all i have to say is...

Jesus spread the wealth – does that make him a socialist?

Mark 10:21 “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’
he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” (NIV)

I found this on facebook, and thought - exactly!!! It's all I have time for now. I'm so happy, still sort of in denial!! We banged pots and pans last night when Obama reached the 270 electoral votes needed to win. I kept asking everyone over, "Wait, how do they know for sure?! Are those just projections?! I don't believe it!" Then McCain conceded in an incredibly gracious speech, and then Obama spoke later - and all I can say is, Wow. I finally feel some hope for our country for the first time in a long time.

The girls! Elise, Amy, Melody and I, Georgia in back!

Watching the results with anticipation! Heck, we almost look bored! Ha! And there's Stinky over there in the background checking her email!!! This is Georgia, Brian, Amy and Melody. I used to teach with Brian ("Dr BS") at Kingwood College (now Lonestar College). :)

I saw this on Daily Kos, and HAD to shoot a photo of the "Blue TX"... these were obviously early results but I was like, whoa! No way!!! It won't last, better get proof. Ha!

historic day

I am so anxious and excited and hopeful. It's going to be a monumental day, and I hope not an extremely disappointing one... I am so hopeful but so nervous. Tonight I'm having a few friends over to watch election results. We have champagne for the win, and Jack Daniels if the results don't go well... Just kidding! :) The above video is atribute on Youtube for Obama's grandmother who passed away just hours before the election. What sad timing.

My son's school did a mock election and, big surprise, it came out McCain (this is Texas, and most kids vote as their parents do). I asked him who he voted for and he said, "Who do you think?" I said "I don't know, who?" He said "Obama!" I said, "Why, because I like him?" He said, "No because *I* like him!" (big grin). I said, "Why do you like him?" And he replied that he liked his policy about helping out people who did not have as much and who were struggling.

Savannah's school did something different with their mock election that I actually found impressive. They had the kids select which policies and stances they preferred and then it was revealed which candidate they had most tick marks under. She said, "You'd be proud of me, I had most Obama and 3 for Ralph Nader."

And note that even though I'm a huge Obama supporter, their dad does not have the same political views as I do. So it's gratifying to see the kids having these views because I do welcome open dialogue about their views and policies etc. They listen to NPR and they have watched the debates and kept up with the current events at school. It really is such an exciting election!

the reality is...

Copyright (c) 2000 Wendee Holtcamp

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

I just saw this outstanding blog post at Daily Kos, Fear among the Republican base and wanted to link to it here. It talks about the class wars and how angry the opposition to Obama is. He gives an illustration from his personal life, but what struck me was that he says that it is not the "Joe sixpacks" who typically support McCain-Palin but the upper middle class to the wealthy. I would say that seems to be the case in my area, as well.

The reality is when someone who makes over $250,000 per year tells me - a single self-employed mom struggling to make ends meet every month and working myself to death as a writer and instructor and can only afford such crappy health insurance that I can only have 2 office visits per year no matter what reason (apparently including well woman checks since my last one was denied) - and they tell me that they do not want to pay just a little extra taxes to help others less fortunate -to help me - to be honest, it is personal.

I may look and act middle class, but I came from poverty and it very much affects me and my outlook and I do not fit in with the typical middle class income structure. And while I have a nice suburban home and a Subaru, my month to month existence is a real struggle. My reality is that if I found some sort of lump in my body that might be cancerous, God forbid, I would end up going into debt to be able to pay for treatment, and most likely I may avoid going to the doctor because I don't have the money for it nor will my insurance do anything for me. It scares the living bejesus out of me. And when someone who makes that much money tells me that they don't want to pay a little extra taxes, it stings. It's personal.

And it also makes me sad, because I know that those same people are very generous, kind-hearted people, good people who would help out if I were sick or a major disaster struck. But for some reason we don't apply the same reasoning on a broader scale - to give a little of our earned income to help the rest of the nation. I think sometimes we have to ask ourselves what are we willing to sacrifice for? I don't think it's too much to ask to sacrifice a little to help those who are less fortunate. Because there are a lot of us out here.

sand mining could be toxic

Copyright (c) 2006 Bryan Carlile/Legacy Land Trust
Sand mine on the San Jacinto River, Texas

I had two of my daughter’s teenage friends over here spending the night last night with her, and we were talking about the upcoming election and watching the recent Saturday Night Live skits with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and I asked them – since their school is doing a mock election coming up – who they would be voting for. I assumed they’d probably say McCain because I know that both of their parents are Republicans (what can I say – I live in Texas). But when I asked, “Who are you going to vote for?” one of them replied, “Chicken Nugget” and the other replied, “Bob the Builder.”

