Euphoria

I've never gotten chills listening to a politician's speech  before - but last night I did. I've never said I'd be OK with it if my taxes go up because maybe, just maybe, this time I'll get value for money - but this time I voted in line with that hope.

I know that no new president, even an inspirational president, can make all the kinds of difference our nation needs right now. No single person can have that kind of impact. But a single person can, absolutely can, inspire a whole lot of other people. Just look at how many people voted - if Obama can mobilize all that energy on an ongoing basis, just think what might be possible. 

As my friend T suggested last night, maybe the US flag can stop being a Republican symbol and instead become American. It's a small thing, just a symbol, but I'd like that. A lot. I'd like to start saying "I'm from the US," when I travel, and being proud of it, instead of vaguely ashamed. 

Here's to grace in the White House. It's been way too long. 

Fingers crossed

I thought politics was a heated subject in California, but wow, in New York it's even crazier. Waiters remind you to vote when they hand you your bill. Airline attendants say "did you vote?" when you check in for a flight. And everywhere on the streets are guys selling buttons, and stickers, and flags. I talked for a few minutes with one guy - an artist selling canvasses on a SoHo street - who said he'd stopped painting Obama because it was getting "so overdone." Bars are having election-night parties and I really, really wonder how many people are going to call in "sick" all over NY tomorrow because they stayed up "drinking till Obama's president." 

In this election there are three results I care about: president; prop 8, because I'm married so I'm in favor of more people getting to get married, and against restricting people's options for who to get married to; and that crazy one about teenage abortions, which I really hope gets shot down because if you are a teenager, and you want an abortion, and you don't want to tell your parents about it, there is probably a very good reason, and the end result of parental notification requirements is likely to be teenagers looking up how to perform abortions on themselves on the internet, which will result in emergency room visits, etc. etc. etc. 

Can you tell from the writing style that I'm on the edge of my seat here? The only way I'm getting myself not to just watch TV straight through from now until whenever is that I've got my War & Peace class to attend. 

The more I learn, the liberal-er I get....

Value = money

[Warning: rant ahead]

I just ran across this article on the BBC News: Army chief warns of social 'gulf'. Key quote:

Gen Dannatt also called for a radical rethink on the equipment used in the British Army.... But the most important thing was to acknowledge the value of the armed forces, he added.

This sounds pretty fuzzy for a military guy: can't you just imagine a bunch of British folks in a pub, "acknowledging the value" of the military? What would that even look like?

I can only imagine what I'd think of this if I were a soldier, but I already know what I think of it as an employee. Right now I figure that my value is "acknowledged" when my company doesn't second-guess my work, buys stuff that makes my job easier, and/or pays me more. That's it. I don't want a hug, I don't want an award, I don't want somebody senior to say, "gosh, good job!". I want management to get out of my way, let me do my job, and then fork over the bonus.

Somehow I bet the people fighting in Iraq want more or less the same thing: unlimited budget for the tools they need, the ability to make decisions to get things done, and a fat wallet when they come home. Respect? Acknowledgment? That tends to come as a nice side-effect of the pride most people feel when they get to make their own smart choices & then those choices pay off in results plus money.

And yes, I know that doesn't obviously match up with military command frameworks - but if you think of it small-scale, it could. I keep seeing news stories re: soldiers are short of armor. What if every soldier had access to simply go pick up a new set as-needed? In my job, I can do that with computer equipment. It works well. I am, after all, the best person to know when my keyboard hurts my wrists & I need a new setup. Isn't a soldier the best person to know when their gear is no longer working?

If the government really wants the military to be effective, it should support the theory with the cash. Half-assed solutions rarely get anywhere at all.

Down with stupid junk mail

I just signed up for GreenDimes, a Palo Alto startup company whose sole objective (and business plan) is to reduce junk mail. In return for my $36, they promise to harass the evil people who send me the stuff and get them to stop. They also plant trees.

I find it strangely Kafka-esque (or Mafia-esque) to fork over my credit card number in order not to receive something. On the other hand, if it works, it will be so, so, SOOOO worth it.

Besides, I bet this company was founded due to sheer frustration - and I get a kick out of that. "What do you mean I have to spend my time, energy, and recycling bin space throwing out this stupid stuff I didn't even ask for?! I would SOOO pay someone else to get me off these lists! Hey, wait a minute ... what if ... ? "

Pissed-off-ness is the mother of invention :)

I'm famous! (anonymously)

Gov Bill Richardson, of New Mexico, gave an hour-long talk at work yesterday. And I gotta admit it - I'm proud. I asked him a question he couldn't answer, which got an end of story mention in a local newspaper.

The aide in question (Adam Steinhorn) did come find me. He was a pleasant, dedicated guy who was as enthused about Richardson as you'd expect a campaign staffer to be - but he also seemed extremely sincere. He said no one had asked Richardson about the farm bill so far (!), so he was glad I had. He gave me his email address so I could send him the article my question was based on: "You Are What You Grow," by Michael Pallin in the New York Times (link may not work; try a Google News search if it doesn't).

