» Political

It Has Been The Passion Of My Life

HippieLisa — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:37:16 +0000

God bless you and your family, Senator Kennedy. There will be a candle in my window tonight, without a doubt.

Tonight, please light a candle
in your window
to memorialize Senator Kennedy.

Welcome To Your White House

HippieLisa — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:45:24 +0000

How many times in one 18 minute speech can I get the chills and tear up? And eventually shake with quiet sobs? Love this man, love this man. Love his wife – just love the whole family and what they stand for and the lovely cohesiveness of their whole clan, mother-in-law included. It’s a great time in American history – a beautiful and great time. That I should be in the most conservative and racist and homophobic place I’ve ever been in during this incredible time is quite curious. Quite curious, indeed. Makes ya wonder, maybe – what lesson God wants to teach me or something like that, you know?

That I should have had the most incredible fortune to travel to Washington DC this year with my daughter – my first time ever being there – in this most gorgeous of times – well, that is nothing short of a beautiful gift from God. No, I did not meet any of the Obamas, nor the Bidens, but, just being there – in the city that seems to have been ‘returned’ to those of us who for so long have felt alienated from it. Well, that was simply amazing.

See, that was the first thing I told my mom on November 5th. I said, “Mom, it feels like the government is back in the hands of the people again.” And what a beautiful feeling that was. And that is why I titled this post as I did. One of the first things that Obama said to those gathered in the White House to celebrate LGBT Pride Month was,

“Welcome to your White House.”

And here it is, the speech, which was more like a friendly address, that gave me a million chills this morning:

One of my otherfavorite lines from President Obama’s address:

“We are all witnesses to monumental changes in this country.”

Thank you, President and Mrs. Obama – from the bottom of my heart!

P.S. You can see the video and read about the first-of-its-kind LGBT Pride Month reception on the official White House blog: Celebrating LGBT Pride Month

Obama Made Me Cry On Wednesday, Too

HippieLisa — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:05:11 +0000

Well, more like – CNN made me cry. Well, I think I’ll say it’s both CNN and Obama’s fault! See, by Wednesday, I thought all the crying was over. The announcers and news people kept talking about how on Wednesday it was back to the grindstone. It was all fun and games and celebration on Tuesday, but, on Wednesday, Obama would have to get to work.

And actually, ‘get to work’ is exactly what he did! The problem was that I opened up the CNN website and there on the homepage was this picture:

It was the first time I saw Obama sitting at ‘the desk’. A black man.

A black man.

See what I mean?

Now look, I have half a brain – heck, maybe even 3/4 of a brain. I’m not going to endorse, support, or vote for, some half-wit black man just to get a black man in the Oval Office. That is absolutely not what happened here – so let’s not get started on that tangent. (Yes, I’ve gotten that from my husband several times – I’m getting a bit sensitive about it.)

It’s just like he said in his speech – his own father couldn’t eat in certain restaurants. Wow. Just wow.

And to tell you the truth, I don’t even know if I was allowed to take that photo. Eeps. But could I resist? No way. If a CNN dude happens by and tells me to take it down, I definitely will, but, I’m keeping it for my private collection, just to open up sometimes and look at. Just looking at it fills me with all of the hope Obama talks about.

Whitehouse.gov – The Change

HippieLisa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:53:46 +0000

Politicians weren’t the only ones sweating with nervousness on January 20th! No sir! There were some DC geeks who were probably exhausted and very stressed. They were tasked with completely updating the Whitehouse.gov site and making the changeover right at 12pm, DC time. It went from the ‘George Bush Whitehouse website’ to the ‘Barack Obama Whitehouse website’ right at the moment our new leader was sworn in! (Actually, I think the swearing in ran five minutes late, if I heard the announcers correctly.)

My geek flag was flying high witnessing this and picturing the room in which the magic changeover was occurring! I think I was picturing a scene from Jurassic Park – you know that computer room, and how the dishonest guy was freaking out, or later when the cigarette-smoking guy was freaking out, trying to get everything back online. I was also thinking of some of the episodes of RockStartup, when the team at PayPerPost was undergoing big upgrades and they were all stressed! And I’m sure there were dozens of other movie parts stuck in my head, but, I was definitely picturing the scene – with geeky joy and excitement!

