Liberty and Justice for All - Happy 4th!

Its been one year since I left the United States to start a life in Berlin. It has been a year full of surprises, challenges and adventure. Some days all I wanted to do was go back home, get a 44 oz Diet Dr. Pepper filled with ice, cruise the aisles of Target and be able to freely communicate with everyone around me. For the most part though, I found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with this amazing city and dreading the thought of ever having to leave it.

However, this time away has helped me appreciate some things about my home country that I'd taken for granted. Most importantly - the concept of Personal Liberty that is completely entrenched in the national psyche and influences so much of America's laws and policies. I never realized how much that concept influences the way we think, what we value and how we shape our day to day lives. I also value the rich diversity in the United States and believe this is the country's greatest strength. We are all different, working together to build a free society that is welcoming to all...and I love that, even if our efforts aren't perfect.



Happy 4th of July everyone!!




(now all you in the States...please go drink a COLD drink full of ICE for me and enjoy some good Mexican food or maybe some Brisket...mmmm brisket....)

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly...

...one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws...

...law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress...

...I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the Ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: My own government...

...We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest...

...Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken -- the role of those who make

peaceful revolution

impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered...

This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of people normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.

..Every nation must now develop an
overriding loyalty to mankind
as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies....

...This call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men. This oft misunderstood and misinterpreted concept -- so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force -- has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man....

We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now....

....Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter -- but beautiful -- struggle for a new world....

Number 44

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

Barack Obama
November 4, 2008

I hope he doesn't let us down - I am very anxious to see what the next few years will bring.

But for now - I am celebrating!

Oh - and Prop 2 won in California. Now Happy Cows really will come from California!

Hey California Voters...

For anyone who hasn't voted early...I know lots of people reading this are in Cali and I wanted to get you the REAL facts about Prop 2. Seriously, take a look -- and I hope you'll vote YES! on Prop 2.


Proposition 2, The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, is a modest initiative that would give calves, pigs, and chickens in California room to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs. It's endorsed by The Humane Society of the United States, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Center for Food Safety, the Consumer Federation of America, and dozens of newspapers from The New York Times to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

As goes California, so goes the country, right?

Here's what Prop 2 will do for the animals and citizens of California:

Prop 2 will eliminate the worst cruelties inflicted on animals living on factory farms. It will end the practice of cramming animals into cages so small the animals can’t even turn around or extend their limbs.

Prop 2 will make our food safer to eat. A recent study found that battery-cage operations were up to 20 times more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella than cage-free facilities. Prop 2 will protect all Californians -- and especially infants and small children -- against higher risks of Salmonella.

Prop 2 will cost less than a penny per egg to implement. Published research and analysis by a California-based poultry economist show that it costs producers less than one penny per egg to stop confining laying hens in battery cages.

Prop 2 will give farmers more than 6 years to adjust to more humane and sustainable practices. That's a more than reasonable phase-in provision. In fact, more than 100 California family farmers are endorsing Proposition 2.

For all these reasons, vote YES! on Prop 2 tomorrow. For more detailed information about Prop 2, including complete fact sheets on animal cruelty, food safety, and other issues related to Prop 2, visit YESonProp2.com

NO, I won't bring up that other ballot issue you can vote ON , Prop 8.

Better Times are Coming

I have had this song stuck in my head for days.

There is so much negativity in the media, in the blasted elections...but I tend to have a more optimistic outlook. Get out and vote next week my American friends....better times are coming.

Rocked the Vote

It's in the mail...

Static

“It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

—Henry Ford

“Some [most] people think the Federal Reserve Banks are U.S. government institutions. They are not … they are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the U.S. for the benefit of themselves and their foreign and domestic swindlers, and rich and predatory money lenders. The sack of the United States by the Fed is the greatest crime in history. Every effort has been made by the Fed to conceal its powers, but the truth is the Fed has usurped the government. It controls everything here and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will.”—Congressional Record 12595-12603 — Louis T. McFadden, Chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency (12 years) June 10, 1932

(I am still alive...spent the past week learning about the horrors of war and corrupt governments...I will be back and posting for real soon...)

The Government works for the People?

