Pictures Of Old Time North Dakota—North Dakota Facts

Above is a picture of a peddler in North Dakota. The picture was taken in the first decade of the 20th Century.

The picture is from the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress.

Here is how the picture is described— 

Man by horse-drawn buggy displaying photographs to woman. Displayed on ground, on buggy and on horse are mounted photographs. Behind is a tar-paper house. In back of buggy is an open wood chest with the initials “J.V.H.” on side.

The photo may have been taken by a Job. V. Harrison of Rock lake, North Dakota.

Please click here for all the information available about this picture. 

The picture comes from a larger set of photos about the Northern Great Plains between 1880 and 1920.   

The collection is offered by the Institute for Regional Studies at the North Dakota State University.

Here is a link for Rock Lake, North Dakota.  Rock Lake is a small town that has a lake and is near the Canadian border.

Here is the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Here are some basic facts about today’s North Dakota–

Area, 70,665 sq mi (183,022 sq km). Pop. (2000) 642,200, a 0.5% increase from 1990 pop. Capital, Bismarck. Largest city, Fargo. Statehood, Nov. 2, 1889 (39th state), simultaneously with South Dakota. Highest pt., White Butte, 3,506 ft (1,069 m); lowest pt., Red River, 750 ft (229 m). Nicknames,Sioux State; Flickertail State. Motto, Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable. State bird, Western meadowlark. State flower, wild prairie rose. State tree, American elm. Abbr.,N.Dak.; ND

Here is a link to a post I made earlier this year about President Obama’s policy for rural America.

Here is a link to a history of North Dakota. If you go this link you will find a lot easily accessible information about North Dakota. 

I have never visited North Dakota. I hope I will get the chance to do so some day. There are many different places to live and ways to live. I wish I knew more about things other than where and how I live. 

North Dakota seems so out of the way. Not out of the way to the people who live there. But just out of the way to anywhere I have visited or feel that I am likely to visit. Still–Someday I feel I’ll make it to North Dakota. I never thought I’d see Wyoming and I went there once. You never know where life will take you.  

Below is another picture of old time North Dakota. The picture was taken between 1900 and 1909. 

Here is how the picture is described—

Four women out of doors by log cabin. Two are seated at a table set with teapots and dishes. An elderly woman is standing behind them with a tin or a box in her hands. Another woman is standing to one side of the picture. Trees, a garden, and a rock pile are visible. A barrel, a bucket, and a wash tub are against the cabin. Likely taken in North Dakota.

Obama Folks Bring The Permanent Campaign To Texas

Below is an e-mail I got from the Obama folks about two weeks ago—

My name is Luke Hayes, and I’m the new Texas State Director for Organizing for America. Since Inauguration Day, Organizing for America has been dedicated to making real the change we fought for during the election. But to be successful, we need to hear from you — your effort and commitment are the backbone of this movement and this organization. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that we’re back on the ground in Texas and, starting this week, we’ll be hosting Listening Tour Town Halls across the state. Will you make your voice heard and join us on the Listening Tour? At Listening Tour meetings, you’ll get a chance to meet new state staff members, hear about some lessons learned during the general election, and offer your thoughts on how we can organize Texas going forward. Your ideas will be used to write a Texas-specific plan for Organizing for America in 2009 and beyond. The campaign brought an unprecedented number of new voices into the process — we need to make sure those voices remain at the center of the debate as the President and Congress work on providing solutions for our economy. But these meetings are not just for folks who were involved in the campaign — we’re hopeful that every Texan will get involved. We can’t stop growing our movement now. We’ve never had a better opportunity to shape our future — and just like during the election, we’ll do it from the bottom up.

Sign up now to attend a Listening Tour event:

http://tx.barackobama.com/ListeningTourTX

Luke Hayes
Texas State Director
Organizing for America

(I don’t have a picture of Luke Hayes. So above please find a picture the late Irish folk singer Luke Kelly. Mr. Kelly passed on in 1984, but you can see him here on YouTube.) 

Luke Hayes worked on the Obama campaign in Nevada and Virginia. 

On one hand, I’m glad the Obama folks think Texas may merit effort and resources.  Texas is a big state and it would be great if Mr. Obama could win Texas in 2012.

On the other hand, it’s all part of a permanent campaign which just means more obscene amounts of fundraising and more all-around bullshit from all sides.

I looked up when the first events  on the listening tour in Houston would be held They were booked up. This was just hours after I got the e-mail. I wish they had found a bigger hall. The listing at the Obama web page said that 60 people was all one event could hold while the other could only accommodate 50. Don’t you wager that people who got tickets were people who were well-connected in some way?

