mi amiga

One of my early mentors and forever heroes was the woman I was assigned to work under in my first days inside the shelter. I was immediately taken by her strength, her ability to understand the multiple issues facing homeless families and manage to hold them close until the seams came together. She was fierce in her commitment you will do this mija, you can do anything hermano she would speak with passion and folks would listen. They would listen and do as she said and by the time they left us they had jobs and homes and money in the bank. Over the years I watched her change more lives than I could ever count and she did it entirely from the heart.

In many ways it was her calling, she was a single mom who'd fled a terrible situation, abuse and more and so one day she took her kids and ran, she ran and ran and for awhile and many years she was scared, she was alone and on her own and without a home. Yet she was a warrior, she fought for her family and for herself and used all she had to help others and over the years things came together, she ended up working at the place that sheltered her, she stabilized her life and had a roof over her head and then she gave back, did she ever give back. She gave back more than anyone I've ever met.

We had crazy times, she and I, like the time she stepped between me and the guy with the knife, the one with the wild eyes. As calm as I'd ever heard her she looked at him square, mijo, put that knife down and the blue eyed man dropped that knife where he stood. One other time a little boy was so troubled he decided to jump out a window but she was there, she was there and she caught him as he fell and she held on three stories high as he dangled out the window for endless minutes until others could come and help. I remember after she was crying and she said I was so afraid I couldn't hold on but I said God, you keep my fingers strong and He did.

There aren't words for the love and respect and awe I feel for her and have felt for her for 12 years or more. There aren't enough words for how much of an impact she'd had on others, for the thousands of children she's fed and clothed and housed. There aren't enough words to describe her grace of spirit and her ability to mother.

But there's a part of this story I forgot to tell you. Back when she was fleeing that terrible situation she was in, the man who wanted her dead, she grabbed her babies and she ran. She ran so far she ran all the way from Mexico to here. She ran her in the dark and she emerged in the light. She's a citizen now, she pays her taxes and owns a home and has for many years. She is grateful every single day to this country, this country who in her eyes saved her life.

Arizona, you've broken my heart. You've broken it because you are blind, because you are afraid, and because if you'd arrested my friend all those years ago on the night she saved her own life she'd never been able to save so many others and we'd all be worse off today.

You've done a bad thing, Arizona. You've done all of us a really bad thing. Shame on you.

Shame on you.

we would if we could

Healthcare is free where I live. It's not excellent, it's probably not where you want to be if you get into a serious accident. But it's here. And it's free. A friend of mine has a father, he's 99 (go, him) and he was sick over the weekend, sick enough to warrant hospitalization and so hospital they went. She's Canadian so she's used to the mecca of free health care, and her standards are not low. She described a rather comprehensive effort to help her father, the one criticism she had was the lack of food so she had to bring meals in for him to eat. She mentioned the nurses feeling bad about it but cited a lack of funding that made providing meals very difficult. They would if they could, she said. Her father was discharged yesterday, the interventions provided were good and now he's on the mend.

And I've thought about that all night. They Would If They Could. But wow, they sure did a lot and it was all for free.

It's such a contrast to what I am reading about America's fight for health care reform. How it's a bunch of fat cats who have health insurance cutting and cutting and trimming and reducing and making it into a bill that might mean something, but it's clearly not Reform.

They Would If They Could.

Where is that ethic? Where is the ethic that we should do what it takes. That the environment and housing and food and healthcare should not victims of oh well, we tried, it's a good compromise after all. Where is the Yes We Can? The Yes We Will?

It's doubly disheartening for me because this President is the first one I've actually believed in. The others I expected nothing much from and got nothing much and that was to be expected after all, and we are left screaming and grumbling and carrying on. But this one, this one I believed in. I still believe in. So when I hear it's the best we can do right now I call Bullshit. Bullshit Mr. President. And I mean that with respect, because I do respect you. But I am worrying about you now. About things. About what it all means and wondering where the fight has gone.

