DEMS IN DA HOUSE!

I'm exhausted. We watched until 3 am the election results in California and switched back and forth to the internet for updates across the country. The Democrats have won the House and I can't be more pleased. Finally, an election that reflected our country's dissatisfaction with the current administration.

In California, results showed a bit different attitude; one that hopefully will sweep the nation. Here, we didn't vote party lines... It really was about the issues. Hordes of Democrats voted for Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican married to a full-fledged, Bostonian Kennedy. Democrats watched as he tried desparately to create a balanced budget. He got frustrated and brought the issues by way of a special election to the people in a stupid attempt to circumvent the legislature; and was defeated... and boy, did he find out that certain groups would not be bulldozed by the Austrian oak. He learned, though. He made amends. And he remade himself into a working partner with the Dems. Now, we hope his agenda in the upcoming months and years will keep the promises that he has made. Infrastructure, environment, education and the budget of California are essential programs to push this great state forward.

We need leaders, not kings; not fear-mongers and alarmists. We need moderates from both sides. We, the people, can no longer throw daggers at each other screaming about issues that are so personal that it doesn't belong in anyone else's business except their own. We need to talk about why our infrastructure here has become dangerous. In our Great Valley, we suffer from levees that are ancient and failing, while we build new development right next to them. We need to talk about sustainabilty of our resources; we can't all drive Hummers and suck up all the fuel in the world and then not understand why other nations despise us. We can't keep talking about immigration and watch big business hire them, exploit them and then watch them die from pesticide exposure, industrial accidents and medical neglect.

Last night was a revelation. There is hope. Not the hope of a Democratic House; but a hope that people are tired of the same dialogue that's come down from the top. We're tired of fear and we're tired of watching our lives erode, our freedoms disappear and our promise for the future turn grim. We owe it to each other to care for each other and to lend a hand when people are in need. That is a true Christian value. And my friends who are Jewish, Muslim, Aethiest, Buddhist, Quaker, etc all place that same value in their hearts as well.
Peace Out