Twas the Night Before Eid, Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays and All Other Special Days All Rolled into One

Driving home from work tonight, I realized a growing sense of anticipation. It's been a very long time since my birthday or Eid generated much excitement. Christmas and Hanukkah were school celebrations once removed when I was little, fun, but nothing overly exciting.

Its the night before Eid, Christmas, Hanukkah and birthdays all rolled into one. That's how I'm feeling tonight. Tomorrow's that day of magic that seemed to only be a someday dream as how for children those days are always too far away to be real until suddenly it's the night before.

Election Night was amazing. I was captivated by watching the results of Congressman Michael Arcuri's re-election. The television was turned on and the volume turned down, as we tallied the numbers of that campaign. From across the room, the commotion on the screen distracted me from the scrolling numbers along the bottom and I knew something had happened.

Sadly, fear crept up my spine before any other reaction set it.

Then I saw the cheering... the tears of joy... the screams of ecstasy... the flags waving of pride.

I can still feel the sudden shock, the breath choked in my lungs and my heart pounding, as I realized that it was not the close of a journey that I'd just witnessed but rather the next step of this amazing journey that is America.

President-elect Obama.

A nation, my home, that has grown from slavery to Presidency. Not someday or in the future or some other when that doesn't feel real, but right now, right before my eyes as I live and breath.

Election Day was amazing, but tomorrow it becomes real.

To all of you who called me a derogatory name, or thought I couldn't be enough, you who told me on Sept 11, 2001, that I should just be 'nuked to oblivion,' and you who just wouldn't see me:
Thank you for reminding me that we're not done yet.

To all of you who expected more of me, who not just saw me, but also listened, you who shared yourself and demanded the same of me:
Thank you.

The magic of tomorrow is the reality. And as all things real, it requires hard work, tending and expectations.

Thank you, Barack Obama and your family, for what you are about to attempt. To again put forth Reverend Robinson's prayer for all of us:

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

It's nice to feel this excitement. It's anticipation and hope. YES, WE CAN do anything we commit to do. What's next? And what do I have to do to get there?
Maimun

First Democrat Re-Elected in 1934

Usually, Election Day comes and sometime after 9:00PM, we either celebrate or commiserate, might get home early or not, but the job is done, the big question of the night answered and the new campaign begins.

Not so this year. At least we didn't have to wait until Dec 12th for someone else to choose!

Two weeks after CNN, MSNBC and even Faux News did it, Hanna today accepted the fact that Congressman Arcuri will continue being our Congressman.

New York most always gets put in the blue column, but around here, its red.

As if Election Day 2008 wasn't exciting enough.
Maimun

GOP says, "PLEASE, Please, Please Be Stupid"

While an Observer-Dispatch article by Bryon Ackerman is also an issue of the campaign newsletter from Congressional candidate Richard Hanna...

While the OD, Hanna, and the NRCC don't know the difference between a correlation and a causation...

While Hanna's stands on any issue is left to the interpretation of what his endorsers say... (and if you think that statement's hard to grasp, try looking up any of the following on Hanna's campaign website: education, health care, tax, immigration, war or any other issue that's important to you.)

let's take a look at what Open Secrets offers (on Oct 22, 2008, 11:55PM):

Self-financing:
Arcuri: 0%
Hanna: 49%
This simply shows that if Hanna were not supporting himself, just short of HALF OF HIS SUPPORT would be gone.

Top Contributors (categorized by me, not Open Secrets):
Arcuri: political PACs, labor groups,
Hanna: privately owned companies, Exxon Mobil, Meryl Lynch
I'd rather have the support of people who work for the betterment of others rather than the likes of Exxon Mobil. And seriously, Hanna bellyaching about Fannie Mae while taking money from Meryl Lynch would be just as crazy as McCain calling Obama a pop star while his own VP shops like Paris Hilton. OH. Oopps!

Quality of Disclosure:
Arcuri: Full Disclosure 94.4% Incomplete 0.0% None 5.6%
Hanna: Full Disclosure 41.8% Incomplete 3.6% None 54.6%
FULL DISCLOSURE: Includes full name and occupation / employer
INCOMPLETE DISCLOSURE: Occupation listed gives no indication what the person does for a living. Examples of unacceptably vague disclosures are such "occupations" as "businessman", "entrepreneur", "self-employed", and "executive".
NO DISCLOSURE: No information about the donor's employer and / or occupation was listed.
Seeing this was what prompted this postcard. When Hanna kept repeating "I don't know" at the debate last week, he really meant it when it came to his donors.
The FEC requires this information, it's super simple to collect, and it discloses the industry incentives supporting a candidate. What 54.6% of that is being hidden from the voters 13 days before the Election?

I don't understand the GOP's desire, assumption and need for Americans to be stupid. You'd think that anyone would instead expect and demand rational thinking and intelligence from voters, candidates, students, mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, snow-plow driver and everyone else on the planet.

Hanna may be new to actively doing something in the community but he sounds like the same ol GOP.
Maimun

"Incredibly deceiving"

That is the result of WKTV's Truth Test on Richard Hanna's latest ad. Well, Richard Hanna and the NRCC. Remember the NRCC, the National Republican Congressional Committee? In case you need reminders:

here
and here
and here
and here

This latest ad is not posted on the Hanna website, so you'll have to see it on the WKTV report. You can also read the text. At least this one is child and family safe.

