Well, I think it might be premature, and it may be based on hope, but it's nice to at least have hope. But I also think it's more of an international rebuke and indictment of Bush than it is a reward for Obama. And, it's perhaps a reward or at least a carrott by the international community to we American voters that actually voted a decent human being into office with an I.Q. larger than his shoe size.

Maybe he can win it again next year if he brings back clove cigs for Dave? I mean Dave does have the launch codes after all.....

It's political theatre, IMO, and may just suffer the law of unintended consequences. For every 'hopeful' response I've read, there are three for whom it just increased the overall cynicism about the games being played internationally.

I think it a mistake to continue to worry about how America appears to the world when Americans should be more concerned about how they behave to one another. It doesn't take a hard blow to split a rock with a deep crack in it.

Unless he starts getting results, expect reversals in the midterms. Too many of the hopeful are the ones who voted for the kool-aid without taking stock of the server. I'm not anti-Obama or pro-Bush. I'm hardcore results-oriented. If he and his can't get it done, we need to find another set of Democrats who can. Al Franken is looking smarter. If an actor did well for the Republicans, an inexperienced commedian may be a better choice than an inexperienced community organizer.

One thing I find of interest is that I'm starting to see more negative Obama political cartoons - it's most likely following the usual arc for these things: the elected is the darling for a while then around mid term or so things begin to move south and the darling becomes the despised.

Like Len I am not anti-Obama; I'm more anti-politics meaning game playing instead of doing what's best for the country's citizens. I do believe we will start seeing his "numbers" slide by mid term unless something truly remarkable happens - like politicians not acting like politicians. Nah, it'll never happen. Rabbits are pulled out of hats on occasion though. I only wish our president the best. His failure will only be our own. Likewise with his success.

He is starting to concern me a bit though. Been reading some stuff lately from a forum that is impartial - they bash Reps and Dems - and some of the stuff kind of shows he doesn't have a clue about some things and how it reflects on the US. Trying those 9/11 guys as citizens instead of running them through a military tribunal as war criminals is just plain wrong. I would suspect that most of the evidence/statements that was/were obtain(ed) will be inadmissible since it/they were gotten/given under duress - ie: torture. I dunno, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Ponder this:

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

That's a long dark veil.

That's very enlightening Len, visuals can be so powerful. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a time-lapse video like this one is worth millions......of jobs, or rather, not-jobs

Curses, Foiled Again!

We used to grow cotton
Now we grow guns
Curses, foiled again!
Our means of destruction
Are measured in tons
Curses, foiled again!

Our dear leaders tell us
It’s all for the good
To sacrifice comfort
You know we all should
While they live in mansions
And we’re chopping wood!
Curses, foiled again!

The trumpets are blowing
The notice has come
Curses, foiled again.
Our patriot duty
Is not nearly done!
Curses, foiled again!

Our sons and our daughters
Are marched off to war
And no one will tell us
Just what the hell for
The knave’s in the kitchen
The wolf’s at the door
Curses, foiled again!

The parties predict
That they’ll overturn sin
Curses, foiled again
The ill wind of money
Blows out and blows in
Curses foiled, again!

Their plans are all hogwash
Their ads sell us pain
We try to forget them
But they’re back and then
We vote for the winner
But we just can’t win
Curses foiled again.

My huffin' and puffin'
Won't make it all right
Curses, foiled again!
They're stealin' by day
And they're stealin' by night
Curses, foiled again.

If I had the power
To summon down fire
I’d burn their big houses
And smoke their desire
I’d layoff our bosses
And quickly retire
Curses foiled again.

The seeds cannot know
What the harvest will be
Curses, foiled again!
Good and bad apples
Fall from the same tree
Curses, foiled again!

The point of my story
Is strange but it's so
Good apples roll to a side
Like they know
The bad ones will fall where
they lay as they go
"CURSES! Foiled again!"

http://home.hiwaay.net/~cbullard/mp3/Cu ... dAgain.mp3

len bullard – nov 23 2009

Love it, Len!

Recording it now, Shelley. A "i don't want to think about this too much" song.

The video will have to be.... inspired.

Catchy lyrics Len

Me too, Ron. Particularly the Obama administration's recent decision to continue the Bush administration's policy concerning the banning of (or, rather not banning of) landmines and cluster bombs. And coming so soon after the Nobel Peace Prize. Disappointing! Politics makes strange bedfellows, indeed!
http://us.oneworld.net/article/360190-g ... ster-bombs

Thanks for the link Len. I am happy to be a part of changing my state to a more orange and red image. Interesting how Michigan's rate was high even in the UP. Then along the lower Mississippi and into the Ohio River valley appear quite affected. In fact, in general, east of the Mississippi and the West Coast seem the hardest hit compared to the areas just west of the river.

Indeed, nice lyrics Len.

A friend of mine put out a 45 back when Ronnie and Nancy were buying new dishes for the House. The tune was entitled "Unemployment Blues". I'll have to dig that out again and give it a listen. Perilous times eh?!

I meant to record that over the holidays and instead got distracted by doing a video for homeless children. I will get back to it but it doesn't seem like a Christmas season lyric.

Note that the manufacturing parts of the economy went down early in the graph and don't seem to be in any way recovering. Then everything follows that into the hopper as the banking collapses get rolling. The midwest agricultural belt appears to be least affected but that is possibly because farmers don't go on social security. Not having sources for the numbers, I'm guessing, but otherwise, it's a bleak graph. When I hear all those rosy estimates from the talking heads I can't help but think things are turning around for usurers. Monday all day long...

Meanwhile, this is the holiday video I did work on... pretty but sad as SWMBO tells me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foR9-mDoMo8

I'll have to dig up the source, but in one of my social work classes I was extremely disturbed to find out that 40% of homeless men are military veterans.

I read where he'll be interrupting network programming. I always hated presidents doing that. Thank God for satellite dish. I can avoid presidents disrupting network programming which I don't care for these days cuz the shows aren't as good as they were in the 50's-80's. Figured ya'll would be interested in knowing he'll be on tv...