The cool thing is, I was pretty impressed by Richardson's policies & ideas. He appears to have thought about the issues he discussed. He appears to have thought about them rationally (I've also seen Clinton & McCain speak recently, so I have some basis for comparison). I really, really want to continue to like him as a candidate.

But I'm left with one nagging question: will I get a response to my email?

Mangoes and nukes

A while back my guy and I both heard the exact same story on NPR: some political interview (or maybe a discussion with an author?) mentioned, as a side note, that there are around 1000 varieties of Indian mangoes - and due to US-imposed trade restrictions, none of them are available in the US. The interviewee was from India, and hoped, rather wistfully, that maybe the trade restrictions would be lifted as part of a new nuclear treaty (?!) currently in discussion.

My guy and I both came home absolutely incensed, bursting in our front door to tell each other - did you hear?! There's an import restriction on mangoes! There are types of mangoes in the world that we have never even heard of! What is the US government thinking?! (Not to mention the whole nuclear tie-in. What the ...?!)

I nearly wrote to my Senator.

And now, I am happy to report that NPR has once again informed me (as a side note to another story) about the State of Mango Trade with India: relations have improved! Indian mangoes are now allowed into the US! After searching Google News I found several Indian papers covering the story (like this one), but the US press seems so far oblivious.

That is so sad. I mean, come on - cover some happy news for once (bloggers, however, are all over the story).

Oh well. I'm left with one question: where is this first shipment of mangoes going, and how can I find it? Is it, by any chance, heading for California? We have a large Indian population in the Bay Area.... I doubt my Senator is the right contact for this, but I have every intention of suggesting Indian mangoes to Whole Foods.

Marriage, happiness, and justice for all

. . . or at least all who want 'em.

A few minutes ago I wrote a really brilliant pro-gay-marriage letter to our CA senators via this link, which my friend L very kindly sent me. Doubtless she knew that I was busy/lazy enough to have trouble finding time to do this on my own!

I was hoping the website would CC me on what I wrote, because trust me, it really was great. But they didn't. So I'm recapping here, in hopes it makes L happy :)

As a straight married woman I very, very strongly support gay marriage. It's hard enough to find the right person to spend the rest of your life with, without having half the population artificially but legally cut out of the running. And I'm appalled & insulted that the "straight marriage only" folks would imagine that gay marriage could threaten my own relationship (or anybody else's, either).

I support love & happiness & if somebody thinks they've found the person they should marry, then more power to them. We should be cheering their faith and optimism, not trying to make life harder for them.

I also support gay marriage because stable two-parent families are best for children. Happy children with solid families are good for the other children they go to school with, and on average grow up into happy, stable adults who do good things for society. And if gay married couples choose to adopt, there are fewer kids in foster care - again, better for everybody.

Not only that, but a ton of studies show that married folks spend less time in hospitals, have longer lifespans, are on average happier, and a bunch of other good stuff. Again, all this benefits society as a whole (and reduces government spending on things like ER visits).

Not only do I support gay marriage, it seems like such an obviously good idea that I can't imagine any reason not to support it. I'm only surprised that support is necessary - shouldn't we have said, "yup, that's a no-brainer," and moved on by now?

English & immigration

This is a rant. I've been hearing a lot about immigration lately, and I just can't restrain myself. I can't believe that we're actually considering making illegal immigrants promise to learn English as a condition of becoming legal residents.

"It's necessary!" I hear on the radio. "People living here should value this country. Immigrants must become useful, producing members of society. And to fully participate in the American dream, immigrants have to know English!"

And okay, I totally agree with all that. The US is a great and valuable place, with a lot of good things about it (gotta say it, in spite of my left-wing nature & the complete screw-ups that are Iraq, Afghanistan, and our entire current relationship with Europe). And sure, people who live here should contribute to society (and by "contribute to society," I basically mean look after themselves and not just mooch off other people's taxes for years and years). And finally, it seems pretty obvious to me that living in the US is way, way easier if you speak English.

But. But, but, but. What does any of that actually have to do with illegal immigration? There are lots of US-born US citizens who don't value the country, who mooch off of various social programs for no good reason, and who don't speak English. We don't even have English (or any other language) fluency as a high-school graduation requirement. Arguably we should - but that's a separate debate.

We also don't apply these standards to legal immigrants. We only apply them, irrelevantly, to one small group. And arguably, it's the group who's worked hardest to be here. Illegal immigration isn't easy, after all.

Of course, that ignores the issue of whether we really regard illegal immigration as a crime. I mean, it's illegal, so yeah, I guess we do, sort of, kind of, in a wishy-washy uncertain way. But there are still benefits to getting here illegally - and as long as benefits outweight downsides, people who do the math and come up with "cross the border" are going to keep on crossing. We don't even seem to know whether we want them to or not - and as long as that's the case, we're going to keep creating inconsistent, illogical policies that half-serve both goals, and pull everyone involved in both directions.

And pretending otherwise is just dumb.