Postcards From Myself

I sure hope the results of today’s voting in Pennsylvania will give some closure to the Democratic ticket. I doubt that it will, but I could be wrong. It is no secret that I am an Obama supporter, but at this point the desire to see a Democrat in office is starting to take charge. If the debate we saw last week is any indication of what will happen if the contest between Obama and Clinton goes on much longer, we run the risk of throwing the election.

Every snipe back and forth between Obama and Clinton only gives ammunition to the Republicans. In addition, Obama has run as the candidate of hope and change. Those are the main reasons I and many others are behind him. But as this contest drags on and gets more bitter he is drawn in to the old ways of mudslinging and nitpicking. And it is perfect for John McCain, because he is not the one doing it. So come the general election if Obama is the Democratic candidate then the Republicans can point out these actions as proof that there is no hope for change.

Hillary Clinton has shown that she wants to win at all costs. If Barack Obama slips into that same sentiment then we are finished. First he must hold on to those values of hope and change. If he lets go of them for the “win at all costs attitude”, then he and we are lost already.

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”
- Thomas Jefferson

Discuss amongst yourselves. Please. And with others. Please discuss with everyone and let your voices be heard. In too many areas the freedom of the individual is being replaced with the comfort and complacency of the masses or the ease and profit of big business. Without the free and open discussion of these issues, our liberties die and their passing goes unnoticed.

The Pentagon is planning on shooting down one of our own satellites. Does this make anybody else nervous? According to Reuters, “President George W. Bush opted for a plan to have the Navy shoot the 5,000-pound minivan-sized satellite with a modified tactical missile, after security advisers suggested its reentry could lead to a loss of life.”

OK, all of that is fine and well, but what makes me nervous is the next statement. Note, the emphasis on a certain word is mine. “Military officials hope to strike the satellite just before it reaches the atmosphere and drive it into ocean waters.” That doesn’t sounds like the voice of confidence to me.

They “hope” to strike the satellite. Well what happens if they miss? Sure they can have a second shot, but where is the first shot going? Does it just continue to journey on into outer space to finally hit some poor unsuspecting planet or inter-space traveler? Isn’t that like shooting your guns in the air without reasoning out where the bullets will fall? And if it does hit someone else out there, might that not piss them off? Are we now declaring war on unknown species out in the galaxy?

OK, so it doesn’t go to outer space, it falls back down. Great, now we have both a dying satellite and a rogue missile to deal with. Sounds just great. How much you want to make a bet that the wayward missile is set to fall back to earth somewhere harmless - like the Democratic convention or a Hillary Clinton rally? OK, maybe not. I really am not a conspiracy theory guy. It will probably just hit a school or nursery. Or Darfur. Bush would love that to be off of his doorstep.

Where is Will Smith or Bruce Willis when you need them? I bet one of those guys could go up in a fighter jet and shoot this thing down. This has all the makings of next seasons best reality show. Kind of a combination of the classic Battleship game and ballistic lawn darts.

Please, let’s not forget New Orleans. In this time of Mardi Gras and Lent and election, please don’t forget that there are those who still need help. In this time of political pundits, military spending, and economic recession there are families who still sleep in tents so that they can stay near the only home they have ever known. And the only life they have ever had.

Please don’t forget the New Orleans. The land of jazz and gumbo, of Bourbon Street and the Saint Charles streetcar is as much a part of the fabric of this country as is Broadway and the California sunshine. The scents and sounds of this bayou city run through our food and our music and our literature. From Toole to Rice, from Storyville to the Mississippi, the subconscious blood of this nation flows through the Crescent City.

Don’t forget New Orleans. And her sisters. And her brothers. The township and parish just down the road. The city and county the next highway and interstate over. The Gulf Coast of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The scattered children of a proud land blown by the wind and washed by the waters.

We can’t forget New Orleans. The lessons that were taught must not be wasted. The lives that were lost must not be in vein. The tombs of St. Louis remind us that all time passes, but it is the job of those left to make sense of the past. The voices call to us from attic and stadium, from the light and the dark, and they reach out to us with palms empty but full of hope.

I can’t forget New Orleans.

– Michael

Is the rejection of religion on all fronts a reaction to the recent rise in ultra-conservative groups, or is there something else going on? I have been talking to a lot of friends and co-workers recently who are rejecting candidates on both sides of the presidential race because of their religion. What struck me is that these rejections are not because of the specific religion these hopefuls have, such as Mormon or Baptist, but because they have strong religious convictions at all.

Now I could actually more understand rejecting a candidate for his specific religion than for the fact that they are religious at all. And as far as I have been able to ascertain, I don’t think any of the current mainstream presidential wannabes is planning on turning the oval office into a pulpit. But, I would readily welcome a candidate who is an intelligent religious person. I would find it heartening to elect a leader who has been through the questioning phase of any religious journey and come out with a better understanding of themselves and what they believe in.

Unfortunately I believe that many people are trying to take the separation of church and state a little too far. Instead of making sure that government makes no laws that would impede the freedom of religion, there is a current wave to instead have the government act in such a way that it takes away the freedom to have a religion. I firmly believe that to be truly open and free in our religion (or lack thereof for some), we must allow others to have theirs. If not, aren’t we just as bad and dogmatic as those who would force their religion upon us?