November 4, 2008.

What an amazing day today has the potential to be. I don't remember in my life ever feeling like there was some hope, even if just a glimmer of it, that the United States may rise up and actually become the world leader that we should be. That we could actually do the right thing in the world...simply because it is the right thing to do.

I think there is a real feeling that the mantel of hope promised way back when, with the election of JFK may actually be realized here, in 2008, about 40 years later. That those ideals, somewhat dormant as they have been for decades, may actually be brushed off and revived in the here and now. It's an amazing feeling, and something that I was starting to worry I would never feel in my lifetime.

It's amazing...although it shouldn't be. We (hopefully) will be electing an African-American man as President, who will (hopefully) beat out a ticket where the Vice-President candidate is a woman. In California, (hopefully) we will be voting 'No' on proposition 8, which will continue the fight for same-sex marriages to be completely legal and recognized. It's sad that there are propositions like 8, ones that are built on hatred rather than hope, but in time even those will fade, as people come to accept what most of the rest of us know: we need to build on our similarities and stop focusing on our differences to move forward as people...to move forward as citizens of the world. Poker TV

That's why I am so excited today. I really have this feeling that maybe, just maybe, 2008 is the first real step towards building a world that we actually want to live in. A world that was promised long ago, but got lost in all the greed and bullshit that we ourselves get mired in sometimes.

I have received so many emails from McCain supporters who want to make sure that I know if I vote for Obama, I will be voting for my taxes to go up, as I make more money than most others. It's funny though, for some reason I really feel like I would rather pay more out of my own pocket, out of my own online poker winnings each year, and have the chance to live in a better country, or even a better world. That just seems like an acceptable trade in my book.

It's just a beautiful thing to see people filled with so much hope today. I have chatted with many people recently about everything that is going on, and it's hard to describe how it feels to hear my black friend's parents push back tears as they talk about how they never thought they would see the day that there would be a black candidate for President, let alone one who has a good shot to win based on his ideals and thoughts. It's hard to describe what it's like to hear my gay friends talk about how much it means to them just to be able to simply marry their partners...something that most other couples in our country don't have to sweat at all. It is hard to describe...and truthfully, I have had to push back tears a few times today as well.

November 4, 2008.

I was raised to believe that people are people and you evaluate them based on their own merit. It's nice to see that the rest of the country might just be catching up with that concept...

I'm very proud of my country today and I think it is only the beginning of how proud I will become in the years to come. This is just a start, my friends, but it's a good start...

peace,
J