For Tam & Josh

Tam always precedes Josh when I refer to them as a couple. It’s Tam & Josh. Tamara was my first connection. She is Mark’s older sister and over the years she became my sister of the *heart*. Someone who cares deeply and illustrates it in the care and attention she brings to her living and loving. Someone who resonates beauty in the most humble of ways. The kind of person that you want to be around because through her example you learn to be a more healthy and giving being. A steady and nurturing presence through good and bad… thick and thin… always there to pour the tea, listen to your story, uncover the humour, and leave you smiling. A daughter, a sister, a mother, a partner, a friend and in all of these roles… her way of being generates deep joy and powerful love. Just look at Noah and you’ll see what I mean.

Then there’s Josh… My spirit brother and faithful friend. Who is always there to share, to listen, to learn and to laugh with. And to put up shelves and move boxes. He is nearly as crazy as I am and that is incredibly comforting. He is my brother of the heart. His love for Tamara and for Noah and his dedication to his extended family and friends awes me. He is there for me in the most precious of ways and I see him holding that sacred container of support for so many. Many of you in this room understand and experience how truly giving he is of his energy and love. To be one of Josh’s friends and a member of his family is an amazing gift.

And then there is Noah… a being that is so super charged with joy that he spreads love and care and compassion where ever he goes. He is the best of his parents with his own kooky nature baked right in. Thank you for keeping your parents so young at heart little monkey. I love you to the moon and back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAM & JOSH! MANY BLESSINGS ON THIS JOYOUS OCCASION WHEN WE DELIGHT IN CELEBRATING ALL THAT YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU BRING TO YOUR LIVING!
MAZELTOV!

i am a smart-ass
i love to travel
i dream of green hills
i know that striving for what’s right is what matters
i’m willing to listen
i sometimes even change my mind
i dream it, i see it, i get it done
i am the strong one
i understand that family is my responsibility, my sorrow, my joy and i embrace it all
i think that richard john tonita walks on water
i know he loves me. i know it in my bones
i believe and trust in god
i know when to hold and when to fold
i love my grandmother and will cherish her for all eternity
i am all these things because i am my grandmother’s grand daughter

she is with me always…
rest now dear one…
we will carry on…

I am connecting with my Grandma in the most special of ways. I am feeling the satisfaction of a life well lived. I feel her faith and her trust. I feel her appreciation. I feel the relief.

I am whispering in her ear… i love you grandma… god loves you… thank you for all that you are… and all that you bring to your living and loving. Thank you. I love you.

You can rest now… You can let go…

Be well dear one. Be well. Trust in god.

You make me proud Gregor! Thank you for your dedication to the people of the Downtown Eastside. Bless your heart and mind! May the city of Vancouver stand with you and meet the challenge.

View Gregor Robertson’s Inauguration speech

Photo: John Gress/Reuters

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama hugs his daughter, Malia, during a visit to a food bank in Chicago.

Photo: Andy Clark/REUTERS

The downtown core of Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge rise above a morning fog in this view from Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver

this is deep y’all…

Majority-rule decision making may appear to be straightforward, clean, and efficient, but appearances can be deceptive. We persistently ignore the radical inefficiency of creating an alienated minority of losers who sometimes leave the meeting determined to conduct a long-term guerrilla war to undermine the decision we thought we had made. Majority rule may not resolve the tension but merely drive it underground.

The democratic alternative to majority rule is consensus, a process often misunderstood even by people who claim to use it. Consensus does not mean that we can make a decision only when everyone involved is equally enthusiastic about a course of action; if it did, very few decisions would have been made this way! Consensus means that we can make a decision only when no one in the group feels a deep need to oppose it, usually on the grounds of conscience.

– Parker Palmer, from The Politics of the Brokenhearted

Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

‘There’s something deeply wrong with putting the rights of a minority up to a majority vote. If this were being done to almost any other minority, people would see how un-American this is.’
Gay-rights lawyer Evan Wolfson after California voters passed a proposition banning gay marriage

by Rob ‘Biko’ Baker originally posted at Wiretap

League of Young Voters’ director Biko Baker witnessed working-class youth and youth of color truly believe in change by participating in the election.

Young Organizers Speak: It’s A New Era

I’m not going to lie to you. When Barack Obama first kicked off his campaign less than two years ago I was more than a little skeptical. Like many of my peers from the Millennial Generation, it was hard for me to believe that a man of African decent had a legitimate shot at becoming the President of the United States. I love my country but, after all, the cannons of the US’s unique history are filled with tales of racial discrimination and ethnic prejudice.

But late last year my cynicism was challenged after I took a trip to Des Moines, Iowa to work with a group of high school students involved in the Brown and Black Presidential Forum. Over the years I have spent quite a bit of time in the small Midwestern city and never expected to see so many people from the Hawkeye state working so hard for Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign. At the end of the day, Iowa is one of the whitest states in the union (not to mention Howard Dean’s ill fated effort in 04). But everywhere I went I ran into people, both young and old, who were anxious to tell me how excited they were that the freshman senator was running for President. Their belief in Obama’s campaign truly forced me to reevaluate my perception of the world.

Yet, while mainstream America’s embrace of Barack Obama challenged my worldview, it was undoubtedly the young people living in the League of Young Voter’s target communities that finally convinced me to sip the Obama Kool Aid. All across this country working-class youth and young people of color were standing up and saying that they wanted to be Americans too. Obama’s campaign inspired millions of young people under the age of 35 to became active participants in democracy. No longer feeling shut out of the electoral process, it didn’t matter if they picked up a clip board, performed a rap on YouTube, or forwarded a text message. For the first time the young people I work with on a daily basis were invested in the idea that they could truly change their country by electing a politician.

But don’t get it twisted, these young people aren’t naïve enough to believe that all of their problems are going to disappear because Obama will be the next President of the United States (I still can’t believe it!). In fact, the young people in in the League understand that they will continue to face insurmountable odds in truly achieving social mobility. They know well that their communities are facing tremendous financial difficulties, their friends and family members will continue to die in Iraq, and that their environment will continue to teeter on the brink of disaster because of the rapid effects of climate change. But I, along with my peers in the youth movement, truly believe that we have what it takes to conquer these challenges.

Of course, we’ve got a long way to go, if our generation is going to truly capitalize on yesterday’s many victories. Because if there is anything I’ve learned from this historic election season it’s that change won’t come easy. Especially in a country that has so many problems. After all, one election won’t make us less materialistic, reduce our dependence on foreign oil or make us more willing to embrace the rich diversity that exists in this nation. But our landslide victory does give us enough momentum to go into our country’s next chapter with enough confidence to believe that change is truly possible.

Today, I can truly tell you that I am no longer skeptical. After yesterday’s historic election, I honestly believe that this country can become a better place for all of us. It won’t come easy, but we proved that we are ready for a fight.

Rob ‘Biko’ Baker is the executive director of the League of Young Voters. He is also a nationally recognized hip hop organizer, journalist and scholar. Biko is a frequent contributor to The Source, WireTap and serves on Wiretap’s Editorial Board.