What's This Masterpiece Doing Here?

National Gallery Treasure hanging on a wall on Wardour Street
Originally uploaded by Dippingmytoes

The National Gallery of Art in London, in order to promote viewing of the treasures in it collection, began hanging some its most treasured pieces outdoors on the streets of London. This painting by Jan van Eyck is a masterpiece known as the "Arnolfini Portrait" (1434) a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife in a Flemish bedchamber is on Wardour Street - a replica of course.

Conservatives Voted for Obama

I especially want to thank the Conservatives and Republicans who saw the light in this election and voted for Obama. An interesting statistic from the recent vote totals was that only 22% of all counties in the nation voted for McCain and most of them were in the deep South. This number shows that county's that voted for Obama were wide spread across urban, suburban, exurban and rural counties.

Thank you. I am optimistic it is possible to find common ground.

If you are a Christian you might want to watch this testimonal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBLnwMbYmUw

In the Middle for Obama

Obama is Beautiful World!

Everybody Loves Obama

A Beautiful Day in America

As an American born in the 1950s, witness to the 1960s, raised in the 1970s, came of age in the 1980s, disillusioned in 2000 and 2001... I am overwhelmed today. It's the dawning of a new age in America.

I would have to say that one of the most defining aspects of American life for my generation is the civil rights movement. As a kid my parents were Republicans and we moved to Washington, D.C. in 1967. Although my older brother and sister got caught up with being "Clean for Gene" and I was fascinated by seeing the Nixon administration up close as well as what went on inside Capitol Hill -- my parents were totally in favor of Civil Rights. They admired Dr. Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson during his speaking tour across the country to break down racial barriers and segregation stayed in our house.

Yes, I repeat, Jackie Robinson stayed in our house because no hotel would allow him to rent a room in Moorhead Minnesota.. As kids we were thrilled. Robinson was a baseball legend. We didn't see race as an issue. We didn't find his black skin to be anything but cool.

Today, in America, a barrier went down. It is very satisfying and brings us all closer together as a nation.

The Ground Game

As you can tell I think and feel in my heart that this election will be won today on the ground. I believe Barack Obama when he says that this election is not about HIM it is about US. And what that means is that in every corner of the nation the young people and the old, the black brown, yellow, red and the white people make up of movement that will not be divided by hate, anger and extremism.

When I woke this morning I felt a palpable sense of expectation for something great about to come. I also was slightly haunted by the sense in this country of missed opportunities. For instance, a huge transformation of possibility was cut short when Bobby Kennedy was shot down in Los Angeles. And of course one cannot ever erase the pain in our hearts that Martin Luther King's life was cut short when he still has so much to offer the country in terms of moral leadership.

But today we have a huge potential in front of us for change and transformation. All those young people working in Obama office around the country are a movement. All I will say to them today is: YES WE CAN! This is election ours if we step up and take our country back.

Listening to Charles

In this time of nasty and dirty politics filled with lies and divisive attacks its is wonderful to hear a Charles Alexnader in Colorado talk honestly. Honesty is severely lacking in todays public life. Let's listen to Charles.

"A great moment: When the press was hitting hard on the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter, he did not respond with a politically shrewd "I have no comment," or "We shouldn't judge." Instead he said, "My mother had me when she was 18," which shamed the press and others into silence. He showed grace when he didn't have to."

-Peggie Noonan, Wall Street Journal 10/31/2008

A Higher Purpose

Honesty is Virtue

This election in the past couple of weeks has become a referendum on HONESTY. And the most dishonest players in this race are McCain and Palin. The Republican candidates for the highest office in America spend little time talking about their own virtues and policies and almost all of their time speaking lies about their opponents.

When addressing an agitated extremist base, they attribute ideas, philosophies and polices that Obama and Biden have never endorsed, advocated, or supported to them with snide derision. On the campaign trail McCain and Palin's claims have grown increasingly more strident, inaccurate, and frankly wildly freaky.

