Maya Soetoro-Ng

माया (Maya) = Love (in Nepali)

Barack, "He Walks Between Worlds"
I Touched Obama: Babel, Barack
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous

Yesterday towards the conclusion of the debate watch party at the John Street bar Rudy, who runs the Obama 2008 office in downtown Manhattan, casually mentioned Barack's half-sister Maya would be in the office "between three and four." That was manna from heaven. I could not believe. It would be a small crowd. It would really feel like meeting her in person.

So I showed up. At three. She was not there yet. So I walked over to the space in the back. Then Rudy, then Molly asked us to step out into the main space. A small crowd had gathered. There were two sets of camera crews, one group was two students at Columbia Journalism, another was a group making a documentary on the Obama campaign for "theatrical release." But I had seen them coming in.

I did not realize Maya was already in the room. I sauntered along from one part of the room to another. The thought of googling up her image the night before had crossed my mind, but I had decided to surprise myself and see her in person, unlike with her brother and sister-in-law.

She must have noticed that I was the one person who did not seem to know, because after Rudy introduced him, the first thing she said was, she pointed at me and said, "I don't believe I have seen you before, what is your name?" She made me say my name twice.

And then she proceeded to talk sweet and eloquent for over half an hour about Barack, his appeal, and so forth, all of which I readily captured on video. She mentioned "the Washington Square Park rally, I wish I could be there."

Since you could not be there, your next best bet, Maya, is to watch this hour long video.



Then the floor was opened for questions. I went first.

I don't have a question as much a comment, I said. I said I came here to thank you. I have liked Barack Obama at a very fundamental level for a few years now. But then last month some news magazine quoted you as saying, "He walks between worlds." And those four words finally crystallized it for me as to why I like him so much. I came here to thank you for those four words.

A few other gentle questions followed from a few others.

Then she proceeded to spend some one on one time with whoever. When she was done with that with a few people and she was about to walk out, I approached her and asked her if her name was Hindu. It was. Her previous names were Rani and Kamala. Her father's side comes from the Hindu tradition.

I am no longer Hindu. My family is and I grew up Hindu. I am Buddhist. One year into America and I became a Buddhist.

But somebody go do the research on this one. Barack might be my cousin too. I definitely have a bigger claim than Dick Cheney.

Kamala is the biggest river near my hometown Janakpur in Nepal.

कमल (Kamal) = Lotus (in Nepali, Hindi, Sanskrit)

I have a high school friend who lives in Baltimore who is getting married on the 15th next month. His name is Kamal.

I gave her my card on which I had written Barackface. "I have a blog dedicated to Barack. I hope you google it up," I said.

Then she walked out. She was out in the corridor for a few minutes before she was gone.

"Rudy, man, you look like you live in this office," I teased Rudy about his beard stubs.

I lingered. I made small talk with some of the people in the room. Some new faces, some guest faces, several old faces. Jordan Thomas was one of them. When I interviewed him on camera, he did not realize the only editing that happens with me is while filming. I don't have video editing software or hardware. So he gave a few different takes on a few things he said. He thought I would edit. I put it out raw. He complains about that every time he sees me.

This video is meant for your grandkids, not you, dude. Get back with me on this one after Barack has had his two terms in the White House.

Faina and I had talked at the headquarters after I had dropped by last night after the debate watch party. She had been putting in some major time into phone banking and stuff. Today I asked her to teach me how to do it. And I did it for half an hour. It was so much fun.

I met a guy, Steve. He is a Labor Party leader in London. He has been volunteering for Barack in the city. "If I were British, that would be my party," I said.

I must say I was surprised to meet him. He is an elected official in London. He is not even American. And he is out here volunteering for Barack.

"We are sick and tired of Bush," he explained.

Some of my Obama 2008 local comrades struggle with trying to figure me out just like the people running some of the political organizations in Manhattan before them whose events I used to attend.

I have made myself absolutely clear: NYC, Obama, Structure, Me. What more can I say?

My specialty is I do big picture. Others do retail politics better than me. And I have to stay unstructured. Got it? If yes, then go get hope.

