To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun

I was going to start this post by saying something about how winter is a time of reflection, but then I realized I say that same thing about spring and autumn. Never summer, though. Summer is a time for enjoying life, for celebrating light and warmth and yes, baseball. Winter? Maybe winter is not so much a season of reflection, but a season of longing. I still haven't found a person who is enjoying this bitter ten degree weather, which seems to have strangled the whole country at this point. Even in DC it is painfully cold, not something I tend to associate with DC winters, though I admit being from Ohio, I tend to exaggerate the mildness of DC winters because of the contrast. Forty is cold when you've been in DC for five years.

Yesterday we hit the solstice, a day that I celebrate in my head, because I know that every day that passes after that until my second favorite day of the year (the first being Opening Day) has a little more light than the previous day. As I am prone to reflection and to notice beauty in little things, I have to say that one of my favorite times of year is that moment towards the end of January when it suddenly occurs to you that the days ARE getting longer. It is immediately followed by an agonizingly long run of several weeks which are the coldest of the year, but at least there is that light, and with light comes hope and the promise of renewal and rebirth. Then - spring.

Oh, the little things that tell you you're getting closer! The February rains. Pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. Windbreakers on sale in the store windows. Then, those tiny green sprouts that appear across the natural world, the sight of which can make one's heart explode with joy even as he dons his black overcoat and carries his black umbrella and walks beneath a dull gray sky.

But - we are far from spring, one day removed, in fact, from the first day of winter. Yet spring seems like it is just around the corner, for we as a nation face a rebirth of the greatest proportions. This is our time to plant new roots and our time to pluck up that which has been planted over centuries. This is our time, our season, a new generation not grown with seeds of hatred and intolerance but with an enlightenment of a sort. It is our time to heal, to laugh, to dance, to speak up, speak out.

It is our time for peace.

Go Jim!

It happens every two years for me (sometimes every year, depending if there is a good governor's or state legislative race). I devote most of my energy to a campaign, and then Election Day hits and it's over. And I crash. And I stop paying attention for about a month.

I realized today that I haven't been paying much attention. I stopped reading the political blogs, stopped reading every word in every newspaper. Yet Election Day has been a month this year. Tomorrow, Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss are in a runoff in Georgia for the final Senate seat. Chambliss is a piece of garbage, and I don't use that word often to describe a politician. Except Bush. And Delay. And Frist. And Sensenbrenner. And Taft. And Blackwell. And LIEberman. And...ok, so I do, but there is a particular breed of politician that is utterly despicable, and Chambliss is one of them. Who can forget the way he treated triple amputee Max Cleland in defeating him for his Senate reelection bid?

I know in my mind that Chambliss will win - he has everything going for him - he's an incumbent, and he will benefit from low voter turnout (after all, people already voted for this position once on Election Day.) But I have my fingers crossed that something in the stars will favor Martin and he comes out ahead by some political miracle.
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Al could pull it off

With the Minnesota Senate recount underway, it is looking more and more like Franken could win this thing. As of today, he is down 136 votes (after being down by 270+ before the recount began.) The Democratic counties are Hennipin (Minneapolis), Ramsey, and St. Louis. So far Hennipin Co has only recounted 42% (Al has already gained 14 votes there), Ramsey 30% (Al's gained 39 votes there) and St. Louis 37% (Al's gained 18 votes there).

Without doing the exact math, if the proportions remain the same, that could give Al 150 or so votes in those counties alone and give us our 59th Senate seat with the Georgia race still remaining.

With ballots like the one pictured here, recounting could be a fun job. Remember the show "V"? The lizard people were supposed to win in 2008. Someone had a sense of humor.

I'm proud of my team

Reds to receive environmental award

As part of an initiative to "Go Green" in 2008, the Reds began or improved several programs that benefit the preservation of the environment. Working with Rumpke and Pepsi, it included a recycling program of plastic and paper generated from both game-day crowds and front-office business.

