tamarjacobson
Looking back and thinking forward
Category: Uncategorized
October 18, 2008
Do you feel the tingle?
Quote of the day:
No one can really quite believe it.
It is the thing That Can Barely Be Named, the Great Unspoken, the impossible truth that feels too good to be true and hence few dare actually mention it aloud lest it somehow vanish and time reverses itself and the devil snorts and chuckles and reveals his grand, horrible joke, and suddenly it's 2001 all over again. Please, no screaming.
Can you sense it? Do you feel the deep tingle? Because amid the fiscal meltdown and Obama's stunning poll numbers and the stress of the election, this staggering fact: George W. Bush is nearly done. He will soon be gone forever, America's most spectacularly incompetent footnote, the oily residue left on the pavement after his administration's giant Hummer of ineptitude is finally hauled to the crusher.
It is, to put it mildly, a bizarre feeling. Surreal. Disorienting. After all, the nightmare has lasted so long. This wound has been raw and open for years.
No matter. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. It is easy to overlook the grand prize, the greatest gift this decade has yet to offer. Yes, it's Obama, but also the flipside: an America without Bush anywhere near the steering wheel. Hallelujah indeed. By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
[Thanks to Milya]
October 17, 2008
The humorous side …
… of Barack Steve Obama … and, in my view, the beauty of democracy …
… and … of John McCain …
.
October 17, 2008
Thank you
A year ago at Mining Nuggets: A great deal about busyness
October 15, 2008
Mr. McCain, you are responsible
Last night, Keith Olbermann: Special Comment:
With just 21 days left, we have to show John McCain the cost of ignoring the real issues and focusing on false, negative attacks.
And: The polls agree.
October 11, 2008
VOTE for Barack Obama (Update)
The American people aren't looking for someone to divide the country – they want someone to lead it. Barack Obama
Yesterday evening I had the good fortune to attend a fund-raiser for That One
I also had the good fortune of standing in the line-up close to the door where Senator Barack Obama entered and exited. And, yes, he shook my hand. Granted, my hand was one of many waving and flailing out there, hopeful for a way to show him our appreciation and support. But, he did look into my eyes for a split second. His hand shake was firm and strong. His eyes clear and sharp. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life, for yesterday I felt like I was participating in history as it was happening.
And yet, as exciting as it was, I was accompanied by the realization that MCCain sees us all as his Fellow Prisoners of his past life (for I believe that subconscious slips are the most telling), and by the sombre news of the McCain/Palin lies, supporting ignorance and bigotry, and inciting fear, hatred, and violence.
John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence. Frank Schaeffer, the Baltimore Sun
As I stood in the line-up waiting patiently for Senator Obama to arrive, I found I was trembling, not only with excitement, but with a smattering of trepidation because no doubt all that recent vile hate speak has permeated the atmosphere around us. I wondered how he would look. Would he be tired, coming from Ohio and going straight from our fund-raiser to yet another one moments later? Would he seem anxious about the economy, burdened by the heat of the election shenanigans?
And then, Barack Obama arrived and he talked to us.
Oh me, oh my! What a contrast Barack Obama is from John McCain! Amidst the heat of these very turbulent times nationally and globally, amidst the lies, slander and smears, Senator Obama's countenance was clear and calm, direct, solid and steady. I felt as if there was nothing we would not be able to accomplish with Obama at the helm. He will steer us safely to where we need to go. He is not afraid. I was inspired with hope once again and felt a sense of peace and relief.
Indeed, The Jed Report reminds us that back in July, in fact, Obama knew it was coming all along:
Now, more than ever, I strongly urge everyone who stops by this blog to make sure you go out and vote on November 4 for Senator Barack Obama. Do not listen to polls or pundits. Do not allow the fear and hate mongering to shake your faith. Do your part to change the course for our nation and the world. Go and vote for Barack Obama as early as you can! And tell all your friends and family to do the same.
Update:
In response to Ainelivia's comment: … Can you feel the hope reaching upwards from your hand to your heart?
My bracelet … which I wear through rain or shine, asleep or awake, in the shower, at work, out shopping or walking, watching TV, reading, writing my blog …
A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Quotes for today
October 9, 2008
Fasting
The last time I fasted on Yom Kippur was 26 years ago when living in Ramat Hasharon, a small suburb outside Tel Aviv, Israel. In fact, before that, I used to fast each year, visiting our neighborhood synagogue at the beginning and end. It was a tiny building where most of us had to stand outside, unable to fit into the main room to hear the final prayers before breaking our fast. So many people would gather around. The synagogue was just across the road from our long project-like apartment buildings. Many of the people living there were neighbors and friends. Through the years, we helped each other with our children, lending and sharing, crying and laughing, celebrating and mourning together. It was a community in which I felt safe and supported. Where I felt a sense of belonging, probably for the first time in my life. Indeed, I do not recall that feeling of belonging before or since.
At the time, 26 years ago, my son was nine and he and I were living alone. I had begun to fast and went to the synagogue for the evening service. When I returned home, I sat and read aloud to him through all the sins I was repenting. It took a very long time. Suddenly I closed the book and looked at him. It seemed absurd to be talking about sins in this way. It also seemed absurd to have to repent for a day and then carry on as if nothing had happened. It did not seem responsible or meaningful for his education. I decided then and there to stop the fasting gig! I made us a glorious dinner of steak and french fries and we both sat smiling and eating together as if we had achieved something great.
As I look back I realize that I was just coming out of a difficult divorce and felt guilty for all the failings in our marriage. Indeed, in general, I felt to the core of my being that I was a really bad person. Reading that list of "sins" out loud must have tapped into the darkest side of my self esteem. Years earlier, as a yogi and yoga instructor, I had been fasting once a day every week from sundown on Saturday through Monday morning, in an attempt to purify my soul. It was only when a friend of mine studying to be a psychologist said to me, "Tamar, you might as well swallow a bottle of bleach for all the purification you are attempting," that it dawned on me what I was trying to do to myself. For, as much as I fasted and fasted, I still could not seem to wash my sins clean. I simply felt I was too bad – a lost cause – a hard nut. After almost a year of constant purification, I gave it up. Just as, later I gave up fasting for Yom Kippur.
Lately I watch in horror as Palin and McCain whip up hatred and fear and, worse still, how they appeal to the "mob" mentality, collective ignorance, and the darkest side of peoples' psyche. It is like watching a public lynching. As they tear down Bill Ayers, rage rises in me and mostly I weep with frustration. For anyone writing A Kind and Just Parent cannot be all these terrible things that he is being called. Indeed, this morning I signed a petition in support of William Ayers.
And so, this year I decided to fast on Yom Kippur. This time though, 26 years later, the list that I might read aloud to my son would be thus:
- Fast for Obama and the change we need
- Fast in support of William Ayers, a colleague I admire so much for never giving up his activist work for social justice, especially in education
- Fast for the future of this country and the world
- Fast in gratitude for all the good that I have in my life right now
There are probably more reasons why I feel like joining in the Fast today. As the day progresses I might reflect on them and find out a few more. In my own, small, personal way, I feel I must do something to combat the evil, hysterical atmosphere out there in McCain/Palin Land, as it intrudes into my body and soul, and dignity, and as I hear these deranged and vile attacks on people I respect and admire.
Fasting seems to be the way for me today.
I lit a candle and incense this morning when I awoke and felt the cleansing and healing begin. Somewhere deep inside me I hope fervently for all of us, that the better part of our nature and hunger for integrity and respect for our collective intelligence will prevail.
A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Today
tamarjacobson 