Well, it seems that President Barack Obama has
finally returned to form. Last night he gave a forceful speech before Congress on a jobs bill, repeating over and over again his mantra, "Pass this bill!" He laid out an ambitious plan, perhaps not as big as many of us wished, but a very good start. Listening to his speech last night, I heard the man I voted for in 2008, the man I worked enthusiastically for to elect, the man I proudly cast my vote for, and the man who, when it was announced that he won the 2008 Presidential election, I wept with joy, astonishment and elation. I've been waiting for
that Barack Obama to emerge, and last night we caught a glimpse of that. He scolded Congress for doing nothing and laid out his position very clearly: "Pass this bill!" He said what he would and would not support, in no uncertain terms. Republicans, naturally, sat on their hands, stony faced, refusing to applaud. Of course, I do not expect this bill to pass the House of Representatives, which would be a crying shame, but my thinking is that if they refuse to do the President's bidding, if they refuse to help create jobs, if they continue their political circus of bitter partisan politics at the cost of American workers who are unemployed, underemployed and, like me, living on frozen incomes, then they will have to answer to their constituents who are badly hurting. They're just cutting their own throats, but hey, let them. If they can't do the hard work of the American people, then to hell with them. Our President has come out forcefully with something that will work to create jobs. And right now, we need jobs. Period. As the President said last night, the election is 14 months off and right now, we the American people don't have 14 months to wait. We need help NOW, and President Obama has come charging into town wearing his white hat offering help and hope. He's up against a pretty stiff opponent, the TEA Party circus who just want to destroy him out of some sort of weird contempt that may well be racially charged. I just hope that President Obama keeps up this new strong forceful tone for the foreseeable future. He's taking his case to the American people. He started today by talking in Richmond, VA and selling his message to the folks there. Watching it, I can tell that the message was well received by the attendees, and that's a good sign. Now let's see how the rest of the nation reacts. As he told his audience in Virginia today, it's not just up to
him to make things happen, it is up to US, the American people, to make our voices heard about what we want. And I hope that voice reaches Washington loud and clear: "We want jobs and we want them NOW." Thank you, Mr. President, for sounding a forceful note last night to members of Congress who need to see that you are not to be trifled with, that you mean business, and that you won't stop until this economy begins to turn itself around.
THAT is the Barack Obama I voted for, and it was refreshing to see that Obama back in the saddle again. If he maintains this strong stance and continues to lead from the front instead of waiting for Congress to do something and then signing on to it, I will happily vote for his re-election next year. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see what happens next.......
On a totally unrelated note, I am reading this most excellent novel, "Caleb's Crossing" by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Geraldine Brooks. It is an un-put-downable book, to be sure. It is about the meeting of two cultures in 17th century Martha's Vineyard, and apparently based on a true story of a Native American named Caleb who graduates from Harvard. Caleb is a Wampanoag Indian named Cheeshahteaumauck who meets an "English" girl named Bethia when they are both about 12 years old. They become fast friends despite their cultural differences and he nicknames her "Storm Eyes" and she calls him "Caleb". Bethia's father is a Calvinist preacher whose mission is to Christianize the "salvages", the natives, and he takes some of them under his wing to teach them. Bethia longs for knowledge but is forbidden from schooling by her sex but learns by overhearing her father's teaching of the natives as well as her dull witted brother Makepeace. Eventually smallpox wipes out Caleb's people and he decides to come to Bethia's father for instruction in the English ways and is an exceptionally bright student who eventually matriculates to Harvard. I am only half way through the book so far but like another novel of hers that I read, "March", which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction a few years ago, it is positively haunting. For me, it particularly resonates because I can trace my paternal ancestry back to some of the earliest English settlers to America in the 17th century. My many times great grandfather Christopher Foster settled in Lynn, MA sometime in either the 1620s or 1630s, coming from England on board the ship "Abigail". Another many times great grandfather Thomas Sayre also came over sometime in the 1630s or so, settling first in Lynn and then migrating down to Long Island where he and others founded Southampton. I find myself wondering how my own ancestors must have reacted to the Natives they no doubt encountered when they arrived on our shores. Knowing my ancestry takes place in some of the places near where the novel takes place, I find myself positively riveted by the storyline. Brooks' novels always have a somewhat religious overtone and I find myself wondering why, but they are powerful reads and I highly recommend her as a novelist. My next read of hers will be the book "The Year of Wonders", set during the great plague of the 17th century. I greatly look forward to this book and I do hope that some of her books are eventually made into movies, as her writing style is very visual and cinematic. I really enjoy Ms. Brooks writing and am eager to read her other works and see if they stand up to what I have read so far. At any rate, I can say in all honesty, read "Caleb's Crossing". You won't be disappointed - or bored, for that matter. One small word of warning, though: it is written in 17th century syntax, so be prepared for some unfamiliar vocabulary and dialogue. Once you get past that, the novel is beautifully written and a delight to read.
