Coming together

Are all socially conservative Evangelicals thrilled about the Sarah Palin choice for VP? That's the impressions that's being pushed through the media, but it's hard for me to believe. Are they really against abortion but support teen pregnancy? Is this the positive role model that they're looking for? Are family values advocates jumping up and down for father with five children who has one job that require him to be away from home one week on/one week off and two others that also require him to be away for long stretches. (It would be different if he was around his kids while working.)

I hope the Obama-Biden campaign keeps chugging away. The photo that I took at rally for them seemed indicative of the broad support the ticket has and why it may succeed.

I posted on the urbanmamas.com site about my problems with Palin as a mother of five with one special needs child running. I just don't see it as a positive for all the reasons people note there. I want to add, too, that I wondered from the beginning about Barack Obama running with his children so young. School started today in Chicago, so they didn't miss the first days of school for the DNC convention, but I did wonder about what will happen to them with school in the fall. Michelle Obama seemed confident as a mother and I feel pretty good that the children will be ok. But it is fair to hope that both Obamas can balance family and work life effectively.

Also, I saw that Susie Bright posted on urbanmamas.com. She has a short post about Joe Biden's link to the R.A.V.E. Act, a drug law. When I first read about this somewhere else, especially about an interesting documentary on the law, I wasn't even sure this was real. But it is. Biden did tuck in a very tough law that allows law enforcement to go after organizers of raves as well as a few other actions. Can't say these laws endear me to Biden. Maybe he will cool off with influence from Obama.

The documentary, "Generation E," explains on its website: On April 30, 2003, President Bush signed the R.A.V.E. Act, a federal law making it a felony to organize an event or operate any type of space where illicit drug activities would take place. The bill was originally written to punish rave and nightclub promoters who threw parties where young people took ecstasy and other "club drugs." Generation E traces the government's fight against rave and ecstasy culture during the past decade..

People shouldn't be doing illegal drugs, but raves, are also gathering places for people to dance and exchange ideas ... which usually is a good thing. I guess it's not so good if you're a protester at the RNC this week.

In other news, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman was arrested while trying to do her job interviewing protestors in St. Paul at the RNC. Her perspective on the news is so different than anyone else's. Listen to her podcasts if your local radios stations are too wimpy to air her show.