Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?
Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Bull? Burt? Bast? An interesting thing: those past weeks, the stock market was so hysterical that _anything_ Obama said would make it go up, then panic would resume the next few days and it would crash down again. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Inauguration
I love this stuff, the Ruffles and Flourishes, 21 gun salute, the Marine Band playing Stars and Stripes Forever. I liked Obama's speech. Maybe not as good as the Grant Park victory speech, but way up there. So one administration ends and another begins. Stay tuned to quote a friend of mine the day after the election: Ain't this some shit! john what's next maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?
Thanks Alberto. Hoping the world will soon be proud of us! d From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro albm...@centroin.com.br To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 6:03:02 AM Subject: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Bull? Burt? Bast? An interesting thing: those past weeks, the stock market was so hysterical that _anything_ Obama said would make it go up, then panic would resume the next few days and it would crash down again. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Br!n: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's hisname?
D Brin wrote: Thanks Alberto. Hoping the world will soon be proud of us! d Bumper sticker sighted yesterday: 1-20-09, The End of an Error ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?
Even putting aside my pleasure and relief that the moment had finally come, I was of course inspired by President Obama's words, his call for a new spirit of purpose and idealism, evoking a sense of history and mission, duty and vision. Indeed, I hope they moved all Americans and people around the world - even those whose respect is as-yet guarded and suspicious. Let us all hope that even grudging doubters will be swayed toward firmer feelings of appreciation, over the coming years, not only by the skill and character of the Obama team, but also by events. By the validation that is bestowed by great success. iAnd yet,/i I don't feel compelled to write much about those themes and sentiments, all of which will be noted by others. Instead, what I'll do - out of habit - is bring notice to a few side-glimmers and iexceptional points/i that won't (I reckon) be mentioned by most pundits, or even historians. For example, it struck me that President Obama repeatedly called upon us to rise up as adults and inot only/i listen to the angels of our better natures - not only heed our high ideals - but also to rediscover the arts ofi negotiation and pragmatic problem-solving/i that undergird those lofty principles, and without which they so easily dissolve into platitudes or self-righteous rationalizations. (As, indeed, the word freedom was cheapened in recent years, into a mere totem for my side.) Other nations have known duty, honor, patriotism, self-sacrifice... and even freedom But it is the mix of those fine things with other ingredients -- with patience and craftsmanship, with both eager competition and willing cooperation, with reciprocal respect and healthy self-doubt -- that made the loftier ideals truly world-transforming. And that notion of anchoring idealism in pragmatic action is the message that I felt through my bones - deeper than through my ears - during Barack Obama's inaugural address. Do you want examples? iTo those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist./i How simple an image, and fundamental an offer. And then came a sentence that both rebuked the recent past and expressed far greater confidence in us than we have seen expressed (alas) by recent leaders: iAs for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals./i Of course you'll recognize a central theme of my book iThe Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?/i And especially since the dire events of 9/11, as I kept hoping Americans would reject the dismal and insipid devil's dichotomy we were constantly offered, having to choose between two things we simply cannot live without. Those two passages were certainly noted by others. Moreover, without question, President Obama had to say them, whether or not he meant quite the emphasis that I perceived. But itwo other paragraphs/i contained - tucked within - what I feel are vital hints to Barack Obama's character and agenda. Because they are things he idid not have to say./i Very few of the two million people attending in Washington, or close to a billion watching around the world, will note them. But I suggest that you do. iWe will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age./i Yes, yes. Education, sustainability, the new technologies that may not only help save the nation and planet, but also start the next economic boom, in much the same way that our government's internet research sparked the last one... all of that was profoundly welcome, and expected. iBut to put science first, /iahead of all the others, and thus signaling it's rightful place struck me deeply. This is one lawyer who knows that good decisions cannot be based incantations, but ultimately depend on actual, ihonest-to-God facts./i We have had enough of leaders who arrogantly believed that all you need to govern is one thing, a powerfully certain, subjective force of will. But then, it can be argued that Obama also had to mention science, after the travesties of recent years. Perhaps that, too, was no surprise, and I may be reading too much into it. So let me reach deeper for my final clue. iOur challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded
Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?
