Can we just fast forward to November 4?

Is it possible to become numb to bad news? The more the dominoes fall and the fiercer calamity swirls around us, the more unreal it all becomes.

I wish I had confidence that the puppeteers pulling the strings behind the collapse of the global economic system knew what they were doing, but the don't. They are making it up as they go. Numbers don't mean anything at all anymore. $700 billion there; $300 billion there. It's all pretend at this point. Wild daily swings on the stock market? Doesn't mean anything anymore. AIG spending $500,000 to go to a spa with taxpayer bailout money? Oh well. We are all powerless pawns in this massive fraud and deception.

I am just very depressed. Disgusted, angry, helpless in the face of a daily dose of unbelievably bad news from all fronts (let's not forget the Bush wars of choice, Pakistan, melting glaciers, famine, genocide, the shredding of the U.S. Constitution, spying on Americans and the other "news" we hardly hear about amid the noise of the financial catastrophes.)

And now I am supposed to want, per McCain, to spend my taxpayer money to bail out greedy homebuyers who thought they could live in McMansions on a McDonald's salary? Sorry, no way. I have spent my whole life working, saving money, paying bills on time and living within my means like a responsible citizen. It's about time that the profligates learn those lessons. Let them sink. Bad behavior should not be bailed out.

I take heart that the polls show Obama in the lead on many levels: nationally, in battlegrounds, in key counties. But I simply cannot understand how there are still so many people that believe in the Republican ticket - the increasingly incoherent, angry and delusional John McCain and his glaringly stupid, proudly ignorant and vicious running mate? How can any rational person think our country could survive with the two of them in power?

And McCain says in the debate he is "proud of the people who come to his rallies?" Which ones, John? The crazy lady who says Obama is an Arab (already parodied by SNL), the people who shout "kill him," or "terrorist?" McCain you are an evil man. You want power at any cost, in any dishonorable way you can get it. You are sickening. And Palin is a clear and present danger to this country.

I believe Obama will win, and it may be a landslide, but I'm still very terrified that something will happen (an event probably orchestrated by Dick Cheney) to turn the race upside down.

I watched the debates, of course, bringing in my children and the kids from the neighborhood. I keep telling them that this election matters most of all to their futures. They all want Obama.

Obama is so clearly what our country needs. I pray daily that he will be elected and stay safe.

How can we not worry about Obama's safety when the McCain/Palin freak show incites hatred, racism and intentionally sinister lies? An obvious desperate ploy, but there are clearly enough stupid, redneck racists in this country to believe their despicable garbage and revel in it.

So, I wish we could just fast forward through time. Let election day come already. Let's hope the lame election officials in Florida and Ohio and other places can actually run a clean election where the machines work and votes get counted.

And once Obama is elected, he will have a lot of work to do. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld really destroyed our country in every possible way, with the financial crisis as their "parting gift" to the people. It will take a generation to rebuild. I am ready to start and so are millions of other "thinking people" in the USA.

McCain should then retire and go away forever to Arizona and shut up. Palin can go back to her scandals, shooting wolves and skinning moose in Alaska. And I hope I never hear another word from either of them for the rest of my life.

Financial Meltdown... continued...

Folks,

Another day, another rollercoaster. How can I survive until Nov. 4? Perhaps only with my blog sisters. Otherwise, I would surely succumb to the madness surrounding me.

I found myself Laughing Out Loud!! today upon hearing that John McCain now wants to postpone the debate because he needs to solve the financial crisis.

Can you say DESPERATE? Can you say TRANSPARENT PANDERING LIAR? All of a sudden, the future of our nation's financial solvency depends on John McCain, whose campaign chair has been taking money from Fannie Mae until last month.

How many lies does he think the American people will swallow?

As one Politico blogger put it, the only difference between today and yesterday is the polls +10 for Obama.

I cannot believe HOW STUPID THIS ALL IS and that there are people STUPID ENOUGH to fall for McCain's desperate Karl Rove tactics. God help us! How does one deal with people who willfully, knowingly CHOOSE to be ignorant, uninformed and proud of it? Is that Middle America? People - READ A NEWSPAPER!

There are issues of life and death, survivability of our country, our species, the world!!

And McSame and idiot Palin think they should run the world.

I am sick, sick, sick of it.

