It's Election Day in the USA Tuesday, MKF!!! 11/08/05

[Zooeys_Bridge]

PRESIDENT OBAMA

[dlline]

How fucking cool is that?

I am thrilled.

ETA: Rach got presidential DIBS! That's pretty fuckin' cool too!

[ophelia11]

I'm speechless!!

[Rocktoddy]

I've been following the elections all night here from my student room in the Netherlands and I have to admit, there are some tears in my eyes. Especially when I see that crowd in Chicago. Truly beautiful.

America, you have chosen wisely. YES YOU CAN!

[The_Marinaford_report]

[Foomatic]

One down, Prop 8 to go. We're down 8 points, with only 6% reporting. C'mon California!!

[ophelia11]

Good luck on that! We're pullin' for you Cali.

[JustSkipIt]

Woot!

[The_Marinaford_report]

oh yes prop 8 although i do not live in California i have been following this closely if this is rejected then that gives other states hope especially since obama won

[meretricious]

I can't believe how novel it feels to listen to a Presidential speech given by a man with an intellect, who speaks well and understands the words he's using. It has been a long 8 years of listening to our country being "led" by a man who is so proud of being so ignorant.

[Zooeys_Bridge]

dlline:ETA: Rach got presidential DIBS! That's pretty fuckin' cool too!

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty pleased with that


California, I have my fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed. Please please please.

[Dorothy]

is it him? is it really him? did I get my birthdaywish???

*just woke up, 6:38 local time*

wanna know! But do not have cable and google is miscilanious about the outcome

[Second Fig]

I truly hope prop 8 doesn’t pass in California. Florida also had a marriage amendment on the ballot and it unfortunately passed by a significant percentage.
Yet Florida has slightly redeemed itself by being an island of blue in a sea of red!
Yes we can Obama!

[Rocktoddy]

Happy Birthday Doortje! You got your wish . Obama is president elect!

I'm seriously bummed though that prop 8 is probably going to pass (as well as the other propositions that states marriage as only between man and woman ). How can one vote for taking away people's rights? It's baffling and unjust to me.

I have hope however that Barack Obama will too change people's attitudes towards LGBT in due time. He included *all* people from every stroke of life in his speech and if there's one person who can make the U.S. a united people, it's gonna be him.

[PolarBear]

Today was the first day in months I jumped out of bed instantly after waking up. I just had to see the result. One key press later I was smiling. Good job Americans

Btw, has anyone noticed that CNN's results map is highly addictive?

[amazon]

I just want to say congratualtions to the American kittens! Whoo and hoo
America really deserves a change after all these years with Bush. I tried to stay updated the whole night (it was like 05.00 am when they announced that Obama was the winner) but I had to sleep. I was so happy to see the results when i got up at 06.00 am. They talk about it in all the news in Norway. I feel all giddy :D
So once again, congratualtions! It's time for a change!

[Sammy's_girl]

change has finally come!

[Dorothy]

at the swimmingpool this morning, a lady came in and yelled at the woman in the ticket office "he did it!!!" when I looked at her, she turned out to wear a Obama badge LoL I was so happy, so was she, she kept hypering... she was so old she could've been my mother, yet she was overjoyed and jumping around

[JujuDeRoussie]

Woo Hooo!!!! Viva America once again! It won't be easy, but I'm sure this is a good step toward being a symbol of liberty in the world again!!! I so hope the world will love the USA again!!

I am so happy for USAn kittens, and for the whole wide world!

[dlline]

... she was so old she could've been my mother, yet she was overjoyed and jumping around

Hey, I'm probably older than your mother and believe me, I was overjoyed and jumping around plenty.

[Millerchip77]

I stayed up till 5:30am - 2 hotdogs and 5 beers - I wept throughout Obama's speech - what a beautiful, shining moment for democracy. And he said the word 'gay'

[JustSkipIt]

Senator Stevens was re-elected? WTF?

ETA, oh I see. Too close to call but ahead. Still, wtf>

[Leaf]

I went to bed early last night when things were still pretty tight on account of being sick as a dog. Woke up to the sound of fireworks and mass cheering somewhere in the neighborhood and thought "Oh my god, does that mean what I think it means?!?!?" Ran to check the news and Woo Freaking Hoo!

[WebWarlock]

Looks like Prop 8 passed.

What can be done about that? What can people outside of CA do to help?

I'll be honest, I have no dog in this race, but Prop 8 is just plain wrong! Please. What can I do?

