Archive for March, 2008

Obama’s address to America on race relations

As I sat here listening to the speech given by Sen. Obama, I was struck with the depth of hunger I feel within  my own self to experience racial healing in America. I am a white woman. I grew up in a community where I was lucky enough to go to mixed churches and have friends of all colors. And even with that blessing, I was not so naive or blind to not see the barrier that too often stood between whites and blacks. Read more »

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In Support of Hillary

A cousin of mine, Dr. Jerry Lee Brinegar, recently sent an email explaining why he was supporting Hillary Clinton. I thought it was both eloquent and passionate and asked if I could post it on my blog, especially since I’ve had many questions about what a Hillary Clinton presidency would be like.  The following is the email as I received it. (Thank you, Jerry, for letting me post this!)

If Hollywood can do it, if musicians can do it, if talk show hosts can do it, the common ordinary citizen has equal rights to do it! Therefore I am ENDORSING HILLARY CLINTON for nomination to become the next President of the United States! I do this as a health care professional, a grandfather concerned about the earth’s care that our descendents will live on, a father of three beautiful children, young adults now that need to experience a healthy president in their lifetime, a Vietnam Veteran opposed to our waste of human lives and tax dollars in Iraq, and finally as a common ordinary citizen of the United States.

Why am I endorsing Hillary Clinton?

1. Nobody has worked harder or longer to improve health care than Hillary Clinton. … HEALTH CARE http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/healthcare/

2. She has worked to advance a balanced energy policy that will increase our energy independence, create jobs, and provide cleaner, more reliable energy.She supports policies to diversify our energy supplies by investing in renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar, developing advanced energy technologies such as clean coal and hydrogen fuel cells, and promoting environmentally responsible recovery of oil and gas resources. She cares about the earth! http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/healthcare/

3. Inclusive of her concerns are:a.. Health Care Costs Agenda

a.. Health Care Quality Agenda

a.. Long-Term Care Agenda

a.. Long-Term Care Insurance Market

a.. Plan to Fight Cancer

a.. Plan to Fight Autism

a.. HIV/AIDS

a.. Agenda for Reproductive Health Care

a.. Standing for Seniors (PDF)

a.. Hillary’s Agenda to Eradicate Breast Cancer (PDF) a.. Hillary’s Pledge on Stem Cell Research HILLARY ISN’T JUST A TALKER LIKE OBAMA, SHE’S A WALKER, A DOER, AN ACCOMPLISHED ACHIEVER.

4. On Social Security Hillary says: Social Security has been our nation’s most successful domestic program, protecting millions of Americans from poverty due to old age, death and disability. Since its inception in 1935, Social Security has guaranteed a life-long, inflation-protected defined benefit that families can rely on. The task before us now is to ensure the long-term health of the Social Security program. I think it is essential that the Administration and Congress take the necessary steps to secure the solvency of this important program for current and future retirees.

http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/seniors/

5. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, Hillary and Bill Clinton have been to hell and back in their marriage and it has survived. Hillary’s fortitude, intolerance, commitment and determination to work through their public humiliation are qualities I want our president to have when working with International Politics and the disdain and humiliation Americans have suffered at home and abroad during the Bush administration. She knows how to deal with betrayal, extreme conflict and conciliation. I believe she will regain our respect throughout the world.http://capwiz.com/aamft/bio/?id=10902

6. Hillary Clinton has a plan for unemployment, education and social welfare. She’s experienced and literally knows her way around the White House, Congress and the Senate.http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=3632

7. Hillary is not pressing American Voters for the “white” votes! She is pressing for everyone’s vote, white, yellow, red, black, she is not turning this into a racial nor gender candidacy for the Presidency. Obama is directly pressing for Afro American votes! The turning point for me was when John Lewis, who I knew when I was a police officer in Atlanta, betrayed the years of civil rights involvement of the Clintons and endorsed Obama.He was a close friend and supporter of the Clintons.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23313330/

