TINA

Are we really surprised
executive pay doubles
eighteen
hundred
and
fifty
are sacked
made redundant
if you will
It's enought to send a chill

Obama Inauguration

Something that a lot of commentators haven’t picked up on was how “political” Obama’s inauguration speech was.

There wasn’t a lot of overt “unity” talk in the speech. On the other hand I did detect a string of not so subtle rebukes to George W Bush legacy, Reganism and republican ideology in general.

This was a political speech- there were many points where one had the feeling that a few liberal scores were being settled.

There was a reference to “returning science to its rightful place’ and ‘non-believers’- take that you evangelicals.

There was a reference to ending debates over the size of government, and focusing on the efficacy of government. Take that Reganites/ Monetarists.

There were allusions to “narrow interests”- a subtle jab at the Bush regimes/republicans links to industry lobbyists/ special interests.

Calls for Keynsian government expenditure programmes to create jobs. Centrally planned solutions to the economic problems afflicting the United States and Global economies (Hayek would be spewing).

Jobs, schoolbooks, beds in hospitals- classic left liberal/ Labor rallying points.

Advocating diplomacy and peaceful dispute resolution before direct military action.

For all the talk of future/ liberal policy directions, the speech was a call for citizens to take more responsibility for their actions- economically, politically and in their relationships with one another.

Some have compared this inauguration speech unfavourably to Lincoln’s. I think this is to focus too much on style rather than addressing the substantive concerns facing the political economy.

Obama has laid out the issues facing the nation, and suggested some future directions for policy. His 80% approval ratings suggest that the public likes the cut of his jib.

To conclude with the words of one of the Tuskegee Airmen this morning. When asked what Obama needed to do to be considered a great President, he replied simply “More of the same”.

Amen to that, and may God bless America.

Shark Attacks

Thank god for all these shark attacks, anything to distract a little hysteria away from the economy is probably a good thing at the moment.

So may there be more (non-fatal) shark attacks this summer.

May we fear sharks and spend more freely in the new year.

The Boss

Some nice words from Bruce Springsteen :

"The past is never the past. It is always present. And you better reckon with it in your life and in your daily experience, or it will get you. It will get you really bad. It will come and it will devour you, it will remove you from the present. It will steal your future and this happens every day."

It's been a while

Just thought I'd close out the year with a nice quote from Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton:

"the United States has chosen to deal with the financial crisis by buying up a significant fraction of the shares of the nation’s major banks and its largest insurance company, underwriting the loans of a large portion of the nation’s home-lending industry, and is on the verge of underwriting the nation’s largest automobile makers. Yet little if any of this largesse has found its way to the broader public – to homeowners in danger of defaulting on their mortgages and losing their homes, small businesses close to insolvency, state and local governments cutting public services because of budget shortfalls, families unable to afford health insurance, or young people unable to obtain loans to finance university tuition.

The ideology of a perfectly self-correctly free market has given way to what might be described as a raid by America’s biggest banks and corporations on the public purse, supposedly justified by benefits to the broader public which seem never to materialize. What happened to the ideology? On closer inspection, it turned out to be something of a cover all along."

The new year will be an interesting one, I'm hoping for a bottom up recovery, and many happy returns.

Justice

Cop kills blackman, does
no time. Blackman protest death,
he's doing hard time.

Aberdeen - South Dakota

Presidential Vote - South Dakota
McCain 53%
Obama 45%

And to all the cynics...

For all those who think nothing will change- have a look at how moving his acceptance speach was.

The cynics will say “there he goes again”, all fine words, show me some substance.

But Obama has the words of a fine man, he has the manner of a fine man and the mind of a fine man.

We’re immediately in a much better position than has been the case over the last eight long years of Bush.

With the level of support Obama has received from the grass roots, we are likely to see change coming from the ground up in America for the first time in generations.

Obama has the means at his disposal to achieve great things, now is his time.

Although Camus once famously said that hope is the only thing leaders willingly offer the governed, I think we can rightly hope for a better future under Obama.

And as for the cynics, Paul Keating said it best: "the dogs have started barking, but the caravan has moved on".

Morning in America

Sam Cooke said it best:

I was born by the river in a little tent
Just like the river I've been running ever since
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

Ohhhhhhhhh.....

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

here we go