These are smart kiddos, they are. And witty too. They cracked me up! One of them said they asked their dad for an unbiased explanation of the election but he didn’t give her one. I thought that was pretty smart of her to be able to even recognize that it was not an unbiased explanation! I told her that she can go to CNN.com that has a pretty decent explanation of each candidate’s positions on various issues, and voting records. Heck I figured their school should be giving that information, since they’re having a mock election!! I may just have to have a talk with their teachers.

I’ve been working on a talk I'm giving next Thursday at their school about the San Jacinto River and the impact of sand mining. I am the Founder of San Jacinto Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit organization that co-nominated the river as an American Rivers Most Endangered River, and it was selected as one of ten in 2006. Sand mining devastates both the east and west forks of the river, which is a historical and ecological treasure. The infamous battle cry, “Remember the Alamo” was cried out on the banks of the San Jacinto. And the river is lined with bottomland hardwood forest, which provides habitat for nesting bald eagles, migratory songbirds, and many other wildlife species.

The sand mining is so horrendous that Harris County Precinct 4’s Dennis Johnston told me:

“Sand pits from the air are 10 times worse than what they look like on the ground. They totally dominate the landscape along the San Jacinto River. It looks like nuclear war was practiced in this theatre. The silt drainage they were pumping into the river was so obvious that it looked like cream running into a fresh poured cup of tea.”

This is a photo I took of the illegal dumping of sediment into the river that I caught red-handed. Repeated attempts to report the violation to TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) went nowhere.

This must be the same one that Dennis saw from the air, because this looks like exactly what he described - cream being poured into a cup of tea. The tan color on the left is where the sediment is pouring into the river and on the right is how the river looked upstream of this - absolutely so clear that you could see the bottom. You could see fish. I wrote about this in my article Many Rivers, One Bayou.

It was my first time flying in a Cessna and it was amazing! But the sand mines were a disgrace. The sad thing is that in Texas there are no laws requiring reclamation for sand mines unlike other types of mines. So after they cut down all the forests and destroy all the wetlands, they leave a gaping sand pit, sometimes hundreds of acres large. Forever. It never regrows with vegetation because all the topsoil is gone. And because the sand is right on the edge of the river, all the sand leaches into the river filing it in which exacerbates flooding and causes water quality problems.

The problem with the dumping of sediment (specifically they dump the fine talc-like waste that they can't use) into the river is that it clogs up fish gills and kills them, and it smothers benthic organisms that live on the river floor such as our already disappearing freshwater mussels, and other aquatic life. It does not have to be this way because in other states, there are some amazing reclamation efforts - not to mention sand mining industries that are regulated in the first place! In other states, old sand mines have been turned into lakes or nature preserves. I wrote an article for CLEANHouston on Sustainable Solutions to the sand mining issue that links to some examples. The first article for CLEANHouston was called Muddy Waters.

The fishing is far worse in Lake Houston than in Lake Conroe as a result – you get different fish species altogether, and a less healthy aquatic ecosystem. I wrote an article on sand mining for Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, Many Bayous, One River, which is one of the articles I’m most proud of – especially because after that article was written a Texas Senator introduced legislation to help prevent sand mining on the San Jacinto (SB359). It passed the Texas Senate, and made it out of the House Natural Resources Committee but they ended up not voting on it because they ran out of time. I’m hoping they will reintroduce it this upcoming legislative session. Apparently November is the time for Congress-people to put bills in the hopper.

In the Appalachians, mountaintop coal mining has received a ton of attention and media coverage but so far no one but me has written about sand mining!! And I’ve had a hard time getting national media interested in the topic. I may try to do a documentary on sand mining. Texas agencies (not to mention the Galveston District of the Army Corps of Engineers) engage in some questionable practices when it comes to the situation. Sand is big money. Sand and gravel brings in millions annually to Texas, which feeds a $20 billion dollar transportation industry.

