http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/im-not-weeping-its-an-allergy?em Dick Cavett parses the Inauguration. There was a surprising number of outpourings of sympathy for his having to sit there and, as it was too-often described, “take it on the chin.” Was there ever a chin more deserving of taking it? “You have to feel sorry for him,” someone cooed. “No. You do not!” […]
Tag Archives: Politics
Eric Shinseki – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Shinseki The modern day Sherman; Essentially cashiered by the US military for questioning DoD estimates of how many troops would be required for securing Iraq. Like Sherman, his pronouncements seem much less Cassandran six years later.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/us/politics/23GITMOCND.html?_r=1&hp One more photo (indulge me; it’s been a long 8 years) of the new administration. This one is a real-life version of the Presidential cartoon showing 43 white Presidents lined up with Obama in colour at the end. To steal two ideas from the campaign, I HOPE one CHANGE that will emerge from this […]
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http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090120/inauguration_3_crop.jpg?tag=mnco%20l;txt My previous thumb-up was for a cropped version of this image, but the full length is more deserving of a review. The sheer mass of humanity is staggering. The elation they felt was palpable across the globe. And the fact that everyone got into and out of the Mall without incident is laudable. A […]
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090121/wl_nm/us_cuba_castro_health_3 Cuban President Raul Castro dismissed rumors that his older brother Fidel Castro was at death’s door, saying on Wednesday he was mentally and physically active despite a long illness that has kept him out of public view. Not at death’s door, maybe, but certainly on death’s driveway, approaching death’s front walk.
No Facebook for Malia, Sasha: Michelle Obama – Yahoo! News Photos
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Malia-and-Sasha-Obama/ss/events/pl/011609obamagirls There are hundreds of moving and impressive shots from yesterday’s Inauguration to browse on the web – this isn’t one of them. Whose legs are under Joe Biden? Who is Obama (not) waving to? And exactly whose guitar is that? (AP paid for this?)
Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html A fitting tribute to an inauguration of one bookish Illinois lawyer, is the inauguration speech of another. Lincoln the Deist evokes a lot of scripture here. It’s satisfying to think that the Bible upon which Obama laid his hand today might well have been the one thumbed-through for reference while composing thoughts on binding […]
Citizen Gore Vidal — In These Times
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3977/citizen_gore_vidal You can say what you like about Gore Vidal’s politics (and I imagine anyone to the right of, say, Marx will) , but there’s no arguing about the quality of his writing. I’ve never been so elated to read something that makes me feel so depressed. We’re not very good at being Sparta. We’re […]
Op-Ed Contributor – Dear Sir Obama – Presidential Advice – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/opinion/16lettersintro.html?em Absolutely the cutest thing I’ve read all day: Literacy clinic, 826 Valencia shares some of its students’ letters and advice to Barack Obama. I particularly liked this one, whose author either has issues with the Bush administration, or OCD. Dear President Obama, Here is a list of the first 10 things you should do […]
Rider (legislation) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation) A faint-inducing $825 BILLION stimulus package is being prepped in the US. This got me thinking about what, in my view, is the single most ridiculous facet of American politics: The legislative rider. Used to great effect to balloon the earlier banking bailout, these insidious, parasitical, pork barrel projects are practically non-existent in Canadian […]