Tim

[maudmac]

Prop 8 news is a total buzzkill. It's infuriating and ridiculous and asinine and it definitely dampens the hope I'd felt. (For an extra dose of complexity, take a look at who the voters were who were voting for this ban.)

Setting that aside, though...

Wow. I am really happy with the US today. I feel proud of us as a nation for the first time in a long time. I even feel like doing some flag-waving.

Also very cool to see all the international Kittens in this thread celebrating, too. The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, UK, France, whoever all else, I think maybe y'all can start liking us again now! Yay! And I sincerely hope that things will be better for the world now. Bush has been a disease and Earth is finally cured.

[dlline]

Wow. I am really happy with the US today. I feel proud of us as a nation for the first time in a long time. I even feel like doing some flag-waving.

Hearty agreement there. I feel a little less like an "ugly" American this morning.

[Rocktoddy]

Uh-oh, I feel a rant coming on. Sorry in advance.

Being where I come from I can honestly say that all the fears that these so-called religious and family groups have when it comes to same-sex marriage is based on NOTHING BUT LIES. How can someone else's (gay) marriage possible THREATEN yours?! It's insane! As I see it, everyone's marriage is different and very much PERSONAL to them. No one's the same and if it was, well what a boring world this would be. My folks marriage isn't the same as say, my aunt's and uncle's marriage, so I really have no frakking idea where the pro-prop 8 people get their inane stance on this issue. What's the same (or what should be recognized as being more or less the same) is the sense of LOVE, COMMITMENT AND BELONGING ALL PEOPLE have/strife for when they want to get married. That's IMHO a universal right and should NEVER be taken away from people. Never.

Sigh.

And don't get me started on the silly notion that "our children will be badly affected by this". BS. Intolerance, homophobia, fear and simple ignorant thinking will badly affect your offspring. On the other hand, I am hopeful about our next generation, namely the first-time voters of this year's election. Were I an American citizen, it would have been my first time voting too- I'm 21, so I can definitely relate to their zeitgeist. I believe these young Americans have a much more broader and accepting vision of the world than their straight parents and grandparents ever did.

Like John Mayer sings; "Some day this generation, is gonna rule the population. We're all waiting, waiting for the world to change".

[Millerchip77]

Also very cool to see all the international Kittens in this thread celebrating, too. The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, UK, France, whoever all else, I think maybe y'all can start liking us again now! Yay! And I sincerely hope that things will be better for the world now. Bush has been a disease and Earth is finally cured.

I never not like you! I disliked the Bush regime and everything it stood for, and I hated the fact that Blair, who believe it or not, when elected was an Obama -type figure, ending over 10 years of Conservative government, I hated the fact that he pulled down his pants and let Bush dictate what we should do as a nation post-9/11. All this despite a million people marching in London against the war in Iraq (don't get me started).

However after my all-night election marathon I woke up this afternoon and felt lighter - like there is hope in the world again. And my hope is this: The end of the Bush regime marks, I feel, the true end of Reaganism and the 'every man for himself' socio-political climate that precipitaed. In this country this was known as Thatcherism. Blair signified a centering of UK politics, an inability to engage with true liberalism or leftism of any kind without being labelled a communist. Now that Obama is safely in the White House we'll have to look long and hard at our own system and hopefully this will see the rise of social movements which believe in understanding not tolerance, sharing not profit above all else and of searching for our national pride - if Americans can be proud, there is no reason why we all can't be proud.

The Proposition 8 news is jarring - but fight, and don't give in until we win our rights. If any of you are Trades Unionists lobby your unions, march, and demand your rights. We all know that restrictions upon the expression of love betray an ugliness bred of fear but remember that no social change ever happened because of one man or woman but because people stood together ad refused to give in. I will do what I can from my end. If any of you are educatirs or students and you're interested in joining the Gender and Education association - a UK based group founded on the principles of disseminating feminism through education - please PM me and I'll send you the link (I've tried to put links up here before but got blocked)

The other thing is is that Blair promised us gay marriage and gave us the Civil Partnership Act - we have the same rights as married people but were able to sidestep the religious right to get our relationships legally recognised. Donn't be hung up oion the word 'marriage' - as a feminist this word has too many unpleasant historical connotations so I'm proud to have a Civil Partner not a wife - it might be the way to go on this - I don't know.

Anyway - rant over.

[singgirl]

I feel like giving my country a big hug!

[sacinema]

Wow, congrats to you, US-Americans. This really is a heartbreaking historic moment. You did it. What I think is the best of all, Barack Obama managed o bring so many young people back to care about politics.