The problem is not that we need to put a stop to sand mining altogether, but it needs to happen in a river or stream away from a major metropolitan area, because the illegal dumping – and the devastation of the forests around the river and lake – end up costing taxpayers money. Just like we taxpayers are bailing our greedy companies on Wall Street, taxpayers in Texas pay for the illegal activities – and even the legal ones – of the sand mines along the river. The river gets "filled in" from excess sediment and taxpayers foot the bill for any dredging of the river and lake.

But there's something far more serious. Treating the drinking water from Lake Houston is so costly (3 times that to treat the other water treatment plants-$600/MG vs $200/MG; Region H Water Planning Meeting, Mike Turco) because of the excess sediment that the City of Houston expressed interest in getting that legislation passed. They know the link between sediment and blooms of algae and cyanobacteria – which kill fish and cause odor and taste problems in drinking water. The photo below, which I've titled schmung, is a pea green bloom of yukness that was in the river just downstream of the sediment dumping.

Turns out, those very blooms may be toxic and cause long-term neurological disease. Research by top-notch scientists Paul Cox, Oliver Sacks and Sandra Banack of the Institute for Ethnomedicine has recently linked cyanobacteria and the associated toxin BMAA to neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Lou Gherig's (ALS) and Alzheimer's. These studies have been published in journals such as Science, PNAS, and Neurology. See the Honolulu Star Bulletin newspaper article for a general interest piece, Water-scum toxin linked to nerve ailments.

Write to Senator Tommy Williams, District 4, who sponsored the bill last session (tommy.williams@senate.state.tx.us), and represents Harris County and ask him to reintroduce the legislation, and tell of your support for the bill. You can read the full text of the previous version at the link above to SB359. It sets up a "pilot project" on the San Jac that is similar to the one they have on the John Graves Scenic Waterway segment of the Brazos River, where they limited sand mining due to efforts by Walmart heiress Alice Walton.

how to pick a president

The trail to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the tallest in Texas.
Copyright (c) 2007 Wendee Holtcamp

I highly recommend this article! How to Pick a President: Why virtue trumps policy. Christianity Today. June 2008 - written before the candidates were finalized but oh so applicable!

Also exciting is that Obama got 3 big newspaper editorial board endorsements today, including 2 that haven't endorsed a Democrat Presidential candidate, ever. They have followed Obama throughout his career, which of course started in Chicago.

"We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready," wrote the Chicago Tribune.

"The change that Obama talks about so much is not simply a change in this policy or that one. It is not fundamentally about lobbyists or Washington insiders. Obama envisions a change in the way we deal with one another in politics and government."

They also talk about the historical nature of the endorsement:

" The Tribune in its earliest days took up the abolition of slavery and linked itself to a powerful force for that cause--the Republican Party. The Tribune's first great leader, Joseph Medill, was a founder of the GOP. The editorial page has been a proponent of conservative principles. It believes that government has to serve people honestly and efficiently."
...

"The Republican Party, the party of limited government, has lost its way. The government ran a $237 billion surplus in 2000, the year before Bush took office -- and recorded a $455 billion deficit in 2008. The Republicans lost control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006 because, as we said at the time, they gave the nation rampant spending and Capitol Hill corruption. They abandoned their principles. They paid the price."

And it goes on to say why they decided against McCain, who they had endorsed in the primary.

"It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush's tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message and a misguided, $300 billion proposal to buy up bad mortgages.

"McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country."

Hi-lar-ious

I am laughing so hard at this post from Daily Kos, So, let me get this straight... by Jeff Lieber I have to post!

So let me get this straight...at the direction of unrepentant terrorist Bill Acorn, Buddhist Democratic candidate Barack O'Leary, who is not eligible to run for President on account of the fact that his birth certificate says he was born in Europe, instructed a voter registration group known as Filbert to conspire with the Iraqi government to give risky loans to black people, which has caused the nihilistic practice of the U.S. government bailing out Walmart, which is especially bad when you consider the fact that Tony Rezko, who is currently in prison for letting gay men and women get married in Kenya, is trying to force them to unionize, a practice that maverick Sarah Palin said "No, thank you" to as mayor of Alabama when she wasn't steadfastly monitoring whether or not Vladimir Preston was or was not rearing his head out from Mexico, which we need to build a wall around, because the mostest importantest thing to the U.S. Americans is who is going to pick our orange juice for $50 an hour, which we can't do on account of the fact that Raila Odinga wants to tax not just the RICH, but the Sexual Education Class for kindergartners, which is why YOU MUST VOTE for What's-His-Name, who ABSOULTELY AND COMPLETELY has a plan to catch Harry Pelosi, and whom Republicans only nominated because the rest of their candidates were total ball-sacks.

