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Junot Diaz on Obama : “Sometimes I Wonder if He’s Even Trying.”

1:39 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Obama| Politics · 1 Comment

1 Feb 2010

I just read this, in my opinion, fabulous piece in the New Yorker on Obama by Junot Diaz. Here’s an excerpt:

All year I’ve been waiting for Obama to flex his narrative muscles, to tell the story of his presidency, of his Administration, to tell the story of where our country is going and why we should help deliver it there. A coherent, accessible, compelling story—one that is narrow enough to be held in our minds and hearts and that nevertheless is roomy enough for us, the audience, to weave our own predilections, dreams, fears, experiences into its fabric. It should necessarily be a story eight years in duration, a story that no matter what our personal politics are will excite us enough to go out and reëlect the teller just so we can be there for the story’s end. But from where I sit our President has not even told a bad story; he, in my opinion, has told no story at all. I heard him talk healthcare to death but while he was elaborating ideas his opponents were telling stories. Sure they were bad ones, full of distortions and outright lies, but at least they were talking to the American people in the correct idiom: that of narrative. The President gave us a raft of information about why healthcare would be a swell idea; the Republicans gave us death panels. Ideas are wonderful things, but unless they’re couched in a good story they can do nothing.

What Diaz wrote really resonated with me on a number of levels. Having been lucky enough to cover some of the events on Obama’s road to the presidency, even though I was never an Obama girl, I could feel the magic of the story he wove and it’s importance. Watching him accept the Democratic Party nomination in Denver, his election, and his inauguration made me tear up. I thought all of those moments amazingly beautiful for their story and my part in it and I don’t feel that anymore.

As Obama said in his SOTU address, he is not magic, and maybe that’s the role of a campaign, to lure us in so that we can work to help write the story ourselves. And I know many may people who are doing the work now and I consider myself among them in a small way. So should Obama be creating the story or should we through our actions?

Read Junot Diaz’s entire New Yorker piece here.

Video & Text of President Obama’s State of the Union Address

12:01 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Obama| Politics · 4 Comments

31 Jan 2010

You all know what I thought of the State of the Union address, what did you all think? I know there is alot more commentary to come..

Full text of the speech after the jump
Read more…

The President’s State of the Union : Missed Opportunities on the Push for Immigration and Health Care Reform

1:37 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Health| Immigration| Obama| Politics · 10 Comments

28 Jan 2010

After President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, I needed to get out of Casa Mala. I knew what was coming, the analysis, the discussion, and the disagreements about what needed to done and what tone to use in doing it. But I needed a drink, I need to sing and dance a little as an act of mourning because in all of these discussions, which I am now engaged in, there was little mention of actual people.

While I was preparing mentally for the State of the Union address, I saw on the Spanish language news about an immigrant mujer, Alexandra Nunez, who died from massive bleeding during an abortion in a clinic walking distance from Casa Mala. A single mother, like me, made a decision about her body and life within the limits placed on her because of law and who she is.

During the State of the Union speech, Obama spoke about the problems with getting health care reform passed and spoke on immigration from a law and order perspective, following the laws and securing the borders. He failed, as so many do, in pointing out where health care reform and immigration reform intersect, in the very lost life of mami Alexandra Nunez.
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Exclusive Interview With Leadership of los Macheteros

12:20 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Latin America| Media| Newspapers| Obama| Puerto Rico · Comments Off

20 Dec 2009

This interview with the revolutionary Rican org, that Filiberto Ojeda Rios headed before his assassination by the FBI, was in my inbox this weekend. I’m including the English translation below with a link to the original Spanish interview as featured in Claridad.

Comandante Guasábara, General Subsecretary talks colonial party politics, Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rico’s place in Latin America and Obama.

U.S. President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

9:30 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Obama| Politics · 1 Comment

9 Oct 2009

This is where I am once again criticized for not criticizing with love or something like that. When I read the news that U.S. President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I scrolled down the articles looking for the punchline. Isn’t the United States in the middle of a war in Afghanistan and Iraq? Aren’t Muslims not too far from the Mala’hood being terrorized by the FBI? And yet one of the reasons given for Obama winning is his work with Muslims. From Salon:

– President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

Obama on Letterman: How long have you been a black man?

7:26 pm By la Macha · Health| Obama · Comments Off

21 Sep 2009

Obama gave an interview to David Letterman earlier–and the follow has a few preview clips of the interview. Among some of the questions Obama faces: how long have you been a black man? A funny quip–what gets me, however, is the answer. Which seems to be “coded” remarkably well.