I’m (mostly) all for President Obama and I understand the Obama folks want to get a sense if Texas will be viable in 2012. But it’s not really a listening tour. A listening tour would involve a big room and plenty of advance notice in many media outlets. 

I’m sure Mr. Hayes is an energetic and loyal soul with an endless capacity to stay at La Quintas. He’ll report up to the mothership if Planet Texas warrants more of a landing party as 2012 approaches.

I find this stuff exhausting in many ways. The 2008 campaign went on forever. It seems the 2012 campaign is now under way  in 2009.

Today’s Conservatives Falsely Claiming Boston Tea Party Legacy

Far-right activists are staging so-called “tea parties” on April 15 to protest the fact that in a free society one must pay taxes and abide by the decisions of the electorate.  (Old-time image of tea party above.)

The claim being made by these extreme elements, when they are not advocating violence, is that somehow we are moving towards tyranny.

By trying to steal the symbolism of the Boston Tea Party, Republicans and the extreme right (no distinction appears to exist between the two) are confusing the idea of  no taxation without representation with bitterness about losing last November’s election.

(Here is the link to the Boston Tea Party Historical Society.)

Below is from the web home of a tea party web site. They say here that “Revolution is brewing.” Just what does that mean? Is it violence? What do they think a revolution is in this context?  

The actual New Englanders who were part of the real Boston Tea Party are the same people, or the fathers of the people, who would later become Federalists, Unitarians and abolitionists.  

Today’s Southern-based overwhelmingly white American right has nothing to do with the legacy of the Boston Tea Party.

The only historical  tradition these people are drawing upon is that of the treason of the first shot fired on Fort Sumter in 1861  to begin the Civil War. (Engraving below.)

America does have a visible representative of the best and most inclusive traditions of American History— The America of Thomas Paine, William Lloyd Garrison, Abe Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Sitting Bull, Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Caesar Chavez. 

That leader is the President of the United States and his name is Barack Hussein Obama. 

Ron Paul Joins The Socialist Movement—Welcome Aboard!

So-called libertarian Congressman Ron Paul, a Republican from the Houston-Galveston area, is now happily part of the Obama Socialist movement. (Above are logos of the Socialist Party of Portugal. This is what party Rep. Paul would be a member of if he lived in Portugal.)

Here is the Houston Chronicle reporting on Congressman Paul’s adding of earmarks to the recent stimulus bill —“Rep. Ron Paul vehemently denounced the $410 billion catch-all spending bill approved last week by the House of Representatives. But although the libertarian-leaning Republican from Lake Jackson cast a vote against the massive spending measure, his fingerprints were on some of the earmarks that helped inflate its cost. Paul played a role in obtaining 22 earmarks worth $96.1 million, which led the Houston congressional delegation, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of more than 8,500 congressionally mandated projects inserted into the bill. His earmarks included repair projects to the Galveston Seawall damaged by Hurricane Ike and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.”

It’s easy to say you oppose the bill and vote against the bill when you know it is going to pass. What would have been the real test for Rep. Paul would have been to not  add any projects to the bill. If you know it is going to pass, you know that by adding projects you will be increasing the cost of the package.

I’m glad to see that big government is on the move in the United States and in Texas. People can whine and moan, but in the end they know that it is only government that can do big things such as fixing the Galveston Seawall and the Intracoastal Waterway after a hurricane.

With the support of people such as Representative Paul here in Texas, I know that this movement of big government will be very hard to stop even after the recession ends.

Also, in addition to Congressman Paul, let me please thank former President George W. Bush for messing up so bad that he made this all possible. I’ve been waiting really all my life for a government that works for average folks and now finally it seems we have that chance.   

(Below–The Intracoastal Waterway at Bolivar and entering Galveston Bay)

Obama And Clinton Must Maintain Human Rights Pressure On China

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while on a tour of Asia,  has said that human rights issues in China should not interfere with areas of possible cooperation with China. Secretary Clinton mentioned climate change and the global economic downturn as other issues in U.S.–China relations.

As important as these issues are, how can the freedom of over a billion people not be at the top of the Obama-Clinton agenda for our China policy? 

Here is what Amnesty International says about Mrs. Clinton’s remarks–

“T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific, made the following statement in response to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments to reporters that human rights will not be at the top of her agenda in her first visit to China”

“Amnesty International is shocked and extremely disappointed by U.S. Secretary Clinton’s comments that human rights will not be a priority in her diplomatic engagement with China.

