I just called Ryan at school and told him to look around, because he’ll want to remember where he was when Barack Obama was elected president.
I’m too giddy and relieved for deep thoughts, and there’s a bottle of champagne that Anne and I have been waiting to open for a long time, so I’ll just say: The nightmare is over. Now, it’s time to get to work.
A very very very sad day for America. What an indictment against the one and only TRUE America – limited government, minimal taxation, respect for private property and freedom.
If you think that’s what Bush/Cheney are about, then you have been living in a very small virtual world of your own devising.
“limited government”? In the real world, Bush pushed and then signed into law provisions to create the Department of Homeland Security, which spent Billions of dollars to shuffle around agencies in the federal government so that he could better control law enforcement. The biggest paper shuffle since the New Deal.
“respect for private property and freedom”. I’m sorry, that’s just insulting. Bush pushed and then passed legislation that pretty much said that the 4th ammendment doesn’t apply to any investigation that MIGHT be connected to a SUSPECTED terrorist, which not only stomps on the constitution but pretty much obliterates the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”, which is a basic bedrock upon which our legal system is built.
Implying that Bush Jr. stands for limted government is just sad. Really really sad.
Oh….and now watch the R haters come up with weak excuses as to why their candidate bombed. McCain lost because his message was divisive and he had NO PLAN.
And “socialism?” Please. Most of the ‘tards raging about “socialism” have never actually experienced it. I don’t call rolling back W’s stupid tax cuts for his rich buddies “socialism” and since McCain himself endorsed progressive taxing not too long ago it is the height of hypocrisy to call Obama a “socialist” for wanting to do the same.
And I didn’t vote for Obama because he was black. I voted for him because he has a fucking CLUE. McCain is an out of touch old man. His running mate is an anti-intellectual young earth creationist right wing nutcase who thinks “The Flintstones” was a documentary. The prospect of McCain keeling over dead and being replaced by Palin was horrifying.
@SAL9000: re: TRUE America.
I actually agree with you (being the left-leaning libertarian that I am). Minimize government, maximize freedom. Everyone should be allowed, freely, to do as they wish as long as they aren’t harming anyone else in the process. I also despise conditional freedoms. Like, oh, saying a man and woman can be married, but not a same-sex couple? Not …overwhelmingly the domain of the left, by the way.
re: People visiting the US and the “left mentality”
I agree. I visited the US on numerous occasions over the last 8 years even with he-who-shall-not-be-named sitting in the White House. And predication-based externalization is equally applicable to the right as to the left. WMDs as a basis of invading a sovereign nation ring any bells?
I’m in the UK and stayed up for the election results. I am totally stoked that Obama won.
I honestly hope that Obama lives up to the hype. Things need to change, and perhaps this will have a knock on effect for others. The UK had an odd relationship with Bush, so it’ll be interesting to see how things change.
I also liked the victory speech where Obama talked about the way things will change but it may not be in a week or a year or even a term but things will change. I like the fact he accepted it would take time, and was under no illusion. A lot of politicians give the impression that they can change things over night.
I’m looking forwards to seeing what’s going to happen over the next three years.
I wish I could revel in the joy that is Obama’s win, but as much as it means to me, to see several of the other outcomes of this election truly tarnishes this country.
Today, I am ashamed to be a Californian, and I am ashamed to be an American.
I teach college English, and every semester, without fail, I have my students read *The Declaration of Independence* and Frederick Douglass’ *What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?* I make certain they note Douglass’ date of birth, and then I ask them to discuss how a country can claim “that all men are created equal” when over forty years later, human beings were still being born into slavery. (We also discuss how “men” did NOT include women.)
I can’t help but imagine a future teacher having her class read about Obama’s win and pointing out that on the same day, the same country denied good people the right to provide loving homes for otherwise unwanted children and loving couples the right to be treated equally.
Shame on California and shame on America: we missed the chance to really enact change.
@Craig Steffen:
Uh, okay(?). I’ve never once mentioned Bush nor McCain. I can’t help you there.
