I'm Back

My classes ended at the beginning of June, and since then I've been bumming around, but one can't just sit around smoking...stuff, drinking beer, reviewing magic cards, reading Tolstoy, jogging, and playing bad video games forever (unless you're one of the characters in this movie), while the world goes to shit.

In review--I think Obama's doing a good job, but not a great job, and while I think Maher is grilling the Prez a bit hard, his overall point, that there's really no left to our political debate, I think is correct. Maybe if there was these bailouts wouldn't be so out of control, universal health coverage would be the center piece in reform, and the Democrats wouldn't have replaced the GOP as the party of no ideas and more rhetoric than substance. We still have captives in Guantanamo who haven't been tried (and Obama claims they may never get a trial), we still have over 130,000 troops in Iraq, and unemployment is still rising.

And Michael Jackson died. Though this may not be the government's fault.

Obviously, it's still too early to judge how this administration is doing, but the tone, the flavor of the overall debate seems as stagnant and stale as the Coleman/ Franken election (I mean they're still fighting? Really?) or NY's legislative crisis (The Republicans lost--they need to get over it, hand over the reins to the Dems, and shut up. And no equivocation Gov. Paterson, you are not getting elected--ever--so try to leave office with at least one ball intact).

Obama was elected one the referendum of change, and while we know that change takes time, it also takes action and it takes determination, two traits seemingly missing from our debate. I think the people made it very clear what we want our leadership to do, and now its time for them to follow through.

Anyway, hope some of you are still out there. If not, then it's still good being home.