New Hampshire

I just got back from visiting my folks in New Hampshire for a couple of days. Incredibly, I was able to walk barefoot on the beach today – November 1st! It was in the 70’s.

It’s not unusual to see presidential candidates up there. Last time I visited, we were in Portsmouth and I grabbed my parents and pointed, “Look! Dick Gephardt!” They were like “yeah, yeah…” No big deal. I didn’t see any candidates this time, but someone handed me a flyer for Wesley Clark. I haven’t decided who I’m voting for yet, or I should say, which Democrat I’m voting for. (This from a former independent voter, before the Bushies took the Republican party so far to the right they fell off.) But I liked this bit on Clark’s flyer because it addresses a lot of what disturbs me so much about the Bush administration:

“This New American Patriotism is not just about waving the flag and guarding our borders. It’s about guarding what makes us distinctive as Americans – our personal liberties, our right to debate and dissent. We are not a country that manipulates facts, ignore debate, and stifles dissent. We are not a country that retaliates against people who criticize the government. We are not a country that disdains our friends and allies. We are not a country that sheds blood before every other option has been exhausted. And we can’t have a government that stands for any of these things.”

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