Congratulations Mr. President

Was I surprised that Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? You bet! Was I pleased and thrilled? Yes! This president has moved our nation to the road of peace seekers. I don't know if he or we will succeed. The odds are not good, the opponents are often vile and dangerous. But no situation is intractable. People in other nations, caught in the unceasing horror of war, destruction and loss, must yearn for calm and safety. This may tell them the world is watching Obama and believes he is a true peace maker. This may be a message to have courage.

And what can one say about the Republicans? They have lost all sense of judgment. If I hated the President, I would say, "What a great honor for our nation. It shows that the world still believes we are powerful and can effect change." I would certainly avoid the tone of sour grapes that has tainted every message that has come from the Republicans. Even CNN notices that their form of participatory governance is to just say "NO!".

Some victories are in order and not the least would be greater participation of our allies and our sometime allies (China and Russia)in our efforts to get Iran and North Korea to the bargaining table.

Mother of Exiles -- What has happened to that sentiment?

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

L'shana tovah. We wish you a sweet and healthy new year.

Discouraged but not down

I have been so discouraged by the quality of the discussion of health care reform. Tonight's outstanding speech by President Obama buoyed my spirits and made me write again about the desperate need for people to develop critical thinking, as my neighbor said recently, to be able to analyze the arguments and determine the course of action that best meets their interests.

My husband and I were in a Friendly's restaurant recently (yes,when things get tough the tough eat ice cream). We engaged the waitress in a brief discussion and found out that she had no health care on the job and earned LESS than the minimum wage. We suggested that health care reform could help her. She told us she was very leery, didn't trust Obama. "Did you see the paper," she said, "now he's going to give a talk to kids and I just don't trust him." What does one say at that point to an otherwise nice person who is unable to advocate on behalf of her own best interests. Why was she so easily swayed by talk shows, TV news, etc.? Surely she knows that she needs health care coverage. Why doesn't she trust our president? I haven't figured it out yet. I know when I worked as a union organizer I was always astounded at the number of people who voted against the union. At least then I knew that the employer was threatening to close the shop, or move the job. Fear is a powerful force and that is what the interests have been using to scare ordinary people.

It's up to all of us to talk to people find the right responses and carry the day for health care reform. It will be a better country for it.

Our Troubles Can Instantly Seem Small

Please read this excellent story by Kristoff in The New York Times on the condition of women around the world.

www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?em

Enjoying the Challenge of Making Art

I'm struggling with the creation of a collograph print with color that will come from chine colle applications. In that process you apply various colored papers of appropriate weight -- instead of ink -- to provide color and texture to the image. The Totem art on this blog was created that way. This is still another approach to a less toxic printmaking technique and also quite satisfying. But it's still quite exacting and not easy to make multiples....I'm working at it and enjoying the challenge. I've created a mask that will cover one part of the image so I can apply background color without impacting the central image. Then the various papers will be positioned so that each adheres to the print paper. Here's the challenge: what kind of print paper will do best? What color ink will function with the papers? I'll post it when it's to my liking.

What is Americans for Prosperity?

Check out the Wikipedia entry for this organization. But here are some highlights from the Wikipedia entry for your information. They are the group organizing the town hall health care reform protests.

"In 2003, an internal rift between Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) and its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation led to a split in which the latter organization was renamed as a separate organization, called Americans for Prosperity."

"Its foundation's chair and founder is David Koch of Koch Industries, which runs oil refining and pipeline companies. Another Americans for Prosperity Foundation board member is Richard Fink, a Koch executive who serves as a director of the refining subsidiary. Fink helps control AFP's purse strings. He is president of the Koch-affiliated Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, which gave AFP's foundation $2.2 million from 2005-06, according to the Foundation Center."

"On February 27, 2009, in collaboration with others, the organization sponsored a Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and Washington, D.C. Tea party protest."

"Americans for Prosperity is led by Tim Phillips, who was a former partner with Ralph Reed's Century Strategies. That organization became well-known when it was revealed in a Senate investigation that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff was laundering money through Century Strategies and Americans for Tax Reform to oppose legislation that his Indian tribe clients wanted to defeat."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Prosperity

These are Very Scary People

My husband and I attended Senator Specter's meeting which has gotten wide coverage. It was a verrrrylong drive from Greencastle to Lebanon PA. 2 hours! When we got there we were told that people who arrived as early as 7 a.m. could not get in and of course we didn't either. We were part of a group of about 120 advocates for health care reform. (I don't know how many of our kind were inside). There were a couple of hundred opponents ... many of whom had come in this very fancy bus. They were armed with preprinted signs, they had chant leaders. It was very antiObama (one lady thought it was part of getting an antiObama group started to defeat Obama in the next election.) I think that's so! There were anti abortion people, people who thought babies would be killed and old people euthanized. There was so much misinformation it was stunning.

One young man in his twenties told us he had no health care but didn't worry about his health because God was taking care of his well being. I'd bet it's the emergency room, not the church to where he'll go if he's injured or sick. It was discouraging, until we left the demonstration and met a member of Specter's staff on the street who thanked us for coming, said Specter was supporting the public option.