Posts Tagged ‘barack obama’
Wisdom from West, Wilson: Virtue may be its own (and its only) reward
I don’t think that civility is dead, despite lots of nastiness in the public eye over the past 10 days. The problem instead is that there’s plenty of incentive for misbehavior and very little for doing the right thing. You do the right thing on its own merit, not because of any additional benefit.
Kanye West has had all kinds of publicity since interrupting the VMA Awards Sunday, and MTV.com received record Web traffic as a result. Rep. Joe Wilson has received more than $1.7 million in campaign donations since his outburst during President Obama’s speech earlier this month (though his likely opponent has also fared well).
If virtue is it’s own reward, that may be its only one.
Tags: barack obama, entertainment, fundraising, gail kerr, health care reform, joe wilson, kanye west, mashable, mtv, mtv.com, politics, pop culture, talking points memo, taylor swift, the tennessean, vma awards
I’ll take Barack Obama over Jerry Lewis any day
- Lamar Alexander is right: President Obama deserves everyone’s respect, and an audience with America’s students. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with him, but there’s plenty of precedent for Tuesday’s speech.
- This isn’t kind to say, but the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon bores me to tears. It preempted the shows I wanted to watch growing up. Despite supporting an important cause, I think it’s a product of a bygone era that sorely needs a makeover.
- I have plenty of sympathy for Phoenix Coyotes fans, but I’m sure happy to see several teams mentioned ahead of the Nashville Predators as troubled NHL franchises. Thank you, David Freeman and company!
- I wish LenDale White would keep his mouth shut and do his talking with his feet on Thursday night. The sneaky Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, hope freshly released Tennessee Titan Tuff Harris has something to say, too.
Tags: barack obama, david freeman, education, hockey, jerry lewis, jerry lewis telethon, labor day, lamar alexander, lendale white, muscular dystrophy, muscular dystrophy association, nashville, nashville predators, nfl, nhl, phoenix coyotes, pittsburgh steelers, politics, president, tennessee, tennessee titans, tuff harris
Compassion: It’s almost as exhausting as the alternative
- While the rest of us routinely suffer from “compassion fatigue,” Virginia Trimble Ritter finds a way to forgive a murderer. That’s a remarkable and inspiring example.
- Speaking of compassion, Clarksville mayor Johnny Piper could use a little more right now. Most Muslims aren’t violent, hateful people, and neither are most Christians.
- On the subject of fatigue, Vandy’s nonstop football schedule may be tiring, but it may also be beneficial. A team that has struggled mightily with consistency, despite its recent success, may fare better without bye weeks to stall its momentum.
- College hijinks aren’t just for drunks anymore. This story sounds strange enough until you consider that these students were actually sober the entire time. Now that’s weird.
Tags: barack obama, campus crusade for christ, clarksville, college football, compassion, forgiveness, intolerance, islam, jerome barrett, johnny piper, knoxville, marcia trimble, nashville, tennessee, vanderbilt, virginia trimble ritter
A resolutionary tale: Bubble Tea with Barack?
Who wouldn’t want to drink Bubble Tea with President Obama? Here in Red State Tennessee, there’s probably a long list of those who would decline, but I’m not one of them. Neither is Micah Redding, one of the founders of The Resolution Begins, a Web site and an emerging movement dedicated to one daring purpose: to declare and fulfill the most “ridiculously ambitious” New Year’s resolutions of all time, including consuming the Taiwanese treat Bubble Tea in the presence of the leader of the free world.
This is clearly a “Yes We Can” time in American history, so perhaps it is only fitting that The Resolution Begins is upping the ante when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. The group even has its own theory about why resolutions fail: They’re too short-sighted, they’re focused primarily on avoiding behaviors rather than accomplishing goals, and they’re personal and self-centered.
Will The Resolution Begins achieve the daring list of life changes to which its members aspire? In the great words of Asia, only time will tell, but succeed or fail, the quest will be fun to follow. If you like Bubble Tea and refuse to settle for merely losing 10 pounds or getting out of debt, it may be time for you to join the resolution.
