Instead of listing the things for which I’m thankful this year, I’ve decided to show them to you. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

My cousin Kevin writes for the Baltimore Sun. I have always admired him and his writing abilities, (since long before he was published in The Best American Sports Writing) and I love reading his posts. He had one the other day that I particularly enjoyed, which isn’t surprising considering it was about sports, Montana, and Barack Obama.

Anyway, in my lazy NaBloPoMo state, I have decided that my post for today will be a copy of the comment that I just submitted to Kevin’s blog. I spent a while writing and editing it (not that I’m neurotic or anything…) and don’t have much left in me.

So here it is! It won’t make much sense unless you read his post first. Thanks, Kev, for being such a great writer and blogger.

Glad you’re back, Kevin. I really enjoyed this post. And because you said so many interesting things, I’m going to comment on a few…

I thought that Post article was interesting, and I was heartened to hear that so many small town folks were examining their prejudices during this campaign and also encouraging their community’s young people to travel and experience more diversity.

However, I’m always sensitive to the use of the term “diversity” to mean “black people.” When I lived in Montana, I used to think there wasn’t any diversity, in the true sense of the word. However, now, having seen other places, I realize that, as my mom says, “our diversity just looks different.” In a lot of ways, I think the fact that I grew up exposed to so few black people made me think that that was the only kind of diversity. When, in fact, I was surrounded by minorities with which many other people from larger cities may not be as familiar. Hmong and Russian immigrants, Native Americans, as well as members of the GLBT community colored my world in very important ways and helped me become the person I am. In some ways, moving away from Montana has made me realize this because the city I currently call home doesn’t include them all.

I would never argue with someone who said Montana was severely lacking African-Americans. However, I don’t believe it isn’t a diverse state.

That being said, I’m sure that some of the small towns in the Post article don’t include much diversity, be it racial, socioeconomic, or any other kind. Hopefully Barack Obama will be a positive influence in their lives in more ways than one. It sounds like he already has.

I loved your view on sports as a unifying force. Fivethirtyeight.com was a fixture in my daily surfing, and I always think about the power of sports when used in analogies. When I saw Michelle Obama’s brother speak, it was interesting to see the way the crowd reacted to his sports analogies… I had the same thought you did – this is something almost everyone can understand and relate to. Granted, the crowd wasn’t very politically diverse, but still an interesting concept.

Thanks for the great post. And welcome back!

I’m still in shock. Hope-shock.

I have been completely worthless all day. I woke up late after only a few hours of sleep, went to work with soaking wet hair and no makeup, and couldn’t consume enough coffee (or water) to kick the champagne hangover that nearly killed me. I was so out of it, I was actually worried about being a liability.

So I spent most of my time at work reading about the election online. And thus, today’s Top Five Things I Saw on the Internet Today:

1. The Top U.S. Front Pages

2. Foreign Papers and Their Editorials on the Obama Victory

3. The updated “Palin as President” site. (If you didn’t see this one before the election, you won’t appreciate this nearly as much.)

4. Photos of Reactions Around the World

5. And this excerpt that someone left in a comment on the Oregonian’s website, regarding McCain’s concession speech. They said it was from Joe Boyle, a contributor to reason.com, however I couldn’t find it there:

Classy speech.

John McCain did exactly what John Kerry did. He allowed himself to be jammed into an ill-fitting persona, and thereby surrendered everything that made him an interesting candidate to begin with.

McCain was never a comfortable fit with the thuggish kulturkampfer “Real Americans” who made up the base of his party, nor the low-road campaign that was designed to appeal to them. He couldn’t pull it off effectively – heck, he kept talking down lunatics at his rallies instead of whipping them up. They didn’t accept him as one of their own, and with good reason: he’s not.

John McCain is the sort of person who gives a classy concession speech and calls for unity after he loses, and his supporters are the kind of people who boo when he does that, and he’s the kind of person who shoots them an exasperated look when they boo.

Sort of sums it all up right there.

My Top Five Favorite Moments of Today:

1. Montana was listed as a battleground state.

2. Wyoming and California were called with 0% of the vote counted.

3. “Blitzer Beams in Hologram Reporter”

4. John McCain: “All presidential candidates make mistakes, and I’m sure I’ve made my fair share.”
Brian: “Shhh! She’s standing right there!”

5. CNN Projects
Barack Obama
ELECTED PRESIDENT

The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, was over a month ago. We are now well into the Jewish year 5769, but I was a little busy on the actual day itself (as well as Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and all the other holidays that have happened in the last month), so I’ve decided to observe it today. Happy Rosh Hashanah (Obsvd)!

