The president we need, not the president we deserve

Rather than the junk novels that I usually read, I've taken up President Obama's youthful autobiography, Dreams from my Father. It is a remarkable book, full of nuance and analysis. But what gives me hope is that there is none of the black vs. white, us vs. them, evil vs. good garbage that infested us for the past eight years. It's well-written, and he wrote it all by himself, something that our previous guy would have been incapable of doing.

Preaching to the choir? Probably, but some things bear repeating. Read the book.

A new day

It happened. Former Occupant has fled back to Texas and President Obama is now in charge. Doesn't that have a lovely ring? Especially since he's using his bully pulpit to change some stuff that cried out for change. And, not surprisingly, he's being smart. He knows that he doesn't have a long honeymoon period, so he's using it now.

While all the preparations for his inauguration were underway, OLGS, Joe College and Joe High School and I journeyed to Los Angeles. It was -22 when we left Minneapolis and 80 when we arrived in LA. That was the good bit. Then it took us two hours to reach our hotel in Pasadena. The traffic and the smog were unbelievelable. I do not know how people live like this. But clearly they do, perhaps mesmerized by the beautiful weather.

In addition to visiting Joe College Grad at his house in East LA (the only non-Spanish speaking person within 10 miles, I suspect), we did a number of touristy things. Visits to the Getty Museum and the Huntington Library reinforced my belief that the desire to construct a monument with your name on it is one of the benefits of unrestricted capitalism. These are amazing collections and amazing places.

And then we returned on the red-eye, in time for the swearing-in of President Obamna. As such ceremonies go, it wasn't that grand an occasion. That's good, as what's important is the work of rebuilding.

The Joes at the Getty Museum, January 2009

Happy New Year

It can only get better. I'm looking at working until I'm 80 because my 401Ks have bit the dust (who thought that was a good idea, anyway?) Tuition at the University of Minnesota is pushing $11,000 a year -- something that a single mom making $40,000 a year can not afford. Everytime I cross the Mississippi, I hold my breath, waiting for the bridge to collapse because we just couldn't afford the one million dollars required to shore it up.

The public sector has taken some awful hits in the past eight years. The notion of public good seems to have disappeared. The notion that the government is responsible for domestic tranquility, whatever that means, seems to have disappeared. The concept that we are all in this together seems to have disappeared.

Maybe Barak can reconstitute our commitment to each other. Maybe he can direct funds toward bridge projects. Maybe he can ensure that all children have a true opportunityto learn. But he can't do it by himself, and the wolves are out there ready to pounce on January 21. Let's hope that we support his efforts with the same fervor that we had before the election. Otherwise 2009 will be even more depressing than 2008.

New Car

Joe College bought a car. Or rather, he acquired a car -- it's a long story. He and OLGS drove a car to Chicago for a friend who had purchased it on EBay. The friend, an excellent mechanic who had kept his 1992 Toyota Corolla running, insisted that Joe College would be doing a favor by taking the old car off his hands. His wife and kids, he said, cringed when they had to ride in it. And one can see why.

It is now parked in front of the house, but, as OLGS pointed out, on the other side of the street so that it isn't associated with us. It has lots of rust and a wonderful jerry-rigged taillight that is an invitation to any aggressive police officer. The Volvos and new Hondas also parked in our neighborhood are looking down their hoods, or noses.

Joe College is in hog heaven over his first car, at least the first that he actually owns himself. Tomorrow he goes to the DMV to make it his officially. And it gets 32 MPG highway and burns only a little oil (less in the winter, according to our friend). And the price was right -- free, with a beautiful rug from Afghanistan thrown in to pacify yours truly.

I'm happy for Joe. I remember my first car -- a 1960's slantback Volvo that I bought with help from my dad. It was blue (just like Joe's new car), and when I see one on the street (which still occasionally happens), I feel a twinge. There's nothing like first love.

Christmas letter 2008

The year is turning and each goes by faster than the last. That's the benefit and the hazard of growing older -- you don't get bored, but you can feel time slipping away. Joe High School is applying to college -- it seems like only yesterday he was in his stroller, shaking his rattle at candidate Bill Clinton's wife Hillary.

As for the other Joes, Joe College is plugging away at the University of Minnesota and living at home. He has taken up home brewing, and our basement is now Newcastle West. Joe College Grad is still living in LA, working in business and figuring out what comes next.

