November 15, 2008 – 11:54 pm
Gen. Ann Dunwoody
On November 15, America’s military gave a woman four stars for the first time. The Army promoted Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, 55, to four-star rank. Breaking the brass ceiling, she will take over as commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.
“I recognize that with this selection, some will view me as a trailblazer, but it’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today,” Dunwoody noted.
Yes, we should remember those women who opened the doors. … Continue Reading »
November 3, 2008 – 2:20 pm
For the last two days I’ve been knocking on doors. Once a Rocky Mountain red, Colorado’s purple, on the eve of election, has tinted blue.
In surprisingly warm November air, I walked Lakewood, a suburb city northwest of downtown Denver. My streets were sidewalkless and potholed, the mailboxes nameplated with Lopez, Guzman, Escalante.
“Who you with?” a beard dragging a cigarette challenged as he opened his car door.
“Obama Campaign…getting out the vote,” I replied.
“Yeah, I guessed. McCain…he don’t come here. … Continue Reading »
October 30, 2008 – 2:17 pm
Occasionally I read an essay so intelligent, so artfully crafted, that I pause at the end, marvel, and immediately read it again…aloud.
The following essay by Mark Danner was published in The New York Review of Books (issue date November 6, 2008) as part of a symposium on the upcoming election entitled “What’s at Stake.” On his own website, Danner entitled it “2008: The Weight of the Past.”
* * * * *
Panning across the faces of the country’s leaders gathered in the Cabinet Room to confront the “financial crisis” in late September, the camera’s eye moves from the President—looking tired, shrunken, desiccated—to his Treasury secretary and other powerful advisers, and then slowly makes its way down and around the long Cabinet table, trailing over the familiar waxen features of the barons of the Senate and the House, lingering for a moment on the self-consciously resolute face of … Continue Reading »
October 24, 2008 – 7:56 am
A bit of kvelling!
In a blog posted today, my daughter supported (maybe, kinda, sorta…) Sarah Palin. Read it. Comment.
In part, Emily wrote:
[Sarah Palin] spent $150,000 on clothes and other grooming in the last few months. I have to cut the woman slack … Continue Reading »
October 15, 2008 – 11:22 pm
There is no conscience.
From tonight’s debate (transcript here):
McCAIN: Senator Obama has asked for nearly $1 billion in pork-barrel earmark projects, including $3 million for an overhead projector in a planetarium in his hometown.
Surely someone in his coterie knows … Continue Reading »
October 12, 2008 – 7:27 pm
Today’s issue of Parade, the fish-wrap magazine included gratis in my and many Sunday newspapers, included an article entitled: How Much Would You Pay in Taxes?
It purports to be a non-partisan evaluation of how the two presidential candidates’ tax proposals would affect citizens of various income levels, but it is an example of either sloppy journalism or very clever misrepresentation.
… Continue Reading »
October 11, 2008 – 9:10 am
The Cleveland Museum of Art is in the midst of a massive renovation, so only a fraction of the collection is currently on display.
But there is still much to see. The Arms and Armor Room is magnificent. Its many artifacts illustrate the armorer’s craftsmanship, art, and weapons development, as well as the pomp and ego of those who wore and/or showed off the hundreds of pieces.
I spent more than an hour in this single room, marveling at how each advance in weapons technology led to a concomitant upgrade in armor (note how the knight and his horse are 
almost fully sheathed in metal) until the introduction of firearms canceled out the armored warrior’s advantage.
Our Pentagon is a direct descendant of this “march of progress.”
October 10, 2008 – 12:04 pm
I like Blue Highways and off-the-trail attractions.
I was in Cleveland.
So I examined exhibits for two hours, the only visitor at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History.
19th Century autopsy
Located on the third floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library at Case Western Reserve University, the Dittrick is small, but immensely informative. Medical instruments, a 19th century physician’s office, an apothecary, x-ray equipment (plugged in …dials within reach …would it light up? …I was not tempted!).
… Continue Reading »
October 9, 2008 – 9:38 pm
As former chairman of the Summer Science Program (SSP), an academic enrichment program for the very brightest teenagers, I know a bit about astronomy, the focus of SSP’s curriculum. I also know a bit about planetariums ["planetaria" is also accepted, but that sounds like a type of worm to me]. And since SSP once investigated, in concert with Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, opening up a third campus at Yerkes Observatory near Lake Geneva, WI, I am passingly familiar with the Adler and its mission to bring science to the public.
Adler Planetarium president Paul H. Knappenberger Jr. and the Zeiss Mark VI
So, when Sen. McCain chastised Sen. Obama’s earmarking in Tuesday’s relatively uninspiring debate, I was instantly awake when McCain said:
[Sen. Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?
What’s wrong with McCain’s statement?
… Continue Reading »
October 4, 2008 – 8:51 pm
Our Friday traffic was heavy. We were canvassing every student at Kent State who came within eyesight of our van. We had two shuttles running all day long. Over the week the Vote Today Ohio teams ferried over 2,000 early voters to the polls, with over 800 of them new registrants. … Continue Reading »