And THIS is the cogent closing argument Republicans are sure will get America to WAKE THE F*** UP and install them in the White House for another eight years?

OMG that had me laughing out loud!!! Seriously, the crap coming out of this campaign is seriously ridiculous, and it makes me extremely frustrated that so many smart people believe the hogwash. Somehow we think we are immune to propaganda, but we do truly still live in a Propaganda Nation (I'm interviewing Nancy Snow for my book - she is a tenured Communications Professor at Syracuse University). Newsflash: Fox News is completely biased!!! If you're getting your news from there, you might want to consider some other sources. Check out this article on Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR), The Most Biased Name in News: Fox News Channel's extraordinary right-wing tilt.

we need more kindness

Sea lions touching noses in the Galapagos Islands
Copyright (c) 2007 Wendee Holtcamp

I think we need more kindness in the world. I really do. I think we need to display kindness toward one another as well as toward ourselves. I generally get a lot of really nice comments to my blog and by people in email. Those people who don't like what they read - and I'm sure there are some - generally don't bother to send a hate-filled email or comment. I have seen a lot of negativity - some pretty foul, awful stuff - on online forums, where people discuss politicians or celebrities or issues. People can really get pretty nasty and mean. I guess the anonymity of the internet makes it easier for people to speak their minds and hearts. But if vile negativity is coming out of your mouth it is there in your heart as well. ("But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man."Matthew 15:18 Am KJV)

If you have something negative to say to someone you know, if you have something rude to say to me, have the courage to start an actual conversation with them/me and see if the issue can be resolved. And if not, at least I can speak for myself, then I say my prayers for the person and wish them the best, and we go our separate ways. Someone said recently to me, unforgiveness is a poison you take, hoping the other person will die. I think it's true in the large and the small things. Let love rule. This is a hard harsh world and what we need is love, forgiveness, hope and mercy not malicious anger, fear, and hate.

I think that people can disagree on a lot of things, including heated topics like politics and religion and even disagreements about personal issues between people, without needing to resort to meanness and unkindness. If the receiving person is strong, they can take constructive criticism. It's actually highly beneficial to receive constructive criticism from someone who has your best interests in mind and who cares about you. But why listen to angry rants from "anonymous" people who obviously have some issue more within their own heart and soul? I just don't get it. It makes me sad for them. Because everything that we say to another person, that person generally feels toward themselves in some way or another. If someone says oh you're so self absorbed, you can be pretty sure that they are also or it would not be pressing their button. Being introspective and self-reflective is a good thing. Being narcisstic isn't. Sometimes the difference in a trait is only a matter of degree.

I see so many rants by the politicians (particularly McCain-Palin) but I also see a lot of anger directed at Sarah Palin. I do not like what she stands for, I do not like the way she incites anger in her crowds, I do not like her inexperience, but I'm not going to incite people to hate her, or directly send her mean comments. And there's also a difference (though only in degree) between ranting on a public forum and saying something directly to someone's face or in "anonymous" email or comment. What's the point? It's not the kind of thing that the God that I follow - Jesus Christ - calls us to.

Barack Obama spoke up against the fear and hate mongering coming out of the opposite camp today. Daily Kos has a blog on it. Obama said:

We have seen our share of hard times. The American story has never been about things coming easy - it's been about rising to the moment when the moment is hard; about rejecting panicked division for purposeful unity; about seeing a mountaintop from the deepest valley. That's why we remember that some of the most famous words ever spoken by an American came from a President who took office in a time of turmoil - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now is not the time for fear. Now is not the time for panic. Now is the time for resolve and steady leadership. We can meet this moment. We can come together to restore confidence in the American economy. We can renew that fundamental belief - that in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us. That's who we are, and that's the country we need to be right now.
...
It's easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren't looking for someone who can divide this country -- they're looking for someone who will lead it. We're in a serious crisis -- now, more than ever, it is time to put country ahead of politics. Now, more than ever, it is time to bring change to Washington so that it works for the people of this country that we love.

The Nation blog has an interesting story comparing the campaigns of Hoover vs Roosevelt: McCain Ayers Attacks Backfire. It talks about Hoover's fear mongering versus Roosevelt's steady calm leadership and hope amidst crisis. God that brings tears to my eyes.