8. I believe in Hillary Clinton’s Modern Progressive vision of shared prosperity. Hillary has a plan for America to restore a strong middle class in the face of globalization and the Bush administration’s concerns for the special interests. http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/inequality/9. I like her dedication and stand on poverty and the well being of children caught in unlivable socio-economic environments. She says:“I’ve been working to better the lives of children for 35 years, and the future of America’s children will be a centerpiece of my presidency. The issue is personal for me. My own mother struggled through a childhood of neglect to give her own children the opportunities she never had. My mother taught me at a young age that all children deserve the chance to live up to their God-given potential and make the most of their lives.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/child-poverty_b_89089.html

10. Finally, in my opinion, and no matter how you feel about Bill Clinton’s private mistakes (pun intended), he was a good president! I like the idea of getting two for one, not only having a vice president in the White House with Hillary, but having an ex-president in the White House is comforting to me. Will Bill Clinton influence and assist in major decisions? Yes. Will he run the White House? No. Hillary has put Bill in his place, she’s equalized his power and she will be The PRESIDENT. TWO FOR ONE!There you have it! I only wish that I had the influence of an Oprah endorsement or John Lewis endorsement. I don’t! But I do have my vote and this endorsement to encourage everyone that I know to vote for Hillary Clinton. She is the most qualified, experienced candidate that we have before us.

Sincerely,

Jerry Brinegar

Thank you, Jerry! I hope this will help others make their decision should Hillary become the nom for the Democrats. I think it answered my questions. I know if I have the choice this fall, I won’t have issue with voting ‘Clinton’.

Abortion doesn’t guide my politics

I got an email today from someone I really love asking me not to support Obama because of his stance on abortion. And the email went on to hint that Obama could possibly be the anti-christ.  I still remember 88 reasons why the Lord was comin’ in 88 and also that everyone from Ronald Reagan, Gorbachev, Vladimir Putin, Bill Clinton and even George Bush were possibly ‘the anti-christ’. So I couldn’t take the email seriously on that front.

What did bother me was the ignorance involved in picking a president based solely on abortion rights views.

I don’t like abortion. On a personal level, I really don’t like abortion. I have three boys. Three strenuous pregnancies I thought would nearly kill me. I struggled through violently dark valleys of postpartum depression. Yet, I can’t imagine ever having not given birth to any of them. I love them.

But - I have never been in a position where I had to choose - give birth or abort. I don’t think I could have an abortion. On a very fundamental level, the thought abhors me. However, I have not ‘been there’; I am not going to cast the first stone. Plus, abortion is not a clear-cut, one size fits all, kind of thing. Even within Christian circles, there are debates as to when life truly begins and should be considered sacred. And what about rape? Incest? Danger to the woman’s life? These are questions that keep the debate going.

Abortion is legal. Making it illegal again would be like trying to push the toothpaste back into the tube. Nearly impossible and very messy. Even if it were illegal, it wouldn’t stop women from getting abortions. It would simply mean the government couldn’t regulate it. And women’s lives would be in danger from backwoods abortionists and unsanitary conditions.

I think the government would best serve the situation by limiting the hows and whens of abortion. Like, not after the first trimester, not as a repetitive form of birth control. Allow greater access to the morning after pill so that abortion is not a big issue. (For those opposed to even that, conception can sometimes not occur for a full 72 hours after sexual intercourse. The process of the embryo attaching itself and becoming viable is not a guarantee. The morning after pill is simply blocking the embryo from implanting and therefore preventing a woman from getting pregnant.)

If you want to really stop abortion, then you have to find the root of the problem. Picketing clinics doesn’t stop it, shoving pictures in aborted fetuses doesn’t stop abortion. If you really believe it is immoral, then fight it with prayer and love. Take care of a woman who is down on her luck and provide monetary and emotional support while she is pregnant. Help her contact a good adoption agency or mentor her and give her the support she needs to provide a safe, loving home after she delivers.

Too many times the same people who are so vehemently against abortion are also against the social programs that could give this woman and her future family a chance to beat the odds and have an intact, loving home environment.

So, I don’t pick my presidents solely on their abortion views. I am picking my president as a whole package of ideas. I don’t necessarily believe I have to agree with everything they stand for. But for me, education, healthcare and the economy are the most important issues. I am looking for a better future for my children and if we ignore these issues their future will be very bleak.

And if I remember correctly, Senator Obama said ‘Nobody is for abortion’.

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