@IanKen:
Relax, tiger. Considering that Obama has no action upon which to judge him, it must be done by proxy based on what he has said – he is a socialist and globalist. Oh, and Palin 2012!
@SAL9000: I hate to say it, but Sarah Palin has as much a chance in 2012 as a Barbie doll.
Which, oddly enough, is kinda what she reminds me of…*thinks*
New from Mattel: Governor Barbie! (Bridge to Nowhere playset not included)
Wil, I have to say that from being a fan, to reading your tweets and blog, you are a hero to people like me who fight and stand up for equality. Hero may be a strong word for some, but it applies here because of your emotions-on-your-sleeve desire for change, support for Obama, and support in saying NO on Prop 8. Stay strong Wil and thanks for sharing your life and views with us.
@Shawn
I’d have loved to have a class such as yours in college (had a few that were close).
As to the gay marriage thing? Might as well be expecting the country to approve polygamy.
@SAL9000: I’m assuming from what you said that you don’t support gay marriage. Well, again, I disagree with you, and I’ll put my reasoning into a nice little analogy that probably won’t offend anyone.
Let’s just say that you and I are next-door neighbors. We both have flower gardens. I have a dog, and the dog starts eating the flowers in my garden. You get angry about it. If the flowers getting eaten aren’t yours, why be so upset about it?
Neither Obama nor McCain were my choice. Why is it people automatically assume if you aren’t for Obama you must be for McCain and if you aren’t for McCain you must be for Obama? The red and the blue aren’t the only choices out there, America.
You have to dig a little deeper to find that out, which most American’s don’t take the time to do. Now, I’m not saying any of you fine folks didn’t take the time, but I would be willing to bet a year’s salary that MOST American’s do not.
I wish us the best.
@Anna Harriman: Never assume anything. 9/10 you’ve assumed wrong.
Uh, okay(?). I’ve never once mentioned Bush nor McCain. I can’t help you there.
Er…hmm…I guess I assumed when you said “one and only TRUE America” I assumed you were implying as created by Bush Jr. I guess I overstepped my mental quotation.
Well in that case everything the Fedral government has done has been an enditement against that “true” low-government America, well, certainly since the 1930s and probably before the US Civil War.
And I agree, in general, the Federal Government does somewhat too much and should back off. Unfortunately, we’ve sort created an economic climate that supports and needsd that.
So yes, I think that the Fed should ramp itself down over time. However, just right at the moment, say, for the next two years, I’ll be happy if we can stop invading countries because we don’t like their politics and get the education system stabilized, and then worry about the rest.
@foobella: You make an excellent point. And since I’m wrong 9/10 of the time anyways, maybe I shouldn’t have assumed…maybe it would be better to label it a “guess”?
Still, reading SAL’s comment again, I’m getting the same feeling I always got when I’d hear some of the former senators of my state *coughricksantorumthatdouchebagcough* say that allowing gays to marry would open the door to things such as…anybody…yup, POLYGAMY! So I was going with prior experience when I made my guess. SAL’s perfectly free to jump in and tell me I got it wrong, and in that case, I’ll apologize. 🙂
A gay marriage ban in California would suck. However, keep in mind:
The history of slavery and then non-slavery (but segregated) through to black people voting to now one becoming president has been a road of 200-plus years. Over that time a lot of stupid, deliberately hateful laws were passed. But over time that has been (mostly) sorted out.
The idea of homosexuality being a mental disease was held as little as 50 years ago in some fairly civilized places. Proposition 8, as hateful and stupid as it is, is just a stumbling block in a very long road that leads in a good direction.
Did someone (J@/\/\!3) actually write that Capitalism doesn’t work? You mean the USA doesn’t have the highest standard of living of any nation? You mean America did not become the wealthiest and most productive nation in just a couple hundred years? You must be busy packing hundreds of people onto a life raft trying to make it from Florida to Cuba to escape the oppression of freedom and liberty.
