If at first you don't succeed...

Useful motto that Congress has apparently taken to heart in the second attempt at passing the $700 billion bailout plan. Dems and the mainstream media say its necessary. The majority of Republicans say their constituency won't go for it. Umm..excuse me, but where am I in this process? In a country that can log millions of text messages and calls to crown a new pop princess every three months, can't Congress figure out a way to solicit the opinions of the people they represent - or maybe, God forbid, take some actual time talking to me? And why is does the House financial services website keep freezing when I try to download the bill to read it word for word? Is it possible that Ryan Seacrest has figured out a way to manage public opinion in a way that the House of Representatives can't handle? Call me crazy, call me naive, but can I get a townhall meeting or a forum? Or at least a robo-call from my Senator or Reps telling me why on earth I should support a plan that's going to raise my taxes as I sit here eating a turkey sandwich for dinner? Or an "I'm sorry note" from the Fed Reserve? Or a "thank you note" from my Reps for not rioting as millions of people begin losing their jobs? Kudos to you Congress for your persistence tonight in working on this plan. Now how about a little customer service?

Back to the Future

So I'm back from my historic trip to the historic campus of University of Mississippi and the historic first presidential debate (Am I the only one that thinks the word historic has lost a little bit of meaning with its overuse this election season? Doesn't anyone own a thesaurus?). It felt like a trip down my grandmother's memory lane - fried food dripping with trans fat, confederate flags waving, and racism. And you know what? I loved it. It was kitschy, and comical, and slightly amusing. I was safe in my car filled with white liberals and wore my northern intellectualism and elitism with pride - because wisdom is the end of all fear, right? So knowing that left is right and the south is wrong made me feel confident as we sat outside watching the debate surrounded..and I mean surrounded...by hundreds of southern white folks applauding McCain with fervor and booing Obama. This just isn't real life I chuckled to myself.

But as I packed up my bag this morning and hopped on a plane back to the safe liberal world of progressive Washington D.C. I paused for a moment and remembered that wait...it actually is real life for the people that live there and that the black student groups I met with last week told me stories of reality so frightening that they closed their eyes and dreamed of an imaginary land, far far away, where there could be a black homecoming queen, and Obama signs didn't get torn down, and professors didn't treat them like they were stupid. Their fairytale land was my reality - and their reality was my nightmare. So I said a quick but heartfelt prayer for that land of the past, good old Mississippi, closed my eyes, and flew back to the future.