The Courage to Make a Controversial Stand

A new hero of mine: Olympia Snowe, Republican senator from Maine.

She's the only senator of her party to vote for the Obama-backed healthcare reform bill this week. And she has ignored right-wing doctrine before: voting against a bill to ban gay marriage.

Hail, Ms. Snowe.

I hope her courage and her thinking set a good example for others on votes to come. I'd never heard of her before this week, but I won't forget her now.

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GASP! Girlfriends Appalled about Sarah Palin

Here's the latest report from the three-week-old organization that's turning into a Raleigh, NC, campaign phenom. Their results are even better than I'd reported earlier. This group is beyond bold; they're on fire.


Greetings Fellow Gaspers!

Thank you for the phenomenal turnout on Wednesday night at Megg Rader's house, where we pledged to each other to truly make a difference in this, the most important presidential election of our lives.

GASP! originated from a meeting two weeks ago where a few friends gathered to vent their anger and frustration at John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. We decided that we could not sit quietly, but should -- some of us for the first time -- play an active role in electing Barack Obama as our next President. The next week, 60 more women chimed in and this past Wednesday, 110. The spirit of GASP! (Girlfriends Appalled about Sarah Palin) goes far beyond Sarah Palin herself. We're much more about being for Obama than against McCain. But it was that one, profoundly cynical and insulting choice that hit a raw nerve for hundreds, probably thousands of women here in Wake County. We are moved to action!

We know there are countless other women like us, who -- banded together in a great cause -- can launch Obama to a double digit victory in Wake County. And we believe that as Wake County goes, so goes North Carolina. As North Carolina goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the world.

Last week, we collectively contributed over 200 hours to the campaign
and over $3,000. It's a great start, but there's much more to do!

We have a rare opportunity here, and only 25 days left to seize it. So our commitments to each other can not be taken lightly. Until we meet again next Wednesday, we have challenged ourselves to:

· Volunteer in the Obama Campaign at least 2 hours. Canvas, phonebank, feed volunteers, stuff envelopes. Email Anne Franklin at annesfranklin@mindspring.com if you need help getting connected

· Contribute at least $5 to the NC Obama Campaign (https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/ovfnorthcarolina). Put "GASP" in the "Referred By" box.

· Invite at least 5 friends to attend our meeting next week and bring a bottle of wine to share.

· Work on at least one Gasp "Big Idea" such as our benefit concert with the Swingin' Johnsons on Oct 23rd. Contact Elizabeth Benefield eabenefield@aol.com to sign up.

· Expand our reach to include more women of color. Our fight is their fight and we should stand together in this historic time. Email Megg Rader at mrader@bellsouth.net to strategize about this work.

· Reach out to Garner and Cary and North Raleigh to band with other women's networks all across Wake County. Contact Carol Lawrence at cjlawrence@nc.rr.com

· Tirelessly promote the early vote (Oct 16-Nov 1). We will tell our families, our neighbors, our cashiers and bagboys and anyone else who will listen! http://www.wakegov.com/elections/onestop/default.htm

· Donate or lend tables, chairs, computers, office supplies and phone sets to the new Obama field office at 600 St. Mary's Street. Call Leah Cowan at 802-8164 to arrange a drop-off.

Our next meeting will be:

Wednesday, October 15
at 7:00PM (1/2 hour earlier this week so we won't miss the debate)
at the new Obama field office at 600 St. Mary's Street (formerly Mitchell's)

BRING 5 FRIENDS, A BOTTLE OF WINE AND A LAWN CHAIR.
Homemade signs are optional, but wonderful if you have the time!

We will sing, laugh, whoop, vent, share and welcome our newest members. We will pose for an historic GASP portrait. We will be entertained by amazing women! We will tally our accomplishments and set our next goals even higher.

It is an inspiration to be part of such an energetic and passionate group. I can't wait to see you all on Wednesday and hear your stories.

All the best,
Carter Worthy
carter@carterworthy.com
919-961-3595

Never doubt that a small group of energized Girlfriends can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has…





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Hockey Mamas for Obama

Report from Alaska:

"...In Anchorage , if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it's a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 people there ... we'll be doing good....

Never have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn't honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn't happen here.

... Passing cars started honking in a rhythmic pattern of 3, like the Obama chant, while the crowd cheered....

So, if you've been doing the math… Yes. The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin's rally that got all the national media coverage!"





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Osama bin Palin

From my friend and former newspaper colleague Jane Albright:

"Sarah Palin believes that she is on God's side, so everyone else is
wrong. This puts her firmly in the same camp as Osama Bin Laden. She,
too, would like to impose her narrow world view on everyone, much as any
radical Muslim fundamentalist does.

This isn't the American Way...."

Nor is it a courageous way. No-guts living is to try to require everyone else to be and do just like me. If my way is good, it can stand comparison to other ways. It can coexist.

I like Gandhi's philosophy: "I do not want my house to be walled in on (all) sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any."

I first saw this quote on a poster in the airport terminal in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, India, when I arrived there to begin my three-month stay to research my novel Sister India. It has stuck with me.

I know that I open myself here to the charge of wanting Sarah Palin to think like me. Not so. I want her to be as different from me as she wishes. I just don't want my way made illegal.

Please consider voting for American freedom.



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On Taking a Stand

Be bold, but be impeccable.

I heard a speaker at a seminar last spring advise that. I think it was Katie Orenstein, a writer of op-ed opinion pieces among other things. She attributed the line to her mother-in-law.

It's a fine piece of wisdom, if you're inclined to be impetuous.

I spend too much time on impeccability. Quadruple-checking does me more harm than good. I'd like to work out a good balance. Oh hell, a perfect balance--that's what I'd really like.