tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555715.post1320979816809846469..comments2023-02-12T08:40:32.494-08:00Comments on Geoff's Two Bits: The Undiscovered CountryGeoff Gouldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12361851625830195798noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555715.post-22164498163525702862009-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:002009-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00John Hiatt writes, "Yeah, we scheme about the futu...John Hiatt writes, <BR/><BR/>"Yeah, we scheme about the future, and we dream about the past,<BR/>When just a simple reaching out might build a bridge that lasts.<BR/>...<BR/>"So whatever your hands find to do you must do with all your heart..."<BR/><BR/>I expect that, just as the grass roots helped elect Obama, so the grass roots must help with the agenda, both forming it AND executing it. It's time now for the action that must follow the election. Ready? Keep on pushin'.Richttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00910675205024149362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555715.post-23496238407973596642009-01-21T02:27:00.000-08:002009-01-21T02:27:00.000-08:00Yes, the "mood change" you describe is r...Yes, the "mood change" you describe is real, and not just in D.C./America... but around the entire planet. Most celebrated with "hugs & tears of joy" worldwide yesterday.<BR/><BR/>I too joined that celebration, and listened to his words of; "... we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law ... To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. ... And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect."<BR/><BR/>Those words, if from the man, (not the politician within the man,) then my long absent optimism may find a home with me again. (Note: Obama wrote his speech, not a speechwriter.)<BR/><BR/>But with that said, I have paid close attention, as have many others, to his picks for cabinet & advisors for foreign policy matters, and those picks are very worrisome at best.<BR/><BR/>Plus, there is his, and Biden's, recent tilting of the "prosecute & punish" idea/debate into "don't look back/move forward," again very-very worrisome - As to why - <B><A HREF="http://oldhippies.blogspot.com/2009/01/speaks-for-many-of-us.html" REL="nofollow">See this link</A></B>, watch & listen - Then do anything you can to push for investigation/punishment. Otherwise, no matter how much good this new administration does for us domestically, environmentally, etc., as far as the "vast future" (as Lincoln referred to it,) and all of this "joy & hope" are concerned - it will all be for naught.<BR/><BR/>Also Geoff, if you haven't read it yet - <A HREF="http://oldhippies.blogspot.com/2009/01/just-so-you-understand.html" REL="nofollow"><B><I>"Just So You Understand"</I></B></A> - may help to keep perspective?The Old Hippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707197167888722181noreply@blogger.com