Just yesterday, I told you that the current administration is doing this thing where they turn political appointments into civil employees, in a process called “burrowing,” in order to make sure these people keep their jobs and can continue making policy.  Well, today, Senate Democrats are saying, “Hey.  Knock that off.”  In fact, Senators Schumer and Feinstein wrote a strongly-worded letter to the President, in which they said,

Today’s report reveals that senior members of your administration are undermining your public commitment to ease the transition by reorganizing agencies at the eleventh hour and installing political appointees in key positions for which they may not be qualified.  We respectfully urge you to stand by your public commitment to a smooth transition by directing executive agencies immediately to halt any conversions of political appointees to career positions.

The Washington Post reports that though “Democrats in the Senate called on President Bush to halt any effort by his administration to place political appointees in career jobs just weeks before his team leaves office,” the administration isn’t playing games with the Senate.  White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino, in responding to questions, said that, hey, we don’t know what you’re talking about.

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Let’s say you’re the outgoing administration, and you’re pretty sure that the new guys coming in are going to try and undo everything you’ve done on environmental policy, in part by replacing the people that made these policies.  What do you do to try to cement your policy, keep these people in jobs, and make it slightly harder for the next administration to do their thing?  The Washington Post has one idea, and it’s called burrowing:

Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department’s top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies — including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions — into senior civil service posts.

This means that some key jobs which were Bush appointments now are civil service jobs, which obviously do not roll over every new president.  Now, to be fair, this is certainly not new.  The Post states that, “In its last 12 months, the Clinton administration approved 47 such moves, including seven at the senior executive level.”

It’s interesting that so many of these shifts, though, are happening where environmental policy are made.  It seems that the Bush people think they’ve hit on some pretty good rules concerning taking care of nature.

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Race and politics, two topics that can ignite extreme passion and rage. As I mentioned in my blog post last week, politics can make people stupid. I am afraid of the hate that is being expressed by a few ignorant, racists who are angered to have a black leader. It scares me that in the year 2008, race is still such a damn issue. And my fears were confirmed when following Barack Obama’s win last Tuesday, 17-year-old Ali Kamara, a black Muslim, was brutally assaulted by four white men while walking home on Staten Island.

“I see the car coming. They looked at me and said, Obama!’ They were not happy.” Kamara said. “They had hoodies on. They started hitting me with bats and my body started vibrating.” -NY Daily News

Really? Really? What the f*ck did this poor kid do to deserve such a violent attack? What does anyone do to deserve a violent attack? The only time I want to kick someone’s a** is when i hear stories of meaningless, hateful a** kicking. Violence, it’s a terrible cycle. I just hope, hope, hope, and pray that people can see our new president as simply our new president and not a color.

Kamara’s family moved to Staten Island from Liberia in 2000. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is currently investigating the incident as a bias crime. And Kamara says he heard his assailants scream the word “Obama!” but not any other racial or religious slurs.

Making racism disappear begins with educating future generations about equality. Looking for a great forum where young people can express their views on racism and connect with others interested in solving this world wide issue? takepart and check out www.takingitglobal.org. TakingITGlobal is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, connecting youth around the world. TakingITGlobal provides a portal for young people to find inspiration, access information and get involved in improving their local and global communities. Topics covered include not only racism but also global poverty, war and conflict, HIV/AIDS, the environment and more.

photo by rscottjones

The New York Times noted that much of the success of the Obama team was due to their efficient, highly disciplined campaign that stayed on message for nearly two years straight. And the uniting theme that voters consistently heard nationwide from Obama was about change. Change in Washington, across the country, in our visions, beliefs and understanding of our personal and national potential. This message strongly resonated with voters. I feel like the world’s zeitgeist has shifted since Tuesday with people feeling inspired and driven to fulfill the vision Obama articulated at all levels of our society.

