why biden > palin ten times over

I know the presidential election is finally over, and I know that the man I voted for will now be in the White House and I cried that night when it was finally announced. But watching this interview with Katie Couric (which I missed and only saw just now) that aired the day before the Vice Presidential debate, I can't help but exhale in great relief that Gov. Palin never made it. We dodged a bullet. I'm relieved.

I'm so damn relieved. And thankful and proud, because Vice President elect Biden is real, both feet firmly on the ground, is fiercely intelligent and well versed, direct and articulate, and yes, wise and very competent and is representing me and tens of millions of other Americans who don't do the bullshit that was the McCain/Palin choice. I'm so glad it's all behind us now and we can work with President elect Obama on cleaning up the shit of the past 8 years. And what a huge steaming pile the Bush administration dumped on us, too.

Here's to great new possibilities for America and her worldwide friends.

presidential race within a virtual race

EA Confirms Obama Ads in Burnout: Paradise | GamePolitics.com

^ "I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout. Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates. Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams." -- Holly Rockwood, EA director of corporate communications

These are breathless times we live in. As a gamer I tend to be on the pulse, actively or even tangentially seeking news and information about the goings-on in this $62 billion dollar global market and culture that, sadly, still seems largely looked down on and put down by certain politically influential groups, particularly the older, less technologically enabled and decidedly insular generation.

^ Burnout Paradise demo gameplay. | Accolades trailer (YouTube)

So it was incredible and seriously refreshing to see presidential candidate Barack Obama racing to the forefront to embrace progressive 21st century tech and focusing on young voters who are passionate gamers whose lifestyles and by extension political positions revolve around this interest. At the same time it does make his contender, John McCain, look even more fossilized , distant, and of the 20th century. Where are McCain's ads in games? Why has he not reached out to young voters on their terms? How is it that he can't even learn how to use technology to augment his campaign and inform himself beyond relying 24/7 on his staff?

Not only is Obama actively reaching out to gamers (specifically in the most hotly contested battleground states), he has also used text messaging to officially announce his running mate, and had software designers create a free app for the iPhone to help us track his progress and enable us to reach out ourselves to family, friends, and associates to spread his message.

Now if that is not the sign of a very much needed hip, tech savvy, youth respecting 21st century U.S. president investing in this country's future while securing the present, I don't know what is.

Related:

profound virtuality | a space alien

thank you! finally!

"Senator Barack Obama on Monday expanded his economic platform, including proposals to spur new jobs, to give Americans penalty-free access to retirement savings to help them through the downturn, to urge a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures and to lend money to strapped local and state governments."

- Obama Expands Economic Plan | The New York Times

I want our jobs back. I want thrilling possibilities for fledgling little companies to innovate today so they may lead tomorrow. For now let countries like China and India find other ways to employ their people, we need jobs here. We as Americans are desperate for work today, we're starved and need to stand proud once more. Let us prove how hard we work, how devoted we are to our families and communities, and how strong we can be to strengthen America to where we can again be humbly proud of ourselves, and of America as the nation it so passionately set out to be over 200 years ago.

to the next u.s. president...

^ "The U.S. is not above the world, it is in the world..."

...and by extension, to all of us Americans, here are some very, very wise words for us from our neighbours around the planet.

"why filipinos support obama"

^ Carolina G. Hernandez is currently Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines and the holder of its Carlos P. Romulo Professorial Chair in International Relations. She is founder and President of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, an independent, non-profit think tank on foreign policy, domestic politics, and security concerns and development issues.

The view from the promontory of the intellectual echelon in my country of origin seems to be a generally hopeful one despite all the governmental and bureaucratic depravity, the embarrassingly huge scope of poverty, and the day-to-day misery of so many of my fellow countrymen.

The cynical Filipino in me says, "Barack Obama can't possibly be qualified to run the Philippines. He's not corrupt enough!"

politically illiterate, I

^ Kara Walker, My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love. Installation, the Whitney Museum of Art (2007). "When Kara Walker cut out paper silhouettes of fantasy slave narratives, with characters — black and white alike — inflicting mutual violence, she attracted censure from some black artists. At least some of those objecting had personal roots in the civil rights years and an investment in art as a vehicle for racial pride and spiritual solace."

