Political Miscellany

[alexiscartwheel]

The new rule is I must cut all my entries.

The State of the Union

Oh, President Bush. Seven years later and I still disagree with you on... well, practically everything. The State of the Union address is on about twelve different channels tonight, and I thought I should stay informed and up to date by watching and at least giving it a marginal portion of my attention.

Don't you love it when the camera pans to some audience member who looks like they're bored out of their mind? Of course, Dick Cheney looks like he's sleeping with his eyes open, but he does manage to participate in the chair aerobics. Up, down, up, down, applause, big applause, grimace of disapproval.

Bush wants to give out grade school Pell Grants. Because removing children from public schools will make the public schools better.

BBC News says that the President was interrupted for applause sixty-nine times during the speech. That's a whole lot of applause.

The Ohio Primary

The local news outlets are speculating that the Ohio primary might actually matter. So far, neither the Republican nor Democratic race has a clear front runner. Because of the close races, there's a potential that two leaders may not emerge on Super Tuesday, as all the experts originally predicted. And that could put Ohio back in the game. Ohio, along with Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont, will hold primary elections on March 4.

Camelot

Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama has been big in the news today. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, also endorsed Senator Obama. She had an Op-Ed piece in yesterday's New York Times in which she wrote, "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans." How's that for a hugely symbolic endorsement? You can read the whole article here. (I love that the Times website is now completely free, including all the Op-Eds.)

Also, the Governor of Kansas just referenced Kennedy's Inaugural Address in her response to the State of the Union.

Laura Bush

Is a librarian. As First Lady, she has backed initiatives to promote literacy. I approve. (She's also slightly controversial in Libraryland for her support of the USAPATRIOT Act. Yes, there are controversial library issues. And I'll stop there before I end up rambling on teen suicide books, bombs, or hoodies.)

And last, but certainly not least...

David Bowie?

But can the candidates sing? :D

Comments

[stubefied-by-gd.livejournal.com]

That all depends on whether we've got ten million kids left or not, and how big they are, for immigration-balancing purposes.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

So under this new plan, immigration would be balanced by mass rather than by illegal immigrant/public school children head count?

[stubefied-by-gd.livejournal.com]

Actually, volume. One of the arguments against immigration is that we don't have enough space, so we need to get rid of the equivalent of the volume of ten million fully-grown adults.

And to complicate things further, offspring of illegal immigrants can really only be counted as three fifths of their true weight.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

This plan will also stimulate the economy by providing employment for all the people needed to calculate the volume measurements (undocumenteds need not apply).

[stubefied-by-gd.livejournal.com]

Exactly! There are also implications for preventative health care re: encouraging healthy eating.

Such comprehensive brilliance.