Thursday, February 26, 2009

...And I'm Back!

There's internet working, so I figured I'd take advantage and update the blog during non-working hours.

I will admit it - I have a crush on Obama. He is getting more and more liberal, at least in my head - and his ideas outlined in his budget are top rate from that perspective. He's taking on healthcare reform, education reform, and ending our dependence on foreign sources of energy. He is the best. But here is why I think so - I had an epiphany today.

It's contrast. For eight years, we had Bush. We had defense spending, largely in the form of an unjust war, a widening of the gap between rich and poor via tax cuts that put nothing in the pockets of most, lots in the pockets of the few and the wealthy, and no progress on anything. We saw our rights disappearing before our very eyes. We had an increase of security at the airports. I saw guns - and not just any guns, machine guns- at JFK Airport. We had fear. Now, we have something different.

People are excited. Maybe it's too much excitement and some time in the near future we'll go back to ignoring the politics as it turns usual, but it feels like someone's turning the page and putting that chapter behind us. Appropriately enough, the person who is doing that is a reader - Barack Obama. He's so different. He's more pragmatic than I think I'll end up liking, but so far, his priorities are in line, and I LOVE the way he speaks. He is awesome- and he is oh so much better than what we are used to hearing.

Fareed Zakaria: "In Washington, when you want to increase government spending, it is called "investment," not "expenditure." Wasteful spending is spending - good spending is investment in the future." Touche.

One other thing on my mind is this: this lawsuit against the creator of the Obama "Hope" poster. He changed it into art instead of an AP photograph - so it's his now. I don't get how that couldn't possibly fall under fair use. He changed the colors, even changed the angle of the head - and transformed its purpose. If every street artist has to pay $5,000 to use that photograph (and believe me, I'm sure that is what it would be worth just to purchase the original copyright- because I know how much it costs to use the NY Times logo), that would put the kibosh on street art. We can't afford that. I'm worried the Supreme Court isn't on our side, the side of poor but creative. We'll see.

Alright, I'm done for tonight. Peace out.