on the eve of this year’s election day, i wanted to write one final note to those of you who may be on the fence about who to vote for in the presidential race. as it is no secret that i am a strong supporter of barack obama, i’ve heard from some friends of mine that will state either overtly or subtly their opinion that such support must mean an abandonment of the judeo-christian values i was raised with. this note is being written to make the case that exactly the opposite is true.

so i ask of you, please, take 15 minutes this evening before you go to the polls tomorrow to watch the video above.

consider, like i did:

• …that voting for a republican with a stated pro-life agenda will likely never bring about an end to abortions, as republicans have held the presidential office for 20 of the last 28 years, and still have not accomplished anything to that end.
• …obama’s stance on preventing the need for abortions and how that will positively impact our communities.
• …that a woman’s right to healthcare privacy should be something we support, and that there is no biblical directive to force upon others our own interpretations of how they should live their lives. i was particularly impressed by obama’s VP nominee joe biden when he was interviewed on meet the press(see this clip for the whole dialog), and how he talked about the intersection of his own faith and his political agenda, and how the two are separate. holding pro-life religious views and voting pro-choice are not mutually exclusive.
• …that even though obama has a record of attending the same christian church for 20 years, mccain’s supporters still make the claim that obama is muslim, while mccain himself very rarely attends church, and yet he is being touted by pastors and evangelists as god’s candidate, as seen in the clip below:
  
• …the impact of criminalizing abortion while the church still does little to nothing to raise the orphans already in society. consider that occurrences of child neglect and abandonment will rise exponentially, especially without efforts to reduce illegitimate pregnancies(and not relying on using abstinence-only education) and also promote adoption and make the adoption process easier for anyone interested(not just married christian families).

consider for yourself the motivations that religious leaders have for supporting the candidates that they do. consider for yourself that what makes this country great is its religious freedom - the same freedom that god gave you - and that elections are not contests to prove whose religion is better than every one else’s, but are a new chance for us as a country to come together to affect positive change and new directions for our common future.

remember that you can disagree with me and those candidates/causes i stand for, but that doesn’t make me anti-american or even pro-babykilling. let’s come together this election for a candidate who works to break down those barriers for ALL AMERICANS. so tomorrow, please…

Join me in voting for Barack Obama. -h

Filed under: Discourse, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 8:11 pm on November 3, 2008
TAGS: [barack obama | john mccain | News | politics | Thoughts | video | youtube]

“What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the
kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism
as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors
to challenge, but enemies to demonize.”
- Barack Obama, June 3rd, 2008

personally, i’ve found that in trying to verbalize support for barack obama, it is often much easier to resort to speaking out against the negative aspects of the mccain campaign. while that is occasionally necessary, as mccain and palin try to frame the ongoing debate and campaign dialogue with their demonization of obama, it is important to speak out in terms of why i support obama just on the issues alone.

i hope because:

• i believe america should end the war in iraq. this has nothing to do with raising a so-called “white flag of surrender”, but rather, bringing a responsible end to the criminal behavior that got us there in the first place. to date, this criminal occupation has caused the deaths of over 1 million iraqis, over 4 thousand american troops, and over 60 thousand injured. these numbers rival those of the mass killings of the last century, and exceed the 800-900 thousand believed killed in the rwandan genocide in 1994. my older brother alex is serving in iraq, and i want to see an administration that will bring him home honorably, restoring honor to our foreign policy, and allowing the iraqi government space to rebuild and restore their country. i believe barack obama’s plan for iraq will accomplish that.
• i believe the best way to bring about homeland security is with the use of diplomacy as described in obama’s foreign policy. mccain may give obama flack for meeting with foreign heads of state without preconditions, but i believe that shutting our eyes and ears to those who may oppose us while shouting threats of “bomb, bomb iran” is entirely irresponsible. more war is not the answer to security, and it will only weaken our economy even more. being a world power isn’t about being the world’s bully, but about showing the world we can also be a force for peace and diplomacy.
• i believe that america should be a leader in environmental conservation and development of green technologies, not a country that burns off more than 25% of the world’s oil with only 3% of its population just because it can. i believe that america can and should eliminate oil imports from the middle east and venezuela, not by finding new sources of oil to burn, but by reducing our oil consumption altogether, developing greener energy sources and technologies that create new jobs here at home and products we can export to the rest of the world, strengthening our economy and restoring our environment. i believe that barack obama and joe biden’s energy plan will accomplish that, giving our country and its children hope for a brighter future.
• i believe that america should spend its money for homeland security on things like education and health care for all americans, and i believe obama has great plans in place to accomplish those things. while mccain will distort this plan as “marxism” and “socialism”, his own plans are what i consider to be the worst form of socialism, which is the kind that only benefits the rich and doesn’t do anything to create jobs or benefit the average american. the american dream has always been about a free market, and the opportunity to succeed that is equal for all men and women, regardless of location or race or even disability. when the poor and the uninsured in our country cannot afford health care because a single doctor’s visit can cost them $1,000 or more, the american dream is no longer equally attainable by all. socialist policies have abounded in america for decades, from the roads we build, to the schools our children attend, to social security, medicare and so on, but the government spending on these programs should be able to be used by all americans if they need it. i strongly believe that obama’s plan will make the american dream possible once again.
• i believe that america needs a new economic plan that will promote fiscal responsibility in government, encourage corporations to keep jobs here in america, that will responsibly regulate the banking and insurance industries(especially in terms of predatory credit card and mortgage lending), that will stop giving never-ending tax cuts to the largest corporations while doing little or nothing for small business, ensure workers’ rights to organize unions, protect striking workers, and raise the minimum wage. our government should support working families, not limit their opportunities to make a decent living. let’s stop spending $10 billion a month on war, and let’s spend that money at home, creating jobs and investing in our future.

