A Letter to an Obama Watcher

What follows is a response to an email sent by someone whose intellect and viewpoint I respect, but do not always agree with. This is a response to this an email which consisted of only a subject line and a link to videos:

Email sent:

Subject: I know I am going to get into trouble today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z5KZ42GXw&eurl

Here is my response:

Hello my friend,

OK, this one I have to respond to…you are not in trouble. But you are duplicating the efforts of Fox News and its nay saying pundits and predictors. 

For many of us internet and news junkies, there is nothing new here in these videos or this point of view. I definitely fall into the internet/news junkie category (avid user and subscriber to Digg, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Blogger, LinkedIn, and active RSS feeds to many news links and political blogs, that I won’t bother to name here).

But the internet is not my ONLY source of information. I read as much as time will allow. That includes The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, The NY Times, The Wall St. Journal, among others on both an intermittent and regular basis. Now, granted, these publications might be a tip off to my decidedly leftist bent, but I do make some effort toward balance.

As you and I have discussed previously, there are MANY “Obama watchers” out there, as indeed there should be. But while we are watching, let’s make sure we watch for, and please cheer for, the positive, productive side of what Obama is attempting to do. I am not clear on why we expect Obama to be ANY different from any other politician or political elected official when faced with the realities of implementing his campaign promises. He is, after all, a young man (not a SUPERMAN), a politician, faced with an almost unprecedented, possibly insurmountable set of problems both domestically and internationally. 

President Obama has been in office about 45 days. Why can’t we just sit quietly, watch, listen, and of course, collect data about his performance. But to pass judgment and draw conclusions at this point can be counterproductive to what we should ALL want for Obama, in particular, but on a larger scale for this nation ,and consequently, the world as a whole. What we ALL want is a rise out of this quagmire of joblessness, financial ruin, health care and educational incompetence, and worldwide hopelessness for our future. If there is anything we learn as go through life, it is that there is no way out, except through. 

Obama cannot lead us out without going through the system that is in place. As he does that, you are bound to see contradictions, loop backs, turn arounds or whatever it will take to make it up and out. Think about this process from a natural point of view. Have you ever tried to untie an impossible knot or get through an entangled brush? Sometimes you have to make or take what appears to be backward steps to the physically uninvolved. But having the advantage of the inside view, you can see things that those watching cannot. Those are the things that will often dictate your next move, your next statement, your next decision.

So continue watching, Randy, but watch with discretion, empathy, and an open mind (and heart).

Take care,
Yvonne

CoCo - A Canine Tale

Since relocating back home to Jackson, I have contemplated getting a dog. It had to be pure bred and it had to be totally devoted to me. So my plan had always been to get a puppy, well-bred, and bring him home at no older than 6-10 weeks.

I approached this like I do everything, with much thought, preparation and research. I spent months poring over web sites, reading, and watching TV shows like The Dog Whisperer and DogTown. The first decision I made was breed. I chose Golden Retriever because I preferred larger dogs. Goldens are beautiful, docile, and smart. I preferred a female for the smaller size and because they were even more docile than the males, according to my research.

For nearly a year more I looked at Goldens on web sites, studied breeders sites, and bought a couple of books. But as I learned more, I started to have doubts. I am kind of a neat nick and Goldens are known to be quite prolific shedders. Oh, my dog, would have to be mostly an inside dog. I did not see much point in having a dog that stayed in the backyard all the time. I wanted a companion, not a guard dog. I checked out cross breeds, Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, etc., but just did not get the warm fuzzies I wanted.

Then my neighbor knocked on my door one late May afternoon and called out to me. I stepped out onto the porch, said hello and then noticed a small bundle of sandy and white fur ambling across the porch. It was my first site of Grayson. Grayson is a Shih Tzu; he was 8 weeks old at that time. He was beautiful. A warm glow filled my heart. It was love at first site. Not long after, I stopped looking for a dog. I just did not see how I could love another dog as much as I loved this little ball of fur. As he grew, so did my love for him.

Then I stumbled upon an opportunity to adopt a Shih Tzu of my own. I visited him and felt something akin to what I felt for Grayson at first site. His name was CoCo. My neighbor and I took Grayson to meet him. They had to get along. They did. Beautifully.

So I took CoCo home. We got along fine. He was sweet, obedient, warm, and well-trained. But he wasn't Grayson. He needed much more. CoCo was so social. I could see he was not happy. Oh, he adjusted to his home. That wasn't it. I was home all day, I work at home. The sad look in his eyes as he stood in the door of my office as I worked at my PC really got to me. But that wasn't what did me in. He and I had plenty of bonding time in the evenings. He played with his toys, cuddled with me, and was OK as long as I was active about the house.

Then one day CoCo discovered a way to escape the screened in porch where I allowed him to play and get across the street to where Grayson frolicked in the backyard. Once he found that, he became obsessed with getting back there. He became increasingly depressed. I thought I would be able to get him to forget or create distractions. But after a few days of that discovery, he practically stopped eating, no longer played with his toys, or had any interests in anything but getting to Grayson. It was heartbreaking to watch. The only time he was not searching for a way out was when he was sleeping or exhausted with the effort.

Then it hit me. He's a dog. He won't forget. It had become part of his instinct to get back to his little companion. CoCo was not a dog that could be happy with a lone, quiet, introspective human as his only companion. I know what you're thinking, just get another dog. Well, I always wanted A dog, never 2. My neighbor's situation was not such that she could manage 2 dogs. Her heart is big, she is loving and would have consented to take CoCo if I asked. That's how she is. But I knew that Grayson was the most that she could handle financially, time wise, and well...I just wanted a different life for CoCo.

