I've gotten to do this twice!

It's been thrill both times.

Slow Jam!!

The slow jams have been going on for a while, but this is the first one with Obama...

Blues Night at the White House

Happy Birthday, Betty!

Highlights from her birthday party

Happy Birthday, Barry

Obama Turns 50 Despite Republican Opposition:

WASHINGTON—After months of heated negotiations and failed attempts to achieve any kind of consensus, President Obama turned 50 years old Thursday, drawing strong criticism from Republicans in Congress. "With the host of problems this country is currently facing, the fact that our president is devoting time to the human process of aging is an affront to Americans everywhere," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who advocated a provision to keep Obama 49 at least through the fall of 2013. "To move forward unilaterally and simply begin the next year of his life without bipartisan support—is that any way to lead a country?" According to White House officials, Obama attempted to work with Republicans right up until the Aug. 4 deadline, but was ultimately left with no choice except to turn a year older.

Dear Obama,

They may be loving you overseas, but here at home, we're still waiting for all that hope and change (there's more!).

This could be the issue that determines whether or not I campaign in 2012...

I'm not sure what the president is thinking, but thankfully, others are on the case (for good reason).

Oh, nos!!!

This is not good. ;-)

This, on the other hand, would be amusing -- even satisfying, in a schadenfreude kind of way (it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of intolerant hypocrites!) -- if I didn't think they were just trotting out yet another prevarication parade in an effort to separate gullible people from their money.

Link To My Lou!

Back, by popular demand...

• You have to watch this video to the bitter end to catch the real money quote (after a bunch of clips of Fox"News," talking heads discussing quid pro quo with regard to the two journalists who were just released from Korea, thanks to Bill Clinton's efforts, there appears a photo of Oliver North):

You mean kinda like a quid pro quo like an American government would sell arms to an outlaw regime to secure the release of hostages, and then take that money to fund a bloody Central American war, and then have this guy lie to Congress about it? Because if that's the kind of stuff you're worried about, you should really ask that guy about it, 'cause he's got a show on your fucking network!

• Web of Deception has the dirt on so many people you know and love (to hate?). Who knew that Lou "I'm not a racist!" Dobbs pays so little tax on so much property in New Jersey!

• Speaking of Lou... On the Birthers: the stupidity of this "controversy" might be merely amusing, if it weren't for the way the Republican party still coddles scary racists. But then again, maybe Barack Obama is the anti-christ and maybe he does want to kill Sarah Palin's baby.

• Why am I keeping my fingers crossed (while eating well and exercising every day)? Because I have United Health Care insurance, so if I get sick (or pregnant, god forbid!), I might just be screwed. But then again, I'm one of the lucky Americans, because I have coverage.

• The Republican response? Obstruction. Violence. Fakery (to put it nicely). Stupidity. Incoherence. But no real plan for fixing health care. But then again, the blue dog democrats aren't exactly moving things along either (and where's Obama?).

• And, while we're at it, why do these people freak out when they hear the truth? Stupid is as stupid does.

• On the lighter side, check out this interloper squirrel.

Stuff you may have missed...

This edition goes back a ways, as it's been a while since I've done one of these link roundups...

• A progressive's response to Democratic campaign donation requests

• Times Free Press: Climate change and fat Tennesseans

• Speaking of fat, follow the link at would you like 1,000 calories with that? and there's this:

How sloppy is that triple Whopper with cheese? It has 1,250 calories, or 62.5% of the recommended 2,000-calories-per-day diet. The Fried Macaroni and Cheese from the Cheesecake Factory? Try 1,570 calories — according to health experts, you're better off eating a stick of butter.

Sorry. I hope you weren't enjoying some fast food crap while you were reading this. But you know, there are healthy alternatives. Maybe if menu labeling laws pass, you might find out about them...

• Sherffius: Don't Hope?

• Blind man sees with tooth eye!

• When's the last time Mary Landrieu had to take up a collection to pay her medical bills?

• Plane crash survivor's story

WHCAD

The White House correspondents' broke bread together with the President and First Lady on Saturday night. Obama spoke, and was brilliant, but I think he may have actually been upstaged by Wanda Sykes, who took no prisoners! See what you think:

At Last, a Dog!

Oh, happy day! The Obama girls finally have their puppy!