Waste cooking oils generated in the kitchens and concession areas were recycled for future use as bio-diesel fuel. Concrete, metals and cardboard materials are also recycled.

Other programs include reducing total hours of lighting use and using environmentally-friendly laundry detergents and cleaners. Fertilizers used on the playing field are organic, and grass clippings are moved to external green areas as a natural fertilizer.

The Reds also held "carbon neutral" games on Opening Day and Earth Day to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

America sometimes seems to only wake up to sports. Well, here's an example of sports leading a community in an area vital to humanity. Cool.

Perhaps the Reds could get in on some of the train action Ohio and Amtrak are looking into...
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A thought on American health

Health care in this country is nearing a crisis state. More than forty million people in this country have no health insurance, and many Americans are foregoing health care because they cannot afford it. Why is this happening in this country, supposedly the richest country in the world?

It isn't just the greed of the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies. Yes, these two industries are disgusting and predatory, but the fact is, America has brought it upon itself. We are an unhealthy nation because of our lifestyles.

We are a nation addicted to pills, and doctors are addicted to the profits brought upon by these pills. Just because you are told to "ask your doctor" in a television ad doesn't mean you should do it. Newsflash: pills don't make the problems go away. We're now facing a health care crisis because profits rather than the well-being of human beings now dictate the path of health care.

How did we get here? Laziness? Why are people so sick, why do they feel the need to ask their doctors? Why do people not know how to take care of themselves? People never exercise, claim they don't have time, but they can't even bother getting out of their cars to go and get their pills. There are drive-thru pharmacies for that. (We're so lazy we can't be bothered to write "through" in drive through.)

However, there are some people in this country who are health conscious. They go to gyms, they run, they take sports supplements. They eat organic foods. They don't drive around for twenty minutes trying to get a closer parking spot. Maybe if more of us lived this kind of lifestyle, the health care industry wouldn't be so massive and would be less successful in earning profits at the expensive of human well-being.

It's up to us to change things. We can't keep relying on our government to fix our problems. We can look to government for help, but without some effort on our part, it just isn't enough.

Euphoria

It has yet to sink in. I've watched every news clip, heard every speech over and over again, read article after article of every amazing experience of our magical night. There are few moments in life when one experiences pure joy, when seemingly every negative emotion you've ever felt disippates into the realm of the divine and you touch nirvana. It is that moment right before something becomes history, the moment of now, the present, and we shared it across the globe. We live through so few moments in our lives when we will one day look back and say "where were you when...?" I've had two such moments in my life - the first an unmitigated tragedy that paved the way for the sort of despotic America. The occurance of the first event and the subsequent atrocities that followed added to the triumph of the second event that happened on November 4, 2008, the day when America once again became a shining beacon of hope to not only its citizens, but to the world.

Look, I know we as Americans did not physically suffer like oppressed people suffer. In that sense, it may seem like hyperbole when we say it feels like we've overthrown a dictator. Yet all of the suffering our country has caused others, all of the wars, the torture, the we'll do whatever the hell we want attitude, that was real, and tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the Bush regime. If other countries did it, we'd say it was tyranny, so let's call a spade a spade.

Our work has just begun...
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Get on the bus!

Beautiful

100,000 people turned up in St. Louis for Barack Obama.
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Lessons of History Often Go Unheeded

I just read "Lenin's Tomb" by David Remnick about the end days of the USSR. A passage from Volkogonov, a guy who published a negative biography of Stalin in '88, struck a chord. He spoke at a Minidef session and was denounced by Gen. Falin for a lack of patriotism, so he said: "I am no less a patriot than Falin and love the Motherland no less than he...but you cannot change the consequences of history. I agree with those who say there are many faults in this volume...but let's discuss and debate them...But, no, Comrade Falin and some others do not engage in scholarly debate, but rather make accusations about a lack of patriotism."

The rightwing Communist hardliners - the same ones who attempted a coup against Gorbachev and who hated perestroika - often accused those with whom they disagreed as being unpatriotic.