“The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues. But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future U.S. initiatives to protect those rights in China.

“The Chinese people face a dire situation. Crackdowns on Tibetans, Uighurs and religious groups such as the Falun Gong are widespread, resulting in thousands of political prisoners–some of whom have been executed. Half a million people are currently in labor camps. Women face forced abortion and sterilization as part of China’s enforcement of its one-child policy.

“It’s not too late for Secretary Clinton to do the right thing for the Chinese people. Amnesty International urges Secretary Clinton to repair the damage caused by her statement and publicly declare that human rights are central to U.S.-China relations before she leaves Beijing.”

I agree with Amnesty’s view of this question. I hope that President Obama and Secretary Clinton will reflect further on this concern and choose a more just and decent path. 

Here is the web home of Amnesty International USA.

It Does Not Make Sense For Republicans To Give Away Core Beliefs

Republicans in Congress have little reason to negotiate in the current stimulus debate. The way the stimulus bill uses large sums of taxpayer dollars to fund new programs and expand the role of government is directly against the core principles of the Republican Party. Republicans may well be right to guess that the provision of health care benefits to unemployed people that is part of the House version of the bill, is a pathway to government-sponsored universal care. This is not something Republicans are eager to see. 

That the Republican view of limited government and tax cuts for the rich has been proven wrong by our current economic mess is not the point. This is so even if the good of the nation should come before failed ideology. Reduced to an ineffective minority in the House, and barely holding on to 40 seats in the Senate, Republicans have few options. They can offer opposition, or they can melt away completely during the Obama years by going along with the proposals of the White House and the Congressional majority.

What is the point of being a Republican if you give away your core beliefs? Republicans look back to Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidency and see that hard as they try, and even given a number of successful attacks, they still can’t undo the New Deal after 75 years. Many aspects of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society remain in place after 40 years.  Why would they back another wave of government expansion?

This is the main reason why President Obama can’t make much bipartisan headway on the stimulus bill. He’s asking Republicans to give away the farm for little in return. Republicans can’t “out-government” Democrats.  Why would they even try? I’m sure Republicans in Congress and their core voters do not feel any need for a second Democratic Party.

Maybe it serves President Obama’s political intrests to reach out to Republicans. It’s possible that as we go along he may be able to pick off a few Senate Republicans for his initiatives. If this turns out to be the case than maybe the nation as a whole will gain. 

But what we can’t have is wasting this fleeting period of Democratic Party ascendancy during a time of economic crisis in order to try and reach people who can’t be reached. Now is the time for an aggressive push to expand the role of government in our economic life, and to move towards universal health care. 

After years of economic and moral stagnation under the winner-take-all philosophies of Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, George W. Bush and many others, we cannot blow this chance to help remake America as a more fair and just nation.

Mr. Obama Should Appeal To Non-Evil Coalition To Get To 60 Votes In Senate—Help For Unemployed Stripped From Stimulus

The Huffington Post is reporting that provisions helping  unemployed people maintain and acquire health insurance have been stripped from the Senate version of the stimulus bill.

From the report— ….law professor and health care author Timothy Jost noticed that the Senate had removed the House provision that would allow people 55 and over who are laid off to continue COBRA coverage at a subsidized rate until they’re 65 and eligible for Medicare. The House version also made folks who were laid off temporarily eligible for Medicaid; the Senate version strips that out, Jost found. Every one percent increase in unemployment throws more than a million people into the ranks of the uninsured.

It does not surprise me that Republicans want this taken out. (Or that maybe a few Democrats have also signed on with this idea.) I have no expectations of Republicans in Washington. Many are not decent people. I’m not interested in compromising with most of them. I’m not sure why our President wants to talk to them. Though I guess if Mr. Obama feels we should talk to Iran, a view I support, I suppose we can also talk to these persons as well.

If we can’t get health insurance for unemployed people in the middle of an economic disaster, when are we going to make progress on universal coverage? Are we just going to get nowhere on this issue for all time?

Since my Texas Senators are cold-hearted and do not represent me in any meaningful way, I called the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and asked that these protections for unemployed people be kept in the stimulus bill. Mr. Reid’s office can be reached at 202-224-3542. I figure since Mr. Reid is a national leader that any American can give him a call.

I think people who kick other people when they are down are evil.  

I also called the White House comment line at 202-456-1111. I said I hoped President Obama would make sure that health insurance for the unemployed would be part of the final bill. I also said I don’t understand why he is trying to compromise with bad people.  

