Gut Check

There are three reasons Obama had a somber look on his face, a forced smile, exhaustion, the transferring of weight from the campaign to the huge obligations he faces, but perhaps most of all Barak Obama lost his grandmother on Monday and given her influence on him and his potential influence on us, she may prove to be one of the great American’s to better our nation. Another huge influence on Obama is his fellow Senator from Illinois, Dick Durban who also tragically lost his daughter this past weekend. In that light of influence on this moment I think it is important to remember Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, The Little Rock Nine, Jesse Jackson, Justices in Brown v. Board of Education, Freedom Riders, Student Sit-Ins, Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry, Medgar Evers, Clyde Kennard, John Lewis, Abraham Joshua Heschel, George Jackson, Willie Ricks, Ralph Abernathy, Medgar Evers, Coretta Scott King, Viola Liuzzo, Thurgood Marshall, Maya Angelou, W. E. B. Du Bois…and millions of others. The challenges ahead will require such sacrifice and effort…we cannot expect him alone to perform the deeds we need to right this ship.

White Picket Fense

While hundreds of years of shekels fell to the ground coming into work today I saw a handmade sign “McCain Pailin Keep us Free.” The house has been for sale for sometime and has struggled to keep a McCain sign up for months. People have stolen them I suspect. Eventually, within their white picket fenced yard they taped a typical McCain sign high out of reach. This other sign, handmade was hanging over the fence toady. Behind this sign is a layer of fresh white paint. Underneath that is are crudely spray painted penis and balls, crafted in the same technical quality as the handmade sign in front. What seems to be at stake for these people is freedom; from a terrorist attack, to do what you want, to retain traditions, from government oversight… I do not know. All I know is they were free and still are.

Lil' Tommy Cohen