Perhaps Sarah Palin's job as Russia's babysitter has affected her outlook on things. Last night, she said this: “We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America. Being here with all of you hard-working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation."

Here's a clue, Sarah. America is not only small towns. People in big cities, people who are university-educated, people who drive hybrid vehicles, people who eat organic food, we're all Americans. Enough with your Soviet drivel. We're tired of it!

Isn't it time the American right discards the tactics of the anti-democracy Soviet hardliners? Does "Joe the Plummer," who has said similar words in the last couple of days (and who is neither Joe nor a plummer), honestly believe that the thousands of people working and volunteering to get Barack Obama elected hate America? What kind of mental disorder does one have to have to believe Barack Obama and his supporters hate America and wish to destroy it? How much hate-filled talk radio does one have to listen to before one can be considered brainwashed? Why are Democrats forced to wear flag pins on their lapels so the right won't scream "Traitor!"?

Isn't it time for this insanity to stop?

Barack the Vote

We get Springsteen and The National. They get...Ted Nugent?

I attended a GOTV rally on Fountain Square in Cincinnati, Ohio last night. The purpose was to get people on buses to the board of elections to vote (for Barack!)

This is my favorite non-U2 band, and for them to be 1. giving a free concert 2. in support of Barack Obama 3. in which I was in the front was simply awesome. To hear them, listen here. (I was at this show, too! The set list was almost the same as it was last night.)

I was disappointed in the number of people who hopped into the vans to vote. At the same time, there were places to be held! Being in the front, I wouldn't have left my spot to vote when I still had 18 days to do it. Fortunately, I've already voted, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Knowing a thing or two about Get on the bus!, I could have predicted a lower participation than the organizers expected. It takes awhile to get people motivated to do it, but I think they got the message last night. A lot of the crowd "promised" to vote tomorrow. Even if a quarter of them do, that's a heck of a lot of early votes for Obama! I'll be moving UC students next week like last week, but I am not looking forward to it. I am growing tired of the campaigning. Eighteen days feels like an eternity. Still, what must be done, must be done. We can't risk low turnout because people think it's in the bag.

But hey, I was not without enthusiasm last night. Quite the opposite.

I can't believe I got to be this close.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

A great man once said that, a man who gave his life for his country, for a dream which is so close to coming true. In 20 days, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream may take place in living rooms across America as CNN calls Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and so many other states for Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Obama is not a black man. He is not a white man. He is the epitome of what we, a nation of immigrants, have built from the swamps of DC to the coasts of California, from the mountains of Montana to the bayous of Louisiana. He is a composite of the tired, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, those who left their families and their countries behind in search of a better life, a life where all people are created equal, where anyone with a little hard work and dedication can prosper.

I drank the American kool-aid long ago when I read such craziness as The Federalist Papers and the Declaration of Independence. I lost my head over the idea of the empowerment of people and the guarantee of human rights. I became insane when I began to believe that people who suffered under tyranny could go to a magical land where they could start from scratch and build better lives for themselves and their families. My America is not a country marred by flagwaving tribalism; my America is an idea bloomed from the minds of men who saw the promise and possibilities of what humanity could do when it strove for progress, when it recognized rather than ignored its problems and sought solutions for these problems.

But they also knew the vileness of which man is capable. "A republic, if you can keep it," were the words of Benjamin Franklin when asked what kind of government he and his colleagues had framed for this fledgling country. This republic contained checks and balances and guaranteed protection of human rights so those who seek to take them from us could be justly punished.

We as a nation in general grew silent, complacent, ignorant in our selfish wanderings around an unregulated America. We filled our houses with material things and when that space ran out, we rented more space at storage facilities. We put things on credit cards and lived beyond our means while CEOs shoved dynamite into the crevice that was the income gap. Those of us who chose to fight were labeled "socialists," "moonbats," and various other names. Yet much of America remained glued to American Idol and Drama Island and whatever was the latest game on the latest console. This country lost its civility and respect towards others all in the name of getting "what's mine." It seemed like people retreated to their homes and turned their noses up at the thought of community. As Hobbes put it best, if we revert to the state of nature, life is nasty, brutish, and short.

