dynasty. It was so terribly unprofessional and arrogant and off-putting to me. They never had me with Barack in the picture but they lost me there completely.

Besides, the Republicans will love to oppose everything Hillary tries to do in office even if it's good. With Barack Obama, they know this is who he is, that he works with people across the aisle, that he expects to get things done and be friends with everyone and not play the b.s. political game. They respect and like him which is not the case with Hillary.

Although I think she has somewhat gotten a raw deal for years, I just don't connect with her either. She seems wooden to me and her speeches are more of the same. Where's the inspiration, the call to us, the citizens? There is NOTHING there!

Barack is in a league of his own in a thousand ways and what I like best of all is the fact he has raised money from individuals and not special interests so he doesn't owe crap to anyone.

This is the people's campaign and not the lobbyists' and corporations'. This is such a personal campaign for all of us supporting him. This is our lives and our dreams, not just a push to the White House as the next personal goal.

This person I love also noted Hillary saying in the latest debate that it took the 1st Clinton to clean up after the 1st Bush, and it would take a 2nd Clinton to clean up after the 2nd Bush. Well, sure that was "cute" of Hillary to say but, to me, this is the real thing and no cute sound-bite could ever sway me from TRUE, INTRINSIC CHANGE.

Bottomline, with Hillary, I expect more of the same - lots of fighting, nothing getting done for this country. With Barack, lots of discourse and compromise and arriving at the middle, Americans involved and plugged in, helping make things happen at long last. A very easy decision for me, especially with his plans for community organizing and service.

It's just brilliant and man, I just cannot wait for the HUGE transformation of this country inside and outside its borders!!! It may hurt a little or even a lot but for growth and transformation, that's what's necessary, baby! I say, let's go!!