Jane Smiley on McCain

Jane Smiley writes about John McCain as the republican nominee for president. [I think he will become the nominee for republicans.] I've thought that he's the "least" of all the bad republicans running, but Jane Smiley has a good point about McCain's delusions of American grandeur that would just prolong the pain we've endured for so long.
--- T

"Any Republican president would be a disaster, but McCain would be the biggest disaster of all, because, both by who he is and what he professes, he encourages the US, as Reagan did, to engage in sentimental, nostalgic wishful thinking about the effects of American "goodness" and "power". The nation, which is at last waking up to the disasters of the last twenty-eight years--the disasters of the "free market" and "making the world safe for democracy" as a cover for ruthless exploitation of all natural resources no matter where they are and who owns them--would succumb the fantasy again, at least long enough for those disasters to be compounded and rendered absolutely unfixable. McCain is a walking delusion--that we really are brave, that we meant well, that mistakes were made but the policies themselves were sound. McCain reassures us that we weren't so bad after all, when we were. We can't come to terms with why the US is in the pickle it is in without consigning McCain to the dustheap."

Read the whole article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-smiley/the-bogeyman_b_83480.html

Obama's Momentum

Obama won South Carolina convincingly. He won the black vote, but also many white votes and lots of young people. I think Hillary has gotten too much "help" from Bill Clinton and soured people's good mood along the way. It's unfortunate. Bill ought to stay above the fray and remain "presidential"; thus uniting the democrats, not tearing them apart. Ultimately that would help Hillary more.

What bothers me about the primaries so far, is that I sense an undercurrent of misogyny in it. Not from Obama, but from many of the people who write and talk about the race. Hillary continues to be portrayed as somehow evil and her motives are continually questioned. She is too ambitious? What about Obama? Aren't all the candidates very ambitious? But that's expected of... men.
--- T

Uusi 1929?

Kolme ja puoli vuotta sitten valtiotieteen professorini ennusti, etta paraikaa eletaan uutta 20-lukua: rikkaat rikastuvat ja innostuvat ahneuksissaan yltiopaisiin, jopa laittomiin rahankeruutemppuihin. Meno jatkuu niin kauan kunnes tulee uusi, koko maailmaa koskeva lama (alkaen Yhdysvalloista), jonka syovereista sitten ryomitaan pitkaan.

Nyt alkaa nakya jo kaikille tuon yltiopaisyyden seurauksia. Pankit menettavat jattimaisia summia rahaa typerien riskilainojen takia, asuntokaupat tyrehtyvat, tyottomyys uhkaa, osakekurssit romahtavat...

Viela yritetaan pumpata ilmaa Amerikan markkinoille, mutta rakenteet ovat niin vaaristyneet, etta pienet laastarit eivat tehoa pitkan paalle. Yhdysvallat alkaa olla niin velkaantunut, dollarin kurssi niin huono ja ulkomaan kauppa niin alijaamainen, etta pieni ruiske kuluttajien kukkaroon ei paljon hetkauta.
Turvavyot kiinni!
--- T

mlk

"I want to say one other challenge that we face is simply that we must find an alternative to war and bloodshed. Anyone who feels, and there are still a lot of people who feel that way, that war can solve the social problems facing mankind is sleeping through a great revolution. President Kennedy said on one occasion, "Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." The world must hear this. I pray to God that America will hear this before it is too late, because today we’re fighting a war."
--- Martin Luther King

Final Countdown!

I have a countdown clock on my refrigerator door that says "365 days" today. This is the final year of George W. Bush as president of the USA! A collective sigh of relief can be heard around the world...

Hillary in Nevada

Hillary takes Nevada. Do you wonder how? Just look at this picture...

Finland's prime minister in Seattle

Matti Vanhanen, Finnish prime minister, visited Seattle yesterday. He toured Microsoft, Boeing and the University of Washington. Finns seem to be on the cutting edge of technology these days - every time I go back to visit Finland they are onto something new and more advanced!

I think that one reason why it's working so well in Finland is that the people in general trust their government to do the right thing. They are not constantly thinking that the government is trying to screw them over, or that the super-rich are trying to get away with something. Although they do have their disagreements and fights between different interest groups, they all seem to agree that they are in the same boat together.

FYI: Matti Vanhanen went to the same high school as me, and graduated with my older sister!
--- T


Business & Technology | Finland's prime minister touts focus on innovation, during visit | Seattle Times Newspaper