At the beginning of Obama's first term, I resolved to write the headlines in haiku, every day. Well, I wasn't completely faithful. Sometimes the same events were reported on every day - how many ways are there to write about AIG bonuses and BP oil spills - sometimes I was simply too busy for other stuff, and I was also in a bad accident which stopped nearly all activity for a few months.
Still, some of them were written on subjects that matter.
Please, jump with me below the fold and read a few offerings. Then, if you feel so inclined, add your own haiku celebrating the first term of the 44th president of the USA.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bush gives last address
Thirteen self-serving minutes
Even Cheney sleeps
President George W. Bush makes his last presidential address to the nation. He says nothing we have not heard before and keeps trying to defend his poor record. His speech is also overshadowed by the dramatic footage of the miracle on the Hudson, and even the Vice President appears to doze off.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration of President Obama
Inauguration.
Crowds. Talk. Tears, smiles and joy. Hope.
Dreams fulfilled at last.
The inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States is a watershed event for many. I admit that I, as a white, had basically ignored Obama’s race during the campaign (except for the race-baiting which infuriated and sometimes terrified me) and had focused instead on his agenda and his achievements and getting rid of Bush policies. It was only after the election that the impact – and I can’t even write "the full impact" because I am white – of what this meant for so much of the population struck me.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Commerce Wannabe
No longer wants to be. Bye,
Bipartisanship
Obama’s second pick for the position of the Secretary of Commerce, Judd Gregg, withdraws his nomination. Gregg was an unusual selection because he is a Republican. He states that he can’t serve in a Cabinet where he would have so many differences with his boss. One wonders – for he reportedly campaigned for the position – why it took him so long to reach this decision. Looking back, I think we can state that the Republicans were getting their ducks in a row, preparing to say NO to everything.
Monday, February 23, 2009
John questions Barack:
Why do choppers cost so much?
Were ordered by George.
John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate who lost to Barack Obama in November, 2008, challenges Barack Obama regarding the fleet of new helicopters ordered for flying around the president. He has a point because these are very expensive ($11 billion for 28 choppers). Obama says that the procurement is under review. Of course, these helicopters were ordered by the Bush administration, and one wonders where the much-vaunted sense of fiscal responsibility was when they were.
After four years of stupid statements by John McCain, we really dodged a bullet by not electing him.
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There are so many possible subjects. The ending of don't ask, don't tell. Romney's lies. The death of bin Laden. The appointment of two women to the Supreme Court. The endorsement of marriage equality. The end of the war in Iraq. The debt ceiling fiasco.
Please, create your own!
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Tired of politics? Need to escape? Try my Greek mythology based novels, either the story of Oedipus from the point of view of Jocasta, or a trilogy about Niobe, whose children were murdered by the gods - or were they?