Obama and McCain are giving us a clear sense of who they are and how they would lead. It would seem that Obama has been studying the 1932 campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The key to Roosevelt's victory was not a big program but a jaunty sense of optimism in the midst of despair that led to his signature inaugural line -- "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Less famously, Roosevelt declared in his acceptance speech that "this is no time for fear, for reaction or for timidity."

In recent days, Obama has painted himself as calm, pragmatic, open and hopeful. He seemed to be channeling FDR when he told a crowd in Indianapolis on Wednesday: "This isn't a time for fear or for panic. This is a time for resolve and steady leadership."

As for McCain, his campaign is trying to sow fear and panic about Obama. That's exactly what Herbert Hoover tried to do with Roosevelt. Days before the 1932 election, Hoover attacked Roosevelt's "inchoate New Deal." He predicted it would "crack the timbers of the Constitution" and warned voters to beware of the "glitter of promise."

And Franklin D. Roosevelt is one of the most celebrated Presidents in history, and the one who saw us through the Great Depression as well as WWI. I absolutely loved the Roosevelt Memorial in Wahsington DC, particularly the part highlighting his I Hate War speech. Our country has seen some great leaders who have risen above great obstacles to inspire the people of our nation. It's time to elect another one. That one.

must-read articles

A billboard of some texted-in questions for Sarah Palin at a Los Angeles rally sent by the California Democratic Party. Pretty funny!

I've seen some interesting articles lately which I believe are critical to read as the election nears, especially if you're undecided. I also love that CNN.com has this "Fact Check" feature on their "Political Ticker blog" where they run all the claims McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden say about their opponents through a fact checker and write up a little article on each claim.

They checked claims like: Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes. Verdict: MISLEADING. Obama has never taken on Dems. Verdict: FALSE. Is Obama 'palling around with terrorists'? Verdict: FALSE. Obama got the 2nd most money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in history. Verdict: MISLEADING (this one is particularly misleading because while individual employees did donate $126,349 collectively to Obama - a tiny fraction of the $139 mil he's raised overall - but importantly, McCain received $169,000 from the directors, officers and lobbyists of these companies, while Obama received only $16,000. In addition, McCain's statement is misleading because donations do not come from the company itself, only its employees).

Every single time I've read it, McCain and Palin's claims come out false or misleading and Obama's and Bidens true (Did McCain say the Iraq War would be easy? Verdict: TRUE-on multiple occasions. Did McCain intervene on behalf of Charles Keating? Verdict: TRUE.

What kind of people and leaders do we want to elect? Ones that will do anything including lie and mislead? Even if you tend to support the conservative policies, is lying what you really want in the President and VP of this great nation? Haven't we had enough of that?! It particularly bothers me that evangelical Christians so strongly support McCain-Palin, because who, after all, is the 'Father of Lies'? Not Jesus, that is for sure. I think we Christians should all be praying hard for open eyes and a clear conscience about this very important decision for the future of our great nation.

Politics of Attack, New York Times Editorial.

It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember. They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent’s record — into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. ... Ms. Palin, in particular, revels in the attack. Her campaign rallies have become spectacles of anger and insult. “This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America,” Ms. Palin has taken to saying.

Palin's Kind of Patriotism by Thomas Friedman. New York Times.

Whether or not I agree with John McCain, he is of presidential timber. But putting the country in the position where a total novice like Sarah Palin could be asked to steer us through possibly the most serious economic crisis of our lives is flat out reckless. It is the opposite of conservative.

And

At least the king of Saudi Arabia, in advocating “drill baby drill,” is serving his country’s interests — by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. My problem with Palin is that she is also serving his country’s interests — by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. That’s not patriotic. Patriotic is offering a plan to build our economy — not by tax cuts or punching more holes in the ground, but by empowering more Americans to work in productive and innovative jobs. If Palin has that kind of a plan, I haven’t heard it.

Make-Believe Maverick: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty. Rolling Stone Magazine.

In his current campaign, however, McCain has become the kind of politician he ran against in 2000. He has embraced those he once denounced as "agents of intolerance," promised more drilling and deeper tax cuts, even compromised his vaunted opposition to torture. Intent on winning the presidency at all costs, he has reassembled the very team that so viciously smeared him and his family eight years ago, selecting as his running mate a born-again moose hunter whose only qualification for office is her ability to electrify Rove's base. And he has engaged in a "practice of politics" so deceptive that even Rove himself has denounced it, saying that the outright lies in McCain's campaign ads go "too far" and fail the "truth test."

