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I've seen a couple of things recently from Facebook expressing concerns and outrage about Obama 's work thus far, mostly related to the stimulus package . I've thought about this and I think we - humans - have such a desire for immediate solutions and we - Americans - have such a need for quick fixes that people are not seeing the forest for the trees on some stuff. One person pulled a partial quote from Sen Lindsey Graham something about " the President is AWOL on leadership ". The whole quote is Lindsey Graham criticizing Obama b/c he was doing a press junket (sp) instead of talking to Republican leadership about the stimulus. Well, the way I understand it is the citizens who vote are the republican leadership and the democratic leadership . This doesn't seem so far fetched to me. Obama won the election with a huge % of the electorate which plays right into his need and desire to take his position and explanation to the general public and they will, in ...

I've already expressed concern over Obama's administration not being enough of a change and now, the third candidate for a job in his cabinet is getting called out for some tax issue. FUCK! Did these people not do their research or is it just that hard to find someone who doesn't cheat on taxes? Performance czar withdraws candidacy : NPR

People love to hate. We all do it. I hate on people who date Scarlett Johansson or marry Halle Berry , people hate on me b/c I tell them no, East Coast hates on West Coast , Hollywood hates on America and the list goes on. Its ok to be hater depending on what you do with that hate. The good people shake their heads and move on the bad ones turn their hate into a real thing. We all know republicans hate on democrats and vice versa. Now that democrats are in the White House its a full-time job for republicans. I think its nice to put things in perspective. Thanks to Kevin for the comic...

In addition to her political career, (Condoleeza) Rice is an accomplished concert pianist as well as a big-time National Football League fan. I knew she was a smart woman and I knew she was a concert pianist but I had no idea she was a football fan. Can you see Condi with one of the big foam horse hats? (Surely she's a Broncos fan, since there's no pro ball in Alabama.)   Condoleezza Rice signs with William Morris Agency

Team of Rivals , Team of Schmivals . I'm really not digging Obama's cabinet choices. It seems so Clinton heavy that I am having trouble finding the " Yes! We Can! " changes. Don't get me wrong, a lot of it makes sense. Clinton came in on the heels of a long rough patch and made significant and, I believe, positive changes. We need that again.  I know Obama has said that he wants people who know what they are doing and he will take it all under advisement and then he will make the decisions. I was just hoping for more people from outside of politics. There are so many movers and shakers in the private or non-profit sector, let alone at the state level . I'm still hopefull but this has not been a boost to my confidence.

I am filled with emotion. Barack Obama is the president-elect . How I wish Papa was here to see this. He would've loved Obama. I am excited - Barack Obama is the president-elect of the United States of America . I never believed a black man, even one as eloquent, conscientious and smart as Barack Obama, would be on his way to the White House. I am excited b/c my child will be born into a world where a black man CAN be president. I am sad b/c my father, a black man who grew during the depression in the urbanized rural south , who spent most of his adult life in a segregated world, who knew an awful lot but only had a high school diploma, is not here to see this happen. I am nervous b/c there are nutjobs in the world who would do Obama harm. I am nervous that my choice for president won't live up to my expectations, hopes and dreams and will not only let me down but give those nutjobs ammunition to say and believe stupid shit. PS: Barack has some incredible speech writers .

How can you not respect a man with a career like he has had and a thought process as well formed and an eloquence as sophisticated and honest as Colin Powell.

Whenever big political things happen I always find myself reconsidering where I stand. Not so much where I stand but how I define myself. Listening to Barack Obama last night I found myself all over the map related to his points and I decided to label my political self. I am a liberal / conservative libertarian - socialist - democrat with anarchistic leanings. Now let me explain. My bottom line, philosophically & politically, is that we should treat each person with compassion and honesty. I think we, not only as humans but especially as Americans, should all have access to the same opportunities. I believe the government should be there to make sure everybody has that access and to fill in the gaps where individual communities can't or won't, as well as take care of large scale issues - large project infrastructure, national disasters, global relationships and if  necessary, military protection. I do believe that government should be representative...the...