I hope you have all sent e-mails and phone calls to your Senators and Representatives to say NO TO THE FINANCIAL BAILOUT!

How can we trust this incompetent, lying Adminstration with anything? WE CAN'T and SHOULD NOT!!

Many respectable economists (much smarter than Paulson and Bernanke) have PUT FORWARD ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS. Read them; they actually make some sense.

Let's review them, through the normal legislative process of Committee hearings and staff work. The deadline you hear is totally artificial. Warren Buffett is enough to stabilize the markets.

It is absolutely crazy to say "Yes, we belive Doomsday is near so do what you must, Mr. Paulson." Bless you Barney Frank for standing up to him!

BUSH IS A LIAR. I hope I don't throw up watching his speech tonight. It will certainly provide some fodder for tomorrow's post. I will be screaming at the television, of course.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES AND SAY NO TO A BAILOUT OF WALL STREET MILLIONAIRES.

Thanks for reading; I welcome your thoughts.

Stop the Press! Bailout Is A LIE!!

The more I read and learn, the more I say: "Stop the Press."

The Bush $700 billion bailout is another lie. JUST SAY NO.

Congress: Do Not Fall For This. American People: Do Not Stand For This. DO NOT BAIL OUT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION and its Wall Street Cronies.

Just off the wires: the FBI is investigating Fannie, Freddie, AIG and Lehman for their role in starting this crisis.

Taxpayers: Do not allow the Bush Administration to pass off this catastrophe to a future President Obama.

LET THE CHIPS FALL! I do not believe Paulson and Bernanke and their "Sky is Falling" cries.

Maybe this country needs to go through a recession to get its house in order. So be it. Everyone needs to learn to live within their means.

But once we get through this recession, at least President Obama won't have another trillion dollars in Bush-generated debt.

This is all crazy: a financial crisis 8 years in the making and now suddenly we have to bail out Wall Street by Friday? This is insanity.

Both parties should say NO. We'll find another solution.

Remember, Bush/Cheney lied about Iraq, about Patriot Act, about terrorism, about torture, about every other thing the Bush Administration tried to slip past the American people in the dark of night.

JUST SAY NO TO A BAILOUT! Write and phone your Congressmen and Senators, and Chris Dodd, and Chuck Schumer and everyone else.

From one FED UP AMERICAN who wants the truth! ACT NOW TO STOP THIS.

Thanks and post your thoughts.

One Week Later...

It's been a week since I started this journal. What a turbulent week indeed.

The economic meltdown is putting my children's future further in debt and in doubt. Don't get me started. That will be the subject of a separate post. My revulsion at the whole cast of players is intense. Why are they not being asked to answer the question: why weren't you paying attention? The only way our government, in this day and age, can pass legislation or agree on action is when they are forced to in a crisis or emergency. The checks and balances have collapsed. Every American citizen should be calling for heads to roll.

But on the campaign front, I feel cheered because I have begun to conquer my gloom through action. I MUST take action. Every single person matters in this batteground state and I must be able to look back and say that I, personally, did everything I could.

Event #1: I attended a "Women for Obama" rally on Friday in Sterling. Joe Biden spoke, along with Sen. Mikulski and a Virginia State Senator. His wife and some family members were also there. I was very close the stage and had a very good look at the man. The key words to describe him are authentic and committed. He talked about legislation he has passed to help women, including a bill to create national hotlines for battered women, "The Violence Against Women Act," I think is the name. I had no idea Biden was even involved in women's issues. Hearing him and the others renewed my hope and commitment. The crowd was a mix of races, ages and genders, as is every Obama event.

Event #2: Yesterday, Saturday, I joined a neighborhood canvassing effort. I was a little nervous at first, but quickly realized how incredibly important this face to face contact with undecided voters is. I knocked on about 50 doors. About half of those people were home.

There were several people I had conversations with that I think made a difference, in particular with two brothers in the late '20's. One of them is a Liberatarian and both of them were thinking about not voting; feeling disillusioned by the electoral process. Both were articulate, well-informed and well-read. I spent nearly 30 minutes at their doorstep discussing the economy, foreign affairs, the financial crisis, etc. We concluded the conversation with their promise to read more deeply into Obama's views and a promise to vote! It was time well spent.