Mad Dog Palin: The scariest thing about John McCain's running mate isn't how unqualified she is - it's what her candidacy says about America. Rolling Stone Magazine.

This is a very biting commentary, but I think there's a lot of sad truth here.

Palin's charge that "government is too big" and that Obama "wants to grow it" was similarly preposterous. Not only did her party just preside over the largest government expansion since LBJ, but Palin herself has been a typical Bush-era Republican, borrowing and spending beyond her means. Her great legacy as mayor of Wasilla was the construction of a $15 million hockey arena in a city with an annual budget of $20 million;...

Mud Pies for 'That One' by Maureen Dowd. New York Times.

don't vote

My favorite line by Sarah Silverman, "You can literally register to vote while you poop!" Ha ha!

Also check out http://maps.google.com/vote for a page to find out where you can register to vote.

Joe Biden's tragedy

Savannah looking at the statue in the Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC
Copyright (c) 2006 Wendee Holtcamp

"Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or [burdens]...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively."
- Jefferson in a letter to James Madison, written on the NW interior wall of the memorial

I watched the Vice Presidential debate last night. I had looked forward to it all day, but then realized I didn't know if I really wanted to watch it. I sort of wanted to see Sarah Palin mess up, and then realized that is not a very nice thing to wish for. I think I wanted her to mess up because I want people who support her for what I consider faulty reasoning (because she is a woman, because she seems like a "regular American") to see beyond her smokescreen and realize that she is cramming for something that is way beyond her league, which both Republican and Democratic leaders and analysts have said - and she is memorizing lines, and using strategies for attack rather than simply stating her position and being totally herself (though to be fair, she did come out with a couple things that she disagreed with McCain on and agreed with Biden on, which McCain would not do at all with Obama - and I was impressed she even mentioned global warming!). For an "outsider," she sure has "politics as usual" down pat.

I thought she did not come across as genuine for the most part. And the genuine that does come out, is genuinely ridiculous. I mean, I'm sure she's a nice person but she is way out of her league for VP of the United States of America, and a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It truly scares me for our country - and though I'm an Obama suporter this has nothing to do with any fear of say Republican leadership or John McCain. It's serious fear for our country should she become President. She terrified me with her answer about the role of the VP - to rule over Congress????? A VP is in the Executive Branch!!! Biden called her out when he responded to this by talking about the absolute abuse of power by Dick Cheney in trying to redefine the role of the VP as somehow in the Legislative Branch. Did she not study history or politics before the Bush Administration?

But the most important moment of the debate for me was when Joe Biden got emotional. I had no idea why. Before this debate, I knew that Joe Biden has a lot of foreign policy experience among other things. When he got emotional on stage, I had no idea what that was all about. So I googled him, found his Wikipedia page, and it brought me to tears.

A few weeks after the [1972] election, Biden's wife and year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware on December 18, 1972. (Neilia Biden's station wagon was hit by a tractor-trailer as she pulled out from an intersection; the truck driver was cleared of any wrongdoing.) Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden considered resigning in order to care for them; persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield; he was sworn into office from one of their bedsides. The accident left Biden filled with both anger and religious doubt: "I liked to [walk around seedy neighborhoods] at night when I thought there was a better chance of finding a fight ... I had not known I was capable of such rage ... I felt God had played a horrible trick on me."

Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continues to do. In the aftermath of the accident, he had trouble focusing on work, and appeared to just go through the motions of being a senator. In his memoirs, Biden notes that staffers were taking bets on how long he would last. A single father for five years, Biden left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called. In remembrance of the accident, Biden does not work on December 18.

And the amazing thing is that Sarah did not even respond in any way to this show of emotion from Joe - it was like she had no idea that his wife and daughter were killed. She clearly did not know his story. Not knowing your opponent is not a good trait to have when you're in politics, and not showing empathy when someone almost breaks down in tears is pretty cold - even if you don't understand why. And here is another sad thing: When Hillary Clinton displayed emotion she was criticized as weak. When Biden does, you feel empathy for the man. It's still a very female-averse culture. But I don't think that has anything to do with why people don't think Sarah Palin is VP (let alone Presidential) material.