With 58 Democrats in the Senate, plus Al Franken when he is finally seated, and with Senate Republicans who retain some humanity,  maybe there is a non-evil coalition in the Senate that can help get the President to 60 votes on the big issues.

It’s more complex when talking about rank-and-file voters. People are often a muddle of good and ill. But many of these elected Republicans in Washington are just plain and simple bad folks. They gather up all the rotten thoughts and ideas people have, and bring them to the front and center. They filter out any decent thoughts that voters have.

If we can’t work around these people now, when will we ever be able to do so?

Would Paul Wellstone Have Cashed In Like Tom Daschle?

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has withdrawn as nominee for the post of Secretary of Health & Human Services after it was revealed he did not pay all his taxes.

I hope the car and driver Mr. Daschle was provided with by a wealthy business person, and the taxes he did not pay on that service, were worth the chance to help deliver universal health care to the American people. This tax dodging is now what Mr. Daschle will be known for when his record is scored at the end of the day.

It’s possible Mr. Daschle is telling the truth when he says he simply made a mistake in failing to pay the $128,000.  Mistakes happen. But missing out on taxes for a service of such value that it merits a $128,000 payment to the IRS is not something most Americans can muster much sympathy about.

A man such as Mr. Daschle has the means to hire people to make sure he is paying all he owes. He has the ability and the obligation to make sure he is getting his tax filings correct.    

Mr. Daschle had earned a great deal of money since leaving the Senate advising  health insurers and other private concerns. Senator Daschle has that right. But that does not mean we have to like it or accept it. We surely don’t have to accept it when he does not pay his taxes on his fancy perks.

If the great liberal Paul Wellstone  (above) of Minnesota had lived and had lost his 2002 election to the disgusting Norm Coleman, (Mr. Wellstone was ahead in polls at the time of his death), do you think he would have cashed in? Do you think he would have looked for the big payday as his reward for public service? Senator Wellstone served only the people.

( Here is a link to Wellstone Action.)

I say good riddance to Mr. Daschle. These folks, including President Obama in the case, live in a fantasy land. If Mr. Daschle was indispensable to the cause of health care reform, then it did not have much chance to start with.

The example of the late Senator Wellstone was that serving the public was about more than personal gain. Senator Daschle may be a decent person in some respects, but he is not in touch with life as lived by most Americans or with the ethics in office that President Obama promised in his campaign.

President Obama’s Rural Policy

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on Barack Obama’s urban policy. I was glad that after many years of neglect, a President seemed to have America’s cities as part of the agenda.

Yet though I have always been a city dweller, I am also concerned for America’s rural areas. I feel folks in rural America have been used by the Republican Party, just as Democrats have often taken city voters for granted. Depopulation of rural America, and the long-term decline of agriculture as a way of life, have severly impacted this part of our nation.

(Above–A sign welcoming visitors to Francesville, Indiana. The Fall Festival will be held in Francesville on September 18, 19 and 20 of this year.)

Here is  the link to the Rural Assistance Center. This resource has a great deal of information about rural demographics and the well-being of people living in rural areas. It’s main focus is health care. There is also a definition of what exactly constitutes rural America. You can plug your address in and see if you are a rural resident.

Here is a chart from the Census Bureau noting the decline of the American rural population from over 90% in 1820 to under 25% in 1990. If you poke around the Census web home, you’ll find all sorts of facts about rural America.

In the book How Barack Obama Won by Chuck Todd, a table lists 21% of American voters as rural in the 2008 election. While all people merit help and concern, it should be noted that these voters are not monolithically Republican. Rural voters selected John McCain over Barack Obama by a margin of only 53% to 45%.

Iowa and Vermont are rural states that Mr. Obama carried last November. It is hard to imagine that Mr. Obama could have won states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana without at least a fair amount of  rural support.

I don’t discuss the politics here to show that rural folks are somehow “better”  or more open to a black man as President than urbanites such as myself might think. I say it only to suggest that just as many Republicans live in big cities, America’s rural areas also diverse and complex regions worthy of our respect and care. We should not make assumptions about any group of people. 

On his White House web home, (Which, as much as we may be hopeful about our new President, is a kind of propaganda), some of President Obama’s rural policy goals are listed. Here is that link.

Here are some goals for rural America as discussed by the White House—

Strong Safety Net for Family Farmers: Fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Implement a $250,000 payment limitation so we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around payment limits.   

I can’t say I know much about farms, but this makes it clear that people in all parts of the United States need the help of government.

