Thanks, Kerry.

Kerry Wood will most likely not return to the Cubs next Year.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081113&content_id=3677970&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Making Sense of Prop 8

I’ve been wanting to say something about Prop 8 in Cali, but just didn’t know how to go about it. So, I’ll let Keith do the talking. Special thanks to my friend Kyle for facebooking this video.

I couldn’t have said it better.
Good night and good luck.

Change Has Come

I’m not gonna give you the usual forced eloquence of my very mediocre blog entries. I will simply say that today is definitely different. November 5th is the first day of a brand new world. Where people have genuine interest in the political process. Where peace has a fighting chance. Where we truly are our brother’s keeper. Today the world is brighter. Today the dreams are manifest and God’s presence on earth could not be more real. The wrong begun eight years ago has been made right. The end of tyranny is within our grasp and we will soon be free. Free to live a life without fear, in authentic holiness and righteousness. A promise has been made to all Americans. It is beyond the promise of tax cuts, civil liberties, and health care. It is the promise to be present. The promise to walk together and witness to one another. It is exactly the type of promise that we need, that we can not afford to break. And luckily through God’s divine grace, this type of promise is impossible to break. And it is a promise well received all over the world; from Grant Park in Chicago, to a bus in Jamaica, Queens to a grade school in Japan and every place else. Faith is restored not just in America but in the idea of faith itself. And we are that much closer to a more perfect union.

The Pinoy Push for Obama

All to often the ever powerful Filipino-American vote is overlooked. Yes it is true. Filipino-Americans don’t just live in Seattle, San Francisco, and Hawaii. These tiny Tagalog speakers have burrowed themselves into the epidermis of America. They are in Flushing, Houston, South St. Louis and all points in between and they must have their voices heard! They hunger not just for lumpias and pancit, they hunger for change and that is why Filipino-Americans all over America overwhelmingly support Barack Obama for president…i think. Well, at least they should, right? The interesting thing about Filipino-Americans is that they are one of the most “integrated” minorities in the country. Every single minority group in America overwhelmingly votes Democrat, except for Filipinos-Americans. This is for a whole host of reasons, anyone of which can be true or false. Filipino-Americans can be very libertarian in a capitalistic sense. Filipino-Americans are also solid Catholic, and are prone to be influenced by hardlined conservative preachers. Filipino-Americans are also prone to racism as is explained in the article, Barack Obama Through Filipino-American Eyes. (Read the article before you bite my head off.) In any case, there has been a huge effort to get Filipino-Americans to support Barack Obama. The Economist did some sort of world-wide poll to see how other countries would vote. Not surprisingly, every single country supports Obama over McCain except for Iraq, Sudan, and Georgia. The Philipines was no exception. Filipinos (Not Filipino-Americans) support Obama over McCain overwhelmingly by 88 percent to 12 percent. That’s like a 76 point lead! This is used to show that if Americans care at all about foreign relations, they might want to consider what the rest of the world thinks. Whether it’s a full on blitz from Filipino-American media, or guidance from the mother country, Filipino-Americans are being pushed hard to get behind Barack this tuesday. Filipino-Americans are a major voting block, and they will influence politics. Whether it’s for better or for worse remains to be seen. These articles are quite fascinating.

Why Filipino-Americans Should Vote for Barack Obama
Barack Obama Through Filipino-American Eyes
Filipino Americans’ Unutilized Voting Power
Whichever Way US Polls Go, Pinoys Seen Landing Top Jobs

WE WON!

Something I voted for actually won! Over the summer I went to Boston and when I was there I visited the Sam Adams Boston Brewery. They were having an election for the new beer that would be unveiled in January. It was between a beer called Blackberry Wit and a beer called Coffee Stout. I voted for the Blackberry Wit, which was quite refreshing (The Coffee Stout was disgusting) Anyway, the Blackberry Wit won the election. So far this election year, I am one for one.
http://www.samueladams.com/promotions/beerloverschoice2008/home.html

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1591331

http://beernews.org/2008/10/samuel-adams-blackberry-witbier-wins-chocolate-bock-longshot-updates/

Remember Remember the 5th of November

So, I just watched V for Vendetta and I am ready to change the world. In my meaningless opinion, this film is one of the best social truth films ever made. I’ve seen it dozens of times. But this time I was particularly drawn to the Guy Fawkes legend. I guess because Guy Fawkes Day is coming up. (November 5^th) And this year in America, Guy Fawkes Day comes on the day after we change the direction of our country. Sweet sweet irony.

Guy Fawkes was a Catholic terrorist in England in the early 1600’s. It was hoped that King James would be more tolerant of Catholics than his predecessor was. (Elizabeth I) He was not. A band of Catholics devised a plan to blow up Parliament. They stashed old barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords. Some of the terrorists got cold feet and information of the plan was leaked. Guy Fawkes was the one found in the room with all the gunpowder. He was taken into custody and sentenced to death for the high crime of treason. He was hung, drawn, and quartered. To this day, November 5^th is considered Bonfire Night all around the English Empire. Children make Guy Fawkes dolls out of newspaper and old clothes and then they are set fire in effigy. There is usually fireworks too.

Obviously, the celebration was begun to commemorate the foiling of the attempt to assassinate the king and members of parliament and, thus, preserving the English way of life. Over the years the celebration has changed and though many people still hold the traditional reason for the holiday, many take it as a day to honor those who stand up to tyranny, thus making Guy Fawkes a hero.

The story and tradition can not be more relevant to the social-political situation of America today. It brings up questions that many Americans do not like being asked. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Could it be the case that we are both of them? The people are the ones who allow tyranny to reign and it is also the people that must overthrow that tyranny.

In V for Vendetta the detective in charge of capturing the terrorist, V, visits the ruins of the facility where V was the subject to sub-human experiments that took away his humanity. He said that when he was there, he could see clearly the situation. He could see that the problems were set in motion years before V’s first bombing.

Can we see the mistakes that we have made in our lives as individuals and as a country that has led to much suffering and has resulted in demonizing good people and cultures and turned them into terrorists? Whatever the cause, the solution can not possibly be more dehumanization. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic just like me and maybe just like you and he was considered a terrorist. You might be reluctant to use such a word if the people you are referring to are your own.

On November 4th voters who put in place the current ruling party will have the opportunity to overthrow it. We are our own agents of change. Change is Guy Fawkes and he was my father. He was my mother. He was my brother. He was you. He was me. Remember remember the fifth of November. It will be the first day of a brand new America. God save the president. God save us all.

The Fifth of November

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England’s overthrow.
But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A stick and a stake
For King James’s sake!
If you won’t give me one,
I’ll take two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw405.html

This guy is something else.

McCain continues the strategy of avoiding any discussions about his policies as a way to weasel his way into the White House. A tactic so crazy it’s probably going to work. I think I’m going to be sick.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/25/headlines#6
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/25/1445925.aspx
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080925.IBBITSON25/TPStory/National
http://dailykos.com/