I HOPE BECAUSE CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.

i believe that, over the course of this campaign, barack obama has proven himself as not just an adequate, but an exceptional candidate for becoming president of the united states. i believe that his focus on the issues, his calmness while under attack, and his resolve to bring about positive change through negotiation and diplomacy is not just what i want in a candidate, but what america needs in a president. while even obama doesn’t embody all of my core beliefs, i believe the quote at the top of this post and the clip below show barack obama at his best: that he can withstand the smears of a campaign, the attacks of his enemies, the hatred of racists, and still maintain that this country still deserves something better - if only we will all work together, accepting the responsibility that comes with freedom.

to me, this isn’t socialism, it’s american spirit - proving that even through war, economic hardships, lack of proper health care and education, and increases in unemployment that all americans can come together and create a new direction to make this country better. not just better than the last 8 years, but better than ever before.

-stephen h, 10.27.2008

VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA. VOTE FOR CHANGE.

Filed under: Links, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 7:49 pm on October 27, 2008
TAGS: [barack obama | john mccain | Links | News | politics | sarah palin | video | vote for change | youtube]

robert greenwald and the fine folks over at brave new films are making it easy for people like you and me to send a message to john mccain and sarah palin’s campaign, calling on them to stop campaigning with a message of hatred and racial prejudice. watch the video below, then please, take a minute of your time to click the link below and send your message to john mccain that this rhetoric has no place in american politics. -h

click here to sign the petition.

click here to sign the petition.

EDIT: for more on this, you should also view this special comment from keith olbermann from yesterday…

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News by stephen h @ 10:41 pm on October 16, 2008
TAGS: [brave new films | corruption | hatred | john mccain | keith olbermann | Links | msnbc | News | racism | robert greenwald | sarah palin | video | youtube]

i guess mccain thinks self-righteous indignation is a great follow-up to racism and hate… sounds like my previous kudos were definitely premature.

he seems hell-bent on dividing this country with his hate and fear-mongering, and obviously doesn’t know a “brazen and baseless attack” if it comes out of his own mouth.

-h

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 8:41 pm on October 11, 2008
TAGS: [cnn | corruption | john lewis | john mccain | Links | News | politics | Thoughts]

…for finally doing the right thing, by abandoning the hateful, racism-tinged rhetoric his campaign has broadcast at their rallies and in TV ads this week.

at a rally today, mccain finally acknowledged that obama is a “decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States,” going on to say that “He’s a decent, family man, [a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is all about.” kudos as well for making these statements even while being booed by his supporters - that takes guts, and i’ll give him that.

while this is a good step, calls should be made to his campaign and to the RNC to cancel their TV ads which echo the same misleading and hateful sentiments, including a new one released for broadcast even today which states that he “worked with a terrorist when it was convenient” which is a blatantly dishonest implication. in addition, the american people should be demanding a public apology and denouncement for john mccain, sarah palin, and the RNC’s previous statements.

i believe an apology is necessary here, because even though mccain seems to be abandoning the rhetoric, his and palin’s comments were clearly “over the line” and if he hopes to be taken seriously as a positive candidate, being able to acknowledge fault would be a big first step.

-h

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 5:24 pm on October 10, 2008
TAGS: [barack obama | corruption | huffinton post | john mccain | Links | politics | RNC | Thoughts | washington post]