The Rachel Chronicles

New T-shirt Creation!

After thinking that "someone" should make this for weeks, I decided that I could be that someone!

I've created a new line of t-shirts, for kids. Buy one for your favorite pregnant friend or newborn - heck, buy one for your 2-year-old, we all know you brought him/her to the voting booth with you.

You can find them here.

WOW

Everything I voted for....won! (presidential race, senatorial races, local races, ballot questions, etc.)

And on a more important and less selfish note, I am amazed at how far this country has come in just one generation. We have elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States of America. If I were a more professional journalist, I'd have prepared words for this moment. But I didn't. Instead, I'll point you to others' words.  Thomas Friedman and NY Times Editorial

Baruch Dayan Ha'emet

I'm sad that Barack Obama's grandmother died today. It is always sad when someone dies - even if it has been expected. But this woman's grandson is possibly one day away from becoming the next president of the United States of America. He is potentially a day away from making history, from breaking barriers, and from changing the world. I am sad that she is not here to see it. I have no doubt that he made her proud all of his life. But she deserved to get to watch this happen - and then to brag about it to her friends while playing bridge.

In Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, he told the story that his grandmother worked all her life in a bank. And because she was a woman, she was passed over for promotion after promotion, but never complained. When Obama asked her about it one day, she said that she works so that one day her children and grandchildren will be in a position to achieve great things. I remember crying when I read that passage. Her grandson is running for the highest office in the world. How much more great does it get? That truly is the fulfillment of the American Dream.

It has been reported that Toot, as he called her, had been following the election coverage from her TV in her home in Hawaii. I'm praying she has a better view of the festivities from heaven.

teaching the election

I'm sitting in my teacher's college class, and my Taiwanese neighbor has been asking me questions about voting - like what happens if you live in California but go to school in NY?

Sure, I have a specific way that I would like this election to turn out. But how amazing is it that a large majority of our country is engaged in this civic responsibility of choosing a new leader? And even more amazing, is the world-wide interest in our democratic system.

If you don't vote...

this might happen! (thanks to Meg for the video)

I voted!

My absentee ballot came in the mail today, and I have officially done my civic duty and voted!

Civic Pride and Responsibility

At Gann, the theme for the year is Civic Pride and Responsibility, which goes nicely with the fact that it is an election year.

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to join the 11th grade on a trip up to New Hampshire to visit the two candidates' campaign sites.

The two sites were drastically different, and I wonder if connections could be made between how the campaigns are run (and what the offices look like) and the candidates themselves.

[For full disclosure, this was a group of kids who are mostly democratic, although certainly not all. They have been broken up into different groups for the mock election that the school will be having - so we traveled with a few Nader and Bard "supporters" as well!]

We went to McCain's headquarters first. And it truly was the headquarters for all of New Hampshire, if not also all of New England (I don't really remember). It was in a converted old factory building - really quite beautiful. The entrance to the offices had flags and signs, and looked very presidential. They also had plenty of gigantic signs to give out, and upon promising to display it at school, the students got to take one home.  Below they are posing with the sign and with our tour guide (second from the left).

Excited as they were for the free campaign signs, no one raised their hands when Megan, our tour guide, asked if anyone was interested in volunteering for the campaign.

Obama's site looked much different. It was far less polished, and all the signs were hand-painted. That said, it was only one of many campaign sites in New Hampshire (let alone the rest of New England). I do believe that it was the head quarters of the Obama campaign in New Hampshire, but it certainly was not serving the entire state on its own.

Rather than being talked to outside in the parking lot (which actually had been quite an interesting and enlightening experience, so I'm not complaining), we went into an unfinished room upstairs in the Obama campaign. We got to see a few role plays (and even do one of our own) for the phone calls that the campaign makes. We got to learn what a campaign managers does day-in-and-day-out. And ultimately, we were given the opportunity to do our own volunteering.

Not every student chose to volunteer, but most did. Some made phone calls, some stuffed packets, and some wrote postcards. I joined the post card group and wrote to about 15 Manchester families - as well as one Merrimack family (my aunt and uncle) and one Easton, MA family (my parents).

I think a fun time was had by all - but at the same time, it was an educational experience where we all learned something. Many thanks to both campaigns for sharing their time with us, and showing us what it takes to get a president elected.

Did you register?

The West Wing meets Obama

The NY Times had a great piece today, written by Mauren Dowd. Apparently she called up Aaron Sorkin, and asked him to write a fictional meeting between (fictional) President Jeb Bartlet and (the very real) Senator Barak Obama. It wasn't until this part of the dialogue here, particularly the tirade by Bartlet, that I could actually hear Bartlet's voice in this piece. But hear it here, I did! Too bad they can't meet for real! :)

(You can read the whole piece here. And by the way, I'm not trying to be overly political by posting this here - mostly, I just think its amusing, and but a little bit, it is because, well... I'm angry, and if Pres. Bartlet says its ok to be angry, then here I am, being angry on my blog!)

OBAMA The problem is we can’t appear angry. Bush called us the angry left. Did you see anyone in Denver who was angry?

BARTLET Well ... let me think. ...We went to war against the wrong country, Osama bin Laden just celebrated his seventh anniversary of not being caught either dead or alive, my family’s less safe than it was eight years ago, we’ve lost trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, thousands of lives and we lost an entire city due to bad weather. So, you know ... I’m a little angry.

OBAMA What would you do?

BARTLET GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

I may not be writing about politics...but other people are!

The other day, I wrote that I knew I should save most of my political opinions for Instablogs. Which I have, don't worry. You can read the latest article here. I have no idea, however, how long this self-imposed gag-order will last, of not writing about politics on my blog. Particularly since I just created a new category for posts, called "politics"!

Anyway... just to toot my own horn, it turns out that I'm not the only one who thinks Sarah Palin won't last until the election.  I wrote about it here, and maybe I started a trend!

Or maybe not...maybe its just obvious to many that its not likely that Sarah Palin will last.

Take a look:

See here, and here, and here.  Oh ya, and here's a pool betting on the day that Sarah Palin will drop out of the race.

My friend Jane sent me this article. She thought I'd like it. She was right. I could have written it. Glad I'm not alone.