American citizens who care environmental protection, education, civil rights, homelessness, ending the war in Iraq, health care access and a myriad of other issues have been voiceless at the White House for the past eight years. Under the Obama Administration, we finally have the opportunity to be heard, seen and respected for our beliefs and values. The President-elect said he wants to hear from us! One incredible way to participate in this open process is the Social Action network site Change.org.  which connects you to blogs, ideas, action items and organizations around the issues you are care about. The top 10 ideas developed through the site will be submitted to the new Obama Administration.

We’ve never lost our voice.  But we finally have the opportunity to be respected, heard and to impact policies at the highest echelons of our government.  Takepart today at Change.org to translate your passion for change into reality.

MoveOn.Org
VICTORY!
Last night, together, we made history.

——————-

NARAL Pro-Choice America
Victory for Choice!
We did it!

——————-

IAVA
Congratulations on your victory. Both you and Senator McCain are true patriots, and you each ran a remarkable campaign. While I’m sure you’re relieved that the election is over, now is the time to bring all Americans together, get to work, and focus on the next four years of governing.
We look forward to working with you and the new Congress to support Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.

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All this talking of voting and the like today, and to be honest, I hadn’t really been feeling the buzz of it all.  I mean, even though I’m in Chicago, I voted two weeks ago, by absentee ballot in my home state of California.  So the political ads didn’t pertain to me, and the campaigns have been going on for so long now (what, like, seven years?), it’s hard to believe it’s actually ending ever, let alone today.  Remember when Mitt Romney was a frontrunner?  Exactly.

So, today, I had planned one watching the results while playing video games, in my apartment, because at this point I’m just worn out by it all, and kinda just want it all to just go away.  I’d still be excited when my guy wins (I’m trying to maintain the non-partisanship here), and when Prop 8 gets rejected so my sister can get married in December, but try and be subdued about it.

Until my friend called and offered a ticket for me to go to the Obama rally.  Seems kinda like something I have to go to.

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“We don’t need perfect political systems;
we need perfect participation.”
–UFW founder Cesar E. Chavez

What a beautiful message from the late Cesar Chavez and how true. Active and engaged citizens who demonstrate their commitment to our democracy by voting are crucial to bringing about much needed reform in our country. I just want to remind all of you–in case you missed all of my other election blogs–that activist citizens are required to protect all of us against voter intimidation and election fraud. If you observe or experience any voting problems or have questions, simply call 1-866-OUR-VOTE or visit 866ourvote.org. For Spanish, call 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota. If you need to find your polling location, click here: http://www.vote411.org/pollingplacebystate.php

I’m looking forward to an election day when all registered voters are able to participate in our beautiful process without any intimidation or fraud tactics. Once the election is over, we can all take a big sigh of relief and resume our normal hell-raising activities!

takepart and GO VOTE TOMORROW!

(From baratunde’s flickr photostream)

So this election has drummed up lots and lots and lots of political humor. So what happens to all that McCain material and Obama observations come November 5th? Who knows, but if you live in NYC and need a nice dose of election humor before visiting the polls tomorrow check out The Last Chance Election Humor Show “Listen, Drink, Vent, and Hope” hosted by fabulous Jon Friedman (The Rejection Show). The show will feature some of NYC’s favorite writers and comedians gathering the night before the Election to perform their “election material” for the last time before it becomes WAY less relevant. Monday November 3rd 8PM The Slipper Room. 167 Orchard Street. Free! takepart and get ore info at http://www.rejectionshow.com

(Hat tip to Gabe for sending this!)

takepart and GO VOTE next TUESDAY!’

Related:

From Time.com: You Can Vote However You Like

The Ron Clark Academy

If you haven’t done so yet, please check that you are indeed registered to vote. My fabulous writer friend Sara Faith Alterman just discovered that even though she sent in her voter registration on time, it apparently got “lost in the mail.” How does that happen? Read about her woes with Massachusetts voter registration in her Boston Phoenix column.

And takepart check if you can vote at http://www.canivote.org/ This nonpartisan web site was created by state election officials to help eligible voters figure out how and where to go vote.