Here is the George Bush Whitehouse website:

(The funny part about this is that I actually still have this page open!! I opened the ‘new’ site in another tab, because, I wanted to keep the GB version live for a little bit. A little bit has since turned into days and I haven’t restarted my laptop since! I usually restart my laptop at least daily! And I have no idea why I am so stuck on this. I get really sentimental about things, is all I can come up with – only, that’s super silly, as I actually voted for Obama! LOL!!)

Here is the NEW version of the site, the Barack Obama Whitehouse website:

You will notice, I am sure, that I’ve pointed out the time on the browser. That was in Central time, the time zone that I live in. I meant to actually record (screenshot) the site seconds after it changed, but, I was just so caught up in all the incredible goings on!

I, for one, as a web geek, like the Obama website much better, and I’ve heard (read:read) other web geeks say the same. Obama’s web presence has been infinitely more powerful than Bush’s for a long time, though, so that is no surprise. I mean, come on, he is refusing to give up his Blackberry! I’ve heard (read:read) [I'm such a dork!] that it is some special version, though, I haven’t read extensively about it. I would like to do that and I’d also like to read about ‘The Beast’ – Obama’s official presidential limousine. My son, Shawn, was telling me about it and it sounds totally wicked!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I’ve dug back into the Wayback Machine and found some old versions of the Whitehouse.gov site! Don’t you just love the Wayback Machine?? I have so much fun with that thing!

Ok, first up, we have Whitehouse.org in December 1996:

Wow! That’s some fancy web design, isn’t it?

Next up, we have Whitehouse.org in October 1997:

Well, that’s a little better! I, at least, like the books background, even if it is all ‘late 90′s’ web design!

And our final display for you today is Whitehouse.org in December 1998:

On this version, you’re not seeing very much, because they figured out how to make a longer page, and those bubbles continue on down the length of the page.

Interesting little journey through web-time. I find it so funny/interesting that even the Whitehouse had a super sucky, ugly site!

If you would like to dig through and look at some more versions of the site over time, you can visit the archive yourself right here: Whitehouse.org archive

Have fun! And don’t look up any of my sites! Especially not MyVeryOwnMail.com – I mean it! Don’t do it! I’m watching you! Grrrr!

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s “I Pledge” Video

HippieLisa — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:25:16 +0000

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have made a really cool video all about how singular American citizens are going to PLEDGE to help Obama – and the nation – out! You’ve got to watch it! Here you go:

The company founded by Ashton, Catalyst Media, teamed up with MySpace to produce the video and encourage community service. There is a MySpace profile all about this movement, called The Presidential Pledge. You can go there now and send them a friend request! They’ve asked that people make their own ‘I Pledge’ videos, too. There are instructions on the Presidential Pledge MySpace page on how to include your own videos!

Ashton was interviewed by Us Magazine and said,

“We are honored to be working with MySpace to rally the entertainment industry to answer President-elect Barack Obama’s call to service,” said Kutcher in a statement. “The Presidential Pledge is a platform for people across the nation and throughout the world to make a first-person commitment of service to our new president, articulating a specific intent or action to become an agent of positive change.”

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech

HippieLisa — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:56:15 +0000

I really wanted to post the text of President Obama’s speech here on my blog, but, I just could not find anywhere if that was legal to do so. Instead, I’ve decided to, first, link you up to the text, via CNN, and second, post the video, via YouTube. I love that on YouTube, the Whitehouse Channel actually tells us that “This video is public domain per White House copyright policy.” Very handy, indeed, for those of us worried about such things. I could not, however, find the same for the text of the speech.

(And the really cool thing is that YouTube makes it super easy to download some of their videos [this one included] now! I know some people [maybe super hackers - ha!] already knew how to do so, as I’d seen them, but, most of us didn’t know how to do that!)

So you can find the text on CNN here: Obama’s Inaugural Speech

And here is the video of, hands down, one of our nation’s most incredible inaugurations!