Re: comments about gay marriage (and poly marriage) and Re: comments about too much government:
One of the things that really irritates me about this whole thing is that I don’t think that the government should be involved in marriage in the first place. It really shouldn’t be any of the government’s damn business in the first place.
This whole mess is because the government somehow got into the business of having to recognise marriage, or not, which means that it has to define it which leads to lots of legislation and crap. It probably came about because property inheritance is mediated by government?
Argh. I really need to get to work.
@Anna Harriman: I speak from much experience…of the assuming kind. ;P
As for gay marriage, I couldn’t care less and it shouldn’t be of any concern to the federal government, either.
Heck, marry your cat if you want. I don’t care. But, then, I think I might get mad if they get a tax break because of it. See, that’s where I draw the line, man. =)
You mean the USA doesn’t have the highest standard of living of any nation?
I doubt that it does. Probably Switzerland or Sweden, if I had to guess. But pretty jolly high, yes.
You mean America did not become the wealthiest and most productive nation in just a couple hundred years?
This is also because the nation was founded right at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
@Anna H
The problem with mob-manufactured (non)rights or denying there of is the slippery slope of government force to compel compliance.
All in all I couldn’t care less – by measure of contract and effort gays can have a “marriage” in fit, form function. The label is a political football used by the militant wing of the LGBT wing of the DNC.
Woooo!
Now Obama just has to live up to every one’s expectations. Hmm, he better relax while he can.
And just to clarify if anyone “assumed” incorrectly.
I meant the human/cat marriage when I said: “But, then, I think I might get mad if they get a tax break because of it.”
All in all I couldn’t care less – by measure of contract and effort gays can have a “marriage” in fit, form function.
The label is a political football used by the militant wing of the LGBT wing of the DNC.
So, let me see if I have this right, and again, feel free to correct me if I have something wrong: as long as they work at it, they can have a marriage like anyone else, but if they want to CALL it a marriage like everyone else does, they’re part of a militant section of LGBT individuals who are registered Democrats?
@foobella: I got what you meant re: Humans marrying Cats, and I laughed a little. Is that wrong?
@Craig Steffan
The decline of the republic began with the New Deal, was propped by Great Societism, and has now been greatly reinforced with Obamaism.
The US won’t ever return to its TRUE roots of limited government, minimal taxation, and protection of property by choice. It’ll take an all but catastrophic implosion that forces the federal government to relinquish its stranglehold.
@Anna H.
Yes. It is widely known that there are few other political topics that will unite Americans like opposition to gay marriage. This has been proven myriad times.
(Even Obama/Obiden explicitly do not approve of gay marriage.)
@SAL9000: I’d venture to say that the whole gay marriage debate in general unites Americans. No matter what race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion you are, it gives you something to talk about with the people around you.
Obama/Obiden
Again, I laughed a little…is that wrong?
The decline of the republic began with the New Deal, was propped by Great Societism, and has now been greatly reinforced with Obamaism.
And I’m sure you support your “no government” philosophy by living in a cabin in the woods, powered by solar power, heated by wood that you chop yourself and your internet is supplied via HAM radio relay? You don’t use any infrastructure provided by our GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED AND REGULATED society?
If you, like most of us, take power from the grid and wash your clothes in a washing machine, feel free to shut up and stop whining about all the infrastructure we have that’s impinging on your “perfect” republic.
@Craig Steffen
Uh, you’re doing it again. The only one talking “no” government is you – “limited government” and “minimal taxation” and “private property” certainly don’t mean such a thing.
The only one talking “no” government is you – “limited government” and “minimal taxation” and “private property” certainly don’t mean such a thing.
You said the beginning of the decline of the “real republic” was the New Deal. The New Deal created inexorable links between government funding and regulation and things like water supply and electrical infrastructure. Before that, most small communities were more self-sufficient; after that, less so. It set into place regional-scale infrastructure that we have come to rely on for our standard of living.
To pull the government back to pre-New-Deal levels, we have to pull it out of several top-level societal infrastructure areas and make them purely privatized.
