The recent disasters on the other side of the Pacific haven't been getting much attention, and they have even been overshadowed by the selection of the city that will host the 2016 Olympics.  Please, give what you can and rec this:

http://www.redcross.org/donate

We are in the midst of a terrible economic crisis and something must be done.  John McCain has made the first step in the right direction by suspending his campaign and trying to delay the debates.  The economy needs John McCain and Barack Obama in Warshington to talk with people and whatnot.  They can't very well be in Warshington talking with people and whatnot if they are campaigning or holding a debate.  This is common sense.  We can all agree that the maverick has pulled off another great one.  That brings us to the next step we need to take...

We need to delay the election until at least 2012.  Tough times call for people to come together to do the right thing.  We can't expect our presidential candidates to be able to campaign, debate, and think about problems all in the same week.  That's dangerous.  That's like making a drunk 15-year-old with a learner's permit drive an 18-wheeler.  I'm not sure why it is like that; it just is.  It's reckless to go ahead with an election when there's a crisis.  Candidates will be sleepy from being overworked, and people will vote with their crazy crisis-clouded judgment.

No way, no how, no 2008 election.   It's just not an appropriate time when there's so much work that needs to be done.

Dear media,

Sarah Palin, Rudy, and many Republicans just laughed at someone for being a community organizer in Chicago.

You were preparing for this narrative that Palin would rise above your asinine B.S., but this is serious.  Let's not kid ourselves, she could have said anything and you would have been jumping up and down.  Republicans claim to be all about charity and individuals deciding to serve their country.  If they decide to do this in other ways than in the military, that doesn't mean that they should be given a pass to disparage their service.

This is why I'm a Democrat and why I support Barack Obama for President.  I like the idea of people commiting themselves to public service.  Whether it's through the military or through any old public service, anyone seriously trying to dedicate themselves to the well-being of other people is a good thing.  To say that it was a good job to make fun of someone else for involving themselves in the lives of so many people in need destroys all of your credibility. 

*sigh*
-Rob

This post was inspired by observer2's post about the Slate article and the effects of racism on the election.  Just to clarify from the start, observer and Slate are not part of the problem that I'm talking about.  They discussed the issue of racism without resorting to the typical framing of the issue.  I'm talking about a broader frustration I have with the debate (or lack thereof) about racism that is most common.

Racists aren't the major problem in America.

Racism in America is clouded by the term "racist". While there definitely are some flat out racist people, that isn't the major issue. 

It's the subtleties of prejudice that keep race an issue in America. The more overt forms of racism left minorities disproportionately at the bottom of the economic ladder. The economic system we have tends to keep people near where they began. People on the ladder tend to look differently upon people in different positions on the ladder. The disproportionate number of minorities toward the bottom of the ladder leads to stereotypes and assumptions about people based off of skin color.

I don't think there is anything malevolent about people who have this subtle form of racism.  It's a result of the conditions around us all. That is not at all to say that it should be accepted and left at that, though.  The problem is that it's seen as a dichotomy; it's described as either you are racist or you are not, but in reality it's nothing like that. People aren't allowed to address the subtleties though, because it's presented within the dichotomy.  If they admit they have some subtle prejudices (as we all actually do), then they are racist.  If they don't, then they can be not racist. 

People get upset over accusations of being racist, because most of them are not.  The entire debate about race is framed in a way that ensures that nothing can be done about it.  The only way to get past the prejudices is by acknowledging reality to recognize what they are and where they come from.

Race is affecting this election, but as observer2 said, bringing up the issue won't help us.  It hurts us because of the failure of the way the debate is framed.  If you bring up race, then because of the way the race issue is framed, people think you are calling them or others racists.

There is not much point in trying to assign blame to anyone for the debate being the way it is (but for fun, I mostly blame the main stream media for oversimplifying every issue that comes their way).  My point is that the way that people frame the racism debate needs to be changed for anything to actually be done about it. 

That's my little rant.  I'd be interested to hear what you all think. 

Shifting a position involves moving to a different position from one that was previously taken.  Obama was against offshore drilling and he is still against it.  He is considering voting for a bill that would include offshore drilling if it is part of a much larger energy compromise.  Did he ever say that drilling was a deal-breaker for any energy bill, or that he would vote against any bill that included drilling?  The media  appears to have been going along with the "shift" narrative, but I have not seen any evidence of any switch.  If anyone knows of any, by all means, let me know, but to me this looks like lazy reporting.

I wish that the media would try to grasp at least the most basic nuances of being a legislator.  Voting for or against a bill doesn't mean that you are for or against everything in that bill.  By including something that one may be against, they may be able to get the votes for something that they feel is more important.  It's all about working with people and choosing your battles, which Obama has shown he can do.

I'm confused by this "Denver" thing.  What exactly would one do in Denver that would change the results of the Democratic Primary?  Full voting rights for Florida and Michigan won't change the result.  What do you think people who chant "Denver" are picturing happening?

I thought that during this historic night, people might want to remember how it began...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdJ7Ad15WCA&feature=related">Video of Obama's Presidential Announcement</a>

    I am an Obama supporter, but I wanted to see the Clinton press release regarding the RBC decision, so I went off to HillaryClinton.com.  After reading the comments that supporters had made (which almost all talk about going to the convention and/or voting for McCain), I decided to make a post calling for party unity.  I didn't proclaim the race over or take sides, I just suggested that we all take the passion and resilience from the primary and move it into the general election regardless of the nominee, since we can't have 4 more years of the Bush agenda via McCain. 

My comment never showed up...  They apparently screened out my call for unity in favor of some of the other comments on the site.  I could sort-of understand if they were picky about their comments that they showed, but if you take a look, there is some crazy stuff (and just about only crazy stuff) being said.  You all should take a look here (but please be respectful).

I don't know what to make of this.  I would assume that there are many other people looking for unity, it just appears that they are making it a policy to screen out anything that doesn't mention either Denver, write-in votes, or voting for McCain.  If they are screening these out, hopefully it is the work of a campaign worker and not the tone that the campaign will take in the coming days. 

I may be making something out of nothing, but I was much more optimistic about the Clinton campaign doing the right thing until I saw this.  I urge Hillary and Obama supporters who hope to have a united Democratic Party, to be sure they have their voices heard and not to let the Ickes of the world speak for them.