Even now in the 21st century there is a resistance to progress. Some dismiss the racial and social tension incited by a demagogue and the obvious ignorance of a certain segment of society as "fringe." We must not ignore the truth about the force of - I hesitate to use the word, but that's what it is - evil that has loomed over McCain rallies. Racism is not something to be taken lightly. We may be on the verge of seeing something historic - a man with dark skin sitting in the Oval Office may start a new chapter in American history, one where we can finally discard all of the PC BS and the race card cries and the accusations and have a real discussion about race relations in this country.

When we talk, when we begin to overcome suspicions, when we stop calling the black neighborhood the "bad part of town," we can finally merge onto the highway of progress instead of this country dirt road we seem to be on. Get rid of racism, empower all people to be full and active participants in society, and there will be no need to talk about "socialism," etc., as the right calls our quest for bettering America. This "imperfect" America, as Sarah Palin describes our view, is an America in which we so strongly believe that we are willing to work our butts off to fix the problems that she wants to ignore or even inflame. We on the left haven't given up on making a more perfect union. We aren't going to put up with an America with regions that resemble a third world country. We aren't going to put up with crime-ridden neighborhoods ruled by drug lords not unlike those who control the Taliban. We aren't going to put up with being ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality rates. No, Sarah, this nation is NOT perfect, and for you to pretend otherwise is obscene.

This, Sarah, is what you inspire:


Yes, we on the left get criticized for saying we MUST do things. It is morally right to end poverty, end equality, end injustice, end ignorance. We MUST do these things, lest the American ideal continue to crumble. There is hope, a whisper in the air, a sound like foreign words blowing through the autumn breeze. We on the left have been shouting a version of it for years, but only now has it reached Main Street ears. We have to keep at it. November 4th is not the end of the movement but the very beginning. We may think the GOP hate machine is dead, but history proves far too often how strong is the power of hate.

Some may find the phrases "hope" and "change" empty rhetoric, but believe me, these words are spoken with the full force of truth and sincerity as their dictionary definitions would suggest. I am excited about the prospect for real, fundamental change so that we may get America back. That's what most Americans want, and that's why Barack Obama will be the next President of these United States.
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Stop stealing our signs

I wonder if this letter will resonate with the small town Ohio folks who read the newspaper I sent it to:

Is this America? Across the country, entire towns are seeing the disappearance of yard signs for Senator Obama. People who have paid their own money to show their pride in their candidate are having their property stolen by those who for some reason are filled with hatred and contempt for the American political system.

Theft of yard signs is a crime. It is much more than that, though. When you steal a campaign sign, you spit on the American flag. Stealing a sign is a demonstration that you don't respect the rights to free speech and private property we are guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I am here in Ohio, the state in which I grew up, to volunteer on a presidential campaign. Those of us who believe in change and progress have quit or suspended our regular jobs and come to the big states to work for a better America. Why is it that one side of this campaign is busy working day and night for this country while the other side, instead of working for their candidate and what he stands for, chooses to steal signs, vandalize cars with Obama stickers, rile up hatred for our candidate based on lies and misinformation, and accuse us of voter fraud after we've worked hard to register first time voters and have seen results? Why not take that negative energy and use it to do something positive for your campaign?

I realize that in smaller towns like Sidney, there is a lot of fear of the unknown. The economy is in shambles, people are losing their homes, and a guy with a funny name is running for President of the United States. But this is America, folks. Our ancestors came here from all over the world and built the strongest country on Earth. We will overcome our difficulties, but not if we continue to cling to the past instead of looking to the future. As Albert Einstein once said, "We can't solve our problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Don't fear change. Embrace it. Wrap it around you and revel in the possibilities it brings. Believe and trust in the promise of America.

Stop stealing our yard signs. Not only is it illegal, but it is downright un-American.