One Saturday morning it became apparent that CoCo needed more and I had to see that he got it. I was driven. Within 1/2 hour I had found a pet adoption center that could GUARANTEE a home for CoCo with children, another small dog, and a home with safe outside facilities for him to play and grow. I didn't want to sell him, I wanted to find him home.

That was Saturday. By the following Wednesday, 3 days later, CoCo was in that home. He was with a family with 2 boys, a Yorkie, his own room that he shared with the Yorkie, and he slept in the bed with kids.

CoCo is happy. I miss him very much. But I do not miss those big, sad eyes beseeching me to end his loneliness. CoCo is a social dog that requires MUCH attention, stimulation, and activity. I, alone, was not enough for him. He is not Grayson. Grayson is OK with whatever his situation is -- he is simple, easily appeased, and only needs a treat and a toy to be complete.

The lesson here: when choosing a dog, make sure his personality and needs match your own.

Yes We Did

Do you wonder how we did it? This is long and detailed, but you MUST take the time. This is how we did it.

Case Study: The Barack Obama Strategy

View more presentations from Socialmedia8 Amsterdam. (tags: lacomunidad socialmedia8)

Back Again

It's been so long and so much has happened, personally, professionally, emotionally, and in the world since I last posted here. Where do I start. As is always best...at the beginning.

Personally, I want to just be with me. Just me. I know it appears outwardly that is where I have always been. Not so. I have been me attached to someone or something or me reaching for someone or something. Now, there is no one but me and my relationship with God. It is not always easy. I have days when I say want to say, forget it. You know what to do. Get back in the game. But somehow I stop myself and hang out with me for just another day.

Melissa Etheridge's song "Heal Me" has a line that says it best. . .you know what, I just realized her song says all that I am trying to say here. This is an excerpt from that song, the part that describes where I am now:

Heal me lift me
Take me to the waterside
Drop me in let me swim
Let everyone know
I'll be coming home again

Make no mistake
I'm wide-awake
Ain't it crazy

Heal me lift me
Take me to the other side
I'll take what I've earned
These lessons I've learned
I'm ready for the ride
Heal me lift me
Take me and my soul will fly
My battered heart will make a new start
Let everyone know
I'll be coming home again
Heal me lift me
Take me to the waterside
Drop me in
Come on and watch me swim
Let everyone know
I'll be coming home again
---Melissa Etheridge

The Macro & Micro of American Economy

I haven't been here in awhile, I know. I have to be truly moved. Count on my old ally the NY Times to do just that. Gretchen Morgenson revealed a story common to many Americans on the front page of the Sunday, July 20, 2008 issue that reveals the micro of our economy. Her article, "Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt" is an old song title that keeps on hitting home. Peter S. Goodman gives us the macro on front page of Week in Review section of the same issue by asking that age old question, "Too Big to Fail?"

Morgenson describes a woman's present plight from her ponderous plunge into unmanageable debt. Many of us are there or have been there. Most of that debt is anchored by a mortgage we can no longer or never could afford. We were seduced by the ever present American dream of home ownership and fell into the unforgiving hands of the mortgage mavens. Then we stacked our school loans (don't forget we MUST be educated), auto loans, and credit card debts on top, only to watch it all start to build into a wobbly tower that we attempt to hold up with monthly interest payments. This, my friends, is the basis of the micro economic woes. Of course, it is more complicated and varies from individual to individual. But if you drilled down to the core of all the stories, you would likely find some version of this model.

What I found even more fascinating was Goodman's piece about the government's plan to bail out the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because mortgage backing agencies like Fannie and Freddie have supported the mortgages that banks and mortgage lending agencies have provided to homeowners, the world has been comfortable lending to the U.S. Countries like China and Japan see us as viable risks because our Freddie and Fannie are doing well. If they crash, the world gets nervous, sells its dollars for euros and the global economy. . .

When I started this post, my thinking was the global economy suffers. But maybe suffers is the wrong word. The global economy might be "reordered". Meaning the economy would be fixed on the euro, not the dollar. That has the been fear all along. That, rather we will admit or discuss it or not, was at the basis of the invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein had threatened to base the oil reserves in Iraq on the euro and not the dollar. The oil and energy industry in the U.S. had to gain control to stop that.

So Goodman's article and the mortgage crisis has brought us full circle back to what has been the fear all along. However, I am afraid it is our destiny.

(See my previous post "Waving Goodbye to Hegemony" which is a link to article by PARAG KHANNA Published: January 27, 2008)

Wake up America. We are there.

Waving Goodbye to Hegemony: No More Superpower

What follows here is an excellent treatise on the new world order. No more superpower for the US. We are heading toward a triumvirate of power: the USA, the European Union, and China.

Parag Khanna, senior research fellow in the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation introduces his essay on the new world order this way:

"Just a few years ago, America's hold on globalpower seemed unshakable. But a lot has changed while we've been in Iraq [emphasis mine]-- and the next president is going to be dealing with not only a triumphant China and a retooled Europe but also the quiet rise of a second world." Khanna goes on to say:

Turn on the TV today, and you could be forgiven for thinking it’s 1999. Democrats and Republicans are bickering about where and how to intervene, whether to do it alone or with allies and what kind of world America should lead. Democrats believe they can hit a reset button, and Republicans believe muscular moralism is the way to go. It’s as if the first decade of the 21st century didn’t happen — and almost as if history itself doesn’t happen. But the distribution of power in the world has fundamentally altered over the two presidential terms of George W. Bush, both because of his policies and, more significant, despite them. Maybe the best way to understand how quickly history happens is to look just a bit ahead.

read more | digg story

Obama's Blueprint for Change

Full text of Barack Obama's platform and plans to change this country into the democratic roots of its past. This is a full text of Obama's plan, not just the overview from his web site.

read more | digg story