Tag Archives: Obama

from sea to shining sea, yes, we can.

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Well folks, the day is here. I heard NPR talking about President Obama this morning, and how democrats aren’t running out to vote for the President, that we’re more reserved, slower, sluggish.

This one is. I headed to the polls, proud to call President Obama my man. I think that he is the right President for the next four years.

My sister wrote a lovely post this morning that describes some of the reasons that we believe in the President. I look back at a friend of mine who was cast as a “pre-existing condition” a few years ago, and how hard it was for her to get on her feet because she was laid off. Because she was out of work, she had a hard time getting healthcare. How is that something that is logical?

I believe gun laws need to change. I believe that anyone should be able to marry who they love. I believe that if I have no religion I should allowed to have my beliefs in peace.

I know global warming is real. I know that the attack on everyday Americans for believing what they believe is real. I know that I deserve to be paid as much as any man to do the work I do. I know I deserve healthcare, no matter what. I know that the middle class needs help.

I know that I am outspoken, and that I talk about politics a lot. Because politics is everything. Politics is my friends’ right to marry, my sister’s right to healthcare, my right to be paid the same as a man, knowing the government has my back if a natural disaster hits. Politics is my access to reproductive rights, kids’ access to good education.

Friends: we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Today, let’s change the world and show everyone that America knows the right man for the job: President Obama.

Go vote.

5 things: late october

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1. Fall is finally cooling down (although now that I say that, I bet it’ll get to be 90 again…)

2. This is my mug until November 6 (and for the next four years.)

3. Early Halloween Costumes.

4. Weekend adventuring, fabric stores, new plates for GMS, my first trip to the Getty Villa, birthday parties and early Halloween parties, soccer practice in the rain, dying hair, beers and  pink lipstick and binoculars and SNL and the promise of a lovely week ahead.

5. This mash-up from Pitch Perfect.

Aren’t we all from somewhere else?

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I’ve kept quiet this election cycle much more than I did in 2008. I suspect this is because I have been busy in my personal life, in my blogging life over at GMS, and in my work life. But I have to take a moment to talk about last night’s debate, because these issues affect everyone.

I am voting for Barack Obama, and I am guessing this is no surprise to any of you. But I am not merely supporting the President for re-election because I support him fiercely (which I do) but because I am afraid of what a world would look like if Romney wins.

When this election cycle started, no one knew that it was going to be the election that was about not rolling back women’s rights, but that’s what it’s become. Romney and Ryan’s plans to limit my access to contraceptives, abortion (should I God forbid ever need it,) and general family planning is horrifying, and unacceptable.

In addition, I believe that we should take assault weapons off the streets. And the fact that Romney made a question about gun control about making sure that families have two parents (married, off course, a subtle nod that gay parents won’t cut it) was horrific. Or is there a study I missed pointing to single parents as the parents of most murders?

If I hear Romney refer to middle class as “middle-income” one more, I swear, I’m going to lose it. Because, in case you didn’t hear it, Romney defines middle-income as people who are making $250,000 a year – not actually the middle class OR middle-income in this country (which is, in fact, $50,000.)

And, by the way, they are illegal immigrants, not “illegals.” 

My sorella wrote a lot about this today, so I’ll let her post speak to more points that asserted my belief in Barack. I believe in everything she said, luckily, and she beat me to the punch today, plus you guys probably read her blog, too, right?

Dear Mr. President,

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Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations on the election and all. I was rooting for you. I voted for you. My county in Michigan voted for you by a little over 500 votes. They voted “Democrat” for the first time since the 1950s. Well done.

I am glad that you are doing well. I think that most of your ideas are great, and I know you have many people hard at work around the clock to make America a better place.

That being said, I respectfully disagree with your recent idea of reforming “teacher-pay” in schools. This idea is included in your most recent strategies to overhaul and improve the education system in the United States.

Having “merit-pay” sounds logical, but in reality, this will only further schism the teachers of America. I believe that at this time of devastating loss in the US, the last thing we need is competition in our educators. They should be a haven for our students, a group dedicated to bringing the children of today into the future.

As I sit and look out my window, at the school where I work, I see students at recess. I see their teachers chatting and laughing with each other, and I wonder what the world would be like if those teachers were focused more and more on grades and test scores. I wonder what it’d look like if we evaluated fourth graders on their math, science, and English scores. They may know clauses, algebra, and chemistry, but would they know where Darfur is? Would they know that the Amazon River is in Brazil? Would they know how to paint, how to sing, what a trumpet was?

Paying teachers because they are great teachers is an excellent idea. Getting rid of teachers that are not great communicators and/or educators can be tough, but must be done. This country is full of educators who give their lives to teach students. We owe it to teachers to treat them fairly, but treat them as a team–not a group of individuals striving to be the best.

Striving to be the best was what got us into the mortgage crisis in the first place. Companies were striving to get more customers, go lower, give out the most money. Look what that has brought us: Heartache for the masses, and headache for the government.

We need to remember that the school system in America is not looking to be a part of the free market. Keeping teachers united by realizing that each student, class, teacher, and school is different will keep them a united force.

Test scores may not mean anything at an inner city, overcrowded schools. Taking money away from schools for lower performance on tests will simply give the message that their schools are unwanted and unnecessary. These schools, however, are the ones that will need the most money and the most help, and the best teachers.

There are problems in the school systems. There are ways to fix them, and we need to act quickly. But sometimes what looks good on paper doesn’t look good in practice. Ask a few teachers what they think, but I’m sure most of them will agree with me.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jennie