Then I had another conversation with a woman immigrant from Kyrgistan (now obviously a US citizen). She told me that she came to the United States 12 years ago in search of freedom, but was now very afraid that if the Republicans win, that freedom she cherishes would be eroded (especially in women's rights). We talked for awhile and I recruited her as a volunteer for the campaign. We both said good bye with tears in our eyes, knowing how very much in our lives and the life of this country depends on the outcome in November.

The volunteers who spread out Saturday morning across my community were a beautiful tapestry: young, old (ladies with canes), men, women, different ethnic backgrounds. It gives me hope to know the support for Obama stretches so wide and deep.

Event #3: Saturday night I attended a town hall forum at George Mason University. The guests were Madeleine Albright, Richard Clarke and Cong. Jane Harman of Calif. The hall was packed! There spoke urgently about the state of the world and drew the stark contrast in approaches to our national and global problems we can expect from either candidate. I live for this stuff so it was invigorating and again made me want to take action to use my voice and words.

After the panel ended, Richard Clarke stayed and talked with some of us. One elderly woman was in tears almost (after hearing the list of global issues we must confront), saying "How can any one man do all that needs to be done?" We all wonder that, of course. He assured her Barack will surround himself with good people, that it is possible. A very honest question, though...

The panel had done 4 other meetings across the state of Virginia yesterday. Things are grim in other parts of the state. If I really want to get out of my comfort zone, I will take some time off work and go knock on doors in southwest Virginia or Hamptons Road area, truly another universe from my peers and surroundings. I'm giving it serious thought.

Every day matters a lot. I will do my best. Please post your thoughts. Thank you.

Maybe There Is Still Hope

Yesterday I was about to give up. Today is looking a little brighter with some new polls. I just need to take more deep breaths.

I'm sending a link for an article in today's edition of "Mudflats," a wonderfully written Alaskan blog. In it, the author gives us all hope that there is still enough time to educate voters on the entirety of the Palin record and persona. I feel better having read it.

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/national-organization-for-women-endorses-obama-biden/

Thank you, Mudflats!

Close to Giving Up

I think I must give up on my idea for a rally day when women across the country decide to make themselves heard. I don't see a way it can be done nor do I plan to pursue a rally in Fairfax County this month. I surrender to the forces stronger than me. It's too hard.

Perhaps the best strategy to pursue going forward was proposed by one of our readers who commented on the original September 13 post. Her idea is simply to show up at McCain Palin events and seek to be heard with a positive Obama message. She helpfully posted upcoming campaign events throughout the country.

Many people in the media and in blogs are writing very important things about the state of the campaign. I am thankful they can find the words.

Right now, my despair at the prospect of a Palin McCain presidency has me almost paralyzed. It's like I realized today that nothing I do will matter anyway.

I know the answer to that negativity is to take action and to be hopeful. I will try to get there. Maybe I need to stop watching the news or reading the blogs.

But taking action means trying to convince people who choose to remain ignorant, uninformed and are proud of it. How can I find the energy to do that? How does one find the words and patience to debate with right wing zealots?

So for now, I'm kind of giving up. I'm not cut out for politics.

But I hope others will want to continue this talking with me through this site. I live in the Washington, D.C. area and have no idea really what the rest of the country actually thinks. I can only guess from what I read. Are the battleground states really going to keep the Republicans in power after the disaster Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld have made of this country on so many levels?

I wish there were a way to fast forward to November 4, because now I just dread having to enduring the daily lies, slander, drivel, and insults to the intelligence of thinking Americans that I know we will hear from the McCain campaign. And my worst fear is that a majority piece of the electorate is going to fall for it all and the country will get a McCain Palin nightmare for the next four years.

Florida got us Bush in 2000; Ohio gave us Bush in 2004. Which of these states will give us McCain/Palin this year?

If anyone has any successful strategies to help me shake off my gloom, please tell me. I really do want to go out there and start making a difference. I feel powerless, though, because my passion has evaporated; I just want it to be over.

The Palin Doctrine

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-palin-doctrine-why-th_b_126511.html

The Palin Doctrine, according to Ariana Huffington. A bit of comic relief to highlight how truly ridiculous the current Republican antics are. David Brooks in New York Times also had a good piece today. I will know about about a Fairfax Rally later this week.