Like so many Americans, I have once again changed jobs. In July I abandoned the lawyers for a similar web writing position at a private career college. Who knew that such places existed? It's been an eye-opener, and a rather uplifting one.

OLGS continues to teach, commute to Wisconsin and get in some European travel. This past summer he went to eastern Europe and along the way took a crash course in Hungarian, an ancestral language. He's going back this summer.

My parents are elderly, but still living independently and fighting the good fight. My dad now has not only seen the Red Sox win the World Series in his lifetime, but also had the profound pleasure of voting out the Current Occupant. It was an amazing election, one that gave me hope for us as a country. Of course, it was also a testament to the power of money in US politics. One can't have everything....

Christmas letters should be short and sweet, so domtran wishes you a 2009 filled with challenging experiences, interesting people and good books.

Snow again

Here we go again -- just when you think global warming has eliminated Minnesota winters, the snow and sub zero cold arrives (not always together). And any thoughts about staying here after we retire evaporate.

But it is a great conversation starter -- almost as good as former Gov. Jesse Ventura, or the current senatorial recount or our 6th Dictrict congresswoman, Michele Bachmann.

Pilgrims vs Puritans

Okay, you turkey addicts. The big American face stuffing event is over. Now it's time to learn something, to wit:

There was a difference between the Puritans and the Pilgrims. Here are just a few examples:

Puritans (as we know them today) had nothing to do with the original Thanksgiving. They weren't even here yet...

Pilgrims and Puritans are not interchangeable...

Pilgrims were more egalitarian in belief and organization...

Puritans were Anglicans who wanted to change the established church. There were lots of them in England, including Oliver Cromwell, who overthrew a king and established his own Commonwealth that lasted for 20 years and whose enduring legacy was the trashing of statuary in English churches...

Pilgrims were not going to wait for the English church to reform itself to their way of thinking. Their adventure to North America was a permanent enterprise based on the belief that the English church was beyond redemption...

Pilgrims established Plymouth colony...

Puritans established the much larger Massachusetts Bay colony...

The two colonies did not merge until the 1680s, sixty years after the Pilgrims arrived and forty years after the Great Migration, when the greatest influx of Puritans into New England occured...

Puritans were more likely to be among the propertied or mercantile class in England, although there are numerous exceptions to this...

And here's the rub--both groups were Puritans, radical Protestants who believed the English church to be corrupt and its message in need of serious reform. The two groups disagreed about how to achieve their vision of a Godly commonwealth...

Does any of this matter today? That's for another post. Suffice it to say that eventually the Puritans became Separatists, and later, Congregationalists. So even though the initial band of Pilgrims was much smaller, their influence over time was much greater. And this is just what the Puritan leader, John Winthrop, feared. A very forward thinking man...

But back in the day, at the time of the first turkey feast, the two groups were very different, and one of them had not yet made the perilous journey to North America.

Nuff said.

PS--Yours truly is descended from both groups. So they did mix...

Hillary story, part deux

A quick trip to Washington to attend the confirmation hearing of the sister of OLGS to be an appellate judge in the District of Columbia. Because Congress oversees the district, judicial appointments are made through the same nomination/confirmation process that applies to federal judicial appointments.

It was a remarkable event in many ways. However, there was unusual rock star quality because of the presence of Senator Hillary Clinton, who introduced sis to the committee (a sub-committee of the Homeland Security Committee--still in the hands of Sen. Lieberman, who was not present). Senator Clinton, who may be our next Secretary of State, demonstrated why she almost became president. Even for something as ordinary and probably routine as introducing a friend to her Senate colleagues, Senator Clinton was prepared, charming and articulate. Barak would be well-advised to make use of the talents of this remarkable woman as he tries to do something about our national mess.

And, despite the efforts of a Republican senator who initially objected to sis as too partisan (read too Democratic, even though she was nominated by Current Occupant), it looks like she will be confirmed. More later.

And the other thing about the trip? I discovered the joys of Midwest Express and their leg room and chocolate chip cookies. Now that NWA is no longer a hometown airline, I'm switching. They fly everywhere I want to go.

Yes we can, yes we did

It seems so churlish to even mention the disapointments in yesterday's election. But when we have come so far it's hard to accept that we still must keep walking.

