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.

St. Paul--more of the same at the RNC

The Huffington Post has a piece on third world police tactics in St. Paul--busting down doors, arresting people for no reason and generally violating constitutional protections that the Bushies follow only when politically expedient. Here's the thing: why should we be surprised?

These guys have been violating the law and the Constitution since the 2000 election. They have established all types of illegal procedures that are supposed to keep America safe, and then whipped up our fears to make us look away from their illegalities. They manufacture the crisis, create fear, and then propose the illegal solution that we don't scrutinize too much because we are scared. And those few who do are labeled as unpatriotic and worse.

We've been here before. Anyone heard of Joe McCarthy, the senator from Wisconsin? Old Joe was very successful at creating a crisis--Commies under the bed--and then coming up with a solution--put 'em away using manufactured evidence and secret tribunals. Although folks were getting tired of him, as they are of Bush, Cheney and the gang, it took a government lawyer, Joe Welch, to put an end to his tactics and restore sanity, however briefly.

When will someone ask, as Welch did, "Have you no decency...?" And even if someone did ask, would we listen? Let's see if the Dems can make us pay attention and put aside our fear.

Good luck, St. Paul

Update on Goose Poop--RNC, Listen Up!

Received a comment on this August 8 post with hints on deterring geese. Apparently someone else read these suggestions, as the geese disappeared within days. Now if we could only try the same techniques on the RNC...

Police state in Minnesota

RNC is coming to town. Even if I didn't listen to the radio, read the paper or surf the web, I would know that something's up. Last evening while we were trying to enjoy our patio, the flowers and the waning summer, there were dozens of helicopters overhead, scoping out downtown St. Paul and all roads leading to it. There probably weren't dozens, but plenty. And some were black.

Apparently, the St. Paul PD has really cleaned up. The RNC has given them $50 million to buy new equipment, gas masks, bomb-sniffing dogs, and storm trooper boots. Probably a couple of helicopters, too, which it can use later on to track down those who dare litter the spiffed-up streets of St. Paul. Wouldn't it be nice if we could devote just a fraction of this time, effort and money to solving homelessness or improving the rapidly fading St. Paul public schools? Think what $50 million could do in either case.

There are protests scheduled, and OLGS and Joe College plan to attend, although Joe C. insists he will stay on the periphery, as he has an aversion to tear gas. I'm sure the SPPD is using their $50 million to refresh their cannisters.

Goose poop

Across the road from my place of employment is a field with a small pond. About four weeks ago, I noticed a small gaggle of geese--six adults and four extremly cute little goslings. This has morphed into a flock of 50 adults. The babies have either grown up or gone to greener pastures or larger bodies of water. The geese strut in the road, cruise the parking lot, and leave goose manure everywhere. They were cute; now they're a nuisance, although watching 20 or so honking avians coming in for a landing in the tiny pond is amazing. They circle lower and lower, finally gliding in at water level.

Watch where you step.

Open Windows in the Twin Cities

Empire Builder at rest at the St. Paul Amtrak Station

I live in a urban pocket, where you can smell the paper mill, Summit Brewery and the french fry factory when the wind is right. This is a reminder of the reality of modern living: food, drink and toilet paper do not just magically appear on your grocer's shelves. They are manufactured somewhere, and for some of these commodities, that somewhere is St. Paul, MN. It's a smelly reminder of the great 19th century city we once were.

I technically live in Minneapolis, but on the far eastern edge. This morning, in the sticky cool of summer, in addition to smelling the odors of commerce, I heard the Empire Builder pull in, on time for once, bearing its cargo of passengers and mail from Seattle. It's a long train, and it honks and rings and toots as it pulls in, seemingly for about two miles. It gives those of us who live within hearing distance another opportunity for nostalgia.

Why can't I believe?

The price of high test gas to fill up our fancy German car has declined to 3.89 a gallon. I should be thrilled, and grateful to George and Co. for his tenacity in driving down oil prices. I'm being silly, but don't you think that come October, the party of God will be taking credit for this, should it last?

And, to be even more cynical, don't you think it's possible that this whole thing has been manipulated and that in October gas prices will be even lower so that we will have exactly the response I just described? Because we have such a short collective memory, we won't remember why they were so high in the first place and will make poor ol' John McCain a winner on the strength of it.

Nah, you think. That couldn't happen. But wait, cast your mind back eight years to get a whiff of the amazing ability of the Bushies and their kind to manipulate not just an election, but the zeitgeist.

Final Exam

by OLGS, guest blogger—

I completed my two weeks of Magyarul language camp and the Summer Program invited me to take the final exam for the intensive course. The test was a mixture of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short essays. I used the full two hours allotted, even as my younger classmates decamped after half an hour or forty-five minutes. Maybe it was easy for them, but not for me. The main thing in Hungarian is to make sure verb, noun, adjective, and adverbs have the correct matching suffixes. That means every word in a sentence has to be checked against every other word for harmony.


The results are now posted: I scored a 76 out of 100 possible points. At the Yale of President Bush’s day, that would have been a “Gentleman’s ‘C’,” but here at the U of Debrecen, the grading curve is such that I earned ‘“honours” for my exam, as you can see on my “Tanúsítávany” above.