It was absolutely an incredible day, that is for sure! And I believe, it is going to be an incredible four years! I’m truly excited and definitely filled with hope!

Republican Spam?

HippieLisa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:26:32 +0000

Okay, so this is groovy. Yah, right. I found spam from Republicans in my email inbox. Umm….didn’t someone tell them I voted DEMOCRAT in the last two elections? Maybe they just didn’t get that memo. Maybe they’re hoping to send out emails randomly to Democratic voters, hoping to sway us by our accidentally ‘stumbling’ upon their blessedly good information. Kind of like a wrong number that turns out good. You know?

But, to what, I ask, would they sway us? Did someone forget to tell them that the election is OVER.

We WON.

Give it up.

I particularly liked (NOT!) this line:

The Republican Party has always been the party of reason and hope

Can I just say? …that the implication of my unreasonableness and pessimism is not the best way to influence me to ‘swing the other way’!

Obama’s Gonna Teach Me Some Grammar

HippieLisa — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:26:17 +0000

It’s true! It’s true! I done learned it over there at that real good site, The Huffington Post! A real nice writer dude told me. His name is Andy Borowitz and he wrote an article on that there site all about it and I think it might just be a purdy gud thang. Serious!

See? See what he says here:

“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon.

Just go read all about it over there yourself, for goodness sake! Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

I think you’ll be just as happy as I am about the whole thing!

UPDATE: I’ve got the most perfect update to this post. It’s a video from YouTube that is over a year old, but, helps us to see where we’ve been ….and where we’re going ……

Hahaha!!

Voting and Veggie Burgers

HippieLisa — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:32:43 +0000

So I’m off to vote today, I hope you are, too! We’re a one-car family, so I’ll be doing some walking today. I’ve got to go down to the Baptist Church down the hill from my house and vote, then go to the elementary school to help the kids with their ‘election’ (that the teachers are making as real-to-life as possible – cool!) and I thought I’d try to hit up the local Burger King for lunch. Only thing is, I don’t know if they serve the veggie burgers or not. *Crossing my fingers that they do!*

[Ok, the video is uploading to Viddler and it's not done yet - and I gotta go - so you'll just be hanging in suspense about that Veggie Burger for a while..... So sorry to do that to you, I know it's gonna make you crazy. But I think you'll be okay. Really. I'm outta here. Ya'll go vote!!!!!]

Ok, I finally made it home! Whew! Crazy and hectic day! Three kids going in three different directions (plus I needed to vote!) and I don’t have a car to get them any of those places and I wasn’t at home to ask neighbors for rides, but, it all worked out in the end.

And – dun dun dun! Here is my video from the morning:

When Did Arab and Muslim Become Dirty Words?

HippieLisa — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:23:12 +0000

EXACTLY!! OMG! No, OM freaking G!!!!

That is exactly what I’ve been thinking and wanting to say, but, couldn’t quite put into words when my house full of in-laws gets to going off on Obama. I think I just become overwhelmed at their overbearing, “Obama – O-sama!” With looks on their faces like, See? Now do you see?

NO! I don’t fucking see!

Holy crap – one of my in-laws, who shall remain nameless, as I do love her, actually said this: “Obama doesn’t deserve to be president just because of his name alone!”

Whoa! Whoa Nelly! I shook my head and explained to her how unbelievably racist that was. She did give in a little bit, but, oh my!

The ugliness that is coming out of both sides on this whole thing is so disheartening. (I mean, heck! I just said the ‘F’ word on my own blog! I don’t know that I ‘never’ do that, but, if I do, it’s rare.)

This is just definitely an amazing election, no matter which way you slice it. In my own life, when I’m going through the ringer, things get really ugly at the end. Ooooh, sometimes they get really ugly! And then – out come the rainbows!!

I’m hoping and praying for some rainbows for our country. And this may sound “hippie-pie-in-the-sky” but, I feel something big and something good coming.

How could it not? After an amazingly historical election like this?

I’m just glad it’s almost over. I mean, to think that we’ve regressed to a time where it’s all well and good to say, “He’s a Muslim” like it’s the ugliest thing one could be….whoa…..