I'm writing to continue the dialogue so wonderfully begun over here  from a white woman's point of view.

I was particularly struck by this quote:

The sin is not that we are biased in this way--and we are ALL biased. The sin is that we pretend that we aren't biased and fail to address the inequities that our prejudice creates.

I'm personally ready to stop pretending.

President Bush will leave two gaping wounds in our national character when he leaves office in 2009 for the next President to heal:

--The Iraq War has decimated America's reputation abroad, put American soldiers in danger for nothing and irreparably harmed thousands of families here and in Iraq.

--Bush's "Unitary Executive" nonsense has put us closer than we have ever come to tyranny.  Fortunately for us, GWB was too incompetent to fully execute his plans - on that front, the Iraq war was a strategic blunder of epic proportions that ironically, may have saved our Constitution from utter destruction.

After Nixon resigned, a few reforms were put in place but obviously not enough to prevent GWB from going even further, with less accountability.  The next President needs to heal those wounds and close the gaps, so that we can hold up our heads, and say "Never Again!"  In the first 100 days, the new President needs to take bold steps to repudiate GWB's abuse of power and disregard for the American people, especially the Armed Services.

I ran across this article in the Washington Post this morning on Chinese environmental activists who used text messaging to organize a protest against a new chemical facility:  Text Messages Giving Voice to Chinese

I've heard a lot about the Chinese government's attempts to retain absolute control over the technology in their midst; this article shows why that may be a losing proposition.  The organizers not only used text messaging to organize people on the ground - they also got out the news all over China as it happened.  It also shows that someone - in fact, a lot of someones - care about the environmental destruction that has accompanied China's explosive growth.

A little ray of hope on a Thursday morning.

I just finished reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel and I found it to be a stunning book.  

A quick diary search showed that there had been a few diaries quite a while ago about her, but the diarists and/or commenters seemed more eager to criticize her connection to the American Enterprise Institute or her connection with the Dutch VVR party than they were to debate her positions.

Her book raised some issues for me that I'd like to talk about, if we can refrain from personal attacks and focus on the issues.  Personally, I found her story to be remarkably similar to my own as a woman from a Fundamentalist Christian sect that practiced misogyny and enforced its teachings with violence.  I found her struggle to free herself of the fundamentalist mindset and find her own voice to be inspirational whatever one thinks of her alliances.

Questions and key passages for each of these on the flip. . .

But I remember the uncertaintly that reigned until the Supreme Court took matters into their own hands.  I had an African friend visiting me at the time - and I still remember what she said about our country.  "Everyone's calm, no one's worried about getting killed or thrown in jail, you don't have armies in the streets.  You have faith in your system of government.  It will work out."

But GWB shook that faith for me.  Between all the voting irregularities, his disregard for the constitution and the whole "Unitary Executive" thing, Guantanemo, Iraq, etc it really seemed to me and to many that we were flirting with fascism.

But I am in tears today - not over the losses - but over my restored faith in my government.  More in the flip.

I voted using an optical scanning ballot, printed in relatively large print.  I could use either blue or black ink to fill in my choice, and the boxes were fairly large.  If I made a mistake and marked the wrong choice, the instructions were clear on how to fix it.

Most of my votes were in uncontested races, or races where the choices were obvious.  However, I had to vote in some nonpartisan judge's races that I had forgotten about.  In the past, when I had to vote in a booth, I'd often just skip these races, figuring that no vote was better than a vote for the wrong dude.

Right now though, I have a business colleague who just arrived yesterday to work with me for two days.  Like me, he is a one-man operation, with highly specialized knowledge - the kind of "virtual partner" that all the e-business gurus in the nineties predicted, in the flesh.

Right now, I'm feeling a little afraid for him.  And for me.  These new carry-on restrictions cut right to the heart of our business.

But I don't DO anything - OK, I don't shop at Wal-mart, I own a Prius, I recycle and I buy organic whenever I can - so "nothing" is a bit harsh.

I read all the stuff here and if anything, it increases my feelings of powerlessness.  What will it take to get me off my ass?

I think it's an important question because I don't think I'm alone.  I see the same diarists and commenters over and over again, even though I know the number of hits vastly exceeds the number of comments.  What are the rest of us thinking?  Here's what's going on in my head. , ,

However, I've seen a lot of "gloom and doom" articles about the consequences.  While I think it's a bone to the credit card industry and a windfall for the nonprofit credit counseling industry, I don't think it's going to seriously harm nearly as many people as I've seen claimed.

I have many years of experience volunteering for a group that provides counseling service to people with serious money issues - that operates outside the usual channels of CCC and its ilk.  This one takes no money and is run 100% by volunteers - people who have had the same problems.

Based on that experience, I think the main negative impact on most bankruptcy filers will be the increased fees and increased hassle.

An intrepid band of fourteen zoo workers managed to keep all but three of the Audubon Zoo's 1400 animals alive.

How? They had a plan - and it worked. They stocked food to keep their animals alive for days, well in advance of the hurricane. The zoo is built on some of the highest ground in the city, but that didn't keep them from thinking ahead. I'm sure that they knew they'd be a low priority in an emergency.

Maybe Michael Brown should ask them for some pointers.

I got fed up with myself this morning, and a dear friend listened to me while I got quiet with myself and asked what was going on.  This is what came out, and it was helpful to get me off my butt and into gear.

It's obvious to me that we got the short end of the pro-choice / pro-life battle for the best branding campaign.  Who's anti-life?

Since it's obvious now that they're not just gunning for Roe v. Wade but also Griswold v. Connecticut* - I think we need a new name for ourselves.

Someplace today, I either read or heard someone talk about pro-privacy groups.  

Yeah, that's right!  That IS what this is all about.

Secession

Neo-Federalism

The United States of Canada?

I'm sure a right-winger stumbling on these pages today would surely think that we were off our rockers or secretly aligned with Osama Bin Laden.

Some of the ideas expressed in the last day or so may seem a little on the extreme side.

But Thomas Jefferson said it best. . .

But I've been following the vote counts at the New York Times (I have dial-up and it reloads very fast).

When I first started checking, Bush had over 58% of the popular vote.  He's been on a downward trend all evening.

Take heart!  The battle for the Southlands is over!  The battle for Middle America has only begun!!

As I watched last night's debate and reflected on their responses to the Character question, I had an insight into an approach to the world that is, I believe, contributing to the extreme polarization that we have seen this cycle.

This is probably not a unique insight, but for what it's worth, I thought I'd share it.

More below the fold. . .