Hard News: Reasons to be cheerful
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it shouldn't matter
And it's hardly definitive but Jim might like to refer to Campbell Live's easy-to-find 7 minute story about why it has mattered so much - although I agree with others that it won't so much from now on.
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I'm just so happy that there is an American President who can speak English beautifully, form correct sentences and convey complex and interesting ideas in his speech.
Maybe he could run workshops for our lot?
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Perhaps some of us Wellington-based PA regulars could organise a less formal get-together?
Perhaps they could. Apropos Stephen's comment, I propose calling it "Lesser Bland My Arse".
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Blend, not bland. Oh well.
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Sometimes the absence of an Edit button makes things more fun..
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I'm just so happy that there is an American President who can speak English beautifully, form correct sentences and convey complex and interesting ideas in his speech.
I really liked what Tracey Barnett said on the Sunrise coverage: that she works with words for a living, and when you do that you have to believe that words actually mean something .
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What I'm finding frustrating though is a growing tendency to dismiss support for Obama as little more that positive discrimination. That's crap.
Certainly is. But, my God, did every damn news story over the last couple of days have to give the impression that the President of the United State's last name is actually "Obama-hyphen-First Black President"? (Not even strictly accurate, but I don't want to get into that argument again.) Watching the coverage, it felt like everyone was sent out on a scavenger hunt: 1) One incredibly old black lady. 2) One incredibly nauseatingly cute black child. 3) One incredibly large black man, who is all blissed out and not scary at all. 4) One incredibly stupid white pundit to say something fundamentally retarded like "America's racist past has been redeemed".
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Oh man. Hopkins can bitch about pop stars all he likes, but if this doesn't melt your heart you don't have one ...
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Some sort of Lesser Blend
The Wellington Weak Blend. Absolutely.
Reasons to be cheerful
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=jobVexRvL_E
"Round or skinny bottoms"
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Not even strictly accurate
What is 100% accurate is "first African / American President".
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What is 100% accurate is "first African / American President".
What Craig said (in a brilliant example of hiding the hand that threw the stone): please let's not relitigate this!
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Posted on another near dead thread: Noam Chomsky has a slightly less optimistic take on Obamania. I'm inclined to agree with a lot of what he says, having felt it rather poignantly during Obama's speeches. They were certainly inspiring to an extent I have never felt about any other US president's speeches, but I do wonder how much of that was because I so dislike Bush. If asked to pin down what it was that Obama had actually promised to do, I did feel a whole lot less sure that it wouldn't be business as usual.
Some highly symbolic (and very important) acts, such as the closing of Guantanamo, definitely outshine Bush. But that would not be hard, since Bush himself started the whole idea of using Guantanamo for illegal detention and torture. It's not really that hard to look like a top bloke when compared to a villain. To me, that action really was a total no-brainer, but the hard decisions follow now.
My pick is that Obama will follow the traditional Democrat playbook of focusing most of his attention on domestic efforts. International relations will just be guided by existing policy. Which means no new wars, thankfully, but it also means no new peace either. Internally, I'm not really expecting anything radical, either.
Which, I reiterate, is a big improvement on Bush, but not really a far cry from, say, Clinton.
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I don't really want to get into a game of my dick-tionary is bigger than yours, but "professional" also carries connotations of competence and ability to achieve a goal.
Yes. And my post pointed out, that wasn't the meaning I was using in my original post.
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I must have missed that debate. Has there been someone whose father was African, mother American in the role of President in the past?
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On the Inauguration coverage, I watched it on Al Jazeera (oh the irony) and from what I'm reading of other stations and US networks they had a great point of difference: They just Shut Up when the important bits were on screen. Especially watching-while-waking, the lack of blather was the best...
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Further to open government, Obama asks Scott McNealy, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems for an open source whitepaper.
Digg appears to be in love.
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I know the ways in which the media bludgeon us with the 'how much this matters' schtick can be silly. I admit that. But jeez, Craig, did you see that segment interviewing Medgar Evers' widow? Every time I see something like that I return to my original 'the president is black!' amazement level.
if this doesn't melt your heart you don't have one ...
Sap report: I have cried every. single. time. I've watched that clip. In fact, merely pondering watching it again is making me verklempt. It's pavlovian. :)
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I must have missed that debate. Has there been someone whose father was African, mother American in the role of President in the past?
Start here and work your way forward four or five pages until Mr. Brown begged us to stop.
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My pick is that Obama will follow the traditional Democrat playbook of focusing most of his attention on domestic efforts. International relations will just be guided by existing policy.
That's not the traditional Democrat playbook at all.
Wilson, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson were all very focused on international issues. Johnson to the detriment of his domestic policy.
As was Clinton, who got in boots and all to the Middle East peace issue, as well as Kosovo, and who was involved in Ireland as well.
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giovanni - so what
to ignore the African side of his parentage to gain some sort of anti-PC kudos also ignores the impact his election has not just in the USA and, obviously, Africa but world wide. It's an important part of the narrative.
I won't back down on that view just because Craig wants to start chucking toys from a cot.
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if this doesn't melt your heart you don't have one ...
To me that's a frustrating mix of "wow, beautiful, poignant song etc etc" with "why in God's name is the whole thing cheapened by being televised with appropriate commercial breaks and piece to camera's?"
Charles' inauguration ball won't be hosted by Jonathon Ross and bought to you by all new Sunshine dishwasher powder...
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Don't forget, Gareth, that Beyonce is also promoting her biopic of Etta James by singing that song.
Crass commercialism and loveliness in one spot!
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giovanni - so what
Hey, you are knowcking down an open door as far I'm personally concerned. And I'm not saying you ought to back down, but you won't change Craig's mind and believe me we tried. We shall all agree to disagree with him.
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Posted on another near dead thread: Noam Chomsky has a slightly less optimistic take on Obamania. I'm inclined to agree with a lot of what he says ...
That was from November, but in truth, I'm struggling to imagine a realistic scenario in which Chomsky would express approval. It doesn't really matter to me: I haven't listened much to Chomsky since (ironically) I heard him speak in Auckland years ago, and and felt vaguely insulted to be listening to a man on ideological autopilot.
So, yeah, the nature and clarity of this week's executive orders continue to give me great cheer.
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Charles' inauguration ball won't be hosted by Jonathon Ross
Oh come on, that I'd watch. That's Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand, right?
I know the ways in which the media bludgeon us with the 'how much this matters' schtick can be silly. I admit that. But jeez, Craig, did you see that segment interviewing Medgar Evers' widow? Every time I see something like that I return to my original 'the president is black!' amazement level.
Yeah, me too. And you know what? When the US gets a gay president, it will be a Big Fucking Deal for me. Just for a couple of days, until it's time to start doing shit. I'm not begrudging anyone a couple of days of "I never thought I'd live to see this".
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