• The Largest Rally In US Presidential Campaign History
  Give Me A Huge Rally In This City Before Summer Is Over
  Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
  
• Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
  Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother
  
• Long Walk To Freedom
  Long Walk To Freedom: Just A Third World Guy Dazzled By The City

I met Elissa.

On The Web

Obama Rolls Out "New Campaign Weapon": Half-Sister Maya Soetoro-Ng ... The 37-year-old Soetoro-Ng, a high-school teacher in Honolulu whose red hatchback is plastered with her brother's bumper stickers, says she always knew Barack was destined for great things. "My mom and I had a joke that he would become the first black president," she told NEWSWEEK. "He was so smart, but also wise beyond his years. He had so commanding a presence. He was like a little big man. We called him 'the little big man,' because in many ways he was an old man when he was a kid."
Obama's half-sister jumps into flurry of campaigning - The ... never mean to her, but sometimes "bossy" as they grew up in Honolulu. ...... their mother, Ann Dunham, had such a large impact on Obama, especially with her community organizing in Africa and Asia and her large spirit. .... "She was an immense woman," Soetoro-Ng, 36, said of Dunham, who died in 1995. "She embraced everybody. There was so much good in her that there wasn't any room for smallness or meanness or violence." ..... her husband Konrad Ng and their 2-year-old daughter, Suhaila, said they planned to be active in the Islands and would campaign on the Mainland if needed. She said Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, 84, who also lives in Honolulu ...... lived here for the better part of 18 years. ..... she married Lolo Soetoro and had Maya in Indonesia .... Although they're nine years apart in age, Soetoro-Ng said they share the same taste in music, literature and philosophy. ..... teaches history at the private La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls and instructs night classes at the University of Hawai'i. ..... The two would share picnics or at times go on long walks to talk about their lives. She said Obama helped her recover after her father died in 1987. ...... Since moving away, Obama generally has been visiting Hawai'i in the winter to relax, play basketball and golf with old friends and to spend time with his family.
Obama's Ascent - TIME Even then, though, "he had powers," remembers his half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng. "He was charismatic. He had lots of friends." In high school, he used to stroll over to the Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii to "meet university ladies," says Soetoro-Ng, who still lives in Honolulu.
Maya Soetoro-Ng - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Soetoro-Ng received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in Fall 2006.
Maya Soetoro-Ng Las Vegas - a photoset on Flickr
MAYA SOETORO-NG :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Obama Family Tree
Obama's Sister Debuts as Campaigner - washingtonpost.com "He's always wrestled with difficult questions," Soetoro-Ng said. "Part of his gift is he will grapple with these childhood questions until he finds answers that will work for him. It's important that he's not afraid of these more difficult questions."


Video Podcast: Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack's Half Sister

Hillary's Middle Class

The Clintons must have made too much money since they left the White House. Their definition of middle class has changed. Those making more than $97,000 a year are the top 6%. But for Hillary that is now middle class.

Barack's point is that you can have the fiscal responsibility that Hillary talks about and still you are going to have to do more because over 70 million baby boomers are getting ready to retire. He says the cap has to be lifted. People making more than $200,000 are going to have to start paying also on that income.

Fiscal responsibility is breakfast, raising the cap is lunch. It is not a choice between one and the other. Both agree on the breakfast part but Hillary refuses to accept the reality of lunch. She is in denial.

This is another attempt on Hillary's part to sound like a Bush Republican. Oh, don't raise that tax now.

Did Hillary vote for the trillion dollar Bush tax cuts? Back in 2001? Somebody go check the records. Considering Hillary thinks going back to Bill Clinton policies on everything is the way to go on every issue, she should realize all Barack is doing is undoing Bush' harmful trillion dollar tax cut for the top 1%. Maybe she will fall for that if explained that way.

In 1992 Bill Clinton falsely accused Paul Tsongas of wanting to raise taxes on the middle class. He knew he was lying. But before the news cycle was over, he had managed to "shake Tsongas off his trousers." Tsongas never got the opportunity to correct.

Hillary is mistaken. This is not 1992, Bill Clinton and Paul Tsongas. This is 1960, JFK, and Lyndon Johnson. At worst, this is 1980, George H W Bush, and Ronald Reagan. But likely 1960.