Because it's not enough. It's just not. And I think you know it no matter how it's spun so I have to hope we are still mid-game here, that this is part of your strategy, but it's not really feeling that way right now. So I'll keep watching and I'll wait. But we need you to show up.

three days to go and i need your help

We are three days away from the election, after two years of grueling coverage and divisive politics the day is finally here. We've voted already and helped nearly 100 others register to vote too and on Tuesday we'll bus them to the polls. MOMocrats kicked ass all year and getting to be even a small part of those dynamic women saved me from the brink time and time again. We've done all we can and now everyone simply needs to vote.

At home we are preparing for a party, we've invited everyone we know to come over to our grubby little house and spend the night watching the returns, drinking wine and betting on the exact time the other guy will concede and who will take Pennsylvania. We plan to stay up as long as it takes and have offered floor space to whoever wants it. We are working on party favors and are in the midst of making wine labels to mark the occasion. So far we've come up with these as slogans for the bottles:

It's about fucking time

Pairs nicely with dead moose

Mavericky with a hint of oak

Wine we can believe in

This wine fights terror

Socialism means more wine for everybody

Clearly, I can use your help. If you have a great 3-5 word phrase fitting for an election party wine bottle leave it in the comments. If we go with yours I'll even send you a bottle. The wine is cheap but the sentiments are rich.

It's Just Post submission time again. If this is new to you every month on the 10th we host a Roundtable featuring writings about social justice or social issues on three blogs in three different countries. You can see last month's roundtable here or click on the purple and white buttons to your right. All you have to do is email me posts you've written or read from others to me at girlplustwo(at)yahooDOTcom by the 7th. All are welcome. It's easy and it feels great. Join us.

I am a real American

I am a real American.

I care deeply for this country and our world.
I want to see an end to the war.
I believe housing is a basic human right.
I love my child and want her to thrive.
I want your children to thrive too.
I want everyone to have affordable healthcare.
I want transparency in our leadership.
I will vote no, resoundingly no on Proposition 8.
I believe in equal pay for equal work.
I believe in freedom of expression.
I believe that your life is worth as much as mine and your success allows me to succeed.
I refuse to let people categorize my dissent as a lack of patriotism.
I do not like apple pie.
I am a real American and I am voting for Barack Obama.

If you are so inclined, feel free to share on your blog why you too, are a real American. Or a real Canadian. Or a real African. Or a real German. Or a real human being. Let me know and I'll link you all here.

They can only divide us if we let them.

Other real people:
the lovely island girl
Amy
Heels
Flutter
Sanity Souffle
the lovely Jennifer
Teresa
Suzannah

it's this

Eve Ensler wrote a piece that wholly resonated with me and some of the other MOMocrats last week and I wanted to share it here too.

In part, she wrote: But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

And it made me want to cry. I encourage you to go read the rest and then please, feel free to come back over and discuss.

truth

More Community Organizers here. You'll be among good company, some of the finest individuals in the world believed that this is the way to make a difference for the people.

Margaret Mead said it best: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Ironically, without community organizers Sarah Palin would have been given the opportunities she has today. Without women fighting for the rights to vote for other women, none of this would be possible today. Men would still hold all public office. Women wouldn't be voting. So think on this next time you want to demean the power of the people coming together to change our world.

And speaking of community organizing, today is the last day to send your Just Posts from August to girlplustwo(at)yahooDOTcom. The Roundtable is coming up on the 10th and everyone is welcome to join us.

So Ohio goes

More than thrilled to welcome Amy to my crib for the day. One of the things I love most about her is her wide open heart - she's unafraid to tell it like it is on her blog and by doing so allows others the freedom to speak their mind too.

We are die-hard liberals.

Sure. we're Catholic, and practicing, at that. We attend Mass every Saturday evening, and The Poo puts our weekly contribution to the upkeep of the church in the usher's basket. She thinks that's what money is for, and when she gets a few coins she tells us, "This is my money for church."

But we're Catholic Worker kind of people - good works and forgiveness and how-can-we-presume-to-know-the-will-of-God kind of people. We don't judge. We do our best to lend a hand to mankind through good works, charity and open-mindedeness.

We're voting for Obama, and the refrain in our house when we watch the McCain-Palin trainwreck is: "I can't believe we're LOSING to these guys!"

We are blue-state kind of people.

Unless it is a Saturday.

On Saturday, our house is scarlet.

And gray.

