Dear Republicans and Christian Fundamentalists

Are you certain you know what you are doing in voting for McCain and Palin? Really?

Let me be very clear about this: I take my faith very seriously. And because I do, it marches right along with me into the voting booth. WWJD is for me not just a bracelet, but the key factor in my decision-making. And I have to tell ya - the following disturbs the h*ll out of me:

From a Palin speech this week:
"Where does a lot of that earmark money end up, anyway? [...] You've heard about, um, these -- some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense, and sometimes these dollars they go to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not!"

This was a speech on autism, and a recent study of Drosophila fruit flies showed that a protein called neurexin is essential for proper neurological function -- a discovery with clear implications for autism research.

While we could go on and on about stem cell research, be it from adult cells or embryonic cells, this is research done on fruit flies, for doG's sake! And I'm certain her disdain was not over any moral issue about the relative worth of the life of a fruit fly, but instead about her perception that this research was a waste of tax dollars...perfectly good tax dollars that could instead be wasted on the war in Iraq or subsidies to oil companies.

And in case you missed it, the real fear factor comes into play with her total disdain of anything scientific. Or at least, it should scare you that any scientific research not directly related to blowing up terrorists will - under a McCain Palin administration - immediately become under- if not UN- funded.

You have a week to repent.

Polls

I was recently asked in a poll if I think this is the most important election of my lifetime. Since "undecided" was not one of the possible answers, I concluded - at the time - that my answer was "no" and moved on. As I am likely to do, I have since spent considerable time pondering the question.

"My lifetime" begins with my parents and their peers electing Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Truman: the only human being ever to order and complete a nuclear strike. Eisenhower: how many people realize that the "Eisenhower Interstate System" was actually conceived and built as an evacuation route, in the case of nuclear attack? (And how naive were we then, to believe such attacks would continue to be limited to the scope and size of those Truman ordered?) Kennedy: I don't even know where to begin with him. He inspired a generation to patriotism and to reach for the moon and beyond...yet, if he had been asked the same questions asked of Bill Clinton, would he also have been impeached? And Johnson...well...we won't even go there, okay?

My generation came of age by staying "Clean For Gene". Yet what we got as nominees was HHH and...well...Nixon. (And my favorite bumper sticker in recent years remains "I never though I would miss Nixon".)

Remember the campaign of 1968? (Okay - some of you can't, because you weren't born yet. But try to keep up!) It was a time when elections were won or lost based on principles. The party platform was actually written and set at the convention, and it frequently took vote after vote to determine the candidate. Young people rioted in Chicago, in an effort to change the system. And the hope of the generation - Bobby Kennedy - was assassinated (see above comments about his brother - who knows what the whole truth really is?)

If you took a look at the playlist on my iPod, you would see several songs from that era. "This Land Is Your Land"..."Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream". The popular weekly television series "The Smothers Brothers Show" was instantly pulled off the air because Pete Seeger had the balls to sing "The Big Muddy" (from the refrain: "The big fool said to press on..."), after he had been told not to. We actually thought that music was somehow important (and not just syncopated pornography, as it is now...but I digress.)

But something happened. It was more than just the assassination of RFK, the riot in Chicago, Nixon's Watergate. Something hardened us as a people. Turned us inward. Made us cease to care about the bigger picture.

I really, really wish I could figure out what it was, and fix it. Maybe I am just deluding myself, but life seemed more important then, than this self-abosrbed world we now inhabit. In a recent discussion with a government employee, I even said "What's in it for me?" Because I can't find the words or the will to describe what "patriotism" would look like in this millennium.

So my answer to the poll question changes a bit. This could be the most important election of my lifetime. And here's how:

If McCain and Palin are elected, the world will go on as it has for the last 30 plus years. While I am very sorry that John McCain was a prisoner of war and a victim of torture, our generation still can't talk to each other about whether or not it was a good idea that he was in Vietnam at all. Their focus is on maintaining the status quo - don't give me the "maverick" b.s., okay? If life on Main Street is okay, life is okay. There is nothing beyond me and my own personal comfort.

I have to admit to being uncertain of whether or not Obama and Biden could pull off the kind of cultural shift necessary for this to become the most important election of my lifetime. But at least I see the possibility there. More global thinking. More "reaching out" vs. the "acting out" of the petulant crowd currently inhabiting the White House.

Some of my friends and acquaintances call me "The Queen of Cynicism" or "The Queen of Conspiracy Theories". So be it. But the 1960s-style patriotism never completely died in me. I want to love my country. I want my country to be the envy of the world again...not because of what we have, but because of who we are: hard-working, honest, and willing to help people in need.

It's crunch-time in this election, and all indications are that these next few weeks will be some of the most negative ever seen in US political history. So here's my plea to both sides:

I don't care why you hate the other side. Just tell me how we are going to become more than we have been lately.

Folksy and Dangerous

These words were spoken in last night's vice-presidential debate. And Palin is getting a complete "bye" on what she has said. The woman is dangerous, and ought to be exposed as such.

The topic of discussion was the role of the vice president:

PALIN: Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation. And it is my executive experience that is partly to be attributed to my pick as V.P. with McCain, not only as a governor, but earlier on as a mayor, as an oil and gas regulator, as a business owner. It is those years of experience on an executive level that will be put to good use in the White House also.

IFILL: Vice President Cheney's interpretation of the vice presidency?

BIDEN: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

We have already surrendered more of our Constitutional rights under the Bush presidency than at any other time in our history. And now Palin, encouraged by Cheney's free ride, intends to go even further.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!

Surrender?

Breaking news today in Michigan is that John McCain and his handlers have determined that Obama's 13 point lead here is more than they care to try to overcome, and they will be withdrawing all staff from the state and sending them to "battleground" states where they feel they still have a chance.

Part of me thinks this is a wise decision. But...if McCain is conceding Michigan a month before the election, what else is he likely to give up on? And...does this mean he does not feel the need to address problems here, if elected, in a tit-for-tat move?

Why do I feel the political world is spinning out of control?