Secondly, I’d like to strongly encourage everyone to vote for Barack Obama, as the best option that America has for meeting the challenges of the immediate and distant future.  To quote from the New York Times:

The differences are profound.

Mr. McCain offers more of the Republican every-man-for-himself ideology, now lying in shards on Wall Street and in Americans’ bank accounts. Mr. Obama has another vision of government’s role and responsibilities.

In his convention speech in Denver, Mr. Obama said, “Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.”

In every aspect of the candidates’ ideologies, Obama represents more that will benefit the average American; more that will improve the economy; more that will repair our pitiful foreign relations and our standing in the world.

Thirdly, the editors of Faraway also strongly recommend that California voters vote No on Proposition 8.  Proposition 8 is an attempt to segregate and discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.  It represents a huge step backward for civil rights and for the American concept of equal rights for all.  The government of California and the United States, and the citizens of the same, have no business deciding how people should live out their social and marital lives.  The Constitutions of California and the U.S. are clear that liberty and justice are values to be enjoyed by all, not just some.  This proposed constitutional amendment would fundamentally alter what it means to be American and Californian.  It would mean that we no longer live in a free, equal, and just society, but in a society that is free, equal, and just for some.  We would be living on George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where all people are equal, but some are more equal than others.  Take a long, hard look at what values should be enshrined in political documents as sacred as constitutions, and vote No on Proposition 8.

* These pumpkin endorsements represent the views of the editors of Faraway, and not necessarily any of the contributors, commenters, or forum members.