Let us all contemplate what our, say, water supply infrastructure would be like if it was run by Microsoft with no government oversight.
Oh, yes, and by the way, to pay for your year’s supply of Microsoft Water 2.0 (new with this version–less Arsenic!), you’ll need to haul a load of firewood to the Microsoft scrip depot because the federal government has gotten out of the banking business and currency has fallen, for good.
I’m not saying that everything the government does is necessary, or even good. Yesterday’s election demonstrated that sufficiently bad administrations in our government do eventually get thrown out. Instead of trying to go backwards, let’s change what’s there and move it in positive directions.
Ok, SAL9000:
Give us a list of what, in the “true republic”, the federal government does. I presume that your idea of this is what was originally in the Constitution, which is that any power not assigned to the Fedral Government is reserved by the States?
Is it just me missing something? Is there some way to get to the new comments without needing to click the “next” button a thousand times? How about a “newest” button?
I can understand the disappointment of the Republicans and some of them making strong statements. I can advise you to take the example of McCain. Although he lost, his form of conservatism is constructive, that is what the GOP needs to do.
For those who thinks he is a socialist, you have no idea what that is in practice.
For those who thinks the support from outside America for Obama spells disaster: having friends abroad isn’t as bad as it sounds.
Obama has to work with very little budget because all the money has been used up by a government that favored big spending and a big national debt.
There is one tiny little fact most seem to overlook: Obama is black AND white.
The USA has really become the home of the brave.
YES WE DID.
This is the best birthday present I’ve EVER gotten! Congratulations, Mr. President!
Woo-hoo on Obama.
Sorry to hear about Prop 8.
I’m Catholic but struggling to see how same-sex civil marriages harm society. Sad for the committed couples this affects.
I am over the moon for America today. Almost everyone I have spoken to in the UK is glad that Obama is the new president. It is a shame about prop 8 in California, but I know there are so many great people living there who long for lasting change. It will happen. I firmly believe it. I hope I can live in America one day, but I know how lucky I am to live in a country where, as a gay person, I am able to marry the person I chose to be with. I want everyone across the big pond to have this too.
Best Wishes.
The ‘he’ in the socialist remark was Obama (as in ‘Obama is not a socialist)
I’m glad the big O won. I hope he’ll be good for this country.
Shame about prop 8 down there in Cali.
@ Craig Steffen:
Yes – absolutely – utilities should be private; and in fact many, many are. My power/gas utility trades on the NYSE.
And yes – absolutely – the New Deal created the abominable link between government tax confiscation and the greater good. Whatever filter you choose to view that through is up to you, but that’s what it is at its core.
I teach international relations students in Vietnam. Like much of the rest of the world, they’re all extremely interested in the US elections, and have been asking me questions for months. Tonight I got several texts from students congratulating me on my new President, one said that she saw on TV how happy Americans are.
When I go in to class tomorrow, and my students ask me about the election, I’m going to be so happy to be able to tell them that yes, democracy in America works, that yes, anyone really can grow up to become President, even a kid from Hawaii who was born when people who looked like him had to fight for the vote, even a kid who spent his childhood in Indonesia, a kid with half his relatives in Africa, and who has a foreign-sounding name. If Barack Hussein Obama can become President, anyone can.
Democracy worked and I can’t be happier.
@ kathryn:
Your assertion begs that question: That Obama won proves democracy works?
It also begs its corollary: That had McCain won would have proved democracy doesn’t work?
(And for what it’s worth the US is a constitutional republic, not a democracy 🙂
Congratulations from germany
yesterday i fell asleep while my tv was still on … and today i woke up with Obama’s speech – nice way to start a day 🙂
Well, America, you asked for change. And now you’re gonna get it. Good and hard.
Enjoy socialized medicine and health care rationing. Enjoy $4+/gallon gas, double-digit unemployment, and skyrocketing food prices. Enjoy handing over more of what you earn to people who don’t–or WON’T–work and who keep having children they can’t support. And enjoy the deaths of more Americans as our terrorist enemies strike, again and again, because they KNOW they won’t face any retaliation.