Yes, people, it is college football season again, and in the House of Chicken you route for The Ohio State University, or you go home.

You see, Mr. C is from Cleveland, that old Mistake On The Lake. I spend a portion of every holiday in that good state - you know, the one that decides who will be president.

The state where Hilary won. Remember that? No one thought she could pull it out, and yet, those quirky Ohioans, they gave her the prize.

"Quirky" doesn't begin to describe my own personal Ohioan, who hails from this Rust Belt state but has a degree on his wall that bears the name of the world's most prestigious Ivy League institution.

God, no. Not Yale.

Yale's rival.

But watch the man on a Saturday afternoon and you'd think he not only graduated a Buckeye but actually bleeds water from Lake Erie. I remember one OSU-Michigan game (a championship, maybe?) that almost ended our relationship. I, you see, did the most horrible deed - I sat in Mr. C's seat when he got up to use the bathroom.

When he returned and saw me in his spot, he lost it. I jinxed the game! They would lose! Why didn't I JUST STAY IN MY OWN SEAT?

We made it through, barely, and we both learned our lesson. Or rather, I learned mine. Stay far, far away from home on Saturdays in the fall. Go to the market, go to the mall, go to the moon ... just don't stay home.

Because as Ohio goes, so goes Mr. Chicken.

and then there were two

Wexler has joined Kucinich in pushing for impeachment hearings and while it may be symbolic, I've certainly been wondering what's taken them so damn long. We can't go backwards but perhaps we can stop the madmen from going after Iran on their way out. You can read more over at MOMocrats or watch a video here. It's something. Finally, it's something.

the worst holiday. ever

I was incredibly disappointed by the proposition of and reactions to the bullshit gas tax holiday over the last few weeks. So much so that I've already ranted over at MOMocrats about it but I can't help myself from talking about it here too. I can't believe anyone really thinks this is a good idea. The fact that most Americans would save about $30 all summer long (if indeed, they filled and filled and filled their tanks) while costing the government millions of dollars and will hurt individual states with a loss in revenue for highway and bridge repairs as well as the jobs associated with that work makes this a no-brainer. And yet somehow some folks still think it's a good idea.

Why do we think we are entitled to cheap gas? America pays less for a gallon of gas than many other countries around the world and yet we are still batshit over it. But we are complaining about the wrong thing. We should be complaining that we are not developing strategies to replace oil consumption fast enough. We should complain that car manufacturers are not producing affordable hybrids. We should complain that public transportation is not sufficient in many parts of our nation which forces the highways to be clogged with individual drivers. We should complain that our politicians treat us like infants, tossing spare change at us to shut us up. Time and time again we are watching these bad decisions being made, ideas designed to bandaid a severed leg. The days of low gas prices and clean air are over. It's time to buckle down and find comprehensive solutions for lowering emissions, reducing oil dependency, and lowering our carbon footprint. I know you know this already and it's one of the many reasons we are blog-kin but I'm ranting just the same.

And for the record, we have two cars. But like many others we are changing how we use them. We walk whenever possible. We carpool. It's not enough, and we are working towards a longer term solution that involves only one car and even less driving, but we won't be able to do that for a few more months. Living (and having to leave your house to go to work) in this society generally means you have to transport yourself somehow. I see how we've gotten ourselves into this, but this sort of pandering only adds insult to injury. So I'll pay the gas prices and I'll do so without complaint because I am complicit in this. I am a part of the problem as an oil consumer and I am complicit in this. And I would gladly pay more in taxes instead of less if it meant it was going into a fund to reduce oil consumption nationwide. Now that would be a holiday I could get behind.

So quit insulting us already. We already feel bad enough as it is for falling for all of this bullshit in the first place.

super tuesday bowl

We went to a Superbowl party yesterday at a friends house. It was a large crowd, I maybe knew 25% of the people there. Beer was flowing, bets were flying and the mood was high. After folks settled into the game a large number of us turned to the inevitable discussion: who are you voting for on Tuesday?

