Damn, it feels good to say that!
I watched the inauguration this morning at work. I got teary-eyed several times. Today is a very good day.
But know this, Mr. President: I’m expecting bold, dramatic moves that will help us. Don’t be cowed by opposition (or by fellow Democrats who are timid). Let’s get to work!
My appearance on The Walt Bodine Show yesterday went well. I had a good time, at least. I didn’t get to say everything I wanted to say, but I did get to make some good points. Listening to it is a bit painful for me, though. I say, “Oh, absolutely!” WAY too many times. Still, people keep telling me I did a good job, and who am I too argue? The archived show is posted, so give it a listen if you haven’t already.
After the show, I listened to a good portion of Up to Date while driving back to work. I highly recommended listening to the archived show. It’s an interview with Sister Berta Sailer, co-founder and director of Operation Breakthrough, and she gives an inspiring account of her fight against poverty. It made me sad and horrified to hear about the poverty in Kansas City, but Sister Berta and the people who called in made my heart sing. These people are superheroes. Seriously, give it a listen.
The Huffington Post reports that when Barack Obama becomes President, he’ll do weekly fireside chats–but he’ll be posting them to YouTube.
The very idea of having a 21st century, wired, Web 2.0 President thrills the socks off of me. I’m already getting updates to the President-elect’s transition team’s blog in my aggregator. YouTube fireside chats just add to the awesomesauce.
Tonight, I watched as Barack Hussein Obama was elected President of the United States of America. I’m so happy right now, I have tears in my eyes. I’m thinking of the Enlightenment, the American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement. Progress continues. Hope endures.
I’m going to chime in a bit late here to the heated conversation about Orson Scott Card getting this year’s Margaret A. Edwards Award to say this:
1. From what I’ve read of Orson Scott Card’s publicly-stated views, I find his beliefs and opinions reprehensible.
2. I first read Ender’s Game for a class in library school. I thought it sucked.
Other than that, I’m not sure I have any strong feelings about him getting an award from the ALA.
New federal legislation says universities must agree to provide not just deterrents but also “alternatives” to peer-to-peer piracy, such as paying monthly subscription fees to the music industry for their students, on penalty of losing all financial aid for their students…
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) applauded the proposal, which is embedded in a 747-page spending and financial aid bill. “We very much support the language in the bill, which requires universities to provide evidence that they have a plan for implementing a technology to address illegal file sharing,” said Angela Martinez, a spokeswoman for the MPAA.
According to the bill, if universities did not agree to test “technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity,” all of their students–even ones who don’t own a computer–would lose federal financial aid.
Because nothing, not even the education of the next generations, is as important as the entertainment industry’s profits.
If you live in the districts of Rep. George Miller (D) of California or Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D) of Texas, please call and remind them it is not the responsibility of schools to protect the entertainment industry’s interests and denying a college education to lower-income students to make the entertainment industry happy is reprehensible.
Here we go again! Senator Ted Stevens, who has already shown such an exquisite understanding of how the internet works, has introduced a bill that looks exactly like DOPA, with some extra anti-porn legislation written into it for good measure.
Any minute now, Helen Lovejoy will come running in, screaming, “Will someone please think of the children?”
Another great condemnation of DOPA: “The Moral Panic over Social-Networking Sites.”
On CBSNews.com, Larry Magid writes about why DOPA is so incredibly wrongheaded.
Are y’all in DC paying attention and taking notes?
Aleah makes an excellent point about DOPA that I haven’t seen anyone else make yet:
One more reason to hate DOPA.