Here's the thing: in the true blue state of Minnesota, Michelle Bachmann won convincingly, despite amazing gaffes and big dollars pumped into her opponent's campaign. There is something in the water in the MN 6th congressional district. This is the woman who suggested that we need to investigate members of Congress to make sure they don't hold anti-American views. Although Joe McCarthy is six feet under, he has a worthy heir in Michelle.

Here's the second thing: Senator Slimy (aka Norm Coleman) has a lead over Democratic rival Al Franken of less than 500 votes. An automatic recount will take place. But Norm, ever the guy with an eye for the main chance, proclaimed himself the victor this morning and suggested that Mr. Franken was being unhelpful by not declining the recount (it's automatic unless the underdog declines). Norm's vote totals got smaller and smaller during the day, making his proclamation rather hollow and suggesting the very real possibility that Al Franken was indeed the winner.

But these things pale against the memory of Jesse Jackson weeping in Grant Park. The sight of the old civil rights fighter wiping away tears should remind us that the victory of Barak Obama was not only the election of a president who may put us on the right track again. It is a symbol of so much more.

Hold your breath

A long dry spell for domestic tranquility. But it's about to come to an end. Baring a disaster which will make most of our alleged problems incredibly small, Barak Obama will become president. Or rather, he will be elected president. There's still a lot that could happen, and we have a history of taking matters into our own hands with catastrophic results. But let's not think about that now. As Scarlet O'Hara said, I'll think about that tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to enjoy.

It's like 1972, but better. And for those of you who don't remember, that's the year that George McGovern lost mightily to Richard Nixon, who then resigned some months later rather than face certain impeachment. I had the great privilege of casting my vote for McGovern in Massachusetts, which was the only state to actually go for him. Hence the motto:

Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts.

Sarah Palin's Accent

Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live

In case you haven't noticed, the GOP Vice-presidential candidate sounds as if she stepped right off the screen, or at least one particular movie screen. Anyone else notice that she sounds like a character in the movie Fargo? I couldn't understand it. She's not from around here, thank God, so why does she sounds like she's from Wilmar or Moorhead or Sauk Center?

There has been lots of speculation about why she sounds the way she does. It's been called an Idaho accent, an Alaska accent, an eastern accent (wow) and almost everything else. And linguists and folks specializing in American dialects weighed in on the topic. But the most sensible explanation appeared in the Star Tribune a few days ago.

Here's what appeared in the Strib (apparently borrowed from Slate magazine), front page but below the fold: a number of Minnesotans were relocated to Sarah's neck of the woods during the depression. The governor-to-be grew up amidst the children and grandchildren of these displaced Minnesotans, who were sent to Alaska because they were used to harsh climates. Apparently in the isolation of their new home, they clung to the long o, the strong s and the tendency to say things that are easily parodied by the likes of Tina Fey, such as ''you betcha" and "ya know" and "darn right".

Sarah now has a much-needed excuse for her uber-folksiness. She can't help herself. But at this point I suspect that Tina Fey would be just as good a vice-president, at least based on her mastery of this distinctive accent.

Presidential debates: history doesn't always matter

CBS News Photo

We are a modern family. OLGS and I have offices across the hall from each other. Today, we each sit at our PCs, reading the polls, the post-mortem debate analysis and scanning the election district maps for any additional signs of solidification. We call out comments to each other. The conventional wisdom apears to be that Barack won simply by not losing, going up against a congressional veteran successfully. I agree--and given the setup, that's about as good as he could expect.

Clearly, he was much more relaxed than McCain, for all the Arizona senator's vaunted experience. He could pronounce difficult names of leaders in far-off countries. He was very good at framing the economy as a national security issue--McCain finds it difficult to resist the temptation to frame national security as an ideological matter, rather than a practical one with real consequences for real people. And then there's the Eisenhower reference. Poor ol' John made this lovely speech about Eisenhower, a president I barely remember, and I was actually alive. And to make matters worse, the speech was not in reference to the general's years in the White House, but to his leadership in WWII--and the number of people who remember the famous invasion is dwindling very rapidly. The people who resonate to that reference are probably already supporting Senator McCain. And those--the vast majority--who didn't, are just going to see Mac as old, out of touch and someone who, as BO says, just doesn't get it.

