bassline

I knew Gov. Sanford was up to 'doing someone on the side' when Argentina was mentioned. Apparently, his wife was aware of the affair for the past five months, but to do something like this on Father's Day is just cold...

314/366: sunday morning


For your consideration: Office of the President-Elect.

This is a breath of fresh air from some who consider themselves conservatives in this country. It seems that Obama is picking up more Republican endorsements and support. 

Some street artists have been inspired by Palin. Sure, its like shooting fish in a barrel, but oh the fun!! 

Colin Powell endorses Obama

Wow. McCain has noted that the announcement "didn't come as a surprise", but I'm sure there's a *wee* bit of disappointment, to say the least. I think this will keep the momentum Obama has been gaining going pretty strong.

Illuminators

An article in the Sunday New York Times focused on the southern black woman voting bloc. The article was an interesting read, bringing to light the position some black women voters find themselves in when considering supporting Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton-a black man or a woman.

I was really struck by the fears of some of the interviewees, women who socialize in beauty salons while having their hair done. The sentiment that ran through the article was that Obama would have a diffictult time at best becoming president and at worse, killed:

Part of being real, said Ms. Vereen...is worrying that a black president would not be safe. "I fear that they would just kill him, that he wouldn't even have a chance,"...One way to protect him, she suggested, would be not to vote for him."

Later in the article, there are comparisons to John F. Kennedy and others having been assassinated.

Now, I understand the history and memories these women and many other blacks in the south (and elsewhere) have to contend with, but I just can't see how endorsing such a stategy is good for anyone. I mean, I can understand not supporting a candidate because of his or her positions or political history, but to not support a potential candidate because of imagined fears of what might happen is like saying, "Hmmm...You know what? I'm not going outside today, the statistics of my getting hurt are just too high" Of course that person would never leave the house. Imagine what would happen if more people adopted that attitude. Scary, isn't it?

I'm not disputing these women's fears, as racism and bigotry is very much alive and well in present day America, however, there's a time to put those kinds of thoughts aside and try to help things move forward-if just a little. I'm not fully endorsing anyone at the moment, and am definitely not going to endorse Obama just because he's black, at the same time I wouldn't say, "Well, he's just going to be killed anyway, so I'm not even going to consider supporting his bid for president". It's a very one-dimensional view and a potentially destructive one, because it fosters a climate of fear based on the past and severely cuts off any possibility of a future.

Sounds dire, but there it is. Some people are so afraid of what's happened in the past that they give up all of their power to it and if enough of a community or society does that, where will it lead?