It was a liberal crowd so there wasn't a question of party but it was exciting to see how folks were evaluating their choices. I am still in the undecided camp since my man dropped out last week so I was eager to hear others thoughts. One of the things I noticed right away was how people were aligning themselves. Some white chicks for Obama, some men of color were voting for Hillary. The conversation was energetic, hopeful. Hearing phrases like she's got healthcare nailed but her immigration position seems harsher than his, or he's really motivating the young vote but it's hard to compare war positions when only one of them was in the senate at the time all made me realize that it's the issues that matter, if nothing else this horrendous administration has woken everyone up and we are paying attention. This is really happening, after seven long horrifying years, this is really happening.

During the Kerry/Bush election we hosted a couple of grassroots fundraisers. We called them Regime Change Parties and raised money for Kerry. The campaign was less about him and more about Anyone But Bush. This year is markedly different. There are people speaking our language. There are people who actually have a shot at leading this country in the right direction. We even have more than one to choose from. And it's exciting. It's exciting because we are all so desperate for something to be different, for our voice to matter, for this war to end, for things to change. And I'll gladly pay more in taxes if that means that can happen.

Many of us are in Super Tuesday states. Tomorrow we'll be heading to the polls and whether we agree or disagree we are all in this together. No matter your position let's send those current bastards a message. We are revolting. We are standing up. You are not our president any longer.

Let's get it on.

John Edwards leaving the race

I woke up to the news that John Edwards is projected to drop out of the race today. While I can't say I'm shocked, I am definitely sad. Edwards kept his playing field focused on the issues and focused on the human beings who need his message most. He was the one candidate who specifically addressed poverty and his passion for alleviating poverty touched a nerve deep within me. Spending a decade working with the homeless and in shelters has allowed me to straddle the fence of the darker side of America, the one where many do not have enough to eat or a roof over their head. People, amazing, beautiful people who are forced to allow illnesses to go untended and can't feed their children. People who by virtue of poverty alone are systematically stripped of their basic human rights until they've lost everything, hope included.

And for a brief while we had our leader, a man who I was entirely convinced would address this worst kind of human suffering from one of the most important offices in the world.

John, thank you for bringing poverty and suffering center stage. I can't wait to see what you decide to do next.

This post is cross posted at MOMocrats.

oh george, how i loathe thee

We watched the State of the Union for the party tricks. I admit I came to the party half drunk on bitterness and years of resentment the way a scorned lover might if I'd ever let you get that close. I do give you some props though, when you hijacked the election back in 2000 you couldn't get through a speech without tripping over yourself. There must have been a lot of public speaking lessons over the past years. I wonder who paid for them? But I digress.

I wanted to vomit when you told the citizens of this nation what we needed and what we deserve and how much you care. I wonder if the 43 million without health insurance or the 36 million living in poverty felt your warm embrace, were touched by your words.

You spoke of terror, of eradicating evil. You talked of your hate for evil men and our need to eliminate them. Your words of violence, of retribution, of war. This war mongering must stop.

The Democrats sat on their side, rarely smiling, clapping or standing. I was right there with them except for my clean conscience. I didn't co-sign any of your bullshit over the past seven years. That's their cross to bear. But we've all learned a lot, we can only move forward.

In between cursing at the TV and laughing out loud we daydreamed a bit. Dreamed of the SOTU address if this was the seventh year of Gore, about how we'd have lowered emissions and gone green. About how we were joining the world in saving our planet. But we didn't get to hear those words tonight. The environment was a wallflower, she's used to it by now.

You used the word empower over and over. Empower the American people, empower parents to get involved with their childrens education, empower workers to find new jobs. But we are less empowered than we've been and no speech will change that. We are in a recession, years of reckless spending and disregard for those who are suffering. And no tax rebate will salve us. It's an insult, that tax rebate, thinking we are such blind lambs to the slaughter that we'll take your rebate check and go buy a TV. I hope folks will bank that rebate or pay off debt. Invest it in retirement, that paltry sort of hush money that will never make up for the past seven years of hell, this blood money I want no part of and will donate to charity if it ever arrives.

You think I'm angry and you are right but it's my blog and I can write what I want, or at least until you revise the Patriot Act one last time. I am sick and tired of hearing your rhetoric, your misleading initiatives, your smug delivery. I am sick and tired of war. I am sick and tired of not caring for those in our communities, of watching good people suffer. But it's almost over now, the finish line is ahead.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.