It's become an American epidemic.
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Dark clouds on the horizon of hope

This past week brought out the true nature of a certain segment of McCain followers and of Sarah Palin herself. At a Palin event, "Sarahcudas" turned nasty towards the media, and one shouted a racial insult at a sound guy. Later, Palin tried to connect Obama to Ayers and someone shouted "Kill Him!" At McCain's event, the senator asked "Who is Barack Obama?" and one of his followers shouted "A terrorist!" with a force of hatred that made McCain recoil.

The Michelle Malkins of the world call it unjustifiable outrage or hysteria and use the old "they do it, too!" garbage. Even seemingly sane people on the right dismiss it all as acts of a few fringe elements. If one person does it, yeah, it's fringe. Two people, ditto. But it isn't just one or two people. Every rally has an atmosphere of hatred and anger. They blame the economic crisis on minorities. They blame Washington. They blame "liberals." The only people they don't blame are themselves. Even as they struggle to decide which credit card bills they should pay this month, even as they worry about being evicted from their homes, they refuse to look in the mirror and take any responsibility for the economic crisis we are in. They'd rather blame a guy with a funny name who doesn't look like them.

This country has a history of violence. This country has a history of racism. Duh. A lot of people on the right believe that because Jim Crow is off the books, there is no more racism in the country aside from the wackos in the KKK or neo-nazi groups. Simply not true.

A few noteworthy items:

A guy with an Obama sticker had his car vandalized. The sheriff who wrote up the crime suggested that if he insisted on having an Obama sticker on his car then he should deal with the consequences.

Children were teargassed at a local mosque here in SW Ohio.

An Obama sign was burned in a black family's front yard.

A man brings a monkey doll with an Obama bumper sticker to a Palin rally.

Then there was this intolerant invocation at a McPalin rally in Iowa.

I have heard the N word with my own ears more times in the past two weeks than I may have heard in my lifetime.

Sure, the left has its extremists, too. The difference is that the Democratic party doesn't play to them. The Republicans actively seek out the votes and participation of skinhead wannabes and the spiritual warriors, those who want to bring on another crusade. The McCain campaign actively sought to appeal to the inner racists in its base, and that's where the difference lies. That's from where the outrage stems.

When anyone talks of the outrage, the Malkins of the world dismiss it as the evil liberal media. It doesn't matter that hundreds of columnists have spoken out against the hatred on display at the rallies - they are just a part of the Obamedia, as Malkin thinks she is cleverly terming it. This is the same media on which the Palin supporters turned. Frankly, I think the media should have refused to cover her after that outlandish display of fear and ignorance.

These conspiracy theorists think the whole world is out to get them - the media, Hollywood, the "elitists" who have university degrees - it's all one big conspiracy to take their guns and religion away. Khaled Hosseini, he of Kite Runner fame, spoke out against it today. But it won't matter to the racist rednecks - Hosseini is a Muslim. He's going to...you know, I don't understand what these people think the liberals are going to do to them. What a bunch of ignorant fools. It's as if they can't tell the difference between reality and a Tom Clancy movie.

The reason Obama is winning and will win is because he offers a message of hope. The others offer a culture of fear. Normal people have grown tired of that fear.

UPDATE: I'm going to use this post to document all of the stories of hatred I read for the next couple of weeks. Here's one - a man calls an Obama supporter pushing his two year old son in a shopping cart a "commie faggot." Note the bit about the police officers saying they've had an increase in similar incidents.

A guy in Hagerstown thinks Obama's a Muslim who will nuke Hagerstown.

Swastika painted on an Obama sign.

Road rage because of a bumper sticker

A Day at the Ballpark

I am a baseball fan, a diehard Cincinnati Reds fan, and a trip to the ballpark is just about my favorite thing to do. The Dayton Dragons are the Reds' low A minor league affiliate, and though the Dragons' season ended more than a month ago, I happily hopped into my car and drove to the ballpark on Thursday. This time, though, there'd be no men in shiny white and green uniforms taking the field. No, this time, something far more important than the trivial matter of baseball would take place on the diamond. The leading candidate for the next President of the United States would speak from the same mound where Luis Montano took a no hitter into the seventh inning earlier this year, the same mound from which upcoming Reds stars Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey once threw, the mound in the middle of Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio, a city in a state that could win the presidency for Senator Barack Obama.