The two traditions my mom taught me to practice for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are Tashlich and Fall cleaning. Tashlich is sort of a mix between confession and Pooh Sticks. It’s an amazing way of acknowledging your faults and mistakes and then moving on after they float away. The metaphor is beautiful and my mom and I usually leave the river laughing through tears, talking about how we each threw in a huge piece for my brother but an even bigger piece for the entire carton of ice cream we shared the night before.

I didn’t make time for Tashlich this year, but I took care of the Fall cleaning today. It’s sort of like Tashlich for the apartment/car/office. My mom usually tries to clean out her closet as well, but that’s a huge undertaking. Today at work, I cleaned my entire cubicle and updated all of my files. I filed away all of the paperwork from my big event last month and emptied my recycling bin. Tonight, Brian and I cleaned our respective bathrooms, he cleaned the kitchen (he’s the best), and I cleaned my room. I also did the winter/summer clothing switch. And although I only dealt with a small piece of my life and the clutter that surrounds me, I feel much better.

I’m hopeful that tomorrow will bring more change and begin the long road to cleaning up the White House. If I do Tashlich this weekend like I plan to, I’ll throw in a whole loaf for George W.

Halloween candy.

Fast Food.

Olympic Gymnasts.

Gay Boy Scouts.

John McCain and Sarah Palin.

And Jesus-loving Republicans.

Do me the favor of being my fellow Americans and VOTE!

When I started this blog, I really didn’t intend it to include so many political posts, otherwise I would have named it something much more accurate and descriptive. But it turns out that politics are what’s been on my mind for the last few months, so here we are.  Keeping this in mind, I promised myself that my next post would have absolutely nothing to do with Barack Obama.

But that turned out to be pretty tough, since I’ve spent most of my free time in the last few days either watching The Daily Show or volunteering with The Bus Project or Obama’s Campaign for Change.

So here are the non-Obama things that have happened in my life:

1.  The Plastics went to Seattle.  For those of you who have not yet been introduced, The Plastics are a group of girls (comprised of Julie, Kara, Jess, and myself) that used to work at The Company.  We had so much fun together hating that place that we’ve stayed friends.  This last weekend, we went to Seattle.  It was AWESOME.  I don’t think we stopped talking or laughing for 36 hours straight.

2.  Ted Stevens was found guilty. My two favorite things said about Senator Stevens recently were when my mom said, “You know why Alaskans elected Sarah Palin their governor? They’d been dealing with that shyster Ted Stevens for so long that she actually looked good.” And the following quote by Stephen Colbert, “You know what Senator Stevens? If you do end up going to prison, why don’t you try climbing out through the internet. After all, it is just a series of tubes.”

3. Today, I attended the most incredible press conference ever. I don’t even know how much money $100 million is. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it all day. Phil and Penny Knight were very gracious and surprisingly didn’t want much personal attention. A rabbi once told me (I’m not making this up. I can’t believe I actually just started a sentence like that) that Jews value philanthropy above almost all other things, but that those who give anonymously are in a class all their own. I’ve thought a lot about this in my current position, and I completely agree – there is a difference in the way I see donors who are very particular about the public praise they receive (and where each penny of their gift goes) and those who are more concerned with the best interests of the institution. The Knights fall in the latter category. They gave their entire gift with just one requirement – that $2 million of it go to the Linda Conant Laboratory Suite, newly named for a personal friend of theirs who lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this year. The other $98 million is to be used however the director of the institute sees fit. Because he, as Mr. Knight told our Development Director, knows better than anyone where it’s needed.
After the incredibly moving speeches by cancer patients past and present (all of whom I know personally through work) and hospital presidents, the entire crowd gave the Knights a standing ovation. Phil and Penny cried through the whole event, and never once made a speech or got on stage. Cupcakes and champagne were served, everyone was given a celebratory button, and then all the foundation employees went back to the office for pizza and more cake, champagne, and applause.

But my favorite part? The president of OHSU wore his best black suit with black Nike shoes.

My hometown was home to a surprising number of Mormon families, considering it wasn’t located in either Utah or Arizona. One of my close friends in high school happened to be LDS, and she invited me to church with her once. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t tell my parents I was going beforehand.

For those of you who’ve never attended Mormon services before, here’s all you need to know: Since they don’t drink wine, the “crackers and juice” portion of the service includes individual paper water cups. After the group service, everyone breaks into groups based on age and gender. I was placed in the “Young Women’s” group.

In this particular meeting of this group, two 30-something women talked to a dozen high school girls about making decisions based on their beliefs. They talked about establishing your “agency”, so that when an opportunity presents itself in your life (at the time, I took this to mean, your friends ask you to smoke weed, or your boyfriend asks you if you want to have sex), you compare the issue to your agency, or list of beliefs, and find out how you feel. The idea really appealed to me. It’s like a dichotomous key for making decisions. Excuse me, time out. How do I feel about this? Let me check with my agency… Oh, nope. I don’t believe in premarital sex. Sorry! I’m terrible at making decisions as it is – I can’t even pick a brand of peanut butter at the grocery store. This seemed like the best solution EVER!

