Ever since we elected Senator Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States of America, I've been feeling a bit peppier in my outlook on life. Funny what electing a Democrat to the highest office in the land does to you? However, the kind of change we want is the kind that we must fight for, hence an ongoing vigilance on our part.
I'm glad that OrangeClouds115 posted her diary about the need for an agricultural appointee that respects organic farming and organic foods. As someone who's conscientously tried to change her diet, especially with incorporating more organic foods and eschewing foodstuff with high fructose corn syrup, the change to an organic diet has made me feel better.
I'll never forget tasting organic chicken for the first time--the taste was so different and supremely better to the usual chicken breasts that I'd bought at the Soviet Safeway. I also changed my shopping habits, with purchasing more vegetables, eggs, and cheese, and staying away from highly processed foods by shopping at Trader Joe's.
When I move to Texas, I'll sorely miss Trader Joe's. Is there a petition anywhere to ask for a TJ's in Austin? That would be a great city to have a TJ in. At least there's Central Market as an alternative to Whole Wallet.
That bit of rambling aside, as Barack Obama has consistently said throughout his campaign, we must continue to hold his feet to the fire in terms of accountability in terms of his governance. That's why if you have any concerns about his appointees, you should go to www.change.gov, his transition website and make your views known.
It's easy, just click on this link, so conveniently highlighted for you, and send them your thoughts. They DO have people that read our e-mails, as shown by the blog on the change.gov website.
And don't let up on the sharing of your thoughts here on DailyKos, and we are influential as a political blog, and we're not some teenage bloggers in pajamas. We're from every walk of life, every age demographic, and socioeconomic demographic as well. We're rich, we're poor, we're old, we're young, we've known welfare, we haven't known welfare, we're abled, we're disabled, we're men, we're women, and we represent the entirety of America (as there are a few Republicans here that voted for Obama).
Ignore those that say that we can't afford to make our views known, that Barack Obama is all-wise and all encompassing, and must know better than we do on the issues that concern us. Ignore those people, and continue to agitate. That's what citizen activism is about, and we need to stay engaged in congressional politics if we're to get anything we want done, like healthcare, farming, and the environment.
So, what say you, kossacks?
EDIT: I sent in my thoughts with my disappointment on how Barack Obama's presidential address doesn't have closed captioning or a transcript, and neither does Valerie Jarrett's Youtube video. Accessibility must continue to be a priority for deaf people like me.
A personal aside: Anyone interested in furniture to buy from me? E-mail is pleasehelpfreebarneythedog@gmail.com.