A Political Blogger is Born

Originally posted October 18, 2009

When I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1982, I would never have dreamed that a former boyfriend and friend would have such a huge influence on me 27 years later.

This past summer, I posted a link on my Facebook site to a video exchange with Senator Barney Frank and one of the many insane national health care protesters who were comparing Barack Obama's policies to that of Hitler. Scott Labrecque ("boyfriend" during fifth and sixth grade) and Lori Munchnick Adelman (class friend) commented on my post basically disagreeing with me. I responded to Scott and Lori's posts. Scott never responded back (suffice it to say he and I don't see eye to eye on most things political) but Lori and I had a nice engagement. On some things we agreed, on some we didn't, but our conversation was respectful.

It was those exchanges that played a big part in me starting this blog. I had things I wanted to say and felt this was a better forum than Facebook. So a little blogging + therapy = let 'er rip and don't have regrets. If you put it out there, you need to be prepared for people to respond. It was an exercise in bravery for me.

At the same time I started to do the blogging, I was approached by a very cool woman with whom I had spent election night 2008. During the course of that evening, she got the impression I was politically savy. Me? What? Are you kidding? Amber is a blogger at the Detroit News and she told me that evening that I should blog. I didn't pay much attention to it, with the exception of being overwhelmingly flattered. Well almost a year later, Amber mentioned again that I should blog. Because I had already started this blog I felt more confident about my abilities. It was also something new and what I considered would be a great chapter in my blogging journey. She put me in touch with the online editor at The News. After reviewing some of my writing samples (basically this blog) I have been placed on a 30-day probationary period as a poltical blooger at the Detroit News.

Yes, the gal who was afraid she might offend people she cared about, or who was worried that people wouldn't like her becasue of what she said, is now posised to be a political blogger for The Detroit News. This week my first post on gay marriage should appear.

Even if I don't last beyond the 30-day period, I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to engage in the political dialogue and that someone saw some value in my writing style and what I had to say. In addition, I am learning so much about the topics I am writing about. This is a win/win for me. To date I have learned about:

-Selection of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

-The 2004 Michigan ballot initiative that changed the state constitution to define a marriage between one man and one woman.

-U.S. Supereme Court rulings regarding the legality of biracial marriages.

-A series of biblical sins and abominations, a fair number of which I've committed.

So to Scott and Lori, I say, "Thank you." You might not always agree with what I say, but you are responsible for the birth of another bleeding heart liberal blogger. Just what the world needs, eh?