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Clean Coal: Directed by the Coen Brothers

In this new ad, a pitchman gives us the hard sell on a "Clean Coal Clean"-scented air freshener that works just as well as "clean coal."

The Top Ten Least Worst Movies of the Year

This year's films I think were a less than stellar crop of film. But, there are some stand-outs certainly worth mentioning. Overall I believe it is Hollywood trying to take back the film from independent film-makers who tend to make better films, period. They are a bunch of feel good films who tend to complement the filmmaker rather than the story. Sometimes making up wholly implausible story lines and asking us to suspend belief, whish is not necessarily a bad thing, but when it is interspersed with real story that is where the line must be drawn. Without futher ado:

10. Slumdog Millionaire - A decent film with some startling cinematography, but an implausible story that takes us to the streets of Bombay all the way to the capatilism of Mumbai. This is the surefire Oscar Winner for Best Picture. But, if we are going to make a film about Mumbai then we must not make up out of whole cloth the Title: Slumdog which does not exist and is offensive to many in the slums of Mumbai. The one thought that I kept thinking about through this film is that capitalism overcomes. Is that the message? An an entirely unbelievable love story set at the backdrop of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Excuse me. These are not folks who look like they come out of the slums of Mumbai. Life is not black and white. We are not good or bad. In the slums this is even truer. While some good filmmaking I sat through it wholly unconvinced that this is Mumbai.



9. I've Loved You So Long - Kristin Scott Thomas gives the second best performance of the year in a beautiful French film that then takes the easy way out at the end. If it were not for the "feel-good" ending this would have creeped up the list. Kristin Scott Thomas, however is astonishing in this film.



8. Rachel Getting Married - A flawed film with some great performances. Anne Hathaway takes your breath away in this film. Who knew? She gives a courageous and annoyingly beautiful performance. She is my pick for tonights Best Actress Oscar. 1) Because Sally Hawkins is not nominated. 2) Neither is Kristin Scott Thomas; and 3) The Reader is pile of crap. Am I supposed to care that a Nazi Killer cannot read? Rachel, however almost talked me out of getting married all by itself.


7. Man on Wire - A marvelous story of a wholly unlikeable fella. It is like a caper film, as exciting a film this year. Will most likely win Best Documentary.


6. Revolutionary Road - Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet at their best. If Kate was nominated for this film you would have no arguments from me. This is a dark film about being trapped in your fears of living the life you want instead of the life people think you should live. Needless to say I affiliated with this film. Michael Shannon, the conscience of the film gives a bravado performance of a mentally ill neighbor. Or is he? A prequel to American Beauty certainly with some flaws. But, the performances are extraordinary.


5. Milk - Sean Penn gives a great Performance as Harvey Milk, the first elected gay leader from San Francisco. It is indeed a great history lesson (as Glory to the Union said), but it is also an exciting film (a little too much campaign) though his late in the film lover seems to be wholly unneeded. James Franco, Emile Hirsch and James Brolin are wonderful. With an historical cameo from Diane Feinstein.


4. Happy Go Lucky - The best single acting performance of the year by Sally Hawkins in this wonderful film about dealing with the travails of life. You won't soon forget Poppy. It is not sappy and corny, it is real as all Mike Leigh films tend to be. I loved every minute of this film. Similar themes of this film in Revolutionary Road.


3. Wendy and Lucy - Michelle Williams shows her acting performance in Brokeback Mountain was no accident. This woman can act. It is a cerebral performance that many will take different things from depending on your views on life. But, the last scene in the film is truly heartbreaking. It is also a comment on our society and makes it ever so poignant during the new great depression. The more I think about her performance it is a tragedy that three of the best performances of the year will sit on the sidelines while Angelie Jolie and Kate Winslet, wholly undeserving will win this award.


2. The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke is so good in this film as to warrant something more than an award. These characters you could leave your home and go to the jersey shore and meet them right now, that is how authentic this film is, you could to Salisbury, Ma. too. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood (who in three scenes is so good) who never disappoints. I loved every second of this film.


1. Tell No One - This is a fucking awesome film. They do not make films like this anymore. It was released in 2006 in France and at the beginning of the year here. I sat mesmerized through this film. A beautiful couple enjoying themselves in the South of France. A murder. Eight years later the one murdered sends an email to her still unconvinced husband and says: "Tell No One." It spirals from there in one of the most exciting films in recent memory. Kristin Scott Thomas also delivers a performance worthy of note.