Support Small Business Development: Provide capital for farmers to create value-added enterprises, like cooperative marketing initiatives and farmer-owned processing plants. Establish a small business and micro-enterprise initiative for rural America.

Many of us have had the experience of driving through a small town and seeing a shuttered Main Street. I can only imagine that a new and successful small business in a rural center would be a boon to the entire area.

Improve Healthcare:Work to ensure a more equitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement structure that often gives rural healthcare providers less money for the very same procedure performed in urban areas. Attract providers to rural America by creating a loan forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural areas. Promote health information technologies like telemedicine.

These health care issues are concerns in all parts of America.

As a lifelong resident of the city, I’ve long felt that cities and rural areas have a great deal in common. Here in Texas, it would be great to see an urban-rural caucus in our state legislature that could explore shared public policy goals.

It remains to be seen if President Obama is serious about his stated objectives in rural America. Let’s hope and insist that his care for this issue is sincere.   

(Below–A farm near Stockbridge, Wisconsin.)

Thoughts On Municipal Elections In Houston—To What Extent Should We Care?

I sometimes find it difficult to take seriously the subjects of Houston City Council, and, also, municipal elections here in Houston. I find it hard to do so for the following reasons–

1. Few Houstonians vote in city elections and given my limited resources of time, I can’t always muster much effort on something people don’t care about and that does not seem to make a big difference in the lives of people of Houston.

2. The six year term limits mean that councilmembers come and go and you really have no idea who they are.  They dance around and wait for an empty seat to run for. Just like this game of musical chairs you see below. ( No..I don’t know who those people are.)

3. Despite the fact that so-called Democrats have a majority on the Council, they don’t appear to do anything in a cohesive fashion. Does the caucus have meetings? Have they offered a vision of what they would like to see from the ongoing Texas Legislative session? Or from the Obama stimulus package? Is there any agenda all except the separate agendas of individuals?  

At least one Council Democrat, James Rodriguez, will possibly be supporting a Republican for citywide office.  What is his agenda? Can we trust Mr. Rodriguez to serve our city well?  The verdict is still out.

4. I’ve been voting for Democrats at the municipal level since I was first eligible to vote in 1985.  I feel that  often they take the votes and offer in little in return in terms of imagination and concern for people who need the most help from government. (Though I’m  glad to see that Barack Obama of Chicago is saying he has a focus on urban issues. Maybe that focus will trickle down and offer some new energy to local urban policy makers.)

What got me thinking about the topic of the Houston City Council was a post by Houston blogger Charles Kuffner. Mr. Kuffner’s post dealt with possible candidates for municipal offices in Houston in 2009. ( 50,000 page views this month Charles. I’m getting there.) Mr. Kuffner, who is one of the best sources for these things in Houston, reports various people running for the various offices.

How does the process work? Here’s what I’m seeing—Some political insider, or some person who feels they might be able to access sufficient funds to run a campaign, waits for the right moment and the right opportunity and decides to give it a whirl.  

For the average person it is all very nebulous. (Below—A nebula. Click here for information about nebulas.) Where do these folks come from? For what reason are people donating to their campaigns? What political party and beliefs do candidates represent as they hide behind the lie of the so-called “non-partisan” municipal ballot? 

What are the candidates and councilmembers themselves thinking?

Maybe they wonder why people don’t care who represents them at City Hall. They could be thinking that if the public does not trust them to serve more than six years, why then should they trust the public? 

It might be that council candidates and councilmembers are thinking that with low turnout and term limits  the public has, in effect, ceded control of city government to special interests and the personal ambitions of office holders.

(Here is a previous post where I asked if the people of Houston merit municipal representation.)

In 2009, I’m going to make some effort to listen to what our Houston municipal candidates are saying. I’ll offer my views as we go along.  I’ll be looking for a specific agenda, and for some connection between Houston and the big changes and new resources we are seeing in Washington. It won’t be nearly enough that a candidate claims that he or she is a Democrat. That is a road I have been down often before. (Below—An old road not used as much as it once was.) 

Democratic Majorities In Congress Have Obligation To Keep Close Eye On President

Democratic majorities in Congress should be as tough on President Barack Obama, as those of us on the left wanted the Republican-led Congress to be tough on former President George W. Bush.   

While I support most of what I’m seeing so far from the new President, we can’t forget that we are giving this man a lot of power. President Obama is proposing spending great amounts of money and he is discussing more troops for Afghanistan. 

The longer the economic crisis goes on the more power the President will seek to acquire.  It is always possible that the new President will seek new powers to fight what he determines are security threats to the nation. 

