I Declare the Celebrations Begin! Comeon and Party!

After Obama's win in 2008 there was a scientific study that showed:

Republican men nationwide may have experienced a drop in testosterone levels the night Barack Obama was elected president, according to the results of a small study that found another link between testosterone and men's moods.

By taking multiple saliva samples from 183 young men and women on election night, researchers found that the testosterone levels of men who voted for John McCain or Robert Barr dropped sharply 40 minutes after Obama was announced the winner

Teabaggers are a few leaves short today, I suspect. We, on the other hand, deserve a celebration.

There is one very obvious way we can all spend the next month or so celebrating. It's called Living Liberally:

PROGRESSIVE ACTION THROUGH SOCIAL INTERACTION

Here's what they have to say for themselves:

Living Liberally is dedicated to creating communities around progressive politics. Through social networks and events, we promote political engagement, and facilitate collaboration among progressive organizations. In your everyday routine and social life, you can be Living Liberally.

We believe that our political identity should be part of our regular lives. Too often politics is restricted to one day every four years, or too long, uninviting meetings in fluorescent-lit, linoleum-floored rooms.

Instead, we take our politics where we gather, socialize, learn, love and live. We create easy entryways into progressive political involvement, where you can find a community that shares your values.

In-person contact is the key to cultivating this social capital. Living Liberally is built upon networks of local gatherings -- from weekly meetings in bars to groups screenings of progressive films. These projects include:

Drinking Liberally - PROMOTING DEMOCRACY ONE PINT AT A TIME
our national network of social clubs

Laughing Liberally - SAVING DEMOCRACY ONE LAUGH AT A TIME
our political comedy project

Screening Liberally - REEL ACTION INSPIRING REAL ACTION
our politically-conscious film series

Eating Liberally - FREE YOURSELF FROM THE FOSSIL FUEL FOOD CHAIN
our gatherings of good gab and great grub

Reading Liberally - SAVING DEMOCRACY ONE BOOK AT A TIME
our book tours of progressive authors

We have also had special events including: Rocking Liberally (music), Singing Liberally (karaoke), Podcasting Liberally (online radio shows),Loving Liberally (Valentine's Day), Bowling Liberally (better than "Bowling Alone"), Cycling Liberally and more...

And more recently, Crafting Liberally kicked off in New York, and Shooting Liberally invited First Amendment enthusiasts to try their hands at the Second.

Click on the links above to find a group near you. If there aren't any you like near you, START YOUR OWN! What better time than NOW to start one.

For those of you out there living in Brooklyn, NY, I am starting the Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally group (as yet unofficial, but that's only until the Living Liberally organizers finally get me on the phone to finalize things). Our first meeting will be:

CENTRAL BROOKLYN EATING LIBERALLY
Tuesday, April 13 at 7PM
Kombit Creole Restaurant
279 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
www.kombitrestaurant.com

This is all about CELEBRATING!!! Okay, it's about MORE than just celebrating. We have to celebrate, savoring the moment, but we also have to work to push our supposedly evil socialist agenda even further. Healthcare Reform was a good start...but we have to keep it going.

Join me in celebrating with Living Liberally, but also join me in donating to the candidates who stood up for us, to the candidates running against those who betrayed us, and to candidates running against obstructionist Republicans. Many people are kicking around Act Blue lists today in the aftermath of our historic win. My personal one can be found here and is called Healthcare4America. Tell me you're celebrating with me by donating $5 or $50 to one or two candidates on my list.

Finally, in addition to celebrating with Living Liberally and telling me how happy you are by donating to candidates on Healthcare4America, get ready for the next big fight (whatever it may be) by finding your local Democracy for America group and joining them. Join Howard and Jim Dean in fighting for every state, every district, every vote. It's a strategy that works and we can't stop now. If there isn't a group near you, start one in your area. Again, what better time than now to get started?

Let the Teabaggers cry at their declining testosterone levels. You and I need to celebrate, organize and start fighting the next fight. I hope I have given you some tools to get started.

And I leave you with my son's current favorite song: