Hello again...

ish. For today at least...

So Happy New Year! YAY! New year, new commitment to Blogging every day! Yeah...no. What can I say? My muse is apparently taking an extended vacation with relatives.

So...a quick update.

I'm alive. I'm alive despite having a cold from hell that tried to kill me over the holidays. I celebrated Noche Buena and New Year's Eve with a fever. But did that keep me from going to parties? Hell no!

Currently I'm mildly obsessed with and wildly amused by the Republican primaries. Seriously - they're a riot.

As some of you may know, I am most definitely not a Republican, but I am a political geek. I've watched *all* the Republican debates - alternately fulminating (Scrabble word!) and cracking up.

I was awake until 3:30 a.m. watching the Iowa Caucus until Carolyn and Edith saved democracy. That's great TV folks!

And then there were four...

You'd think the departure of Perry, Bachmann and Cain (huntsman - not so much) would diminish the hilarity - but no! The fab four are a ton of fun!

Watching Rick Santorum trying to reign in the crazy while still spouting stuff like how women pregnant as a result of rape should make the best of a bad situation is exciting; watching The Strange Case of Doctor Gingrich and Mister Newt is riveting; watching the Mittster pretending hes not rich rich is laugh out loud funny; and watching Ron Paul, god love him, making sense until he doesn't is always entertaining.

I can't wait for tonight's debate on CNN. Will Newt yell at John King again? Will Mitt become a quivering mess if his father's exemplary campaign practices are pitted against his own? Will Santorum finally get that stick out of his butt? Will Ron Paul be allowed to speak?

The excitement!

Maybe I'll come back tomorrow and give you my impressions of tonight's debate. Or not...who knows?

'Toon Tuesday on Thursday - for Ted Kennedy

Bye Teddy...

This morning when I woke up I was in a funk - for no particular reason, just meh. I didn't turn on the TV before we left, nor the radio while in the car. The moment I got to my desk - literally before I even sat down - the phone rang and it was my husband who had just dropped me off. He had turned the radio on and heard the news about Ted Kennedy. He told me he considered not calling me since I was depressed already, but figured I'd hear about it soon enough, so he wanted to be the one to tell me.

I don't really know why Kennedy's death has affected me as much as it has - it was certainly expected. Other than the obvious reason that he was one more in a long line of early and tragic deaths in a family that has endured more tragedy than any family should.

Now, there's only one sibling, Jean, left from the most stunningly committed group of siblings I can think of. Think about their contributions to our country and in some cases the world - not just those of John, Bobby, and Ted - but Joseph Jr., Eunice and Jean as well. Talk about living up to JFK's "ask what you can do for your country" - despite all their flaws and missteps, they certainly walked the walk.

And now Edward is gone. He was 77 when he died.

During one of his last public appearances, when he defied all odds and appeared at the 2008 Democratic Convention he said health care was the cause of his life. He repeated those words in an article he wrote for Newsweek published just last month in which he wrote:

But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to.

This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American…will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege."

For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.

Is it cruel irony that he dies just as health care is at the cusp of reform or is it yet another tragedy? Now that his intelligence, experience and enthusiasm for this issue is needed most - now is when he leaves us.

He was no saint, he acknowledged and owned up to it in 1991 during a speech at Harvard:

"I recognize my own shortcomings, the faults and the conduct of my private life," Kennedy said. "I realize that I am alone responsible for this and I am the one who must confront it."

I don't think he was necessarily the most flawed of the Kennedy brothers, he was simply, and sadly, the one who lived the longest without the benefit of post-mortem forgiveness. He was also the one that was left to carry the burden of the family legacy and promise of greatness.

So yes, I'm sad. I'm sad that a man who had gone through a private (yet so public) hell for so many years and seemingly managed to quell his demons, was felled while still relatively young. I'm sad that he never saw his dreams of universal care achieved - possibly (hopefully) coming so close to it. And I'm sad because he was the last symbol of the elusive time which "for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot".

Rest in peace Senator Kennedy...you have so many waiting for you. And now "the boys" are finally together again.

She's In!

Senate Approves Sotomayor

Voting largely along party lines, the Senate on Thursday confirmed
Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court. She will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the court.

YES!!!

¡Si se puede!

'Toon Tuesday

I've Been Saying It For Years

[Yes, I'm repeating the cartoon I used on 'Toon Tuesday because it goes perfectly with the subject of this post.]

According to this article by Andres Oppenheimer and numerous news reports, Fidel Castro has pretty much contradicted his brother Raul who is supposed to be the new President, Commander-in-Chief, Galactic Overlord, Chief Cook and Bottle washer, etc.

Apparently Raul recently said something along the lines that

Cuban leaders would be willing to sit down with their U.S. counterparts and discuss "everything, everything, everything," including human rights, freedom of the press and expression, and political prisoners.

That's awesome, right? President Obama has already eased restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba and it has been speculated that this would eventually lead to at least some easing of the 47 year-old US embargo against Cuba. There would have to be negotiations with and concessions from the Cuban government of course.

So now Fidel has said:

that Obama had ''misinterpreted'' Raúl's remarks about Cuba's willingness to discuss human rights issues. According to Fidel, Raúl meant to say that Cuba would free political prisoners if the United States frees five Cubans convicted in the U.S. of spying for Cuba.

I, and many others much better versed on the subject, have maintained for decades now that Fidel Castro does not want the US embargo to be lifted. The embargo has served as Castro's perennial bogeyman, the cause of all of Cuba's problems - most importantly it has served as his excuse for the regime's failed economic policies.

Cuban propaganda espouses that the embargo has kept medicines and food from the Cuban people, but there has been humanitarian aid from charity agencies into Cuba for years. the problem is that the government misused and misdirected much of it to suit their purposes such as what is known as "medical tourism". Often medicines and medical equipment from the United States was funneled to hospitals specifically devoted to medical tourism because it generated revenue for the government. Meanwhile, the people of Cuba were having to endure abysmal conditions in "the people's hospitals".

So of course, the last thing the old guard of the revolutionary government wants is the lifting of the embargo. Once that happens anything and everything will be available for *purchase* - but, wait - there's no money! The jig will be up...everyone will see the emperor indeed has no clothes.

As Norberto Fuentes, biographer and former friend of Fidel Castro, told Oppenheimer:

Fidel has sabotaged every U.S. effort to improve ties with Cuba over the past 50 years and he needs confrontation with Washington to justify his regime's absolute hold on power.

I think Fidel is trying to sabotage this as well. Will he succeed yet again? Only if we let him.

Let US citizens and residents travel to Cuba whether or not they have family there. Let us go with our books and our movies and our music. Let us flood the island with dollars and ideas. Let the people of Cuba finally learn the truth about their half century of suffering and need.

Don't let Fidel Castro continue to dictate (pun intended) our failed 50 year policy towards Cuba.

'Toon Tuesday

Reclaiming a Word: Patriotic

According to Merriam-Webster Online:

Patriotism - : love for or devotion to one's country

Nationalism - :a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational
groups

First of all YAY!!! President Barack Hussein Obama - welcome and God bless you. There's no need for me to go into how happy I am today.

One of the plethora of things about which I'm happy is that now I feel I can reclaim the word "patriotic". Throughout the former administration "patriotic" felt like "nationalistic". In my opinion patriotic is good, nationalistic is bad.

Today, after Tuesday's glorious day - I think that President Obama (I love thinking, reading, hearing and saying those words) has made it OK to feel love, devotion and yes, pride in our country. I believe he is going to lead our country with dignity but not arrogance, with strength but not by bullying, with conviction but not by disrespecting other countries and cultures.

Although I already knew it, yesterday while he was giving his phenomenal inaugural speech it really hit me that he truly is *post-racial*. Think about it: his father was Black African, his mother was a white girl from Kansas, part of his life he grew up and went to school in a Muslim nation, and the rest of his youth was spent in Hawaii with Pan-Asian elements.

He is so the right man at the right time.

So, thanks to you Mr. President, I am again comfortable using the word "patriotic" - I now see it as love for my country without implying disdain or disrespect for other countries.

'Toon Tuesday - Back from Vacation

'Toon Tuesday

'Toon Tuesday

'Toon Tuesday

Just so you know...

Sarah Palin's "pro-America areas of the country" and accusations of Socialism, along with some conservatives' "real Americans" crap is really, really pissing me off! So I offer a cartoon and an article.

(Scroll past the cartoon for my comment.)


FYI - The statement in the cartoon bubble is what Joseph N. Welch, the the head attorney for the United States Army while it was under investigation by Joseph McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for Communist activities, said to Joseph McCarthy.

Random Dots

• Last night I went to see David Sedaris "in concert". It wasn't a book signing at a book store, it was in a theater where he read from different sources. It was a surprise invitation from a dear friend, who advised that it was "her treat". How nice is that? It turns out to be exactly what I needed, a fun night out with a friend with whom I don't spend enough time. Before going to the theater we had dinner at her house with her 14 year old son who was a blast! We had bratwurst, macaroni and cheese, salad and my friend and I enjoyed a lovely Cab/Shiraz blend. We both realized it was the first time we had ever had macaroni and cheese with wine. It's a perfect pairing! Sedaris was fantastic. While I've read all of his books, except the most recent, I haven't liked them all - but he is fantastic in person. He's funny, irreverent, quirky, crude (but in a good way). If you ever get the chance to see him live, do so - it is totally worth it. and if you can do it with a friend all the better!
  


• While I was watching Sedaris, hubby was watching the Philadelphia Phillies winning the National League pennant and making it into the World Series for the first time in 15 years! YAY PHILLIES!



• Because of Sedaris and baseball, we DVRd the third and final (thankfully) Presidential debate. By the time I got home, watched the last 3 innings of the game with Hubby, watched the post-win celebration coverage and dealt with the plethora of calls from the in-laws in Philadelphia, we wound up watching the debate at around 12:30 a.m.. And then we watched the post-debate talking heads. I fell asleep after 4:00 a.m. - and woke up for work at 7:00 a.m. unable to pretty much move - my brain kept sending the signals to my body to move, but it didn't want to. After much cursing and sighing I finally dragged my caffeine-craving carcass into the office. Thus far I haven't fallen down, so I'm counting this as personal victory.



• Regarding the debate - you all know I'm an Obama supporter, so you know I think he won the debate. I will give McCain props for the first half hour - he looked good, made some good points and even got in a couple of good and fair jabs at Obama. Alas, then he started trying to rattle Obama and when that didn't happen McCain pissed himself off and went downhill from there. All the polls, except probably FOX News (DUH!) had Obama winning the debate handily. YAY!



• So about Joe the Plumber - no relation as far as we can tell to Joe Six-Pack - is not a licensed plumber. Oh, and the plumbers' union isn't happy with McCain's apparent appropriation of plumbers and in fact were the first labor union to endorse Obama. I don't know if that's important, but it amused me. Do you think Joe the Plumber knows about Andy Warhol ? Things that make you say hmmmm...

That's it for now...

Sadly it still doesn't make sense

Thanks to our friends at Huffington Post.

Things That Make You Say Hmmm

The Bail Out

If you don't agree with the Paulson bail out plan, write to your Senators and Representatives. It's your money!

My problems with "the plan" as presented by Paulson and Bernake:

• The lack of accountability and oversight for which Paulson and company are asking
• It needs a solution for people who are losing their homes - I like the idea of a moratorium on foreclosures
• I don't want golden parachutes for executives who basically messed up in doing their jobs

45 Years Ago Today

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Source

Dubyuh's Olympic Interview

Here's a link to the transcript of Dubyuh's interview with Bob Costas yesterday. Here are some excerpts (bolding by me), followed by my comments:

"Q And winning 101 to 70. Our time here is limited. We'll get to as much as we can. The Opening Ceremonies were glorious. There's much to admire about China's people, China's culture, and its present accomplishments. But this remains an authoritarian state

THE PRESIDENT: That's true.

Q -- with an abysmal human rights record. In the long run, is China's rise irreconcilable with America's interests?

THE PRESIDENT: No. In the long run, America better remain engaged with China, and understand that we can have a cooperative and constructive, yet candid relationship. It's really important for future Presidents to understand the relationship between China and the region, and it's important to make sure that America is engaged with China -- even though we may have some disagreements."

ME - What? Ummmm...what about CUBA???

***********************

"THE PRESIDENT: ...I've met with Hu Jintao a lot since I have been the President. And, yes, I had a full range -- listen, we agree with them on a lot of things. And we disagree with them on things. And that's the way the relationship is going to be. It needs to be, as I mentioned, constructive and cooperative. "

ME - What? Ummmm...what about CUBA???

***********************

"Q But given China's growing strength and America's own problems, realistically how much leverage and influence does the U.S. have here?

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I don't see America having problems. I see America as a nation that is a world leader, that has got great values. And leverage is -- I don't think you should look at the relationship as one of leverage. I think you ought to look at the relationship of one of constructive engagement where you can find common areas, like North Korea and Iran, but also be in a position where they respect you enough to listen to your views on religious freedom and political liberty."

ME - Denial much?

***********************

"Q If these Olympics are as successful as they are shaping up to be, most people believe this only further legitimizes the ruling party in the minds on most Chinese citizens. And even absent true liberty as we understand it, the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people are much better than they once were. Therefore, what's the party's incentive to reform?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, if you're a religious person, you understand that once religion takes hold in a society it can't be stopped. And secondly, I think the Olympics are going to serve as a chance for people to come and see China the way it is, and let the Chinese see the world and interface and have the opportunity to converse with people from around the world. This is a very positive development, in my view, for peace."

ME - ??? Uh what? What does religion have to do with anything Bob Costas said? I'm thinking maybe Costas was supposed to ask a question about religion and for the sake of time skipped it, but Dubyuh had already memorized his answers so he answered a question that wasn't actually asked.

***********************

"Q As you attempt to press these points with them, do you find Hu Jintao not just warm toward you personally, but is he receptive? Do you sense any movement?

THE PRESIDENT: It's hard to tell. I mean, it's -- all I can tell you is, is that it is best to be in the position where a leader will listen to you. I went to church here, and I'm sure the cynics say, well, you know, it was just a state-sponsored church. On the other hand -- and that's true. On the other hand, it gave me a chance to say to the Chinese people, religion won't hurt you, you ought to welcome religious people. And it gave me a chance to say to the government, why don't you register the underground churches and give them a chance to flourish? And he listened politely. I can't read his mind, but I do know that every time I met with him I pressed the point. "

ME: I wonder how the translator for Mr. Jintao handled that answer because it's barely coherent in English.

***********************

"THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely. Yes, there's a great connection. You know, I can remember riding my bike around Beijing in 1975, and it is --

Q Only bikes then, just about.

THE PRESIDENT: -- unbelievable how far this has changed. I mean, it is -- and he feels the same way. And we were honored yesterday when the President, Hu Jintao, invited my dad and me and Laura and my sister and my daughter, my brother, for dinner. It was a -- lunch. It was just a great gesture of kindness."

ME: What?

The mind wobbles...

On the 40th Anniversary of Bobby Kennedy's Death

Bobby Kennedy - 40 Years Later

I think he'd be happy to see Barack Obama's success.