But something I learned in “my whole long life,” as I used to say when I was little, is that it’s more respectable to make the decision on a case-by-case basis. Then you can take into consideration all of the information you have (or don’t), and make an educated decision. For instance, smoking weed in middle school didn’t seem like a good idea, so I didn’t. Smoking weed when I was 18? Seemed about right. And it was. But if I’d decided when I was 15 at that LDS church in Montana that I would never do it, I would have had an ulcer before age 19. And I would have missed out on a ridiculously fun evening, in all honesty.

This is how I feel about political opinions. For instance, I’ve never really formed an opinion on immigration laws. I have never lived near the Mexican border, nor have I heard the arguments on both sides of immigration issues, so I haven’t formed an educated opinion. I know that immigration is the way my family got here, and I know that Mexicans are pretty great people (see: roommate), but I’ve never known someone who was negatively affected by an illegal immigrant worker. So I never talk about the subject, nor would I ever regurgitate someone else’s opinion to sound knowledgeable. If and when I hear arguments from both sides, I will form an opinion. And until I feel strongly about it, I’ll leave it in the hands of the folks who do.

I never really knew how I felt about late-term/partial-birth abortions. I’m VERY CLEAR about my pro-choice stance, but it’s hard to get behind aborting babies that are pretty close to being babies. I always sort of assumed I would fall back on the “slippery slope” argument, even though I knew it was flawed. But last week, I read the blog Uppercase Woman for the first time. Specifically, this post, which then led me to this heart-wrenching post. And now, I’m with Cecily. The idea that some poor couple would ever have to make the decision with which she and her husband were faced just about kills me, but the idea that they would have no choice is absolutely atrocious. And after reading all of this, I can’t imagine what she went through when she watched John McCain on TV, talking about Democrats “stretching” the idea of a woman’s health in order to rationalize abortions. What sort of sick people think that someone out there in the world is actually pro-abortion? Or that the decision is ever made easily?

When I think of Republicans, I imagine that they created their “agency” when they signed on with the Republican Party, and now all of their decisions are made for them. Are you pro-life with a pregnant teenage daughter? I hear wedding bells! Did you have a gay experience in an airport bathroom? Tell your wife you’re sorry, then sign up for a class at church that will help you control your urges. Never, under any circumstances, reevaluate your decisions based on the information presented. Even if it could save thousands of soldiers’ lives or help a family who isn’t able to pay their medical bills due to layoffs. Instead, send horrible, deplorable messages to innocent people who are already suffering, pretending you know something about their situation.

Because if you’re going to suffer with your repressed sexuality and pregnant teenage daughter who’s engaged to a man she doesn’t really want to marry, then by all means, bring us down with you. Don’t change your original, uneducated, untested opinion.

I’m hoping that if you read this blog, and are therefore a friend or family member of mine, you vote. I’m assuming you are registered to vote on November 4. I’m not going to say I don’t care who you vote for, because I do, but it’s none of my business. And if you’re interested in talking to me about your choice or mine, you know where to find me.

However, I do know that there are times when people who think they are registered, in fact, aren’t. Or they forgot to change their address. Or they’ve had their voter registration challenged.

(Side note, that article actually made me sick to my stomach. Within hours of it being posted online, a friend from Montana who now lives in Copenhagen sent it to me, my mom sent it to me, and my aunt wrote me to make sure I wasn’t still registered in Montana and being challenged. The fact that the spokesman for the Secretary of State even said that everyone should return the affidavits signed and notarized “for the benefit of all involved”, even made it worse. Also, I went to high school with Kevin Furey and I’m glad he said exactly what everyone else was thinking and that he was used as the perfect example of why voter challenging is blatant intimidation and attempted disfranchisement. I know there are a lot of assholes in Montana. I know there are lots of assholes everywhere. But I expected more of my home state.)*

Anyway, I’m asking you, as a friend or family member, to do two things.
1. Watch this video.
2. Go to the website and either register to vote if you aren’t, or check to make sure you’re registered at your current address. (You can also request an absentee ballot in case you don’t live in the same silly state I do, where everyone is required to be absent on election day).
The second favor is definitely more important than the first one, but the first is entertaining and makes the title of this post make sense. Plus, I stole the idea from my friend Julie.

You want to know the other thing? I can check to see if you’re registered if you live in Oregon. So you can’t lie and say you are if you aren’t. Creepy, huh? Lies don’t make friends!

*Update on the MT sitch.

October 3, 2008

Sarah Palin
Nowhere, AK 99901

Dear Governor Palin,

Noo-klee-ar.

Sincerely,
Megan

Enclosures

cc: George W. Bush