I've been feeling pretty disheartened about the pervasive hatred that has surrounded the McPalin rallies of late, but a kos diary I just read has left me inspired and reminded me of what we set out to do. This election isn't just about the economy. No, the sorry state of the economy is what will give us victory, but that's not why Barack Obama is running for President of the United States, leader of the free world. Change is not an empty slogan in the Obama camp. Change is the goal, it is real, it is within our grasp.

What is this change?

Change is white people going into black neighborhoods and being welcomed because there is a sense of solidarity, that yes, we are all Americans. Change is eliminating suspicions, overcoming prejudices, being bold in the face of something unknown. Change is not living in fear of difference, not holing yourself up behind the walls of your house, worried that people will take what's yours. Change is transforming perceptions that a black community is the "bad part of town."

But it's much more than black and white. Change is also moving people to serve their country, not only through military service, but through volunteer service, whether it be the Peace Corps, a soup kitchen, or a community organization. It's getting up off your couches, out from behind the video games, and taking part in America again. This country wasn't built by people who sat back and let others do all the work.

Change is also ending the anti-intellectualism that has put this country in a hole, has seen our educational system fall to the bottom of the industrialized nations, and has whipped up a frenzied hatred that we haven't seen since the turmoil of the sixties. This is all a result of the divisive tactics of Republican politics started by Nixon and continued by every Republican presidential campaign since. Change is unity. Change is learning to respect the wisdom of the educated instead of dismissing their advice as "elitism." Change is learning to respect each other despite differences in opinion.

As Obama yard signs get stolen or vandalized, as people's houses are spraypainted, as cars are vandalized and Obama supporters are shot with BB guns, it has never been more evident that change is not only necessary, but critical. We can't move this nation forward if we have to constantly watch our backs.

The major difference between Obama supporters and McPalin supporters is that we hold onto hope, while McPalin supporters hold onto hate, a hate built by ignorance, lies, and rightwing talk radio that spreads conspiracy theories like a Tom Clancy novel. Senator McCain - the real Senator McCain - showed up for a minute at one of his rallies yesterday and tried to appeal to the rational side of his followers. They booed him.

Palin ended yesterday's speech with a culture of fear:

"So you know, Ohio, from now until Election Day, you're gonna hear our
opponents go on and on about how they'll, quote, fight for you. But
since my running mate won't say this on his own behalf I will say it
for him. And that is, in this campaign there is only one man who has
every really fought for you. The only man who has ever really fought
for you and the only man with courage."

Senator Obama concluded with a statement of hope:

"Together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve
and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without
jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can't afford
to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at
the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting
on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we
had for ourselves.

We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had
grandparents or parents who said maybe I can't go to college but my
child can; maybe I can't have my own business but my child can. I may
have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call
their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run
for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son
can be president of the United States of America.

Now it falls to us. Together, we cannot fail."

I left the ballpark with a feeling not unlike that after a victory of my favorite baseball team. We in the progressive movement seek to renew the American promise and to give hope to those who have lost it in the era of greed and corruption our nation has undergone. As a great man once said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

Fighting Youth Apathy

In 1971, the United States Constitution was amended for the 26th time in American history. The Vietnam War had prompted unprecidented student activism which led to the amendment to lower the voting age to 18.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

"Old enough to fight, old enough to vote" was a common slogan heard at the time, as eighteen year olds were being drafted into Vietnam with no say in matters of the country.

For more info, see History of the Eighteen Year Old Vote

Despite a new 11 million new voters as a result of the amendment, the turnout rate among this demographic was low. Our nation has maintained that trend ever since.

But we are changing that.

