The Exodus; Day 1, 11/19/08.

Late Wednesday morning, Cambra and I began out trek around the western states. It was bound to be our shortest, most familiar leg of our journey and went without, too much, struggle. I forgot my Camera didn't have batteries so this post won't have any pics, unlike the others to come.

As usual, this trip Eastbound on I-84 was going flawless until the hurdle known as cabbage hill between LaGrande and Pendelton, Oregon. The clouds looked ferocious and intimidating, which was strange considering the blue skies that we'd had all week; considering my luck, however, it seemed fitting. To our pleasant surprise it wasn't snowing... it was dense fog. The peacefully white wall allowed us to have visibility between 20-60 feet of visibility from the moment we started the incline all the way up to Deadman's Pass. Since this was a pass I'd been going on since I was a kid it wasn't too frightening but definitely a new experience.

After the mountain pass we made our arrival to Caldwell, Idaho without a hitch. We set-up shop there for the night and enjoyed stayed up late listening to family stories, stand up comedy and playing FIFA on Xbox 360, which I'm horrible at by the way. Our night in Caldwell was a great de-stresser and relaxing especially considering the next leg of our trip which led us to the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

WINNER!

I know it's a bit late, but here's my "gloating" post. History was made two days ago, the first Black president was elected by a landslide victory over a literal American hero. I've heard many reasons for this happening; the race factor, the Bush factor (the failing economy is included in this). The most overlooked yet most accurate is that Barack Obama was the better choice.*

Months ago, after the candidates were chosen for both major parties I took it upon myself to research them independently. The following are some of the reasons that led me to vote for Barack Obama, contrary to the assumption of upset conservatives who think I'm a brainwashed idiot who has no political prowess and just follows the hype;

• Redirecting tax breaks to the middle class - When I vote, I tend to remember America as a representative democracy and it is our duty to vote for the person who represents us the most. As someone who doesn't have a net worth of a million dollars, I voted for the one candidate who has a goal (remember, these are politicians and there are no magic wands or for sure things)to help out my demographic; the poor college kid who is choosing a career that will cement his place in the lower middle class, below the national average for income. REMEMBER, This may not work; however, I'm more willing to put a man in the white house who will try to help my demographic instead of one who will keep the same faulty tax breaks that save the middle class pennies while the rich save millions.
• Proponent of Americans With Disability Act - This was a plus to me. When I did my research, Barack Obama was the only candidate of the two major parties that mentioned anything regarding disabled Americans. It was only until after Sarah Palin joined the McCain campaign that this became a footnote on their titanic voyage to the white house. That being said, I was very glad to see that Sarah Palin, who couldn't be more different from me ideologically, drew a lot of interest into the political process from disabled Americans, a definite positive result of her presence.
• Energy - I believe strongly that the transition to green energy is the pass into the club of elite countries and Barack Obama shares this vision. Of course, unlike John McCain, Obama wasn't going to rely on potentially hazardous energy sources such as Nuclear Power, although he may not rule it out, and destroy natural environments for Oil just in case the renewable energy thing didn't work out.
• Iraq - I disagreed with the war in 2003. I still disagree with it today because it ushered in a scary era in American foreign policy which is based on unilateral warfare on soveirgn nations. I strongly believe that a timetable is needed for troop withdrawals from Iraq so we can focus our resources on credible threats to our nation's safety. Barack Obama agreed.
• ABORTION - I don't buy into the fear mongering of talk radio hosts who tout Barack Obama as a man who will systematically abort every fetus he sees. I understand that he voted against a ban on abortion. Obama did so to ensure the right to life of women considering that was at stake in the same "gotcha" bill. To call Barack Obama a baby killing candidate would be similar to calling any one who voted "yes" on the same bill a woman killer. It's decisive, partisan hardball that is meant to scare you into voting for crappy candidates.
• Shallow Stuff - He is a good speaker, he is intelligent and he seems down to earth. I also like the idea that he spent time as a community organizer in low income neighborhoods, although some see this as a downside, after graduating from the ivy league with a law degree. That alone shows that he naturally had a different set of priorities than typical politicians. But, this doesn't really matter in terms of politics, that's why it's in the "shallow stuff" part.

I could go on but this is already too long. There are many more reasons why I voted for him and, judging by the sheer size of his victory, there are many who feel the same as myself. But here is a very important warning to all who voted as I did. It is our civic duty to remember that politics isn't something you take part in every four years. It is our job as Americans to make sure that this representative remembers his priorities and remembers those who put him there. We need to stay aware and involved in the political process throughout the years so when the next election comes we can decide whether or not there needs to be another representative to take his seat.

Ending my long shpeel, I've embedded his acceptance speech just in case you missed it. I'd also like to ask all my readers to remember who you are, a vital part in a democratic society, and how much of a blessing it is that you're able to live in a country where authority can switch from one leader to another peacefully.

* as a matter of personal opinion.

UPDATE-DIZZLE!!!

Since my last update I have:

• Fallen in love with Organic Fruit Leather.
• Eaten Thai Food out of a trailer.
• Voted for Barack Obama.
• Read Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto and realized he isn't that cool.
• Thought of every possible Christmas present that would come my way and still can't conclude what Cambra has planned.
• Laughed at Matt's suggestive banana costume on Halloween.
• Re-Discovered NPR.
• Found my CD case filled with old demos of bands Misled Mayhem played with.
• Lost my IPOD.
• Started painting again only to abruptly get bored with it and return to sculpting.
• Laughed at this video as well as this one.
• Ate cotton candy.
• Discovered I mention food a lot when I blog.
• Started reading 1776 and decided it's awesome 90 pages in.
• Continued my loathing of Internet classes, especially those that are science related.