It occurs to me that lately I’ve been Twitter-ized, or Facebook-ed, shoehorning my thoughts into small bits of text, rather than actually writing anything. Not that the public’s been out there clamoring for SSSBlog posts (no one seems to care), but I’m afraid that my brain will become unable to think of anything longer than a demi-paragraph. Ironic, given that technology has opened up a huge pipeline of information, that […]
On Election Night, Suzie and I attended the official U.S. Election Night party, which was held at a place called the Cineaqua near the Trocadero. Because of the time difference, the party didn’t start until 10:30 p.m., and was scheduled to go through the night, which meant that we were going to have do so something we hadn’t done in a long, long time, namely, staying up past midnight. We […]
Our internet connection was down today, and I was operating on 3 hours sleep, so the complete post of our amazing, wonderful election night in Paris (including goofy and wonderful video) will have to wait until tomorrow. But I will tell you that I was very, very proud to be an American today. I can tell you that the French view of America and Americans has changed. I can tell […]
Suzie and I decided to splurge and attend the official American Election Night soiree in Paris on Tuesday night. With the time difference, it will require us to stay up all night. Those who know me know that I’m really, really bad at that, so we’ll see how it goes. Also, if the election is close (arrrggghhhh), we may not know the winner until after the party is over.
Those to the right of the political spectrum should read this post in the Christian Science Monitor to understand why Obama appeals to voters (including me) who don’t necessarily fall within his ideological range. After 8 years of Bush-Rove, we seem to have forgotten that politics can be more than pandering to the fears of one’s “base.” It can be — at its best it should be — about leadership, […]
I went to the office of La Poste on Rue d’Alésia and mailed my ballot on Monday. Even though I am solidly in the center of the political spectrum, this decision was not even a close one. Thinking about my decision, I realize that it was based on three separate but related fundamental notions. Trite and tired and cliched, maybe, but a big part of my decision was grounded in […]
In an amazing, in my view, example of the efficiency and courtesy of our county government in Sonoma County (not that I’m biased), we received in our mailbox at our apartment in Paris our absentee ballots for the upcoming election, along with all of the necessary other documents (such as the state and local ballot guides) exactly one week after requesting them by e-mail. I have no idea how they […]
From Paris, John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin seems bizarre. Step back from the moment-to-moment campaign jostling and ask this question: You are John McCain. You think you will be elected President. Who do you want as your V.P? You’d think that the independent, strong, leader McCain would step up to the plate and give us someone just as solid and substantial as he is, someone who he […]
I wonder sometimes if Hillary Clinton’s campaign actually thinks about what it’s doing before it does it. A beautiful new example of this was reported today — a new ad, ostensibly targeting Obama, which according to ABC News, goes like this: “It’s 3:00am and your children are asleep,” a voice over says in the ad entitled “Children”. “There’s a phone in the White House, and it’s ringing. Something is happening […]
I was able to watch the debate tonight live, and both candidates performed well, and both came across as informed and competent. But since competence is Ms. Clinton’s keystone, a confidence tie means the edge in this one goes to Obama on that score. Add to that a couple of ridiculous, almost sophomoric moments from Ms. Clinton — the first one her unbelievable plaint about supposedly always being asked the […]