My suggestions to Obama are at: http://www.davidbrin.com/suggestion.htm From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro albm...@centroin.com.br To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 6:03:02 AM Subject: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Bull? Burt? Bast? An interesting thing: those past weeks, the stock market was so hysterical that _anything_ Obama said would make it go up, then panic would resume the next few days and it would crash down again. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
The Whole World
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012002411.html Excerpt: Nairobi Crowds of students -- future doctors, politicians, engineers and others -- gathered hours early on the sprawling green lawn of Nairobi University, where three big screens were set up to broadcast the inauguration of Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan. The mood was celebratory. Homeboyz Entertainment, a group of deejays, would be on later. Red, white and blue ribbons were tied to big white canopies. Vendors sold postcards of Obama and the words, I do solemnly swear. A young man walked around hoisting a homemade sign that read: From Black Power to Barack Power. Engineering students Ntabo Maranga and Wycliffe Ogega said they felt a sense of relief that the day had finally come. Like many young Kenyans, they said they identify more with Obama than with their own aging political class, which they hoped Obama would shake up by example. His election has already offered a great challenge to leaders here, through his values, said Maranga, 27. In particular, students said they hoped Obama would shame politicians into rising above tribalism. When people speak of Obama, we don't say he's Luo Obama, said Ogega, 27, referring to Obama's Kenyan ethnic group. We say he's Kenyan. We hope he will help us see each other as Kenyans instead of certain tribes. A group of young women studying for an exam in diplomacy echoed that idea. We hope he'll be able to straighten out some politicians of this country -- give them a straight deal on issues like graft, said Judith Ngandoki, 27, who is studying for a master's degree in international relations. Not far away, Kadiro Ganemo, an Ethiopian immigrant, suggested that such hope stretches beyond Kenya. He's not just for Kenya -- he's for the whole world, said Ganemo, 28, who is not a student but joined the celebration because he didn't want to watch alone at home. He confessed that he had not believed Obama could be elected, given the racism that exists in the United States. When the results came in, he said, he cried, as he expected he would again later Tuesday. Maybe Africans can unite like people in the U.S., he said. xponent With Pride Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Inauguration
- Original Message - From: John Garcia john...@gmail.com To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 1:49 PM Subject: Inauguration I love this stuff, the Ruffles and Flourishes, 21 gun salute, the Marine Band playing Stars and Stripes Forever. I liked Obama's speech. Maybe not as good as the Grant Park victory speech, but way up there. So one administration ends and another begins. Stay tuned to quote a friend of mine the day after the election: Ain't this some shit! john what's next maru This guy comes up to me His face red like a rose on a thorn bush Like all the colours of a royal flush And he's peeling off those dollar bills Slapping them down - one hundred, two hundred And I can see those fighter planes And I can see those fighter planes Across the mud huts as the children sleep Through the alleys of a quiet city street We take the staircase to the first floor We turn the key and slowly unlock the door A man breathes into a saxophone And through the walls we hear the city groan Outside it's America - outside it's America I keep hearing those last 2 lines in my head, but it is in a new context. Hopeful and waiting as opposed to the cynicism of the preceding lyrics. One watches with anticipation. xponent A Little U2 In The Night Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?
David Brin wrote: The new president did not have to mention it. But he did. And it shows that he wants not only to preside and rule. He wants to learn. Yes, the word curious did stand out as something not usually mentioned in that line of reasoning, but I think curiosity more than anything else is why we humans have elevated ourselves Other stuff that struck me as profound: Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone can not protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that out power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. A concept lost on the Bush administration. and also: For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non believers (!!). We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. Thank the stars, our eight year nightmare is finally over. Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Br!n: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's hisname?
On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 1:08 PM, Gary Nunn garyn...@newpacifica.net wrote: D Brin wrote: Thanks Alberto. Hoping the world will soon be proud of us! d Bumper sticker sighted yesterday: 1-20-09, The End of an Error Did yo ever see the one: Frodo Failed! Bush has the ring!? Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