We’ve seen in recent years what happens when Congress looks away from what the President is doing. Just because the President is now Barack Obama instead of George Bush, doesn’t mean we should forget the lessons learned.

Congressman Culberson Says Stimulus Package Is Trojan Horse Meant To Turn America Into France

My Congressman here in Houston, John Culberson, has said the following about the proposed government stimulus package that will soon be passed in Congress and signed by President Barack H. Obama—

“Redistributing hard-earned tax dollars will do far more to expand the power of the federal government than it will to stimulate the economy,” said Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. “This legislation is a Trojan horse that liberals are using to ultimately turn America into France, because it contains massive expansion of multiple federal programs that are utterly unrelated to stimulating the economy.”

Well, I sure hope all this is true.

I hope stimulus package dollars are used to build a Trojan Horse such as you see below….

( Here is a history of the Trojan War and the Trojan Horse.) 

…..And that this horse is filled up with liberals. I hope the commander of the horse is the late House Speaker Tip O’Neill (below) who is brought back to life by Wiccan socialists in a pagan rite also funded by stimulus dollars. It’s time for everybody to get a fair share of the faith-based dollars.

(Here is information about the best biography of Tip O’Neill. It is called Tip O’ Neill and the Democratic Century and was written by John Farrell.)

(Below are Wiccans chanting and casting spells for federal dollars and to bring Tip back to command the liberals in the Trojan Horse. Here is information about the Wicca religion. If you want to join up with them I say more power to you.)

And I hope that the liberals come out of the horse and help turn America into France.

Below is the French city of Calvi. Can we please make America look like this?

The new President and the increased Democratic majorities in Congress are working out even better than I had imagined.

Could anyone in Washington be more useless than my Congressman? So much is going on and going wrong and what he has to offer is liberals turning America into France.

I Thought Republicans Were For Rallying Around Our President In Time Of Crisis

I thought Republicans believed that in a time of crisis all Americans should rally around our President. I can recall Republicans who said we had to get behind George W. Bush and all his wars so we could avenge the attacks of September 11, 2001. I might even be able to recall suggestions—subtle and otherwise—that people who did not support George W. Bush were not fully loyal.  

Well—This does not seem to be the case for Republicans anymore as President Barack H. Obama works to fight our economic crisis. Where is the Republican message of “country first” that John McCain kept pushing at us for all those months?

I guess supporting our President in these hard times for our nation is not as important as the Republican religion of tax cuts as the cure to every ill, and the Republican fear that a government that helps people will show a path outside of ceaseless brutal competition with each other.

Patriotism is sitautional with Republicans in Congress. That is if loyalty to the nation is what motivated them in the first place after September 11. Maybe what they saw was Karl Rove’s vision of a permanent Republican majority in a nation always afraid of another terrorist attack.

Barack Obama should not get everything he wants just because he says so. The Democratic majorities in Congress must be independent in a way that the previous Republican majorities were not. Just don’t expect much constructive input from Republicans. Whatever it is that truly moves them, the good of the nation is not so high on the list.

If Michelle Obama Is So Smart, Why Is She Not As Hot As Was Dolley Madison?

I keep hearing about what Michelle Obama is wearing. 

If we are going to grade Mrs. Obama on her appearance, she will lose out to Dolley Madison. (Above)

So let’s judge Mrs. Obama on her talents and skills and have less focus on how she looks. That is the right thing to do fo this hard working  and successful person.

For all we know, Mrs. Obama is the smarter half of the First Couple.

(Dolley Madison was also smart.)

However, since we are on the subject. I will say that Mrs. Obama’s Inauguration outfit was almost as fluorescent—

—as are these fish below. 

I Ended Up Watching The Inauguration

This past Tuesday I gave some thought to skipping the Inauguration on TV and heading down the road to Galveston for a walk on the beach. I’m not entirely sure what was motivating my feelings except to say that with time people’s interests can change.  

I did watch the ceremony and I’m glad I did. Yet for as pleased as I am in the change of administrations, Mr. Obama and his team want to manage and manipulate the news no less than did his predecessor.

( Here is the story about the phony music played at the Inauguration.)

Watching all that day-to-day stuff saps my life energy. I can follow the news without seeing Mr. Obama’s stage managed events.

Here is a link to the C-Span American Writers series. It goes all the way back to William Bradford (grave above) in Plymouth in the 17th century. Without context what do we have? The events of the day are often fun to follow, but it can take a few hundred years for the real facts to become clear.