He’s saying what we all know–99% of the screaming teabaggers at the town hall meetings are white folks. And that there’s pretty much nothing he personally can do about it. So he might as well just go on about his business.

I can’t help it. I know that Mamita and others have said that they’ve gone their separate ways with Obama. And that’s a position I respect–but maybe it’s because I never had any hope for Obama to begin with that he still has my interest. I don’t see him doing anything amazing, I don’t see him changing the world, hell, I don’t even see him fixing immigration. But it is really interesting to me how he is negotiating racism. And it makes me wonder if his negotiating (rather than his policies or legislation) will make a difference for average people of color.

Obama’s Health Care Reform Pitch : Why Reform isn’t the Same as Change

12 Sep 2009

In my interactions with the beltway over the past few weeks, be it via email or watching Obama’s speech to Congress and the “American” people on his health care reform package, I have been re-reminded of one fact. When D.C. speaks of reform, this has nothing to do with rights : human, civil or rights of any stripe.

I was interested in hearing Obama’s health care reform pitch for a number of reasons which cross that political/personal line. I am one of the millions of uninsured. My family has a history of cancer and I have personally seen what being uninsured and underinsured has meant for some of the most beloved members of my family (including death). My children are insured thanks to the public health system. Will Obama’s plan mean that I, who am poor enough to have my kids get medicaid but not poor enough to have myself covered (in large part because the government doesn’t accept my proof of income as an independent worker), finally will see a doctor? The last time I saw a health care provider was 2 and a half years ago when I was pregnant. Do I have to get knocked up again to get health care? And if there is no public option, will I be fined (money I don’t have) because health insurance is mandated and I still can’t afford it? What about my vecinos and members of my extended family who didn’t even bother watching Obama because as undocumented immigrants they have already been thrown under the bus? When the speech was over, when the heckling was quieted, and everyone stopped applauding, Obama had lost what tiny pedazo of support I had left for him.
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You Lie!

1:44 pm By la Macha · Health| Obama| Politics · 2 Comments

10 Sep 2009

While Maegen covers all the serious parts of last night’s speech, I will study the gossipy hissy fits on display for the world to see.

The following is a statement released by Joe Wilson of South Carolina–the same man who yelled “YOU LIE” at Obama during his speech last night.

The reason he yelled? Obama stated that the health care package on the table right now would NOT cover “illegal aliens.”

I tried to do research on what Joe Wilson’s voting record and time in office has been like…and it was impossible. Pretty much every site I went to that was *reputable* (as opposed to the thousands of nativist sites congratulating Wilson) is down. What *is* known is that Wilson’s Democratic challenger, Rob Miller, has recieved thousands of dollars of donations since the outburst. And frankly, with Wilson starting off his apology by declaring he is doing it because Republican leaders asked him too–I only see things getting worse for him.

Obama’s Health Care Plan Pitch before Congress Last Night (Video)

10 Sep 2009

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Via / Gothamist

Obama’s Health Care Plan Pitch before Congress Last Night (Full Text)

10 Sep 2009

I was able to watch most of President Obama’s speech before Congress last night selling his health care reform package. Not surprisingly, I have quite a few thoughts on the speech, it’s contents and reactions to it (those that follow VivirLatino or me on twitter were able to read some of that commentary). Pero before I get into that here is the full text of the President’s speech.

Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, and the American people:

When I spoke here last winter, this nation was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Credit was frozen. And our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

As any American who is still looking for work or a way to pay their bills will tell you, we are by no means out of the woods. A full and vibrant recovery is many months away. And I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them; until those businesses that seek capital and credit can thrive; until all responsible homeowners can stay in their homes. That is our ultimate goal. But thanks to the bold and decisive action we have taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink.

I want to thank the members of this body for your efforts and your support in these last several months, and especially those who have taken the difficult votes that have put us on a path to recovery. I also want to thank the American people for their patience and resolve during this trying time for our nation.

But we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future. So tonight, I return to speak to all of you about an issue that is central to that future – and that is the issue of health care.

VivirLatino

Archive for the ‘Obama’ Category

Junot Diaz on Obama : “Sometimes I Wonder if He’s Even Trying.”

Video & Text of President Obama’s State of the Union Address

The President’s State of the Union : Missed Opportunities on the Push for Immigration and Health Care Reform

Exclusive Interview With Leadership of los Macheteros

U.S. President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Obama on Letterman: How long have you been a black man?

Obama’s Health Care Reform Pitch : Why Reform isn’t the Same as Change

You Lie!

Obama’s Health Care Plan Pitch before Congress Last Night (Video)

Obama’s Health Care Plan Pitch before Congress Last Night (Full Text)

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