- On Race And Art, ARTADOX.com

I don't know how to politic (yeah, I use this word as a verb, never mind how erroneous that is). I never really grew up being aware of, much less acting on, the political world and how it affects - i.e. controls - my world.

> Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author, feminist, former politician, public speaker, and champion and advocate of human rights, is one of my personal heroes. Her book, Infidel, which serves double purpose as both autobiography and political testament, ignited a white hot worldwide controversy and, for me, was a very emotionally and politically difficult read. Because of her political beliefs and outspoken views on the negative effects of dogma - particularly Islamic dogma - she has become a target of death threats and lives her life in hiding, under close 24/7 security watch.

Some of my siblings have always been politically passionate or at least have some understanding of what goes on and how it works, but not I. My oldest sister was a hardcore activist when she was college age, she's a card carrying atheist, and today she still considers herself a socialist. The youngest sister is very much against illegal immigration. "Mom and Dad came to this country and brought all of us here with them legally! Why the hell don't those illegal immigrants do the same?!" she says. My fourth oldest brother has a lot of nasty - and truthful - things to say about loudmouthed fundamentalist Christians who lobby for various legislation in order to force all Americans to live according to the demands of the Bible.

^ "Calling things by their name" | Ayaan Hirsi Ali has the balls to confront and shed an unforgiving light on what most politicians - and for that matter most of us Americans - too often stupidly and cowardly try to avoid in our liberal and 'politically correct' conversations and action. As Americans are we really that scared and uninformed that we run away from this?

I did have some exposure to politics when I was in art school in the late 80s. Or perhaps it was more like exposure to politicizing. I discovered some really good contemporary (and often controversial) artists like Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Jonathan Borofsky, Andres Serrano, and Adrian Piper. Through these artists I discovered that creative individuals are very capable of inspiring, galvanizing, and solidarizing other individuals to think, decide, and act, often times through profoundly creative works.

< Andres Serrano, Piss Christ. 1987. Cibachrome print mounted on Plexiglass.


I remember one year in school when, as part of a group exhibit, an undergrad student set up an installation using a wall-mounted lectern on which was a log asking people to write in their opinions on the proper use and display of the American flag. However, in order to access the log to write, they had to either step on, or around, an actual flag placed on the floor directly under the lectern. This ignited a seriously hot controversy at the time and ended up being on the news locally, nationally, and internationally. Patriotism or blind idolatry? Conditional respect or unchecked worship? Freedom of free speech or act of treachery (or worse, treason)?



> Untitled (rape series), 1992; various all white fabrics, red embroidered text. Visionaries AIDS Benefit Fashion Show, Cairo Nightclub, Chicago. This series of women's clothing represents the extent of my interest in the political at the time, exploring issues of cross historical treatment of women, sexual violence, chastity, purity, repression, attraction and repulsion, and conflict.

I experimented with politically and socially charged art myself, particularly after receiving my undergrad degree. But I never really pursued it with great determination and intense curiosity like those artists whose work I admired did, and I think it was because I was too self-absorbed to do so, much like so many - too many - other Americans. Today I realize that was a mistake, I should have followed my gut instincts and forged such a path to its natural directions, wherever they may lead. That would've been the true direction for me as an artist.

Today I'm very closely watching the goings on in these weeks leading up to the election on November 4. I've never been so political before in my life, never been so involved in, so passionate about, and so scared for, the direction my country is going and what it means globally.

But I still can't really articulate the fundamentals of what defines liberalism and republicanism, and all the other isms and whatnots that make up this stupefyingly complicated world of politics. I have a bit of liberalism in me, but I also passionately believe in the kind of elemental conservatism that Ayaan Hirsi Ali believes in.

I have a lot of homework and a lot of catching up to do in order to further define where I stand in the world. Thank god for Wikipedia and 'the Google'.

declaration

Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958. Encaustic on canvas. The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Declare Yourself | "...a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-year-old in America to register and vote in the presidential primaries and 2008 presidential election."

Declare Yourself online voter registration form | This site is more for raising voting awareness for18 year olds but the form to fill out is good for everyone.

Yes! I just mailed out my voter registration! I was planning to do this on my birthday next month but I got curious and looked it up. Turns out I can simply print out the form, include photocopies of my photo ID and utility bill with home address printed on it, and send it off with a stamp. Very simple. Done.

Related
Election Guide 2008 | The New York Times
Election 2008 | NPR