NPD 4.13.09

*Obama is gearing up for a showdown with student loan lenders. He's proposing significant changes that, if done right, would reduce the cost of taking out loans and would expand the Pell Grant program. Of course, there are billions of dollars at stake, so the banks are lining up in opposition. Here's hoping Obama is successful. It's high time for student loan reform.

*I've always wanted to travel to Cuba before Americans swarm onto the island. It is supposed to be a fascinating place, in many ways stuck in the past, once you are inland and away from all the European resorts. My dream may soon be washed away as the Obama Administration is very seriously considering easing travel to and from the island nation. Good for them. We have long since past the time (if that time ever existed) that these tenuous relations had any positive effect.

*In New York's 20th District, Democrat Scott Murphy has reclaimed the lead over Jim Tedisco by 35 votes. We'll know more in a couple days when all the absentee ballots are counted. It's a nail biter!

Most Recognized Person?

An ongoing debate between my father and I centers on this question: Who is the most well-known/recognized person in the world? George Bush? David Beckham? Barack Obama? All good bets, but we have come to the conclusion it's probably someone else: Tiger Woods.

He has been on the world stage for longer than Bush. Truly dominates a sport unlike Beckham. Also, he has the fascinating racial background of Obama. What do you think? Other ideas?

NPD 4.6.09

*A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Italy in an area east of Rome. As of now there are about 150 documented deaths and, apparently, significant damage to historic sites. I'm sure we'll hear more from the region soon.

*Robert Gates, Obama's holdover from the Bush Administration as his Secretary of Defense, made good on his pledge to reform defense and military procurement procedures. He released his ideas for appropriate changes. This is needed in so many ways, but fighting the military industrial complex is probably the most difficult political battle there is. As Steve Benen has said over at the Washington Monthly, Congressmen love military spending, especially that which occurs in their own district. Let's hope for reform.

BTW, for those of you who are interested, he's proposing a reduction in programs that focus on conventional weapons and an increase in programs for special operations and anti-insurgency. Sounds like a move into the 21st Century.

*If you didn't hear, over the weekend, North Korea shot a ballistic missile that cruised above Japan. They claimed it was putting a sattilite into orbit, but the US military says that did not occur.

NPD 4.2.09

*The G20 Summit wrapped up today with the crew agreeing to a variety of regulatory changes. All indicators point to Obama being a good ambassador for the United States... a welcome change from the previous administrator in his position.

*Blagojevich, or favorite former governor, was indicted on charges of corruption. He's charged, among other things, with having tried to use the power of the office for personal gain.

NPD 4.1.09

*Ol' BO is in London for the G20. He's really getting around... a bit slutty perhaps?

*The University of California at San Diego sent a "Welcome to UCSD!" email to 29,000 students. Trouble is, those students were on the rejected list. Whoops.

*Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens will go free after Attorney General Eric Holder says government prosecutors engaged in misconduct. Most observers seem to think he really was guilty of wrongdoing, so it's unfortunate that he goes unpunished... or did he? My guess is that he lost his bid for reelection as a result of the trial. The world is better without Ted "It's a Series of Tubes" Stevens on Capitol Hill.

NPD 3.31.09

*Obama signed an omnibus lands bill which set aside 2 million additional acres of land for wilderness protection.

*Republicans in Minnesota are now talking about dragging out the Coleman-Franken dispute for "years" by doing multiple appeals. If they are legitimate appeals, and all signs point to them not being such, then fine. But, if they are appealing in what is essentially a delay tactic, then the courts need to put a stop to accepting their petitions.

*Today is special election day in New York's 20th district! Jim Tedisco and Scott Murphy are vying to replace Kirsten Gillibrand, a former congresswoman who was elevated to replace Hilary Clinton as New York's junior senator. There is some talk that if the Republican, Tedisco, loses, that the Republican National Chairman Michael Steele will be ousted from his job (that he started only a couple months ago).

*Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania is being probed left and right on charges of corruption. He said, "If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district." Whoops.

Fascinating Map

I couldn't insert the map on the blog, but go here to see a map that breaks down the 2008 presidential election color coded by who won each congressional district. Blue=Obama, Red=McCain. As we all know, Barack dominated the contest in total votes, percentage of votes, and electoral votes. However, if the election were based on something completely arbitrary, say the cumulative square miles of congressional districts won, McCain would have taken the 2008 election to the house.

The big takeaway is this: Democrats dominate in small, densely populated areas and Republicans wipe the floor in wide open, rural regions. A question came up in my civics class the other day about why this is the case. I thought I knew the answer, but after putting some thought into it, I'm not sure what the real reasons are for this phenomenon. Thoughts?

NPD 3.21.09

*President Obama sent a message to the Iranian people, welcoming in Nowruz which, to my understanding, is a "Helllllllllo spring!" ceremony.