Well, it seems that President Barack Obama has finally returned to form. Last night he gave a forceful speech before Congress on a jobs bill, repeating over and over again his mantra, "Pass this bill!" He laid out an ambitious plan, perhaps not as big as many of us wished, but a very good start. Listening to his speech last night, I heard the man I voted for in 2008, the man I worked enthusiastically for to elect, the man I proudly cast my vote for, and the man who, when it was announced that he won the 2008 Presidential election, I wept with joy, astonishment and elation. I've been waiting for that Barack Obama to emerge, and last night we caught a glimpse of that. He scolded Congress for doing nothing and laid out his position very clearly: "Pass this bill!" He said what he would and would not support, in no uncertain terms. Republicans, naturally, sat on their hands, stony faced, refusing to applaud. Of course, I do not expect this bill to pass the House of Representatives, which would be a crying shame, but my thinking is that if they refuse to do the President's bidding, if they refuse to help create jobs, if they continue their political circus of bitter partisan politics at the cost of American workers who are unemployed, underemployed and, like me, living on frozen incomes, then they will have to answer to their constituents who are badly hurting. They're just cutting their own throats, but hey, let them. If they can't do the hard work of the American people, then to hell with them. Our President has come out forcefully with something that will work to create jobs. And right now, we need jobs. Period. As the President said last night, the election is 14 months off and right now, we the American people don't have 14 months to wait. We need help NOW, and President Obama has come charging into town wearing his white hat offering help and hope. He's up against a pretty stiff opponent, the TEA Party circus who just want to destroy him out of some sort of weird contempt that may well be racially charged. I just hope that President Obama keeps up this new strong forceful tone for the foreseeable future. He's taking his case to the American people. He started today by talking in Richmond, VA and selling his message to the folks there. Watching it, I can tell that the message was well received by the attendees, and that's a good sign. Now let's see how the rest of the nation reacts. As he told his audience in Virginia today, it's not just up to him to make things happen, it is up to US, the American people, to make our voices heard about what we want. And I hope that voice reaches Washington loud and clear: "We want jobs and we want them NOW." Thank you, Mr. President, for sounding a forceful note last night to members of Congress who need to see that you are not to be trifled with, that you mean business, and that you won't stop until this economy begins to turn itself around. THAT is the Barack Obama I voted for, and it was refreshing to see that Obama back in the saddle again. If he maintains this strong stance and continues to lead from the front instead of waiting for Congress to do something and then signing on to it, I will happily vote for his re-election next year. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see what happens next.......
On a totally unrelated note, I am reading this most excellent novel, "Caleb's Crossing" by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Geraldine Brooks. It is an un-put-downable book, to be sure. It is about the meeting of two cultures in 17th century Martha's Vineyard, and apparently based on a true story of a Native American named Caleb who graduates from Harvard. Caleb is a Wampanoag Indian named Cheeshahteaumauck who meets an "English" girl named Bethia when they are both about 12 years old. They become fast friends despite their cultural differences and he nicknames her "Storm Eyes" and she calls him "Caleb". Bethia's father is a Calvinist preacher whose mission is to Christianize the "salvages", the natives, and he takes some of them under his wing to teach them. Bethia longs for knowledge but is forbidden from schooling by her sex but learns by overhearing her father's teaching of the natives as well as her dull witted brother Makepeace. Eventually smallpox wipes out Caleb's people and he decides to come to Bethia's father for instruction in the English ways and is an exceptionally bright student who eventually matriculates to Harvard. I am only half way through the book so far but like another novel of hers that I read, "March", which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction a few years ago, it is positively haunting. For me, it particularly resonates because I can trace my paternal ancestry back to some of the earliest English settlers to America in the 17th century. My many times great grandfather Christopher Foster settled in Lynn, MA sometime in either the 1620s or 1630s, coming from England on board the ship "Abigail". Another many times great grandfather Thomas Sayre also came over sometime in the 1630s or so, settling first in Lynn and then migrating down to Long Island where he and others founded Southampton. I find myself wondering how my own ancestors must have reacted to the Natives they no doubt encountered when they arrived on our shores. Knowing my ancestry takes place in some of the places near where the novel takes place, I find myself positively riveted by the storyline. Brooks' novels always have a somewhat religious overtone and I find myself wondering why, but they are powerful reads and I highly recommend her as a novelist. My next read of hers will be the book "The Year of Wonders", set during the great plague of the 17th century. I greatly look forward to this book and I do hope that some of her books are eventually made into movies, as her writing style is very visual and cinematic. I really enjoy Ms. Brooks writing and am eager to read her other works and see if they stand up to what I have read so far. At any rate, I can say in all honesty, read "Caleb's Crossing". You won't be disappointed - or bored, for that matter. One small word of warning, though: it is written in 17th century syntax, so be prepared for some unfamiliar vocabulary and dialogue. Once you get past that, the novel is beautifully written and a delight to read.
1 comment:
Sally, I thought the President did a good job and, perhaps, has his mojo back. Painted the Repigs into a corner he did. We'll see how we can move forward from here.
Also, thanks for the heads-up on the book.
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