International News of the Weird, and pale attempts at hope

Well, it's nice to know that the US is not alone in drafting stupid legislation. Brazil's Reinaldo Santos e Silva proposes to make it illegal to give a pet a person's name. So I guess if I lived in Brazil, naming my future dog after my ex-boyfriend would be out. (Oops, I guess that option's out for me, anyway.)

On the homefront: can't eat, can't sleep, can't concentrate, can't do anything but think about The Day tomorrow and what we will do when it's all over. Oh, the agony. I'm a-feared that we may still not know for quite a while... However, one of my colleagues, in an attempt to cheer us up, shared this anecdote from her personal life last week.

Last evening, I had a most encouraging experience: in the Jewels supermarket close to my house I encountered five young (12 and 13 year old) African American males. I noticed them when I was going in because they were chattering and "debating" loudly. When they passed me in the store one of them stopped and asked me, "Who'll make the best president, Bush or Kerry?" I said Kerry and started to explain why, two of them said they favored Bush and rather aptly stated their reasons why. We spent fifteen minutes, standing between the produce and the bakery, discussing the reasons why they, as young African American males, should or should not support the war, what does the change in Medicare mean for their grandmothers, the absolute necessity for voting, the trials "our" people went through to gain the right to vote, the draft and abortion - the two who supported Bush did not support a woman's right to choose. All said they couldn't wait to get old enough to vote and I reiterated the necessity for remaining, at all costs, out of the hands of any legal system or they would run the risk of losing their voting rights. One man who stood and listened to us said he was awed that these children were enlightened, interested, polite and smart. I was so proud of them and told them so. To coin one of the Democrats' mantras, "hope is on the way". PS Even the Bush supporters wanted Obama to win! (edited for anonymity and clarity)

So we can be reassured that at least in Chicago, the youngsters are paying attention to politics in this election and will hopefully be motivated to "vote early, vote often" once they reach majority. I just hope that their older brothers and sisters are motivated enough this year to give us a clear Kerry win. I am amending my hopes from "Kerry in 2004" to "Kerry by midnight PST!" Nothing would make me happier.