*Multiple Republican governors are saying they will not accept federal dollars to improve their economies. Add Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to the list that includes Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, and Bobby Jindal. What makes Gibbons different is that he is not a 2012 presidential hopeful. Perhaps, then, he's at least not politically motivated like the other three.

*The House of Representatives passed a bill that will tax AIG bonus-getters at 90%. There seem to be lots of holes in the proposal, one of which is that many of the bonuses went to non-Americans. Whoops. The things that gets me about his whole mess is that they were "retention bonuses." Who wants to retain these folks who ran the company into the ground!?

*A longer post about this will come, but how about the White House Garden!?!? Hooray!

Choked Up With Anger Here

Barack (first name basis) gave a speech yesterday about the AIG bonuses in the midst of which he coughs and says, "Excuse me, I'm choked up with anger here." I'm pretty sure he's joking, what do you think? Either way, I lolled.



You can skip to 2:40 and still get the effect. The first part is Obama explaining why it's ridiculous that they are receiving bonuses while overseeing a failed company.

Non-Paper Daily, 3.18.09

Not much of a daily today, but a few things that have been happening:

*A group of Democratic Senators is forming to "restrain the influence of party liberals in the White House and Capitol Hill." Democrats are notorious for sabotaging their power for the sake of looking good, so looks like here we go. This is ridiculous. For once we have a chance to pass meaningful healthcare, energy, and climate legislation and these idiots want to solidify their power. Anger.

*George W. is keeping any criticism he has of Obama quiet. Good for him. There is a long tradition of former presidents refraining from criticizing their successor and it looks like Bush will honor that. I didn't agree with him often, but on this I do.

*For St. Patrick's Day, Michelle Obama had the White House fountain water dyed green. That sounds fun.

*A space shuttle with teachers on it recently docked at the International Space Station. There is hope for me as a teacher to get into space! They are installing a photovoltaic system and then taking off so that two Russian cosmonauts can move in. The International Space Station is getting pretty big... I wonder when Hal will show up.

*The federal government (this means you!) owns 80% of AIG. That's a lot. This also means you are the primary sponsor of Manchester United, leaders of the English Premier League! There's a silver lining to everything.

Non-Paper Daily, 3.3.09

*Bill Gates doesn't allow iphones and ipods in his house. Principles baby.

*Today the primary was held in Illinois' 5th Congressional District to determine who will run for Rahm Emmanuel's old position. Now that Rahm is running the show as Obama's Chief of Staff, there is an opening for an up-and-coming Democrat in this highly Democratic district.

*The Obama Administration is doing many things right in the international arena, including their announced withdraw from Iraq to be completed in 18 months. In addition, they are doing away with the Bush Administration policy of refusal to engage with nations with whom our relations have soured. Recently they have begun talks with Iran, Syria, and Russia. Good for them.

*While playing basketball is fun, waking up at 5:30 to do it is rough. Just thought I'd share.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.26.09

*Dood saves some lives, risks his own, then gets a ticket. Rough day.

*After a long delay, Hilda Solis was sworn in as Secretary of Labor, taking one step further to fill out Obama's cabinet. By all accounts I have read, she will be a strong advocate for labor which is a very good thing.

*Speaking of Obama's cabinet, former governor of Washington, Gary Locke, was nominated today to be Obama's Secretary of Commerce. After two strikeouts--Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg--we'll see if the third time's a charm. This post is looooowwww on the priority list, so no comment from me.

*Senator Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, is running way behind in polls that match him up with Democrats in mock reelection bids. Republicans want Bunning to step aside and let someone else hold onto the Republican-held seat. Bunning, however, is saying "BACK OFF!!!!" to the Republican establishment and is insisting that he will run for reelection. He's even gone so far as to threaten a law suit. The walls are crumbling down.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.24.09

*Tonight, President Obama gave a semi-State of the Union address to both houses of Congress. I was on the road for the speech, but read a bit about it and apparently it was came across well... or even better than well. Health care reform and "let's not give up" seemed to be big themes. Here's the text. Those who saw it, thoughts?

*Hillary is killin' it around the globe. She's a star. That said, her comments about pushing human rights discussions in China onto the backburner while we figure out the economic situation were dead wrong. Now, more than ever, is the time to press the Chinese into action. They still need us more than we need them, so why not do some arm twisting to get the Chinese into (at least) the 20th century?

*It is my mom's birthday today. I arrived back in La Grande for classes at EOU and to celebrate with her. Happy birthday Carol!

Non-Paper Daily, 2.21.09

*The Obama Administration is doing away with "smoke and ladders" techniques that are used to make the budget deficit appear smaller than it really is. That is good news, of course, because we should all know the damage being done to our bank account from all of our overcommitting. There is an upside, of course, for them. If things turn out well, a bigger deficit now will make it easier for them to say, "Look, we lowered the deficit!" A trade for taking all the heat they will now.

*Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois's ranking senator, is heavily hinting that The Magic Man needs to resign. In the last two days, both the Magic Man's press secretary and chief of staff abruptly resigned. Not good signs for the short-term senator.

*Apparently there are not-so-secret meeting going on on Capitol Hill concerning health care reform. More as that develops, but it sounds like a the groundwork is being built. Good.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.18.09

Yeeks! Per a comment on the last post asking, er demanding, the return of the Non-Paper Daily, it is back.

*The stimulus package is official. At just under $800 billion it's big, but in the view of many economists, not big enough for the desired effect. We should start seeing the money flow relatively soon, in fact, the school where I teach was thinking of closing early due to budget restraints, but they may keep the doors open for the entirety of the year due to the influx of these funds.

Interestingly, I'm still very much up in the air about the stimulus package. On the one hand, without it there may be total economic meltdown. On the other, however, is the view that our current economic model of ever-increasing consumption simply cannot go no forever. Eventually it must change and perhaps this was the time for that change. As the saying goes, "Pain Causes Change." A new way of doing things is not going to just happen, it will be a result of dire economic times. We may very well be missing our opportunity for real, substantive, change

*Roland Burris, er "The Magic Man," is back in the news. During testimony before being appointed to Obama's old senate seat he said he had had no contact with Blagojevich or his associates. Apparently that wasn't entirely accurate, which is also known as a lie. Except, in his case, it was under oath, so it is known as a perjury. Ooops. Perjures, like drug traffickers, often go to jail. So the saga continues...

*The American car manufacturers are asking for more money. Looks like this time it will be for another $5-10 billion. I know if they fail it will cause extreme pain around the nation, but how long can we keep propping up failed businesses? If a mom and pop place downtown fails, they won't be receiving any stimulus funds. Since when did capitalistic theory state that once you get big you can no longer be allowed to fail?

Obama v. Bush

Another fundamental difference between the previous and current. Quick summary: everything Bush did in public was scripted and controlled. Obama has open public meetings that include dissent. It feels good.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.4.2009

*S-CHIP, a program that bring health care to impoverished kids, passed through Congress and was signed into law by Obama today. As our economic times get worse, this is a great move for helping our most vulnerable children stay afloat.

*Obama has outline plans to limit executive pay to $500,000 annually for those leaders of firms who are receiving federal financial assistance. Unfortunately there are plenty of loopholes, but it's still a step in the right direction.

*There is a movement at my high school to start a school garden. Just thought I'd share. Awesome.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.3.2009

*Tom Daschle, President Obama's nomination for the Health and Human Services cabinet position and leader of the "let's fix our health care system" group, withdrew himself from the nomination due to failing to pay taxes on services he had received from a political donor. The thing I don't understand: If you are that far up in the government, you must know that people (media, other political party, etc) are going to find out about these things, why do we keep seeing this?!?!

*As part of the stimulus package currently meandering through the halls of Congress, there is a piece known as the "Buy American" provision. This would require that stimulus funds be used on American goods (think steel, concrete, etc). This strikes me as misguided on many levels. First, Americans need to be leaders as we work out way out of this world-wide depression. Cutting ourselves off from the outside world will only make things worse. Second, my guess is this is a massive violation of free trade laws. Third, let's all try and think of a better way to put an end to the international good will that has resulted from Obama's election. Short of starting another war, this may top the list.

Alive!

It's been a whirlwind few days. After taking the red eye to Washington, DC I spent a day wandering the town then a night at the bar and jumping into bushes (a favorite DC past time). Tuesday started at 5:15am, contained lots of emotions and tons of expended energy trying to stay warm, and ended with another night at the bar (unfortunately no bushes this time). Wednesday started early, included a metro ride in the wrong direction (my apologies to all involved) and ended with a nine hour car ride up to Boston. Phew!

So I'm alive and kicking and got my first real night of sleep since embarking on this adventure, but what can you expect with amazing things happening. A full report about inauguration will come, but here is how I explained it to a friend while chatting online:

Three things: 1) People were joyous. Truly joyous and relieved. 2) Everyone was so kind. It was freezing cold and most people weren't dressed appropriately. That's a recipe for angry folks, but folks were AMAZING. 3) You could hear a pin drop at times during the event... and 4, for good measure: The echo of his words going down The Mall.... that was my favorite part.

Hopefully I'll find some time to blog and a way to upload photos. Stick with me!

Inauguration

I'm currently in Portland preparing for a flight to Washington, DC to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama. This kid is excited.

A warning: Blogging may be sporadic at best... however, perhaps lots of cool stuff will be happening and my fingers will be flying. Vamos a ver.

January 20th will mark the best birthday present I have ever received. After eight years it's finally over.