"So it seems that the world keeps on turnin' but so what I don't doubt it, it just keeps on the move."Little FeatBarack Obama is going to be a one–term president — and deservedly so.Some people will read that sentence and only one word will leap into their minds — racist.But I defy anyone to identify anything that is racist about it.It is based on the same assessment I would give to any president more than halfway through his term. At this stage, frankly, my assessment is not good.In more than two years of his "leadership," unemployment has gotten...
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
It was called the "revolution that surprised the world," and it has been said that it inspired the movements that toppled Eastern Europe's Communist governments three years later.I always thought it was a stirring sight.Twenty–five years ago today, the Philippine Revolution of 1986 — more popularly known as "People Power" — effectively overthrew the corrupt government of Ferdinand Marcos.It was a revolution, all right, one that installed a fresh,...
Presidential politics began to change on this day 35 years ago, although no one knew it at the time.Not even Jimmy Carter, and he is the man who was responsible for the change.On this day in 1976, the people in New Hampshire went to the polls to express their preferences for president in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.Carter was but one of about half a dozen people on the Democratic ballot. Only two candidates — President Ford and Ronald...
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
"The 2010 Colorado electorate was a total outlier (67 percent with a B.A. or more), while Ohio was a near–microcosm of the national presidential electorate. Every Midwestern state for which exit polls are available looked pretty much like Ohio."William GalstonThe New RepublicGallup reports that Barack Obama's popularity is down across the board.His highest approval ratings come from Hawaii, where he was born, and Washington, D.C., two places that are about as secure for a Democratic presidential nominee as any in the United States. Hawaii has supported...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
In nearly two months, I haven't encountered anyone who believes that what happened in Tucson, Ariz., on January 8 was not a tragedy. We all seem to agree that it was.But that, apparently, is where the agreement ends.Some people have insisted on blaming the shrill political dialogue from the Tea Partiers and Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh — when, in fact, there is no evidence that the gunman was motivated by them in any way.All evidence of that link...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Art Linkletter used to say that kids say the darnedest things.But those kids had nothing on some of the adults living in America today.According to Frank Newport of Gallup, "Americans are most likely to say Ronald Reagan was the nation's greatest president."I'm not trying to turn this into an English lecture, but it seems to me that sentence really should say Americans are more likely to name Reagan, not most likely.To me, the latter implies a majority,...
Saturday, February 19, 2011
There have been many tragic stories coming from Egypt in recent weeks, but the most tragic may well have been the report of the sexual assault and barbaric beating of CBS correspondent Lara Logan.Reports of attacks on foreign journalists have been fairly common, but Caroline Glick writes, in the Jerusalem Post, that "the most egregious attack ... took place ... when ... Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and brutally beaten by a mob of Egyptian men."I...
They'll be handing out the Academy Awards a week from tomorrow.Ordinarily, I suppose, that would be a topic I would address at my Birth of a Notion blog. That's where I usually write about entertainment–related subjects.But I want to write about it here because what I have in mind sort of transcends the entertainment boundary.Last August, Katie Hafner had an intriguing piece in the New York Times about a University of Toronto researcher, Donald A....
Friday, February 18, 2011
Echoing the words of the 41st president, Republican George H.W. Bush, [Boehner] added, 'When we say we're going to cut spending, read my lips: We're going to cut spending.'Washington PostWhy do politicians insist on recycling phrases that have been discredited — in fact, have been ridiculed — over the years?Just last fall, Barack Obama appeared on The Daily Show and said his economic adviser had done a "heckuva job."That, of course, reminded everyone...
Thursday, February 17, 2011
During his State of the Union address last month, Barack Obama spoke of "winning the future."To most ears, it had a positive sound to it — even if Sarah Palin famously used the acronym WTF to describe her reaction to it (and it wasn't an abbreviation of "winning the future," either, the way that Gerald Ford's WIN in the 1970s was an acronym for "whip inflation now").Palin, of course, is a divisive figure. When she is the topic of conversation, no one seems to be in the middle of the road. She always inspires strong feelings, either pro or con.For...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
When I was a teenager, I was a fan of the Doonesbury comic strip.I recall reading a strip once in which the Hunter Thompson–inspired character, Uncle Duke, in a clearly hallucinatory state, slumped behind something and muttered, "Bad craziness," while some sort of bizarre creature hovered over where he had stood in the previous frame.I don't remember the details — and they aren't important, anyway.But "bad craziness" is what came to my mind when I heard that gas prices have hit a 28–month high.That is true in spite of the fact that, as Sandy Shore...
"A close reading of Obama's speech ... to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce allows you to conclude pretty much whatever you are inclined to conclude about his actual view. And that tells you a great deal about the current phase of his presidency."E.J. DionneWashington PostE.J. Dionne has an interesting analysis of the president's recent remarks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.And, essentially, his conclusion is that the Barack Obama of 2011 really wants to be the Barack Obama of 2008.He wants to be, as I have written here before, all things to all people...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
We're enduring another round of winter weather here in north Texas.Dallas looks a lot like it did last week, with freezing rain and a little snow.An acquaintance of mine posted this on Facebook today. It kind of sums things up.There were a lot of people who complained about the terrible weather we had here in the days just before Sunday's Super Bowl.A Super Bowl should always be played in a warm–weather city, they said. Well, good luck finding one...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Did you ever see the movie "Groundhog Day?"Of course you did. I guess that's sort of like asking if you ever saw "Forrest Gump" ... or ... "Titanic."Anyway, since you almost certainly have seen "Groundhog Day," I'm sure I won't have to mention the general theme of the story — but I will anyway.The star, Bill Murray, kept living the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over again.Shoot, the idea has almost become a cliche. If you mention "Groundhog Day"...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.This was the scene in front of my apartment a few minutes ago.Just to set the stage for you, we got rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow here in Dallas starting early this morning and continuing until a little while ago. Even now, we're getting some blowing snow, but the snow isn't as heavy as it was.Snow isn't the problem, though. It never really is. There are times when snow is a little slippery,...
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