And then, he referenced Henry Kissinger and Ronald Reagan--I'm not going to do the stats, but I suspect that there is a significant number of voters who weren't alive during the Reagan years, and if they were not going to vote for BO before, they might now, feeling the need to throw their lot in with someone who has a similar frame of reference. I feel sorry for John. He's trying, but I think his time has passed. As a historian, I'm quite comfortable in saying that historical references are useful only in certain times and places. Last night was not one of those. And OLGS, based on his grunts and cackles from across the hall, agrees with me.

Economic depression, 21st century style

My resolution--not to get down in the mud with the Republicans--has gone south, so to speak. McCain and the Bushies have used the probably manufactured financial crisis to sandbag the Democrats. This may be a tad conspiratorial, but boy, did these guys get religion fast. Quicker than you can say "I believe", the guys who brought you unfettered capitalism for the last eight years have had an epiphany--the times cry out for government intervention, according to the president and his minions.

This is pretty remarkable. First of all, the notion that there will be absolutely no mortages or car loans--the stick used by the president this evening--is absurd. There will be fewer car loans and mortgages, because people will be hurting and folks who can't pay their mortgages anyway probably won't be borrowing more . However, banks do need to make money, and the way they make money is by lending it--in times like these to folks and businesses with gold-plated credit ratings. And the people with the impossible mortgages won't be doing their part to keep this consumer-based economy afloat.

What is interesting is that the sense of the country seems to be--so what? We probably wouldn't have gotten a loan anyway. So while the Dems may have been thown a curve, the notion that we are giving Bush and his friends a blank check doesn't seem to sit well with even the so-called conservative base.

And here's the delicious thing: I heard Newt Gingrich on the radio the other day. He was saying, "Wait a minute" in that professorial way of his. And, he made sense. I never thought I'd see that day. And the other cheery thing--we haven't heard from the Gov. of Alaska for a few hours. Every cloud does have a silver lining.

Joe College and the SAT

Can't keep my own resolutions to talk exclusively about Sarah Palin, but there's nothing much to say. And pollsters agree with me--the bounce that Mac received by selecting her as the Veep candidate seems to have evaporated. So let's talk about college admissions instead.

Joe High School figured out that his GPA matters. Surprise, surprise. He also acknowledged that even though he is smart, there might be kids out there just as smart and that taking a look at the SAT prep book could help. So MIT and Cal Tech are probably out of reach for him, but I don't think he's terribly disappointed. What does seem improbable and kind of discouraging is that all the lesser (slightly) schools report that 95% of their students are in the top 5% of their classes and have combined SATs of over 2200. That's scary, and, I trust, not true. Otherwise, they would have no students. We'll see.

Lies by Sarah Palin

Domestic Tranquility is going to stop talking about young adult men and middle age. By comparison to the threat we face, these are piddling concerns. And I love my boys, and I embrace middle age. So, folks, let's instead talk about Sarah Palin.

We're not going to analyze why Mac picked her for the Veep position. We're not going to hash over why he passed over numerous other Republican women who would not shame us or him. Instead, we're going to focus on the facts as I see 'em:

-Fact: Gov. Palin is a woman.
That does not mean that fans of Hilary Clinton should vote for McCain because of Palin's presence on the GOP ticket as the VP candidate. Their shared chromosomes are the only similarity.

-Fact: Gov. Palin has been nominated for vice president.
People should not vote for McCain just because of Sarah Palin. Her chances of becomming president, despite Mac's age and health, are pretty slim. McCain is running for and wants to be president. Sarah Palin is a cute sleight of hand trick to distract you from McCain's failings as a candidate.

-Fact: Gov. Palin says she opposes earmark spending and during her acceptance speech proclaimed that she was an advocate of ending abuses of earmarks.
People who hope to end earmark spending should not vote for McCain because of Gov. Palin's assertions--as late as this year she requested $197 in earmarks from the earmark king, Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens.

-Fact: Gov. Palin says that Barack Obama never authored a major piece of legislation. "Not even in the state senate" quoth the gov.
Don't vote for McCain just because the governor says that the Democrat has not authored any legislation. She's asking us to ignore the Lugar-Obama bill on non-proliferation, or the ethics reform package or the Illinois campaign finance bill, lobbying reform bill and federal campaign finance reform bills.

Although it's tempting to make fun of the governor of Alaska, this is serious stuff. The GOP is trying out their version of the big lie. We know that it works (remember Germany during the 1930s). Don't be fooled into believing something just because it's repeated early and often.