imagery

President Barack Obama rests his hand on President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible as his wife Michelle Obama holds it as he takes the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

We're famous!

What an incredible experience. It was so fantastic to be there and feel a part of things. When the crowd was told to stand, we stood! When there was a moving moment, we cheered. When we were particularly excited, we rose to our feet. Awesome. Good luck, Mr. President. You have a lot of work to do, but we are behind you 100%!

MLK Day

This morning, the kids played outside for hours. Still high 50s and sunny. When they came in requesting a snack, we munched and then watched Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. Ted, as expected, was very interested and full of questions. Horizons did a good job both last year and this year discussing the Civil Rights Movement, I think. Tomorrow, he and I will go the Boulder Theatre to watch the Inauguration live. Yee haw!

I thought this editorial cartoon was fantastic this morning. Well done.

And in piano news, Sam had his 2nd lesson this afternoon. He has four new songs to learn, 2 for the LH and 2 for the RH. Way cute. He loved it (I was outside with the others, but Karin said he was totally engaged the whole time.) He is really liking this. Sam got into the van after his lesson and informed me that he had piano "work" to do at home. He is so proud. Cutie!

I'm really excited to "go to the Inauguration" tomorrow. Horizons' 2-3 and Middle School grades will be there, with other sections of students from all over Boulder Valley. Strangely, the 100 "extra" seats didn't sell out (perhaps people, like myself, didn't realize they were available to the layperson) so we got lucky. I'm sure Horizons will do a good job doing activities related to the inauguration, but I really believe being there is the best thing. It's so historic. The next time a president is elected, Ted will be almost 15 (assuming Obama makes it 2 terms, which I highly expect he will). Very exciting!

Anything is possible

Tomorrow there are lots of MLK events going on in Boulder. We'll make sure to go to one of them. And then on Tuesday, Horizons is spending most of the day doing activities related to the inauguration and the civil rights movement. What an exciting time.

Yes We CAN!

I loved the acceptance speech. It's just amazing that as recently as 1965, blacks couldn't vote. To someone my age, this seems impossible. But only because we've come so far. I am very encouraged for our future. For the first time in 8+ years, I am finally proud of who our president is! Rock on, Barack!

9pm Mountain Time

Yippe, whee, hooray and all those words can't express my elation. There is hope for America yet!

holding our collective breaths

Obama won Ohio! 3 states have a party change from the last election. If he wins California, he's golden. Holy cow. Can this really be happening? Can America actually swing this? What a night!

late night posting

Between my nap this afternoon and Obama's speech, it is no wonder I can't sleep tonight! I've re-watched Hillary, Bill and Biden's speeches (oh, how I love CNN in my lack 'o TV world right now! Olympics, conventions, I've got it all!) As so many of us do, I hope fervently that Obama wins this election! What excitement and hope is in the air... the possibility of CHANGE! Yes, we can!!! It is (sadly) amazing to hear a presidential candidate promising healthcare reform, recalling troops from Iraq, easing up on taxes and improving schools. It's almost as if those types of reforms were taboo, impossible to acquire. But they are the pillars of his campaign. Oh, how I HOPE America is smart enough to elect him. Lord, what will happen if we don't?

And, since I can't sleep, my thoughts turn to the weekend ahead, in which I plan to do some major decluttering in the house. I ran across the Feng Shui concept, which I might try to implement this weekend. Interestingly enough, many of the colors are in the "right" directions already (we have a yellow, north-facing kitchen, for example, with brown and white predominant. Go us.) Our north-facing bedroom is painted pale peach, a viable skin color, but I'm going to work on the arrangement a bit, perhaps finding a headboard for our bed, and balancing it out with 2 nightstands. This is fun. While we hope to move to Boulder in 2010, it will be nice to have some cash in the bank if we decide to stay. Pergo, finished basement and new (Energy Star) appliances would all add to the warm and comfy feel I aim for.

Well, it's after midnight. Guess I'll try and get a few Zzz's. Oh, and sadly, Electra has taken another turn for the worse. She's lost any weight she gained back and has stopped eating again. She'll drink milk and shower water, but nothing else. We gave her 1cc of the fluids tonight, in hopes of just making her feel better. We'll see the vet this weekend. This might be the end. She's old and obviously not able to keep herself "feeling good" without help. If the vet thinks she's in any pain at all, we'll probably put her to sleep. I love this cat. It will be a very male household without her in it. I'll update soon.

go Obama!

from No Impact Man:

As the New York Times said today in an editorial (with my emphasis):

Senators John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton have hit on a new way to pander to American voters: a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The proposal may draw applause and votes from Americans feeling the pain of nearly $4-a-gallon gasoline. But it is an expensive and environmentally unsound policy that would do nothing to help American drivers... Fortunately, Mr. Obama has not caved to the rising calls for cheap energy and has refused to follow his rivals down this misguided path...

Joseph Romm, a progressive, who worked for the Clintons as acting assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy, writing critically of the gas tax on his blog, Climate Progress, says (again with my emphasis):

I write this post with some sadness. I would not have expected a major progressive politician who obviously cares about global warming to propose a gas tax holiday, which has no public benefits whatsoever, but at the same time undermines the entire rationale behind a national climate strategy that includes, as it must, a pricing mechanism for greenhouse gases. I try, however, to be as consistent as possible — and if such a proposal was cynical and hypocritical for Sen. McCain, it is equally cynical and hypocritical for Sen. Clinton. Kudos to Sen. Obama for opposing this absurd proposal — double kudos because it might cost him a few votes.

According to the Washington Post, meanwhile:

Harvard professor N. Gregory Mankiw, who has written a best-selling textbook on economics, said what he teaches is different from what Clinton and McCain are saying about gas taxes. "What you learn in Economics 101 is that if producers can't produce much more, when you cut the tax on that good the tax is kept . . . by the suppliers and is not passed on to consumers," he said.

Which makes the move by Clinton and McCain all the more cynical. While the measure will cost the federal government $9 billion and send entirely the wrong message on climate change, McCain and Clinton know as well as anyone else that oil companies won't pass the price break onto consumers but instead will pocket it.

They are paying $9 billion in our money, in other words, to make a false promise. They are trying to trick voters into voting for them.

Environmentalists said, according to the Post:

[that] stoking ire about the cost of gas undermines efforts to build a case for limiting carbon emissions, which could raise prices at the pump. "It sends a confusing message," said Kevin Knoblauch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "What's more helpful is if [politicians] help consumers understand that this isn't about near-term gas prices, it's about a comprehensive and smart approach to energy policies."

The sad news is that this whole mishigas is a first indication of how McCain or Clinton would treat the climate issue if they became president. The good news is that it is also and indication of how Obama would treat it.

A More Perfect Union

The whole speech is wonderful, but if you're crunched for time (or have a slow connection), start at the 30 minute mark.

Yes We Can

This is pretty popular right now, but just in case you've missed it...here it is.

2008

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all political on the blog. Truth is, I haven't voted since I cast my ballot for (Bill) Clinton back in 1996. While I support Obama, I still think it's pretty good stuff that our Democrats this round are not aging white men. A woman and a black man. Bring it on. If nothing else, this election gives me HOPE. When was the last time we REALLY had hope that things could change? I'm actually hopeful. I think a lot of people are. (And personally, there has been a Clinton or a Bush in office since I was old enough to vote. I'm ready for a new name, a new face, a new family!)