January 2008

First, notice the hand in the longer video. That's me testing the rice.

There was snow today which is just ending as I write this. Only about 6 or 7 inches, I think, but enough to make things messy. Plowable snow levels they call it here. But it is beautiful to look out at the park and see the snow.

Spent the fall of 2007 working on two local City Council Races: Carlos Henriquez (who didn't win) and Sam Yoon (who was reelected). I still haven't made up my minds about the Presidential race. It looks to me as if Clinton and Obama are the choices left and it bothers me that they have commenced sniping at each other about the role of civil rights activist versus politicians (Martin Luther King v. Lyndon Johnson). If they had read my dissertation they would know that without activists to push the politicians nothing would have happened - and without a receptive elected official or officials, nothing would have happened.

Take the big vote last year here in Massachusetts which has essentially killed any Constitutional amendment to void gay marriages. First, the activists kept the question alive, pushing the legislators. Second, for the first time since the question of gay marriage has been before the legislature, we had a Governor, Deval Patrick, who opposed the amendment and used his political capital to defeat the amendment. Before that we had to resort to legislative maneuvering because Mitt Romney was Governor and he believed that marriage was between a man and a woman. On the other hand, maybe Clinton's remark had less to do with civil rights and more raise the question whether Obama is all talk and no action.

Which ever it is Hillary and Barak should just cut it out and move on to important issues. I think I'll vote on February 5th for Bill Richardson who is still on the ballot and wait to work for whoever is nominated in the fall.

I'm (still) reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals about Lincoln and his political skills as I was last May. I had to put the book down for a while - too heavy to take on vacation for one thing, but I've picked it up again. I can't help but look at how he avoided having a rubber-stamp cabinet by appointing all the other men who ran against him for the nomination to a post. The result was all the factions of the brand new Republican Party were represented. He was very strong in his own beliefs and in the path he choose to control the infighting. Very interesting book. And a big contrast to the Cheney/Bush regime.

Work is still the same. I'm looking to retire in 2-3 years, depending on the market. I'm looking forward to the leisure to plan my own schedule and to work on some projects I just haven't had the time for. Maybe I'll join the retired gentleman who is sometimes the only live person at City Council meetings - held here in the afternoon if you can imagine!

Looking forward to Spring Training, the Carolina Tar Heels getting far in the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Patriots winning the Super Bowl.