Over the past decade or so, Get Out The Vote efforts have seen results. The youth vote has been increasing, and we saw record voter turnout among this demographic during the primaries. Vote Today Ohio is just one of the organizations that is determined to get more young Americans involved in the fate of their country.

On September 30, Ohio opened up a week of voting that was unprecidented in the history of the state. Not only could new voters register, but they could vote on the same day.

Why is this significant? I've heard some people ask. Think about some of the problems of the 2004 election - provisional ballots were tossed out for improperly filled out registration forms or because voters were in the wrong precinct and long lines on Election Day turned some voters away. By allowing voters to fill out their registration forms and vote at the county board of elections, you've killed the provisional ballot issue, as board of elections officials can review registration forms on the spot. By allowing voters to vote all month, you are significantly reducing the lines on Election Day. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. Well, except those candidates who benefit from keeping certain segments of voters away from the polls - like youth, African-Americans, and the poor.

My week was spent on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. That first Tuesday of what has been termed Ohio's Golden Week could have been viewed as grim in terms of fulfilling our goals. Vote Today Ohio took a mere 7 voters to the board of elections.

But there were three other groups on campus doing the same thing we were. All of us were progressive minded groups - apparently conservatives don't believe in facilitating voting rights (they believe in suppressing voting rights!) By the end of the day, we had coordinated our efforts, and our numbers improved from then on.

Our week officially began on Monday, September 29th at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in Columbus, Ohio. Most of us had arrived in Columbus Sunday night and stayed with complete strangers - but you know? I've spent nights at the homes of complete strangers while working on campaigns, and it turns out they aren't really strangers, because we in the progressive movement share the same values, values that exist deep within ourselves, values that are an inherent part of our natures, of us. No, we aren't strangers - before we enter each other's homes, we are just friends who haven't yet met. The values we hold - the ideas that our nation is only as strong as its weakest link, that everyone should have equal opportunity, that we only have one earth that is much more fragile than we used to think, that knowledge and intellect can move this country forward - are what will get America back, that America which the whole world once admired, that America which birthed the dreams of our ancestors, that America which showed the world that when people have the power, they can do great things.

Americans from across the country - and even some friends from other parts of the globe - came to Ohio to help restore the promise of democracy. We spent Monday afternoon in training before dispersing to various parts of the state that could make Barack Obama the next president of these United States. We had a room full of incredible people, Americans who show true patriotism through their actions and sacrifices rather than through empty flagwaving.

Becky from Kentucky and James from our friend Canada were just two of several volunteers who traveled to Cincinnati to help get students to the polls. After spending the first two or three days getting the word out that UC students could, indeed, register to vote in Hamilton County, we had the whole campus not only talking about the election, but we transported a few hundred students to vote!

I am a firm believer that we must change American student culture if we as a nation are to survive as a world power. A university is a place to gain knowledge, not a place you go to get a better job. We have to end the culture of excessive drunkenness, the culture of skipping classes, the culture of sports worship and go back to the roots of education, go back to scholarship and pride in achievement. We should stop mocking intelligence and calling rationally-minded and knowledgeable people "elitist." This week I overheard one girl say she has passed every literature class she has taken without reading a single book - in a class about books! This is nothing but laziness, and laziness won't make America strong again.

Not voting and not informing one's self about the issues is also laziness, especially when organizations like Vote Today Ohio are offering FREE shuttles directly to the voting station and back. Hundreds of university students in Cincinnati fulfilled their voting duties this week, and many of them have decided to volunteer for the first time on a political campaign. Hey, as Barack Obama reminded us this week, JFK told us we would go to the moon within ten years and we did it. Getting these students involved in our country's affairs is one small step for America and one giant leap for mankind.

Students were excited about voting. Seeing their enthusiasm was inspiring. Such sites filled me with a renewed sense of hope that we can get this country back on track and not only get through this financial crisis, but that we can fundamentally change the way we run the country. Can we get America back?

Yes we can!

Here are some more photos from the week followed by a couple of reports from the week. More photos to be posted later.













Erik's story
Aharon's story