election thoughts:

so. i'm kind of freaking out about the election. it keeps coming up in most of the conversations i have each day, i'm reading the news and political blogs all the time, i'm having nightmares about how it could turn out (no joke.)

along with many of the people i know, i'm investing a lot of emotional and mental energy in the election. and i realized a couple of weeks ago that the only way i was going to make it to election day was to do at least one thing every week that will help keep sarah palin and john mccain out of the white house. i would like to encourage you to make a similar commitment, if you feel so inclined.

although it may seem painfully obvious to you that palin/mccain is a bad idea (because she's totally unqualified to become president, because he votes with bush 90% of the time, because she opposes abortion under any circumstances—even in cases of rape or incest [so a twelve year old girl who was raped by her father would be forced to carry the pregnancy to term, in sarah palin's america], because he and his buddies are some of the key people who got us into this economic catastrophe, because seeing russia from your house doesn't make you ready to deal with world leaders anymore than seeing the moon from my porch makes me an astronaut, because rich people aren't just those who earn more than five million dollars a year, etc), there is still a very real chance that palin and mccain will win.

you have the power to help stop this.

here are some things you might want to do:

1) register yourself or someone else to vote.

october 20 is the last day to register if you live in california.

you need to re-register if any of the following apply to you:
a) you've changed your name
b) you've moved
c) you wish to change your party affiliation (regardless of your present party affiliation, you can vote for whomever you wish for president)
d) you aren't registered already (duh)
voter registration forms are available at all post offices, libraries, and dmv offices. they're postage paid, so if you get one at the post office you can fill it out and send it in before you even leave the building.

if you will be 18 by election day, november 4, you can register. if you're on probation but off parole, you can vote.

2) volunteer for obama/biden.

they aren't perfect, but if you prefer them to the bible spice/old man mccrazy ticket, they need your help.

the obama/biden campaign in california is focusing on calling and visiting nevada. california is a safe state—although it won't be a landslide, obama will win here. nevada is totally up for grabs, at this point. kerry lost nevada by about 12,000 votes in 2004, and there has been a lot of new voter registration since then. it is entirely possible that the entire election will come down to nevada, and you could be one of the people who helps turn it blue.

the east bay headquarters is located at 3225 adeline street in berkeley, less than one block from ashby bart. it's open 10-9 every day of the week. the san francisco headquarters is located at 939 market street, and it's open from 9-9 daily. (information for the other california offices is here) you don't have to have any experience. just go when you have a bit of time, and you'll be able to make calls to undecided voters. (bring your phone and charger and a laptop if you can, but it's not essential.) they give you a script to read or paraphrase, and you aren't arguing with people. if someone doesn't want to talk to you or says they support mccain, you thank them for their time and move on to the next call (which just might be a 75 year old lifelong republican who tells you how much she loves obama and thanks you profusely for what you're doing.) if you really aren't up for phoning, they might have you do some data entry, or some paper shredding, or some photocopying. if you go in and tell them you'll do anything, they'll put you to work.

also, there are snacks. and it is beautiful to see so many different people coming together for different reasons toward the same goal. be part of history.

if you have time to go to nevada to knock on doors and register voters, go! they'll tell you all about it at the office.

3. donate money (seriously, even $10 makes a difference) to obama/biden or to moveon.org.

they'll make your money go far. obama/biden are funded just by donations from people, none from lobbyists. (palin-mccain take money from wherever they can get it.)

donate to the campaign directly at www.barackobama.com, or donate to moveon.org at, well, moveon.org. moveon.org is sending people union-printed, made in america, american apparel obama t-shirts for a donation of $12 or more. i've found space in my budget to send them a little more than that, twice. they're comfy shirts.

4. vote.

election day is tuesday, november 4, 2008. polls are open from 7 am-8 pm. find your polling place by looking at your sample ballot or calling your county registrar of voters (contact info here, from the california secretary of state's website.)

under federal law, your employer is required to give you time off to vote, if you cannot do it outside of work hours. you may have to ask them in advance, so figure it out now. (if you're registered with an old address, why not reregister with your new one? you'll get a sample ballot with all the propositions and candidate statements, and you won't have to plan to go far away to the proper polling place.)

5. read up. know what you think and why. talk to other people.

a lot is going on right now. it's a scary time to be alive. there's a lot at stake here, for americans and for the rest of the world. there are times when politics and religion and other potentially awkward subjects can be ignored, and there are times when they can't be. you know which is which. but when you have the opportunity, have those tough conversations.

6. don't give up.

if you want to see a different world than the one in which we currently live, we have a lot of work to do. it won't stop on november 4, but it will be a hell of a lot easier to work toward that better world if we don't have palin and mccain in office.

thank you for reading.