Bail-Out Money for the Auto Companies for Laying People Off

I am glad Obama signed the stimulus bill and it is not a terrible bill. It has 8 billion for railroad expansion. Very good news. But, why would we give more bail-out money to Auto companies to cut 47,000 jobs? What is the point of that? What is the point of cutting jobs in this economy? I don't get it at all. What is the long term plan to send all the manufacturing jobs to China?

When did out country get so anti-worker? When exactly did that happen? Was it under Reagan and solidified under Clinton? That is my best guess.

hob'arts hoboken: art exhibit at historical museum

The Hoboken Historical Museum will host an exhibition of Hoboken images created by eight members of the hobʼart cooperative gallery from March 3 to April 12, 2009 entitled, “hobʼartʼs Hoboken.” The show was created by Roslyn Rose and juried by Robert Foster, Museum Director. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 1 from 2 to 5 pm in the Upper Gallery. On Sunday, March 29, at 4 pm there will be a panel discussion, “Art in a New Era.” Each of the panelists will explain how they have individually used both traditional and modern technology to capture a singular view of our much loved city of Hoboken.

The exhibiting artists include Elizabeth Cohen, who has been inspired to connect a cherished childhood doll with images of Hoboken. Roslyn Rose blends manipulated images of local scenes with old photographs to suggest moments that may have occurred. Andrea Milo photographs locations that are not typical images of the city. Tom Eganʼs pictures of the old piers at night were taken before they were incorporated into community parks. Virginia Parrottʼs recent images of Hoboken are a departure from the strictly documentary. Leona Seufert, not a Hoboken resident, is displaying digital collages of architectural aspects of our transit hub, which she views during her frequent visits. Femi Ford painted the scene from her apartment in the North East part of the city as a gift to a man who wanted to see Hoboken again before he died. Sissi Siska creates unique paintings on silk, including a view of the community that honors our memories of 9/11/01.

The Museum is located at 1301 Hudson Street, Hoboken. They can be contacted at 201-656-2240 or at the website: www.hobokenmuseum.org. Museum hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 2 to 7 pm, Fridays, 1 to 5 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, 12 to 5 pm.

Contact: Roslyn Rose
Press Secretary
Roslynrosestudio@gmail.com
www.hob-art.com

Death and the Maidens: Hoboken Reform and the '09 Mayorship

What dehumanizing torture will the citizenry of Hoboken have to endure this time around at the hands of green-eyed County career politicians and pop-eyed local virgins? The amorphous mayoral race in Hoboken, ever in the hands of shapeshifters, finds a new face in the race. With the advent of the once formally (but now formerly) 'not running' Fourth-Ward councilwoman Dawn Zimmer, this contest promises not only a grotesquely splayed field of fragile contenders, but also a harrowing array of self-serving elder politicos and bumptious political journeymen trying to recoup previous fecundity in Hoboken. It'll be the voter who is turned under.

The Hudson County Democratic Organiztion (HCDO) will brood, if half-distractedly, over the darwinistic self-triage of the Hoboken players going into the inevitable run-off. Then, no longer preoccupied with JC mayor/HCDO chairman Jerramiah Healy's own re-election run, county executive Tom DeGise, North Bergen boss Nick Sacco and Healy will loom Cerberus-like over whoever of the remnant is most viable and/or manipulable. Youngish mayor and state senator Brian Stack's Union City colt-and-puppy show will take side earlier (though probably not officially) and against HCDO's likely tack of Zimmer or at-large councilman Peter Cammarano, should either provide the unlikely event of surviving to the run-off. This begs consideration of the curious but abiding competitiveness of a third power axis overarching the actual candidates in the race.

Ward councilman Mike Russo and school-board member Frank Raia both achingly cozen the mayoralty from their largely Third-Ward bases yet are committed to sustaining an inherently competitive alliance, as alone either is too weak to even enter the race with a divided base. Raia has more money, Russo has better operations, together they have the best entree in the hunt to the steady Old Hoboken turn-out. Do they both have insuperable wills to faction power like the Reform faction leaders? The Third-Warders are not likely to be that politically callow. Though Raia's money might seem the decider here, he has other upward-mobility Russo does not: Raia can easily accede to Russo's Third Ward seat and simultaneously the de-facto presidency of the Board of Education to balance Russo as mayor. Such power-sharing dominance may be enough to keep them mutually gratified. Even this accommodation is not enough for likely victory - and both also have heavy and recent friction with both Stack and HCDO interests, though remain in contention for some liaison there simply by default and may well receive it ultimately.

