In a (little-bitty) Nutshell

I read this last week in the Economist, and had to share. It’s an apt summary, with a typical Economist dash of humor. I wonder though, if the last sentence (which coaxed one of those irrepressible laughing noises out of me) was intended to be funny.

Relentless partisanship led to the politicisation of almost everything Mr Bush did. He used his first televised address to justify putting strict limits on federal funding for stem-cell research, and used the first veto of his presidency to prevent the expansion of that funding. He appointed two “strict constructionist” judges to the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, turned his back on the Kyoto protocol, dismissed several international treaties, particularly the anti-ballistic-missile treaty, loosened regulations on firearms and campaigned against gay marriage. His energy policy was written by Mr Cheney with the help of a handful of cronies from the energy industry. His lacklustre attorney-general Alberto Gonzales, who was forced to resign in disgrace, was only the most visible of an army of over-promoted, ideologically vetted homunculi.

The whole article, which I highly recommend, is here.

Posted on January 27, 2009 at 2:58 pm by Neal · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Inauguration

Thank you

I received this the other day…

Neal –

Thank you for being part of the most open inauguration in our nation’s history.

As we begin the work of remaking America, we must draw on the common hopes that brought us together this week.

I’m counting on you to keep the spirit of unity and service alive.

You can visit http://www.pic2009.org/whitehouse to learn about our plans to bring change to America, and how you can get involved in the work ahead.

We face many challenges. But we face them as one nation.

And we have seen, time and time again, that there are no limits to what we can accomplish when we stand together.

Our journey is just beginning.

Thank you for all you do,

President Barack Obama

Posted on January 27, 2009 at 2:10 am by Neal · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Inauguration

Closing of the Blue Gate video

I had been on the Capitol lawn for a couple of hours already by the time this happened, but this is the Gate I went through. It was just as crowded and crazy.

Posted on January 26, 2009 at 3:54 pm by Neal · Permalink · One Comment
In: Inauguration · Tagged with: video

Image Gallery

I’ve uploaded most of my pics… there are a few more to come, and I may post others that people send to me. You can find them on the pics tab at the top of all pages.

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