Tags: asia, barack obama, micah redding, nashville, new year's day, new year's resolutions, president obama, the resolution begins
I agree with Bredesen: Change is good
I definitely agree with this statement from Governor Phil Bredesen, who shares some of the lessons he’s learned along the way in the latest issue of Esquire magazine:
I would never vote for somebody who had never changed their mind on anything, because I know I was not crafted perfectly at age 18.
That’s at least one thing that Bredesen, Barack Obama and I agree on: Change is good (even if it can be difficult and painful). While I like to believe that the qualities that make me uniquely who I am have not changed substantially since I graduated from high school, some of my most earnest convictions about faith, politics and humanity surely have. (In most cases, I hope, they’ve changed for the better.) A good friend of mine once passed along advice from his father: “Be a Democrat while you’re young, and a Republican when you’re older.”
Although I reserve the right to vote for whomever I think is most fit for office, regardless of political affiliation, I’ve taken that advice, only in reverse. I’m much more liberal, progressive or whatever you choose to call it today than I was in 1991, but I think my eighteen-year-old self and I would still be able to be friends. Even in my more conservative days, what mattered to me most were compassion and character. That much hasn’t changed, and I hope it never does.
Tags: barack obama, change, esquire, maturity, nashville, phil bredesen, philosophy, politics, tennessee
A mighty challenge
I agree with Stephen Drachler:
The God I pray to is neither Republican nor Democrat. I don’t believe God has designated the United States as another promised land, better than other nations. I believe God has given those of us who live in the United States the challenge to make this world a better place. That’s clear to me. And that’s a mighty challenge. (Or, maybe, an Almighty challenge.)
Tags: barack obama, election, God, john mccain, politics, president, spirituality, stephen drachler, the tennessean
Hostility isn’t helping any of us
No matter where you may fall on the political spectrum, I hope you can agree that doing petty things to yard signs (photos above) and threatening elected officials does much more harm than good.
Metro Police are investigating a series of harassing phone calls and e-mails, which were threatening in nature, made to Councilman Eric Crafton and his family over the weekend. Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said the phone calls and e-mails contained threatening remarks. So far no arrests have been made and no arrest warrants have been issued, Aaron said. “The police department is taking these messages very seriously,” Aaron said. The messages were centered around the proposed English Only charter amendment, which has been pushed by Crafton since earlier this year.
As emphasized during last week’s forum on civility prior to the Belmont presidential debate, hostility isn’t helping anyone, and it sure isn’t steering America in the right direction. I disagree with Crafton’s English Only amendment and think is is misguided and harmful to our city and to individual residents in our community, but behavior such as this only makes things worse. Hostility does nothing but divide, and more division is the last thing America needs.
It’s easy to assume that these examples of hostility are a sign of our increasing societal decline. Before you write America off, though, keep in mind that Obama, McCain and all the rest of them have nothing on the mud that was slung when Thomas Jefferson and others were on the campaign trail. Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem, but we can still do better by embracing respect instead of wrath when it comes to political discourse.
Tags: barack obama, election, english only, eric crafton, john mccain, metro council, nashville, nashville city paper, politics, president, tennessee, the tennessean, thomas jefferson, washington post
About that Nashville Post Obama scoop…
Alas, Evan Bayh as vice-president wasn’t meant to be, though it may be good news for Barack Obama’s presidential hopes: The presumptive Democratic candidate selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Though others are already pointing out flaws in Obama’s pick and some are upset that Obama’s promised text message to supporters arrived around 3 a.m. today, I like Biden and think he is a wise choise and a good counterbalance to Obama.
I chose email over text message to receive the news from Obama’s camp. I found out the pick from NPR at 7:30 or so, and my email from Obama arrived shortly after eight. It’s just not that big a deal to me.
Tags: barack obama, joe biden, los angeles times, nashville, nashville post, new york times, politics, presidential election, vice president, washington post
