Hold Your Breath. 7 Days to Go.

I’m nervous.

A country holds its breath.

A world holds its breath.

A week from now the Americans will be waking up and getting ready to go to the polls.

Obama vs McCain.

It should be a simple result.

The polls have Obama with up to a 12 point lead.

Time magazine has called it.

Paddy Power, a betting agency in Europe, has paid out all bets for an Obama win.

Why am I so nervous?

Well, this morning we find out that 2 Neo-Nazi skinheads were plotting to kill Obama by driving straight towards him and firing their shotguns with a car that has a swastika on it and the numbers ’88’ standing for ‘Heil Hitler’.

There was also this postcard on postsecret.

(the covered section presumably says “matter of time”)

A comment on this card was made…..that hopefully the person who sent this in was not…planning anything.

..

All this from a country where an 8 year old boy:

a) is allowed into a gun show for free.

b) is allowed to shoot an uzi at targets.

c) ‘accidently’ shots himself in the head.

..

So you can see why I’m nervous.

The USA and the world are on the brink of something special.

Let’s hope that nothing screws that up.

Take Your Pick America.

So, it’s been a long Primary Presidential Campaign for Obama and Clinton.

One might think that after this time you might say something stupid.

Hillary was the first to snap.

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it.”

Right. So, let’s interpret that.

“I’m sticking around in the race, even though I know I’m losing, because after all, Obama might get shot and that means I’m in!”

or

“I wanna be president…waaaaaa!”

Who should be the next US president. Hmmm?

Hi! Look at me! I’m just like my hubby! Don’t shoot meeeee!

THAT is What I’m Talking About..

If there was any doubt who the next leader of the USA should be, then look at these pics…

Ever been to a ROCK concert where the crowd just goes back and back forever (Guns ‘n Roses – 1993)

75,000 people in Portland Oregon treated Obama like a rock star on Sunday.

See the boats? People were on them as well. And the other side of the bank you can’t see? Yup. There too.

This is Barack Obama – 2008.

Fuck Yeah. Go all the way mate.

(Photos stolen from Wonkette and Flickr)

Sober Sunday

You might have been living under a rock or in a cave, but if you don’t subscribe to or read PostSecret, then you are missing some of the most hard-hitting goosebump causing stuff on the inter-ma-net.

Example….

If you haven’t heard about it. People….anyone… sends in a postcard to an address (in Maryland, USA) which contains a secret. A secret that they want to share with the world anonymously.

There are several publications already of the secrets submitted and every week there are new ones on the site.

Sometimes scary, sometimes touching, sometimes inspirational.

Always.

Art comes in all forms.

It almost reminds me of those Magic Eye pictures from 15 years ago, but check out these amazing pics.

Here’s a scary one…

Depicts 29,569 handguns, equal to the number of gun-related deaths in the US in 2004.

They make beautiful colours…

Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.

(Thanks to techne for exposing me to these pics!)

I can’t say it any better..

Thanks Gem for writing exactly what I would have. (but not so eloquently …and stuff)

Having lived in the US for a year I experienced the gun-mania first hand. They take it so seriously over there. And there are heated arguments in bars about the ‘right to bear arms’ and comments are made like, “I need a gun to protect myself from all the crazies that have guns”.

If there has ever been a lose/lose argument, it is the right to bear arms. (arming bears on the other hand…)

Guns are entrenched in US society, almost as much as religion is. It will take a shitload of effort and an enormous campaign from a brave president to make that cultural shift.

In the meantime, these incidents will keep occuring. I can remember 4 or 5 seperate cases of a shooting spree somewhere in the states while I was there. I don’t even know if they were all reported in Oz.

It took ONE such incident to occur in Australia for laws to be changed and feelings towards firearms to change.

How many will it take in the US?

I am a posting FIEND today.

I’m just going to show off 🙂

Triple J included one of my pictures I sent in for the Gig Pix Competition and put it on the website!

I only just noticed, but I think it’s been there for about a month or so!

I took this at the DAR Constitution Hall last year in Washington DC.

It was from the Foo Fighters Acoustic tour.

It was an amazing concert.

The Next Big Cheese, as opposed to mouse droppings they have now…

The next president of the USA has declared he is running for the presidency.

Barack Obama (which I continually misread as Osama and think that’s he’s somehow skipped into the US and changed colours and joined the Democrats) is going to be a president that will show everyone (even the most ardent, stubborn and stupid Bush supporters) what a president should be.

Someone who believes in the future, the children and himself.

Yes people, he is black (half white actually), and he is young (45!)

It’ll happen. He will beat Hillary (pleasepleaseplease), who is NOTHING like her husband when it comes to making sense. See StopHerNow.com for more about the REAL Hillary.

I know I’m talking about the US, but we all know how much influence they have over our government (although I’d like to see what Obama would do to Johnny’s overworked tongue), and time is running out for this world at the rate it is going.

Ok..enough about US politics, but just remember his name….