In Iowa just a few days ago, Palin with her confusing malapropisms, told an audience Obama would confiscate property, investments, inventory, and destroy all the values we teach our children, moving America toward tyranny and away from freedom. This Communist red-baiting is HOGWASH and non-sense born of desperation. But what it clearly shows is the extent that McCain and Palin will use all kinds of lies and deceit to gain political power.

McCain and Palin are not truthful people we can trust with leadership in America.

Endorsement from Another General

In his endorsement of Barack Obama, Lt. General Robert G. Gard warns of flaws in character that are detrimental to McCain's ability to lead the country.

"The fields of foreign and national security policy, however, are John McCain's disqualifying weaknesses, in my view. McCain has demonstrated clearly that he is a dedicated ideologue when it comes to foreign policy, unwilling to consider opinions or even credible evidence contrary to his preconceived notions.
His temperament, marked not only by impatience but also by rude and sometimes hostile behavior, would discourage advisors from bringing to his attention views that might not be consistent with his preconceptions. A President with this combination of significant shortcomings would be a dangerous commander-in-chief, posing an unacceptable risk to the security of the nation.
McCain has adopted, promoted, and sustained the position of the so-called neo-conservatives and ultra-nationalists who believe that the United States should capitalize on American military superiority to spread democracy abroad. Overthrowing the Iraqi government was seen as the first step in transforming the politics of the Middle East by converting governments in the region to democracies friendly to the United States and its interests. McCain reportedly has bragged in private conversations that he was the first neo-con."

- Lt. General Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.)

"Whack-Job" from Wasilla

Here is a woman who doesn't know the difference between socialism, communism and rheumatism. Yet she just keeps getting more and more wacko in her speeches and misrepresentations of the truth. McCain's own advisors have been calling her "Rogue Diva" and "Whack-Job"

Palin's Iowa speech is extremist stupid-talk way way out on the fringe since Obama never advocated confiscating wealth nor does he intent to raise taxes on the middle class. Lie, lies and distortions of reality is not the qualities we look for in the leaders we sent to Washington. Maybe they do in Alaska?

The statements from McCain ads about Palin that are more telling than the pet-names Rogue Diva and Whack-Job was the statement that she has the trust of nobody in the campaign and "her family." Wow, that's pretty rough-talk. Her own family doesn't trust her?

“But I also know this. I know that the size of our challenges have outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believe that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe are hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics — one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans.

“Most of all, I believe in your ability to make change happen. I know that the American people are a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I am convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are.”

- Barack Obama. October 27, 2008

So what? Did you say SO WHAT!

A lot of people like to assume that businessmen and self-starter entrepreneurs are Republicans and they support McCain. Not so. Absolutely no so. This group is a political PAC of businessmen I know who are progressive forward thinking citizens and strong supporters of Barack Obama.

Even before Obama came onto the national scene, this group of proven leaders in the business sector were deeply troubled with the direction of the country and the arrogance of power that Bush, Cheney and the Republicans used their office toward bad ends.

Opie and Andy

Ron Howard, Andy Griffith and the Fonz.

“Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.”

- Barack Obama, August 29th, 2008

Video Shows Hate in McCains House

Straight Talk from A Man of Honor

Colin Powell is a General, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State in the Bush Administration as well as a centrist Republican.

"What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon -- that sees our opponents as competitors to challenge, but not enemies to demonize."

– Barack Obama, June 3, 2008

McCain 4.0 or Not?

Hope and Change

As much as the professional spin-doctors and political cynics want to twist the truth and create a evil view of Barack Obama, he is just like the rest of us, a decent American who is committed to change for a better future and a greater America.

Listening to Republicans

Too Close for Comfort

Obama and the Third Way

"To me, a good politician should be like a good designer: someone who will not force a constituency or a client into making a choice between the lesser of two evils but who can put the energy into discovering a third, obviously better way to solve a problem. I would like to see more politicians who, like Barack Obama, show this kind of creative thinking."

- Innovative Architect and Designer Erin Moore who's firm FLOAT Architecture Research and Design was located in Tucson AZ until recently when moved to Williamette Valley, Oregon