Bo, though he was raised elsewhere, already has a keen sense of who's in charge inside the Beltway. When the president walked across the room during the visit, Bo followed obediently.

Counting small blessings

One of the things I've enjoyed so much about this new administration is catching the stray clips of our President on the TV. I don't even have to know the context to appreciate these moments -- I catch them on the evening news or in passing while in waiting rooms. He's articulate. He can think and talk at the same time. He can speak extemporaneously. He can discuss complicated subjects with reporters and doesn't need to try and distract them with silly nicknames. He has a command of the details. Intellect is no longer a dirty word.

I was reminded of the contrast between the Obama Oval Office and the previous one when I read this little tidbit, about Bush and the fact that he's planning to write (heh!) a book:

“I’m going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there’s an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened,” Bush said.

Reading things like that give me so much pleasure, but only in that they remind me what a tremendous relief it is to no longer have to listen to that man's tortured attempts at communication every day. We're only fifty-something days into Obama's White House tenure -- too soon to evaluate this administration's performance -- but we do know that we are no longer dealing with a petulant, bottom-of-his-class, back-of-the-room-wise-cracker with a frat-boy sense of humor and a ham-fisted approach to diplomacy. And that is a terrific relief and an early triumph for us all.

This is my rant

I am so tired of the American health care system. We spend an incredible fortune on it and get really bad medical care in return. All three members of my family have been sucked into the system for some annoying, but non-life-threatening, reason in the past year, and all three of us are being driven crazy by wishy-washy, drug-pushing doctors, or their underpaid, overworked, and therefore, incompetent office staffs.

We make appointments, we rearrange our lives to accommodate these commitments... and then the rescheduling begins. Yeah, sorry -- your insurance doesn't cover visits to that office -- we're going to have to reschedule you for our other office. Yeah, sorry -- we just found out the doctor's not going to be in that day -- we're going to have to reschedule your appointment again. You don't mind, do you?

We go to the appointments, which now cost $25 for 10 minutes with a specialist, and don't have time to tell the doctor any more than you'd share with a stranger sitting next to you on the bus before you hear her telling you that she's sending you to yet another specialist and then she runs out of the room. Wha? Wait! Are you not interested in any details?

You throw out your back -- oh, this one was a real kicker -- and call the doctor immediately -- and still have to wait 15 days before getting any medical attention. Why? Because, even though you explain to the appointment clerk that you've thrown your back out and can't get up off the floor without being in excruciating pain, she says the doctor doesn't have any openings until next week. And you can't get in to see anyone else without first going through this doctor. This is what they call "primary care." HA! Then once you do finally see this "primary care" physician, she says, "Oh, yes! You've hurt your back! You need to see a physical therapist!" But please don't let the fact that I look like a question mark give you any sense of urgency in pushing that referral through, doc! I can wait a few more days -- three or four, even! And then, when the referral is finally in hand, I'll only have to wait a few more days for the scheduled appointment. Sheesh.

And I'm grateful that no one in my family has any serious medical problems. I can't imagine how people struggle through this system when something has gone horribly wrong. I think I'd have to look into hopping a bus to Canada, or taking a boat to Cuba. Anything to get out of here.

Now, to be clear, I don't think these physicians are uncaring. I just think they have to keep up with so many patients in one day that they can't afford to spend any time thinking about any one person. And they can't afford to properly train their over-worked, probably underpaid, office staffers. All this because the insurance companies are running the show -- not the doctors -- and it's those suits who set the pace, the premiums and the prices.

And that, my friends, is a stupid way to run a health care system. And you know what? I hear conservatives shrieking over and over again that we shouldn't make any changes to this system -- or that the changes Obama wants to make are wrong (not that they have any ideas of their own for fixing this mess!). At this point, I would love to see our nation's health care system go socialized -- anything to get it out of the hands of the insurance companies and their profit margins! Single payer, universal -- let's do the whole deal. Because I'm tired of spending a fortune on crappy medical care and nobody's come up with a better idea. And it works pretty well in lots of other countries -- at least that's what the people living there say.

Plus, I don't think Zach Freakin' Wamp should be the only one getting the good stuff.

