Today’s New York Times features a column by David Brooks wherein Brooks claims that Obama’s statements about the current violence in Lebanon, "has the whiff of what President Bush described yesterday as appeasement."  The statement which Brooks feels has that whiff is:

It’s time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment.

Leaving aside the question as to whether or not that would actually appease Hezbollah in some way (I would contend that Hezbollah is plenty enthusiastic about corrupt patronage systems and unfair distribution of goods and services, merely wishing that they be in charge of the corruption and unfair distribution), let’s focus for a moment on what is actually happening in Lebanon, and what Obama is saying should be done about it by the United States.

The following post contains mild spoilers for the film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".

There is a scene in the (very entertaining) film Forgetting Sarah Marshall where the protagonist, played by Jason Segel, is dismayed to learn that his ex-girlfriend, played by Kristen Bell with whom he is on the verge of reconciling with, did not merely leave him for another man but had been carrying on a secret affair with him for a year.  This obviously puts their reconciliation on hold.

This reminded me of something I  find to be an interesting question.  In all aspects of human affairs, the question of truth versus reconciliation often presents itself.  Nearly all people, all groups, and all nations are guilty of numerous transgressions both in history and in the present.  And many, if not most, of those transgressions are unknown; like Sarah Marshall, people, groups and nations will attempt to conceal the bad things they have done.

Tonight we do service, taking the day as a convocation to that which led us out of bondage.  We are meant to know and to understand that it is a service that we do, and not a celebration, although in the common meaning that is what we are told it is.  We know this because it is written:

Exodus 12:25

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

Today, the sad news has broken: there will not be democracy, or freedom from despotism in Zimbabwe.  

The call by Zimbabwe’s political opposition for people nationwide to stay away from work began to take effect on Tuesday, but it did not succeed in shutting down the capital, Harare.

Election officials, citing voting irregularities, have refused to release the outcome of the contest, between Zimbabwe’s autocratic president, Robert G. Mugabe, who has ruled for 28 years, and the MDC candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai.

This is a tough post for me, as I have tried very hard to not criticize the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton for President.  But considering the current economic crisis in America, particularly in the liquidity markets, I cannot stay silent.  Irrespective of the merits or lack thereof of Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy, I have to say that I feel that Sen. Clinton is the wrong choice for President of the United States.

You see, it’s the economy.

In Pennsylvania yesterday, Sen. Clinton said:

We need a president who is ready on Day 1 to be commander in chief of our economy.

Today, the United States will do something which it hasn’t done since the New Deal: it will nationalize a corporation.  Bear Stearns is the new Tennessee Electric Power Company.

After a weekend of intense negotiations, the Federal Reserve approved a $30 billion credit line to help JPMorgan Chase acquire Bear Stearns, one of the biggest firms on Wall Street, which had been teetering near collapse because of its deepening losses in the mortgage market.

In a highly unusual maneuver, Fed officials said they would secure the loan by effectively taking over the huge Bear Stearns portfolio and exercising control over all major decisions in order to minimize the central bank’s own risk.

A large construction crane at 51st Street and 2nd Avenue has collapsed.  Local authorities have reported at least two people are dead, and telephone callers to NY1 television are reporting that the bar "Fubar" at Second Avenue has been leveled.

In 1917, the legal prostitution district of New Orleans, the infamous "Storyville", was shut down over the strong objections of the city by the Federal government.  In response, New Orleans Mayor Martin Behrman said "You can make [prostitution] illegal, but you can’t make it unpopular."

The Governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer, recently demonstrated that ninety years of nearly universal prohibition of prostitution in this country has done nothing to make Behrman’s prophecy untrue.

To whom it may concern;

It is clear to all of us, regardless of political inclination, that the scandal surrounding New York Governor Elliot Spitzer is huge news.  It will be covered in excruciating, painfully explicit detail.

During last night's debate, Sen. Clinton once again tried to make an electoral issue out of Louis Farrakhan's endorsement of Barack Obama, and the honor given Farrakhan by Obama's church for his community activism in black communities.

First, let me say that the honor given Farrakhan is meaningless; it was for his activist works alone, which are deserving of recognition and get as little as they do because of all the many odious things Farrakhan says.  And of course, Barack Obama had nothing to do with the decision to give the honor.  So, in my opinion, not an actual issue.

But I want to talk instead about how Sen. Clinton blows her chances, rather than whether the opportunity is deserving.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

~ Boxing legend Joe Louis

Vunies High, 95, was found frozen to death two days ago in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, outside the Heatherwood retirement complex where she lived.  She had Alzheimer’s Disease.  Ms. High had been a teacher and a counselor in the Detroit Public Schools for twenty-five years prior to her retirement.

She was also the sister of Joe Louis.

First of all, a disclaimer: this is just something that occurred to me.  I do not endorse this idea, nor do I endorse Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President.

I believe there is a question that so far has not been asked.  Many news outlets have reported that the Clinton campaign is considering pushing to have the delegates from Florida and Michigan seated at the convention, and is also considering lobbying the superdelegates to swing the nomination to her regardless of her standing in pledged delegates relative to Sen. Obama.

OK, so first of all, I know this isn't the most important issue in the world.  But having just gotten to the end of one labor dispute, seeing this post today brought up issues which are several of my pet peeves.

To the honorable Senator Schumer,

Hello sir!  It is unlikely that you know who I am, although I have written to you before and even once had the pleasure of working with your daughter.  But I hope you will take a moment to hear what I have to say.

Like many other of your constituents, I wrote to you asking that you vote against the confirmation of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General of the United States.  You chose instead to support his confirmation, which led directly to his being appointed to the office.  You did so saying to us that he was not "my ideal choice," but that you were "confident that this nominee would enforce a law that bans waterboarding."

As Meteor Blades has so eloquently explained, those of us who are troubled by the direction the site has taken due to posts and posters which are spurious, dishonest, and of negligible value in support of the candidates for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, are required to take action against these voices if we wish for the content of the site to improve.

It is my belief that this is correct, but that we should take the further step of letting it be known if we are willing to take this duty upon ourselves, in order to encourage those of like mind.

A lot of you have strong, impassioned reasons why you feel that I and others should support Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama for the Democratic party’s nomination for President.  Some of you may have cases which are better than others, for each candidate.  I don’t wish to speak about that right now, but rather about why I feel that either of them are candidates which deserve support should they be nominated for the office.

Quite simply, no matter what policies either does or does not enact while in office, the good or bad that entails would be modest compared to the awesome power of having a woman or a black person President of the United States of America.

I know that with the Presidential primaries in full swing, with deeply contested races in both parties, that the news is dominated by this, as is our community here.  It is to be expected that other stories, and other issues, will be driven somewhat to the wayside.

But while we are attempting to choose the course that our government shall take in the future, we have a responsibility to look at the wrongs in our present and past, and attempt to address them.  Government struggles to do good when its evils are not confronted.  And the following is a story which I am willing to beg you to read.

January 17, 2007:

At the end of the event, a man yelled out to Obama that he will be a better president than George Bush. Obama responded, "So would you!"

Well, at least he understands that much.