Well, at least when there's only 5 weeks until elections, anyway. I had a post all ready about the current crisis (Ack! Panic! Its like Y2K, bird flu, and killer bees all at once!) and what a bad idea the bailout was. About how we would be paying Rudy Giuliani's firm to 'consult' on the crisis, but would be doing nothing to address home foreclosures, gas prices, affordable health insurance or job security for Americans. About how everyone criticized bailing out homeowners but are now willing to spend what amounts to like $300k per citizen to bailout corporations and their CEOs and their consulting firms and on and on.

But then the House went and defeated it. I think we should all write our reps (well, if they voted nay...) and say THANK YOU!** I am sure this isn't the last we will hear of bailouts, but defeating this ridiculous bill was a big step for our congress. Lets see if they keep this up past November 4.

Anyway, I wish I had some exciting photos to post or something but I have literally done nothing but work and unpack boxes and assemble Ikea furniture (%&*$A%!) (Cory actually got so mad at our bookshelf he put a whole in it with a hammer)(its good I have a sense of humour)(and yes it was quite funny) for the past week and half. I should have pics of our apartment soon - I just want to have something on the walls first! I should have done before and after pictures. Too bad. I don't know how long before another post - but we have visitors coming to town this week so I will get to play tourist. Look for lots of interesting posts soon!

**I think a lot of people must be (well, to say something anyway....), because the house website is going slooooow.

In the name of Manipulation

Sometimes, I read a headline or an email or a press release and I start to hear music...

Things I Like about the USA (or, Goodbye America)

1. NPR (National Public Radio) - The best reporting on topics that are relevant (you know, unlike other news where I hear about the latest on Brangelina or how a stupid flag pin equals a presidential candidates patriotism). I listened to NPR every morning and evening on my commute and I am going to miss it - hopefully in Germany I will still be able to download podcasts. If you haven't listened to Fresh Air, you should check it out!
   
2. The Cereal Aisle - I loooove sugary, food-dye enriched kids cereals. Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, Coco Puffs... I could go on and on. Being quite indecisive, I often have to make my game plan before I get to the grocery store, or I could spend all day hemming and hawing over which cereal I will eat this week. I know my dog Che will really miss Honeycomb.
3. Mexico and an Open Border - Yes, one of my favorite things about the US is its proximity to Mexico. I love the way the culture has mixed. I love Mexican food, Cinco de Mayo, cold Pacifco's with lime, Spanglish and Banda music. I love being able to go there easily and cheaply. I love that there are at least some people here that are fighting to make sure they can continue to come to the US cheaply and easily. I love Mexico and the the people in that country and I think I probably go through somewhat of a withdrawal living in Europe.
   
4. The Southwest - from the the Grand Canyon to the Mojave to the Texas Panhandle, I love the desert of the Southwest. I love the dry heat (even when its 120 F), the cactus, the snakes, prairie dogs, red dirt and prehistoric origins. I hope through technology we can find more sustainable ways of living there, because I would love to find myself back in Phoenix again someday.
   
5. Southern California - Really, do I need to explain? Beaches, In N Out, Fish Tacos, and the Lakers. I love it - even with the abundance of bleached hair, sprawling tract homes, bad traffic and fake boobs. Luckily, I think my family loves it as much as me and will never leave, so I will always get to visit.
   
6. American Food - Diners - Greasy home fries, pancakes, Rootbeer (with LOTS of ice), malted milkshakes and artery clogging onion rings. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Pit BBQ, corn on the cob and baked beans. Convenience Stores - Super Big Gulps filled to the brim with ice and Dr. Pepper, stale donuts and beef jerky. It may all be horrible for you (and really good that I take a break from it for a while...) but it sure is goood.
7. Idealism - Specifically, the ideal of Liberty that is entrenched in the country's beginnings and defines our culture. I am not one to get sentimental about our country's founding, I am far too realistic. But, when I visited the Liberty Bell this week and saw it in pictures with Suffragettes, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela I realized it represents exactly what this country is about. And as I visited the hall where Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and others gathered to debate exact what freedom would mean to this country I realized the only thing anyone really agreed on is that it would be a country of the people - and that it would be our duty to change the government whenever it ran afoul. Now that is what I love about America - and why I will be sending in my ballot from Germany in November.

Sadly, my lack of wearing a matching American Flag T-shirt on the fourth combined with my moving to Europe called my love of America into question in the eyes of some (but not really). So, like Obama's American Flag pin on his lapel, this is me proving my 'patriotism'.