John Edwards on YouTube Anybody who's considering not voting for Senator Obama because he's black or for Senator Clinton because she's a woman, I don't want their vote he said. Whole story

During Taylor's brutal rule, US watched, waited . Now, specialists can only wonder if the United States could have forced Taylor from power sooner. "There could have been a much more robust role before we got to 2003", said Elwood Dunn, a political science professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., who is writing a book about relations between the United States and his native Liberia. Dr. Dunn was always nice to me. He is a gentle giant kind of guy and a genius from what I understand. I never took any classes from him but he was always supportive of me. Technorati Tags: politics , liberia , sewanee

I haven't made up my mind who I will "endorse" for President but I do like John Edwards . It's based on intangibles nothing more. I actually haven't looked at any candidate that seriously yet. Here is a link to an article discussing "mainstream" media's take on Edwards. There seems to be a big hubbub about him accepting a fee and the event also charged attendees, usually no problem, right? Well, this was a speech on poverty which is causing everybody to cry foul. Yes, it's ironic but come on, from what I can figure this is how he makes a living. If he is working to do good, live honorably and equitably, which I believe he probably is, then more power to him for being able to make that kind of money. This is just bullshit. You have people making lots more and doing lots less with that money.

Just saw a young woman wearing a t-shirt that said: Barack & Roll

A little bit of info is a dangerous thing. Today I overheard a conversation about history and geopolitics that was wrought with partial info...just crazy misinformation and the party with this misinfo was passing a lot of opinion of as info. Although I try very hard to have accurate info, I wonder if I come off like that sometimes.

This woman (Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori ) is strengthening my support of the Episcopal Church enough, I might just wanna participate again. Diplomacy, built on a foundation of mutual respect and interest among people of good will, not more troops, can bring an end to this tragic conflict. The full text is here . The above statement is nowhere close to true. I've always thought the Episcopal Church had more sense than most. There are all sorts of other reasons why I don't go to church anymore. Technorati Tags: episcopal church , katherine jefferts schori , iraq , politics powered by performancing firefox

Had we been physically in charge at that point we would have done things differently. U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told a news conference in Baghdad . So, let me get this straight. We go to Iraq to force help them set up a democracy , we get all excited b/c they have had 3 elections and now that elected gov't has done something, something lots of people wanted done, and we say things like this. That is just balls! We go in and fuck up the place, and yes, Saddam needed to be removed from power, and now we are bitching b/c of the way they do things, right or wrong, who are we to judge them. I said it when we liberated invaded that you can't force democracy, it HAS to come from the ground up. Besides, Iraq has a long history and there has always been jurisprudence within that history. That foundation is there and won't go away. If we had only elected someone else President in 2000! Oh wait, I think we did. Technorati Tags: politics , iraq ...

I feel I need to let you know that this quote is from Andrew Sullivan . I figure you might get confused because I have so many chats with former presidential candidates. I had a chat recently with a senior Republican and former presidential candidate. We were discussing how deeply divided the Republicans are. I asked him: what could unite them again at this point? He answered in one word: Hillary. She's the last hope for the far right. Please, Senator Clinton . Don't do it. Yesterday I heard on someone on NPR talking about Senator Doctor Bill Frist 's decision to be a doctor again and they mentioned how wide open the Republican field has become now that several of the presumed frontrunners (Frist, Santorum , the guy in VA) are out of the race. My thought was then, what do the Democrats have to do to fuck this up. We'll never again have an Independent, let alone Green Party , as a serious candidate so I have to align myself with Democrats, which is depressing in and o...

I'm starting with the end of this article because I think it's the most interesting theory. It's going to be fun watching what happens with the 2008 presidential election. I don't think it's Al's time. I just don't know if people are ready for President Gore. I think he should continue to do what he's doing for another 4 years, if not 8. Barring most situations I will vote for him based on his environmental policies alone but I just don't think most Americans give a shit about global warming...it's too theoretical, especially in the christian fundamentalist realm, which seems to be a predominant ideology right now. Oscars are in Jan or Feb so we'll see. An Inconvenient Truth will probably be nominated for an Oscar . It's the third highest grossing documentary in history and the most successful documentary of 2006. It will probably win. If you see a chubby, happy Al Gore standing next to the producer and director, celebrating the win at...

Thanks Time for this quote: If I know anything, I know scary, and giving this president and this out-of-control Congress two more years to screw up our future is downright terrifying. Stephen King In an emailed election pitch for MoveOn.org

Actually he quotes Ghandi . I won't put it here b/c of the beautiful simplicity of Andrew's formatting.

Here Sullivan references Bill Clinton to explain how GW and his crew have totalled our already wrecked political system (my words, not his). Sullivan says: in this election, the Democrats are the only way to stop the abuse of power now dominant in the GOP leadership