Signed:
A member of the silent^H^H^H^H^H^HSILENCED majority.
P.S.: I’ve told my ex-wife she ought to just stay in Finland at this point. The USA will be down that road soon enough.
@ SAL9000
The reason I said that it shows democracy works is because I’m a Republican, my family is, and has been, heavily involved in Republican politics, and because they didn’t let all of their contacts know that they were supporting Obama, they got to hear about the shenanigans that were planned. The Republicans were definitely trying to steal the election, they were trying to force as many people as they could into voting provisional ballots which then won’t be counted. It would have been enough to swing a close race, but the sheer turnout numbers were the only thing that kept it from working.
Also, if you’re concerned about the term “democracy” rather than “constitutional republic” take it up with every US President for decades, all of whom have talked about exporting American democracy abroad.
For the first time in seven or eight years, I have unalloyed pride, and joy, in being an American. Because I believe that this guy will remind the world what being an American is: not being divisive, not being combative, not being doctrinaire or blind. But being part of something greater, and something good.
One Union.
E Pluribus Unum.
Thank you for my country back.
Hey Foobella… go to page 2, and then in the URL type in 8 (where the 2 is). That will get you here.
Well, America, you asked for change. And now you’re gonna get it. Good and hard.
… Enjoy $4+/gallon gas,
Which drug-induced fantasy world have you been living in the past eight years? In my world, gas was, what, $1.40/gal in 2001, and before the economic dive a couple of months ago it was around $4? That transition happened under Bush Jr.
Under Clinton the federal deficit was slowly being chipped away. Under Bush, the deficit skyrocketed to the point that the dollar is pretty well tanked against other currencies.
And enjoy the deaths of more Americans as our terrorist enemies strike, again and again, because they KNOW they won’t face any retaliation.
Hmm…yes…I seem to remember a lot of bullshit like this coming out of the White House around the late winter of 2002. A lot of “they’re going to get us” stuff, backed up by PowerPoints showing mobile chemical weapons stations. That was right around the time that the point was made that an invasion of Iraq to take care of the problem would only cost a little and it would be over in a few months.
That invasion started in 2003, as I recall. We’re still in it, and spending, what, tens of BILLIONS of dollars a month? And we still haven’t caught the guy we THINK did it.
Yeah, we showed them who’s boss. Those Al-Quiada guys won’t mess with us again. Osama Bin-Laden is probably dead, having laughed himself to death watching the election returns in 2004.
the New Deal created the abominable link between government tax confiscation and the greater good. Whatever filter you choose to view that through is up to you, but that’s what it is at its core.
Well, the greater good is really the only reason that government should tax.
Your point is taken. I guess my take on it is choosing the lesser of two evils. It’s not good for the government to take money and provide a service, but then again, in some cases it’s better than the alternative? (Not stating either one, just stating the question at hand.)
I’m comfortable with the power grid being regulated…but that stifles innovation. Hmm…
The problem with the government being out of everything is that you increase the tendency for rich to get richer and the poor to spend more time and energy not dying, rather than bettering themselves. For instance roads. If roads were all privatized, then poor people would be forced to live in neighborhoods with crappy water, sewers, and roads. However, the way we have it now, everyone has access to the national highway system equally. It’s not perfect, but it levels the playing field.
I don’t accept that any involvement in anything is bad. I don’t think that such extremes are sensible. I think it’s one of those happy-medium situations. More isn’t inherently good, less isn’t inherently good. It’s a matter of picking the balance point.
Granted, our society tends to legislate small pieces of this puzzle without regards to the system as a whole, which I suppose is really the problem. A global dialog about 1)what I want the government to provide to me and 2) what I’m willing to pay for it would be useful and interesting.
So…SAL9000,
What is inherently wrong with having the government control Utilities? Say, water supply or the power grid? You seem to hold this opinion very strongly. What’s the core of this belief?