Foglio's Field Notes

Ever since the polls closed last night, I’ve been trying to put into words what Obama’s victory means, for me, for the country, for the world. Well, Sarah Van Gelder, editor of YES! Magazine, seems to have read my mind. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Sarah van Gelder: What We Won on Election Day

President-elect Barack Obama was right when he said in his election night speech that the victory was not all about him, but his leadership was extraordinary. He ran a campaign of high integrity, focusing on issues that really mattered, showing he could lead the whole country forward–not pandering, but speaking to our higher selves. He brought authenticity, telling his own story and sharing his own hardships and hopes. And he showed wisdom, maturity, compassion, and humanity, assuring voters that he would work for us all.

But this was also a victory for the kind of citizen involvement that makes democracy a living reality.

It was a victory for the movement that has been battling across the country to keep elections fair and prevent the suppression of votes.

It was a victory for the internet, which allowed ordinary people, rather than just the wealthy, to fund and participate fully in a candidacy.

It was a victory for young people, who poured their love into this campaign and inspired so many others.

It was, as Rep. John Lewis said on election night, the triumph of a nonviolent revolution, launched by the Freedom Riders, the marchers in Selma, by Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and so many others.

It was a victory for a new progressive majority made up of people of color, youth, women, well-educated people, working-class people, and the poor, but inviting all to join in.

It was a victory of hope—the centerpiece of the Obama campaign—over fear.

These are extraordinarily challenging times, with climate change passing various tipping points, wars in the Middle East, and an economic meltdown, just to name a few of the crises facing President-Elect Obama and all of us. It will take a combination of leadership from the Obama administration and leadership from all the rest of us if we are to rise to these daunting challenges.

But now we know: Yes, we can.

What’s your favorite song? That was the topic this morning on the first hour of Weekday, the AM talk show on KUOW, one of Seattle’s NPR affiliates. It was interesting how many people’s favorites were positive, uplifting tunes. I hope they post a complete song list on the website. Not so surprising, considering it’s election day, was how many songs had a political edge — Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train,” The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” Curtis Mayfield’s “There’s a Change A-Comin’.”

I called in and sang a few bars of my (and our son Mateo’s) current favorite, Michael Franti’s latest single “Say Hey.” You can listen to today’s show here (I start at 00:31:35).

Jason Osgood, Washington State’s Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, has created a clever spoof of Apple’s Mac v. PC commercials, highlighting the problems with electronic touch-screen voting machines. (Via The Brad Blog)

A heartbeat away from the Oval Office? I shudder to think.

Tell the media to grow a pair.

This parody of the popular pro-Obama ‘Yes We Can’ video is so brilliant, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Enjoy! 

I get a lot of press releases for activist campaigns of various kinds. Having worked for years as a writer and editor at a lefty mag like Utne, that should come as no surprise. I’m in many a progressive PR flack’s Rolodex.

Most of them go straight to the trash. But this one from United Students Against Sweatshops made me chuckle. So does this mean we can add “union buster” to the list of busty hostess Tyra Banks’ accomplishments?

From: organize [at] usasnet.org
Subject: Tell America’s Next Top Model to support its writers
Date: September 11, 2006 7:42:03 PM CDT

Dear Leif Utne,

As you may know and have seen on the news, the writers of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) are on strike and need your support. So, take a few minutes of your day and show the writers some support by telling their bosses that they deserve the right to form a union.

The writers do not receive any health care coverage, pension benefits, or residuals for their work on ANTM, unlike writers who are covered by the Writers Guild (union).

The writers unanimously requested that ANTM producers recognize their request to be represented by the Writers Guild of America, west and begin to negotiate on July 12, 2006. The show producers have refused to honor the writers’ request and negotiate with the union. On Friday, July 21, 2006, the 12 writers unanimously launched a strike to achieve union rights.

So, take a few minutes of your day and show the writers some support by telling their bosses that they deserve the right to form a union.

You can take action on this alert either via email or via the web at:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/antm_strike/6bgb7brq7xn6d8?

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/antm_strike/forward/6bgb7brq7xn6d8?

We encourage you to take action by October 7, 2006

I don’t mean to make light of the ANTM writers’ plight. They deserve support, as do unions generally. Please take a moment to take the action above.