Nathan

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Obama: Don’t let other side scare you « - Blogs from CNN.com: "“He’s spending an awful lot of time talking about me. You notice that?” Obama asked a crowd of just over one thousand seated in a university gym. “I haven’t seen an ad yet where he talks about what he’s going to do. And the reason is because those folks know they don’t have any good answers, they know they’ve had their turn over the last eight years and made a mess of things.'

“They know that you’re not real happy with them and so the only way they figure they’re going to win this election is if they make you scared of me,” Obama continued, repeating an attack from earlier in the day. “What they’re saying is ‘Well, we know we’re not very good but you can’t risk electing Obama. You know, he’s new, he doesn’t look like the other presidents on the currency, he’s a got a funny name.’”

Ha. He is great.

Coming little one, I can't wait. You are all ready flesh and blood to me. You feel so close I could reach out and touch you. This light I have here now burns for you and your mother. Be healthy. I can't wait to meet you.

Outside Online - Dan Osman | Outside Online

Good article I probably linked to before but this digg piece reminded me of it. I understand Dano...

ESPN - At Open, Nicklaus wonders if money has softened young golfers - Golf: "Jack Nicklaus noticed some old faces atop the leaderboard during a brief visit to the British Open on Friday, making him wonder if younger players have too much money and not enough desire."

Mr. Bear,
Here is my take my friend: all pro athletes make WAY too much money without giving back enough. In point of fact they are actually compensated to not give back in any way. How? Let's take Tiger Woods or Phil or Jordan or some of my other athletic heroes: they don't want to offend anyone for fear they don't by the new sneakers, hat or golf club so they don't take a stand on anything. Perhaps Jordan, sadly as he my favorite athletic figure of all time, summed it up best when he said: 'Republicans buy sneakers too.'

But we are all to blame are we not? We don't ask much except for these guys to hit a ball or take a shot or whatever. Let me put this clearly: local teams and larger organizations should put more back in their communities. The Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Raiders players go to work every day with kids from their neighborhood wondering if their schools might get shot up tomorrow.

How do we allow all this to happen like this? And moreover don't we realize it all comes home to roost eventually? Maybe golf will be one of the last sports affected because of the general affluence, but it all comes back around and we need to address this core issue. How and why as a society are we throwing so much money, time and effort at people who play for a living?

Apocalypto (2006) - Memorable quotes: "And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, 'We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it.' The Man said, 'I want to have good sight.' The vulture replied, 'You shall have mine.' The Man said, 'I want to be strong.' The jaguar said, 'You shall be strong like me.' Then the Man said, 'I long to know the secrets of the earth.' The serpent replied, 'I will show them to you.' And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, 'Now the Man knows much, he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid.' The deer said, 'The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop.' But the owl replied, 'No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, 'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.''"

Gore Calls for U.S. to Use Renewable Energy by 2018 - NYTimes.com: "“Of course, there are those who will tell us that this can’t be done,” he conceded. “But even those who reap the profits of the carbon age have to recognize the inevitability of its demise. As one OPEC oil minister observed, ‘The Stone Age didn’t end because of a shortage of stones.’ ”"

Can't wait to see the speech as I was promised a video from 'We' yesterday. It actually dovetails nicely with something that I have been meaning to write about if nothing else than a reminder to myself and it is this:

It feels so long ago now, but it is still easy to remember the days in first or second grade and how easy it was to play and meet other young children. We just seemed to naturally come together and easily get along and then sometimes of course hit each other, cry and then be playing again the next minute.

What changes?

I don't know all the answers, I have a few like the rat race taking so much of our time later in life, but I will say it is somewhat sad to see. But let us put it frankly: it doesn't totally change does it? One could be estranged from Mom for 20 years but then you get that call that stops you in your tracks: 'Mom has what?'

...

And an hour later you are on a plane or you are in a hospital room or you are at her bedside. We don't lose that connection we had in first grade. We don't lose it with Mom and we don't lose it with each other. We may lose sight of it just a bit of course but it only takes one call or one flash to wake us up and bring us back.

So this brings me back to Al, my hero (the flawed kinds are the best). Al is working to bring us back to our connection to the earth. You saw the beginning of his movie didn't you and you felt what it is like to stand on the side of a river and breath the fresh air and hear the leaves rustle overhead? He is bringing us back step by step and god love him: he is bringing us back to our connection to the earth as a civilization. Please listen.

Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling - Yahoo! News: "The president, in his final months of office, has responded to record gas-prices with a series of proposals, including more oil exploration. None would have immediate impact on prices at the pump, according to White House officials, who say there is no quick fix. But starting action now would help, they say."

Mr. Feller if your email address was available I would ask: what other proposals has he made? I have heard of no other proposal from his crew since he started his disasterous reign. 'Drill more' seems to have been the short and the long of it. Am I missing something?

Updated: Mr. Feller did offer this: 'Bush says offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start. Bush also says offshore drilling would take pressure off prices over time. In addition, the president has proposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, lifting restrictions on oil shale leasing in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and easing the regulatory process to expand oil refining capacity.'

So kudos I suppose for going into this extra angle. I suppose I might have hoped for, in my ideal world, a little research into the cost benefit structure of different plans including, I don't know, raising the CAFE standards in the next year and even perhaps opening our doors to the large amount of European cars that get 45+ mpg.

EPA chief says Congress should pass greenhouse gases legislation | Greenspace | Los Angeles Times

Fucking a this is frustrating. The CLEAN AIR act shouldn't regulate AIR POLLUTION!? Dear lord.