Showing posts with label Christina Taylor Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christina Taylor Green. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Quick Hits For January 26, 2011 (State of The Union And Snowbound Edition)
OK boys and girls....I've been slacking off (NOT) for the past few days, and it's time to get caught up with some of the stories people are talking about, the one's that are keeping me up at night, and total fluff that maybe one or two of you have even heard of....plus a couple of personal opinions.
(1). To all parents who want to get your lazy teenage kids to remove snow from your driveway, here's a sure fire method; just buy them a car.
(2). The President's State of the Union speech last night was without a doubt a move to the center- about 90% was a message that even the Republicans couldn't rail against. How do you sit there with arms folded when Barack Obama calls for improvements to education, or new forms of energy, or a presidential veto of earmarks? His mention of a need for high speed rail and a cutting of oil subsidies met with a chilly reception for the Republicans, and a mixed review for another look at the Dream Act, as well as blank looks at the mention of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".
But for much of the speech, there was little that the Republicans could pounce on and yell "extremism", though that hasn't stopped the lunatic fringe in the media, the blogesphere, and even in Congress from doing so.
(3). As I type this on January 26, 205 Americans have been shot on this day alone. On a night when Gabrielle Giffords chair was left empty, and the family of little Christina Taylor Green were sitting in the gallery with Mrs. Obama, shouldn't the President have mentioned the need to restrict the sale of extension magazines for handguns? Even Dick Cheney has mentioned that maybe its time to re-examine the easy access to high capacity ammo clips. How much is enough?
(4). Representaitive Michele Bachmann.....oh brother! I confess, I didn't watch her personal rebuttal to the SOTU that followed Paul Ryan's official Republican rebuttal. But I can't take her seriously....not when she actually told a group that the Founding Fathers did away with slavery....and she can't say she was misquoted because, as they say in football, there is "indisputable video evidence" to the contrary.
Ms. Bachmann......go into your wallet. Take out a five dollar bill. Do you see the man with the beard? Excellent! Write down his name and GOOGLE it.
And write a 500 word essay due on Friday....then you can go back to Congress, or run for president.
Anyone for tea?
(5). I was supposed to be at the Rutgers-UCONN women's basketball game at The RAC in Piscataway at this very hour.....but the weather is not co-operating. We had four inches of snow so far today, then there's been a brief pause, and a second storm that will dump around ten additional inches is just starting. The game will not be postponed because UCONN is already in town, and so are the officials.
So anybody who's reading this can have my seat in section 104 tonight.....if you can get there. My guess- they'll be around 6,000 no shows tonight for a game that usually sells out at the 8,000 seat RAC.
(6). Jets go down in Pittsburgh. I guess the countdown to baseball season has officially begun.
(7). Speaking of COUNTDOWN......that Olbermann guy has turned into The Twitter King.
(8). You're not going to believe this.....but there's lightning and thunder outside in a winter storm in January! Nah, there's no climate change!
I just checked outside, and it's freezing rain....and it's driving.
(9). I swore I'd never watch Big Love after the disaster of a season last time around. But I'm back watching.....and I'm still wondering why.
(10). Finally....I'm getting concerned that we could lose power. So I'm outta here.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The President's Speech and The Loss of A Precious Young Life
Just in case you were in a cave last night and didn't hear President Obama's speech at the memorial service in Tucson last night, here it is below in it's entirety.
The one victim of this senseless tragedy who has continue to haunt me, and millions throughout the world was nine year old Christina Taylor Green. Below are some of President Obama's remarks regarding the little girl who's short life was bookmarked on each end by tragedies, her birth being on September 11, 2001, and her passing last Saturday. (From a transcript found at cnn.com).
That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine, imagine here for a moment, a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just beginning to glimpse that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism, vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.
This was already mentioned, Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. 'I hope you help those in need,' read one. 'I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.'
If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here, on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.
May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.
The rest of the night I couldn't get this old song from The Moody Blues out of my head, "The Eyes of a Child", composed by John Lodge, and released on TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN (1969). I found this very appropriate video on YouTube.
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