In The News

Open Caucus: The Voters on the Debate New York Times Right about now I’m starting to reconsider who I thought would be a good candidate ....... I wish I could say I had confidence in Obama or anyone else’s plan to “secure the border.” The fact is we have too much border. ...... There has to be an economic and political solution (on both sides of the border) to stem the tide. ....... yet another presidential debate appears on my basic cable service. What is this, like the 30th one so far? Aren’t we still a YEAR away from the elections? ..... still comes across with all sincerity of a used car salesman, or woman in her case ....... Thoreau was correct when he penned that politicians will favor the expedient over the righteous ....... Brazil is energy independent. Why aren’t we? .......... Edwards lost ground, likely among women. ........ recent six-party success led by the United States and China in denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. ......... while agreeing with Obama’s stance on most issues, am often left wondering how he will accomplish what he stands for. He rarely offers practical ideas about the “how.” This reinforces my idea that he is inexperienced ........ Clinton is more experienced, very well-versed and practical about her ideas. ....... While I am leaning toward Hillary, I am wary of her ability to garner cross-over votes from more conservative voters and those who will not lay down old baggage from her husband’s term in office. ........ We have a very interdependent system of workers, unions, businesses, pensioners, health care and we cannot charge big and small business with taking care of all of our woes. ............ made me want to research some of the questions for myself, so that I can make up my mind about issues such as tax caps, the “how” of “universal” health care, and energy, just to name a few. I have not heard a health care plan from any of the Democratic candidates with which I can agree.
India's coalition compromises over nuclear deal AFP Indian left-wingers continue to argue the pact could restrict the domestic nuclear weapons programme. They also fear India's longstanding position as a non-aligned nation will be compromised.
Clinton declared winner of debate by most Boston Globe
Obama as the red-blue uniter Los Angeles Times
Clinton hopes to play "the leadership card'' Baltimore Sun
It Was Clinton vs. Obama on Health Care New York Times “The only difference between Senator Clinton’s health care plan and mine is that she thinks the problem for people without health care is that nobody has mandated — forced — them to get health care,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s not what I’m seeing around Nevada. What I see are people who would love to have health care. They desperately want it. But the problem is they can’t afford it.” ......... When the purchase of insurance is voluntary, people who expect to be sick are more likely to buy it, and insurers often try to deny coverage to those whom they expect to have high medical costs. Mrs. Clinton and other supporters of an individual mandate say it would reduce this problem. As a corollary, Mrs. Clinton would require insurers to offer coverage to anyone who applied. ..... The Clinton plan would cost an estimated $110 billion a year, the Edwards plan $90 billion to $120 billion a year, and the Obama plan $50 billion to $65 billion a year.
Lieutenant governor endorses Clinton for president Boston Globe She says the New York Democrat has the strength and experience to provide health insurance for all Americans.
Bhutto Rejects Musharraf's Interim Setup as `Illegal' (Update3) Bloomberg
Report: Google ready to buy wireless spectrum Bizjournals.com
Google on track to buy wireless spectrum and set up a mobile network Guardian Unlimited
Google prepares $4.6bn for US spectrum auction Times Online
So Google's down? That means BUY CNNMoney.com
AMD Sells 8.1 Pct Stake to Mideast Firm Washington Post
Adenovirus Cold Spreads In USA eMaxHealth.com
Google to Make $4.6 Billion USD Bid for Piece of 700mhz Spectrum DailyTech
Apple Patches 41 Bugs in Monster Day of Fixes New York Times
Apple Updates Security On Leopard, Tiger, And Panther InformationWeek
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) New York Times a man’s lifelong passion for a beautiful woman who marries another man ....... Although he has bedded more than 600 women, Florentino saves his essential self for Fermina. One of the novel’s most seductive notions is the idea of virginity of the soul, of the essential self reserved for one’s true love. ........ (several scenes of Florentino’s frenetic sex life) ...... magical realism, in which the past pervades the present and the dead haunt the living ...... the movie shrinks from the overwhelming physicality of Mr. García Márquez’s imagination. In its scenes of disease it politely wrinkles its nose before hurrying on.