What’s not to love about this?

What would you give to have a more positive outlook in your day?  Or feel stronger, more confident in your body? How about sleeping better, getting sick less often, having better self-esteem?

Most of us, living in this the-answer-is-out-there-and-probably-comes-in-pill-form society of ours, will think, yeah–what are you selling?

Nada.  Nothing you can’t do yourself. We’ve collectively come to this place where fresh veggies and fruit taste “funny” and processed food tastes normal. Our energy isn’t great, our brains are functioning on less real nutrients, and then we wonder why we don’t feel so good.

Obama is gathering his forces to help make America healthier, and this effort, perhaps more than his other unbelievable number of efforts, has me swooning.  This article on CNN discusses his ideas, and of course finds a way to make the effort controversial (that’s what sells, after all), but the point of Obama’s agenda is this:

A healthy population is a happier, less expensive, stronger, more motivated population.  Period.

Happier: endorphins from exercise help modulate mood, we’re made this way. It’s the way our mechanisms work. Further, even if you don’t go out an run 3 miles, just stretching and walking helps your mood by connecting you with your body.  It’s natural, it’s how our bodies work.  Connection lost: balance lost.

Less expensive: as the article points out, chronic diseases such as adult onset diabetes account for 2 trillion bucks in health care.  That’s Two. Trillion. Bucks. Medical studies have long ago proven that better nutrition based of fresh veggies, fruit, fish, etc combined with moderate exercise can help manage a ton of chronic complaints.  Imagine tossing those pills you’re stuck on–it could happen.

Stronger, more motivated: you know the old saying, if you want something done, ask a busy person.  Once your body is accustomed to moving, whether that means taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing yoga stretches in your cubicle, going for a walk at lunch instead of sitting around, or even getting up off the sofa to change the channel rather than using the remote, your old bod gets used to it and craves it.  Pretty soon you’re finding ways to keep moving no matter what, and guess what: your body works better that way.  It doesn’t work so very well if you’re always stationary.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now, but I just had to say, Mr. Obama, you are a dreamboat.

Dear World

I’m seeing this on Facebook, other blogs, Twitter and all around. Don’t know the actual source, so can’t link it accurately. But I truly enjoyed the concept, and hope you do too, so whoever penned this: Thanks!

Dear World:

We, the United States of America, your top quality supplier of ideals of democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located, and the software responsible was replaced November 4. Early tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional on January 20. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to resuming full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding,

Sincerely,
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dear World: we’re back.

Dear World: we’re back, we missed you, hope we can get back on track soon.  The Mideast has chimed in with a wish-list of things but at least we’ve got some mojo now.

Al-jazeera front page 11/5/08

UK Guardian Front Page 11/5/08

Le Monde 11/5/08

Xinhua News 11/5/08

Indian News 11/5/008

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! info here, in case you need it

How to find out where you should vote:

League of Women Voter’s Site

Local elections site

The Seattle Stranger endorsements (Laugh While You Learn!)

Legal help of any kind re elections: 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Free stuff for voters in Seattle: Starbucks coffee, Babeland, Cupcake Royale, Ben & Jerry’s

Make history and have fun: go vote!

That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

This is exactly what I’m talking about. Red, Blue, Black, White, Native American, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, rich, poor, city dwellers, farmers–we’re all Americans and Yes, We Can.

The Whistle Stop Re-visited

A pal sends this visual explanation (thanks Claude!):

Trains of our times: may this journey take us to a better place.

A side-by-side view of Acceptance Night Speeches: Promises Made

McCain	Obama
Taxes • Keep taxes low and cut them where he could. • Double the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000. • Cut the business tax rate to help American companies compete and keep jobs from moving overseas.	Taxes • Cut taxes “for 95 percent of all working families.” • “Eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses” and start-ups “that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.” • Advocate “a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.” • “Stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas” and “start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.”
Energy • Produce more energy at home. • Drill new wells offshore. • Build more nuclear power plants. • Develop clean coal technology. • Increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. • Encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.	Energy • Set a goal that “in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.” • “Tap natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.” • “Help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.” Video Watch Obama’s acceptance speech » • Make it easier for Americans to afford U.S.-built, fuel-efficient cars. • Have the federal government “invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy — wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels.” Doing so, he said, would “lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”
Education • Make schools answer to parents and students.	Education • “Finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education. • Find more money for early childhood education and recruit teachers with better pay while also pushing “higher standards and more accountability. • Make sure young Americans can afford college if they serve their community or country.td>
Health care • Make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance.	Health care • “Finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American.” • Lower premiums for those who have health care and let those without coverage “get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves.” • Make sure insurance companies “stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.”
Labor Law (Did not discuss)	Labor law • Provide paid sick days and “better family leave” for workers. • Close the pay gap between the sexes.
Unemployment assistance • Help workers who’ve lost a job that won’t come back and find a new one that won’t go away. • Use community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. • Retrain workers in industries that have been hard hit and cover the pay difference during retraining.	Unemployment assistance (Did not discuss)
Bankruptcy Law (Did not discuss)	Bankruptcy Law • Change bankruptcy law “so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses.”
Federal spending • Reduce government spending and get rid of failed programs to “let you keep more of your own money to save, spend and invest as you see fit.”	Federal spending • Pay for “every dime” of his plans’ costs “by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow.” • Cut federal programs that don’t work and improve those that do while reducing their costs.
National Defense (Did not discuss specifics other than assert the Surge was Successful)	National defense • “End this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.” • “Only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.” • “Rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.”
Foreign relations • A serious blow has been dealt to al Qaeda, but the terror network has not been defeated and will strike again if able. • Iran is the chief state sponsor of terrorism and on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons. • Russia’s leaders have rejected democratic ideals, invaded a small, democratic neighbor, Georgia, to gain more control over the world’s oil supply, intimidated other neighbors and have ambitions of reassembling the Russian empire.	Foreign relations • “Restore our moral standing” in the world. • Provide “tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression.” • “Build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease.”
Foreign trade • Open new markets to American goods and services. • Prepare workers to compete in the world economy.	Foreign trade (Did not discuss specifics)
Abortion (Did not discuss specifics)	Abortion • Work with people on all sides of the issue to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
Gun control (Did not discuss specifics)	Gun control • Uphold the Second Amendment but also keep “AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.”
Gay Rights (Did not discuss)	Gay Rights • Help ensure that gays and lesbians have the right “to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.”
Illegal Immigration (Did not discuss specifics)	Illegal Immigration • Pursue policies that don’t result in separated families. • Discourage companies from undercutting American wages by hiring illegal workers.
Economy • Create millions of new jobs, “jobs that will be there when your children enter the work force.”	Economy (Did not discuss specifics, see Federal Spending above)