the democrats were extremely organized.

i made calls for obama on monday and tuesday.

though on a trip without internet access, i managed to find a place where i could get email.  there were several messages from move on asking me to make calls, all i had to do was click on a link, and a name and phone # appeared along side a script.  so i did it for a couple of hours both days.

at one point i reached an eighty-two year old african american man in virginia.  he wanted to vote but was in a walker and couldn't get to the polls.  i doubtfully told him i'd see if there was anything i could do.

i replied to the email from move on, explaining the situation and forwarding the name and phone # of the man in newport news.  in 10 minutes i had a response- tell the man to contact his local get out the vote organization, and it included the address and phone. so i went ahead and called the newport news obama for america.  they delightedly took the name and number and said they had volunteers standing by to ferry voters.

a random new yorker on the road in boston could reach a would-be voter in a swing district and get a car to his door within an hour!  

i think this degree of organization and efficiency goes a long way to explain obama's win.

a friend forwarded this link on the subject.

wow, so many reasons to feel happy today.

the president reelected.

elizabeth warren, alan grayson, tammy baldwin, claire mccaskill...

so proud of the citizens of maryland and maine, our home states, historic first states to legalize gay marriage by public vote. when i met mike and his friends and family from maine, they all reminded me of marylanders!  now the people of our states go into history together, united by independent and fair thinking!  i'm starting to feel maryland is the maine of the south!

am i better off? (reposted from september 7th.)

the conventions have me asking myself:

am i better off than i was 4 years ago?

well, i can get health insurance.

i have a fledgeling but prospering small business which i attribute to the gradual improvement of the economy.

my loved ones are less likely to be killed in a war, and america's great terrorist enemy osama bin laden is dead.

my taxes are lower.

our house is worth more.

my niece could afford to go to college, and my teenage nephew got a job with a start up business.

oh, and thanks to the government rescuing the auto industry, the economy in michigan, where i have land and kin, has been saved from disaster. (so has ohio's)

life could have been even better than this- but unfortunately  some people stood in the way, trying to block every improvement-

republicans in washington who swore to oppose all progress.

i think clint eastwood was right, when someone isn't doing the job we've got to let them go.  the republican "legislators" unashamedly refused to do any work at all. they actually vowed not to try to solve america's problems!  and i still have to pay their salaries.  gotta let 'em go.

more info here

from stupefaction blog

stupefaction

manhattan november 2nd

the loud rattle of generators and pumps everywhere.  ubiquitous carting trucks.

flooded possession triage.

devastated artist's spaces in chelsea.

some stores are doing business in the dark. a few have generators.

this bodega had a car running outside and a clip on lamp connected to cables from the battery.

liq'sto' lighted with candles.

by 11 pm penn was open.

evolution now blog endorses barack obama. president obama can handle it.

some concrete reasons i'll be voting for obama.

he can handle the hurricane.
the other candidate might cut funding to FEMA.

he can handle the economy. corporate profits reached historic highs during his presidency. the stimulus worked. unemployment is down (below 8%!) with more good news coming just today. job creation, and consumer spending and confidence are up. and the housing market has recovered.

he can handle osama bin laden and terrorists.
the other candidate exploits them for political gain.

he saved ohio and michigan. thanks to his auto industry bailout their economies are rebounding.
the other wanted to let them fail.

he saved the economy in spite of republicans who tried with all their powers to stop him. the other candidate's running mate was a ringleader of the obstruction.

he's honest and consistent.  romney just says whatever is expedient. he's currently airing an ad that everyone agrees is flat out malarkey. just straight face lying to the faces of swing state voters why won't he show his tax returns?

and, by all accounts, the president really cares about all americans;  while romney doesn't think very highly of at least about half of us.

so, those are some of the reasons i think obama has handled the presidency just fine!   why throw out a really good president?

east harlem. morning after hurricane sandy.

this man and the cabbie below are pointing to the water level in their cars last night.  they both watched in shock from nearby buildings as the storm surge swept the street.

these men were cleaning up the driftwood and flotsam  on 1st ave in the 90s  among which was the new yorker poster.

1st ave was under at least 3 or 4 feet of water during the flood and apparently few people had expected or prepared.   hundreds, or thousands of cars were swamped on the streets and in parking lots.  i overheard one man describe looking out his window to see 3 cars floating in the street below.  "look," he said, gesturing at a small lot and a dozen soggy vehicles, "it's a b m w!"

fdr drive was closed. police were occasionally discouraging pedestrians but more often ignoring them. eerie... post apocalyptic.

this car was half on the sidewalk, where it appeared to have floated, with widows open.  there was a baby seat in the back.  it was full of storm debris and water. 

the open widows made me feel like it'd been left in a hurry.

i  was trying to imagine what happened, when three nurses came out of the hospital on the same block.
"oh... that's the car...!" one of them said to the others.

i asked. they said they'd watched from the windows as people in the car tried to drive it out as the water level climbed.  it was too late. they were overwhelmed and stranded, but an ambulance crew, presumably aware because of other people watching in the building, made it through the rising waters and rescued them.

it was clear there were many even more frightening stories.  this car was also flooded.

but, at least, there was a belated offer of help!

from the new yorker re. new jersey governor, republican superstar, chris christie on president obama

Appearing on the networks this morning, Christie, for the third day in a row, heaped praise on Obama’s handling of the storm. “The President has been outstanding in this,” he told the “Today” show. On “Morning Joe,” he said, “It’s been very good working with the President. He and his Administration have been coördinating with us. It’s been wonderful.” Speaking on CNN, Christie said that he had been mightily impressed by Obama’s accessibility throughout the crisis. “He gave me his number at the White House, told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it.” Christie also pointed out that Obama didn’t once bring up politics in their conversations, and added, “If he’s not bringing it up, you can be sure that people in New Jersey are not worried about that, primarily if one of the guys running isn’t.”

sandy

a crane, 8 stories high, has fallen and is dangling from the roof of a building directly across from rare violins of new york (mike and tatzu run the rare violins restoration shop.)  we're really hoping it doesn't come loose in the 70 mph winds and come crashing through the windows.

crane can be seen on huffpo, with photos, and on daily beast.

am update- we were lucky. though our lights flickered and dimmed at times, we still have power and are safe.  many others not as fortunate.  new york and new jersey are reeling.

halloween season in sleepy hollow country

we took the train to brewster and rode back to tarrytown through sleepy hollow.