Mike Arcuri's ads are also Truth Tested by WKTV. I think the easiest way to find all of the test results is by searching 'Truth Test Arcuri Hanna.'

Maimun

They fail to lead by example.... unless this really is what they seek

I finally got a chance to see the Arcuri-Hanna News 10 Now debate and was saddened to see Hanna drinking from the Pailin coolaid that makes the speaker repeatedly squawk out a memorized phrase regardless of context and sounding no better than a wind-up mechanical parrot.

I say saddened because I'm somewhat familiar with Hanna's generosity, especially in support of women. The YWCA honored him for his check-writing tradition (though in a Church Lady Isn't That Special moment, the event program (identified as an "ad") also identifies that he's the sponsor of the lunchon). Supporting the groups that do the work to help others is vital to those groups doing the work. And a good donor, like a good business man, needs to be able to pick and choose what he's doing with his money.

But supporting, sponsoring and donating are very different tasks from doing work. Hanna got a thank you for the checks he wrote.

Michael Arcuri was thanked for the work he did. As the first male selected as the Mohawk Valley Person of the Year by the same above named YWCA, his work in battling and prosecuting domestic violence and child abuse reached far beyond cash.

The list of things Congressman Arcuri has done to better this region since he was elected to Congress is long and far more than I want to capture in this little postcard. But things that are especially dear to me are his support of increased Student Aid, increasing the minimum wage and mental health parity.

I know what Michael Arcuri has done and what he seeks to do. You can see it yourself here on his website. If you can find Hanna's list on his website (where I just clicked on every link), would you please post it in a comment?

That's the difference between making something and making out a check.

Onto national politics... I'll leave it to Keith Olbermann who said it better than I:



Maimun

What I did over Summer Break. WAIT A MINUTE!!?? WHAT BREAK???

I think one of the sure signs of summer ending is the jump-starting of this blog. It's been a fun, relaxing summer with just many things more appealing than catching up on the key board. With some of the changes that start at work tomorrow, I might end up using my lunch time for more things like the blog. Maybe. Getting out of the office is oft needed too.

One of the pure social events was taking some visitors up to The Wild Center, the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. I was really hoping to see and learn more about the critters around here, aside from the turkey, foxes, skunk, raccoons, turkey vultures, hawks and the pileated woodpecker that have been visiting my back yard.

But, aside from getting attitude worthy of a cat from a duck, I was able to enjoy the antics of their resident otters. Eons past, my favorite part of visiting the Utica Zoo was to watch the otters.


There were opportunities to join a birder and a naturalist on walks, but as I was the only one in my group that wanted to go, those will have to wait for another trip.

Another events that's been pleasantly taking up some time is helping with a friend's wedding. There will be another post about one aspect of the wedding shower, but below are some of the pictures used in one of the games. Pink fru-fru really isn't the bride's style, so we went a bit off the usual path. How many of these brides or grooms do you recognize as the political figures they are?

(No, you don't get a prize.)

And, of course, politics is picking up speed.

I've been on the road for Congressman Michael Arcuri again, still visiting great places in the district and meeting more great folks as well as reconnecting with longer-known ones. The volunteers who went with me decided that there's a house in Edmeston that would just be perfect for me. I wouldn't disagree though the commute would give me pause. Every year, I go to a craft show in Springfield, MA, but I am putting Smithfield, NY, on the "visit again" list. Serious fun shopping and what looks like a very relaxing B&B! Plus Herkimer, Norwich, Fairfield, Dolgeville, Smithville Flats, as well as Utica and New Hartford, all welcomed the Congressman very warmly. Even when he couldn't join us, the volunteers were wonderfully welcomed. Which says a lot about how much the voters like our Congressman. Click here to help out.

For those of you who read this blog 2 years ago, you know how excited I felt about seeing the district and all the treasures in it. This year, it rather feels like homecoming weekend. A childhood friend is running for Judge. A high school classmate is running for Congress. Jill Ghaleb is seeking to keep her seat as Otsego County Judge and Darius Shahinfar is running the NY's 21 Congressional District. And the high number of Arcuri volunteers who have continued through this campaign all together make each event filled with familiar faces mingled with all the new ones.

This is the first time I've wished I was a delegate to the DNC Convention. But seeing it at the Uptown Theater with about 170 other Obama supporters was good too. What a roller coaster Democrats have been on this year. Democrats aren't good at goose-stepping to the dictates of party officials. And in spite of Michigan and Florida escaping the consequences of their acts, at the end, we come together to do the right thing. Although "Democratic" is our first name, we all understand that the rules that govern DNC, GOP and American election processes are republic in nature. These federal campaigns are about getting the needed delegates. The popular votes roll into that, but popular vote isn't enough.

Senator Clinton said it very well.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

Politics can't be personal. Sure, the parents, spouses, children, siblings all have that claim and that motivation, but politics has to be about more than the person. Now, candidates aren't interchangable. Who someone is comes from all the aspects about him or herself. And for each of us who are active, there was probabaly one person who inspired us to get active.

In short, Palin is no Hillary!
Maimun