:::sigh::: OK. Thanks for reading. I'm done now. :::deep breath:::

Inauguration tidbits

Cheney When I first saw Dick Cheney rolling around in a wheelchair (Blofeld, Strangelove, or Potter?) on Tuesday, I was awfully surprised. Why was he unable to walk? The talking heads explained that he'd hurt his back lifting a box (oh, really?). But that didn't make any sense to me for two reasons. First, because I've been there, done that (lifting --> injured back) and the last thing you want to do with that sort of injury is sit down! Ouch! Standing and lying flat were the only options I had with my back injury. And secondly, why was he lifting boxes? Off the top of my head, I can think of at least a few million people who would have been very happy -- ecstatic, even -- to help Dick move his stuff out of his office to wherever he wanted to go. Seriously. We could have had a team of volunteers there within moments. Though in his defense, perhaps he was moving his own boxes because he was afraid that he might somehow get lured into a box and instead of arriving safe at home after a journey, he might find that he's been dropped at The Hague.

Photos You know I love the pretty pictures. Here's a collection of beautiful, huge images from the big day. A cool high-res pan and zoom image from the inauguration (go ahead -- zoom in on Obama!). A collection of newspaper front pages about the inauguration. And some great shots of Obama's team.

The Hat One of the best things about the inauguration? You gotta give props to Aretha's hat! Flickr feeds and buzzfeeds are keeping up with the aftermath!

The First Granny Mo Rocca (understandably) has a crush on Marian Robinson.

The Poster And, if you want a souvenir of the day, here's a good one (click on the link that follows the image to go to the source):

389 Years Ago

Wow! That was quick!

Welcome to a 21st Century White House!

And 2009 sarcasm.

Change has come!

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

The complete text is here (with the cool NYTimes treatment!).

Other tidbits: First, this has been a fine way to spend my grandmother's birthday (woman #4 in photo #2 in this post) She was a groundbreaking woman. Also, check out this wonderful contrast! And here's Emmie's take on the day's events. Here is a good collection of the day's links, including this cool photo of the crowd.

Noon today!

Via R. Neal, if you're stuck at work, not in the country, or don't have a TV, here are the sites where you can watch the swearing in online:

• C-SPAN
• MSNBC
• CNN
• CBS News
• ABC News

UPDATE: also ustream.tv

Holiday

John Sherffius

I got back from a weekend in the woods (and -- gasp! -- away from the internet!) early this afternoon. I've been unpacking and trying to get caught up in all the various forms of communication since then and all the while, in the background, I've been enjoying the coverage from DC. This really is an extraordinary moment in history and I'm often left breathless as I take it all in. Barack Obama represents so many levels of change -- not just a huge step toward becoming a post-racial country and a dramatic generational shift, but also, if Obama lives up to his promise, a whole post-partisan, post-petty paradigm that could really, truly make Washington a different place. We have a lot of badness to get through, there's no getting around that, but after so many years of divisiveness and cynicism (how can people who don't believe in government do a good job at running a government?), we can, hopefully, at least feel good about the process again.

I am thrilled at the thought that we have elected our first African-American president. That is a huge thing -- a breathtaking accomplishment, which takes us a long way toward becoming a true melting pot as a nation. But Barack Obama was not elected because he is a black man -- and that is the real transcendent matter here. A hundred years ago, many Americans would never have even considered the possibility that a black person might be superior to all other candidates for a job. But last November, millions of Americans of all shades chose the best person, not the black person, to fill the highest office in our land. It may be a fine distinction, but an important one nonetheless. We've finally reached that point described to us by Martin Luther King, Jr. -- we live in a nation where we have shown that people can be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin.

The really cool thing, though, is that this moment in time is about far more than inaugurating our first African-American president. It is about change and hope; thoughtful sacrifice and healing; innovation and progress. Barack Obama is many things -- one of which is the son of a Kenyan man -- but his accomplishments and failures as he governs will be about what he brings to the job, and not about what his parents brought to his conception. He has the potential to join that small number of exceptionally great presidents, bringing much-needed long-term change to the world. This is a point in time that might well end up being one of those major shifts in history that is only really visible from a distance. And we will have been here to see it.

Friday Creature

This week's Friday Creature post comes courtesy of Nonnie and obamiconme. We're all pretty excited about the inauguration around here (and happy to hear that my cousin and his son will be there!). Tuesday will be a very good day.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Stay where it's warm and be safe! More creatures await on the Modulator's Ark!