Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 171

On Politics
There’s no doubt that President Obama’s inaugural address is more to the left. Although the GOP squawking about it is not surprising, I remind them that they spent four years focusing on the goal of “making sure he would be a one-term president” – so what the heck to they expect. Sorry GOP, reconciliation is in your court, not his.

Wow – House Republicans backing down from the debt ceiling fight is a huge surprise. Here’s an interesting read.

I’m still amazed to hear references as Fascism, Hitler, etc regarding the Obama administration. This time it was the CEO of Whole Foods.

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) isn’t much better:

I think my role is to uphold support and defend our Constitution, … The Constitution I uphold and defend is the one I carry in my pocket all the time, the U.S. Constitution. I don’t know what Constitution that other members of Congress uphold, but it’s not this one. I think the only Constitution that Barack Obama upholds is the Soviet constitution, not this one. He has no concept of this one, though he claimed to be a constitutional lawyer.

Regardless of the topic and the administration, here’s one thing that we can count on during Congressional hearings: one side is generally soft while the others proudly declare, “I am an ass.”

All the hubbub about Beyonce’s singing at the inauguration is a sad commentary in itself.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Nation descends into utter chaos following Dear Abby’s death
• Lance Armstrong plan return to cycling as fan-hating villain
• Russell Crowe praised for man who cannot sing in Les Mis’
• List of politically achievable reforms down to just three minor changes to traffic code
• Romney makes desperate last-ditch bid for presidency
• Biden working through scratch-off tickets during Obama’s swearing in
• Michelle Obama is not keen on President’s new bangs

Interesting Reads

• Columnists David Brooks and Gail Collins about budgets, deficits, and politics 
• The Lights and Nights in Reykjavik
• Marketing and the naughty statue slideshow (to read about this, click the Article tab)
• Science, theology, and the sense of awe
• Martin Luther King’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech
• See a very interesting set of sculptures
• National Geographic picture collection of small wonders 

On Potpourri
While Super Bowl XLVII is the first with two brothers as head coaching opponents – but here is the tie to me. Their father, a long-time NFL assistant coach, graduated from the same college as me – Bowling Green State University.

I have often said that biology teachers are in three categories regarding teaching evolution: Those teaching it well, those teaching it poorly, and those not teaching it at all. It seems this article supports my claim.

Cheers to my Cincinnati getting baseball’s 2015 All-Star Game. Too bad that Commission Bud Selig came to town for the announcement. I must say that I may like idiotic politicians more than him.

Check out the interactive Census Dotmap created by a MIT graduate student.

Yesterday’s post was about Word(s) – coincidentally, Harmonique and LouAnn at On the Homefront also posted about the topic – so give them a visit and tell them I sent you.

Good news – I will post a classic cartoon post on Saturday.

Bad news – I’m taking a short break after Saturday’s post.

To send you into the weekend, enjoy these images of the wonder of creation from deep space to the fitting music by Vangelis. Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 8

I usually do this post on Fridays and on a variety of topics. Given the historic inauguration, these shorts focus on the new president and associated events.

President Obama, please restore the balance of power between the branches of government.

I still hope that neither the Obama administration nor a Democratic-controlled Congress decides to investigate the Bush administration.

About a year and half ago, a friend (and self-declared political pundit) said to me, “America will never elect a person with a name like Barack Obama.”

My father-in-law, a lifelong Republican, said on Inauguration Day, “I didn’t vote for him, but how can I not root for this guy. I really like him.”

I’m amazed how many people continue to proclaim that CNN’s bias toward President Obama won the election. Of course these same people don’t realize the FOX News is the ratings leader in all timeslots and their viewership is relatively equivalent to CNN and MSNBC combined.

An interesting comment on presidential campaigns: Campaign promises function as guideposts, not promises.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told CBS’s Bob Schieffer that he senses a bipartisan cooperative center in Congress. I hope he’s right, thus the heck with the far right and the far left. To Senator Graham I respectfully say, “Talk is cheap.”

Here’s an interesting post from Bush staff member Mark McKinnon about the trip from Washington.

This Cincinnati Enquirer editorial looked back at its previous Inauguration Day comments, which I found interesting.

From Peggy Noonan

This was not the sound of candidate Barack Obama but President Obama, not the sound of the man who appealed to the left wing of his party but one attempting to appeal to the center of the nation. It was not a joyous, audacious document, not a call to arms, but a reasoned statement by a Young Sobersides.

From George Will: Summoning the U.S. Up from Childishness

Obama, whose trumpet never sounds retreat, overstated the scale of our difficulties with his comparison of them with those the nation faced in the almost extinguishing winter of 1776-77. Still, the lyrics of cultural traditionalism with which he ended — the apostle of “change we can believe in” urging the nation to believe in “old” values — reinforced his theme of responsibility, summoning the nation up from childishness.

And from Dick Morris

So Obama’s name will be mud by 2012 and probably by 2010 as well. And the Republican Party will make big gains and regain much of its lost power. But it will be too late to reverse the socialism of much of the economy, the demographic change in the electorate, the rationing of healthcare by the government, the surge of unionization and the crippling of talk radio.

As a postscript addition (1 hr later), I have to add this. As Raul Castro says President Obama seems like a good man and wishes him luck, Rush Limbaugh proudly and loudly proclaims, “I hope he fails.”