This is where the pros and cons of callowness command the stage. First-time Second-Ward councilwoman Beth Mason, the seeming front-runner currently, can't be wed to HCDO in a run-off (their interactions get truly medieval) and is already being given informal Stack blessing - to the extent that matters in Hoboken as his influence in Hoboken is slighter than HCDO’s and as it somewhat handcuffs multi-hat assemblyman Ruben Ramos. HCDO’s next choice, though, isn't so simple.

First, formulaic weasel Cammarano's broad unlikability and lack of a native base trumps his flip-floppy pandering and cheesy grandstanding so palatable to HCDO. As Establishment-desirous as he profiles, he still can't get an established name to join his ticket and will try to pawn unvetted and unheard-of ‘reformers’ off on an incredulous Reform center . Even the ace up his sleeve, buddy and fellow at-large councilman Ramos, won't sign on fully - and is probably hoping for a Stack/HCDO compromise candidate to surface a la meat-puppet Anthony Romano in the freeholder race (possibly even himself, in a true taste of Hoboken).

Then, officeholding-virgin Zimmer's menage with handlers HCDO appointee Mike Lenz and HCDO vice-chair Carol Marsh has seemed more a case of harsh prima noctis than a honeymoon for the bulk of Hoboken voters. Even within her natural Reform base, Zimmer's political deflowering this past year or so has seen the bloom come off her rose, being untested-and-so-unsullied having been her only real political strength. With neither her nor Cammarano likely in the run-off, HCDO will only be left with the Old Hoboken Russo/Raia candidate, hacked from the same burlap as they are, to half-heartedly support against the Hudson Machine-loathing Mason.

What has Hoboken done to deserve so jumbled and broadly unhopeful a palette of choices in the midst of financial doom? Being such a wonderful little community of uniquely charming neighborhoods, obviously it is their happily wallowing in their own intense parochiality that has brought them to this dire point. So let's dispense from here on with any maudlin sympathies for this candidate or that. Regardless of the ubiquitous claims to the contrary, we all know each has cultivated a local subculture distinct from, resistant and unsavory to, every other - even where common interests abound. None distinguishes him/herself for, nor appeals broadly to, a citizenry as hungry for further extrapolation of the Obama algorithm as this one proved to be in November. Personal ambition alone - and nothing like ecumenical conciliation - has left this disfigured fetus of a race on our doorstep.

The pristine failure stillborn of all this is the gob-smacking inability of Reform to capitalize on the biggest political collapse of Hoboken's old-guard establishment in more than a generation. Advanced age and bloat, abandonment of all fiscal probity, divested city control, a universal zeitgeist of Change and an inchoate opposition potency had all been perched like Hitchcock's ravens to politically denude the old-boy regime's carcass - which now, unfortunately for every Hoboken school-child and shivering retiree, will probably continue to lurch zombie-like through City Hall for another four years. The cause of this opportunity is epitomized in the arrogant land and privilege abuses of ejectees like Lou Picardo; the cost of this opportunity is crystallized on the Reform family crest: two heads thrust out a windshield, sawing through their necks as they turn to blame each other for the crash.

Once again, Reform's own two old-guard camps are splitting on candidates - and not just for mayor, but very probably for school-board as well. This pre-emption of the greater Reform voting public's declared best interest also demoralizes that demographically ascendant base. And in turn, this has everything to do with both the future health of the city and, relatedly, Reform's own future political viability. It seems little was learned in the most recent freeholder and school-board campaigns where divided Reform interests lost the unprecedented gains of the prior year’s unified efforts that supercharged both Reform's activism and punch city-wide.

Though the dominant influence in the race is whether the Old Hoboken candidate in the run-off is heading an essentially unified ticket or not, whether Reform can muster an essentially unified face has everything to do with who the Old Hoboken candidate(s) will be in the run-off and whether Reform has a presence in the run-off. A full-tilt squaring-off between Mason and Zimmer drops the otherwise near-certainty of a Reform candidate in the run-off down dramatically. Scrambling for smallish portions of Reform credulity will decide whether the Russo/Raia alliance prevails over Cammarano and/or Ramos interests; a Mason-only race would have the Lenz/Marsh subfaction siding against their long-time objects of personal obsession, Russo and Mason.

It is here Hoboken comes full circle to the true salience of the Zimmer entry into the mayor’s race. Hoboken is not wafting heaven-ward on the winds of change; it is entrenching itself ever deeper into its historic mistakes. The gross political immaturity and strategic clumsiness of Zimmer’s dogging Mason’s heels into the race not only obliterates the hope of swift, salutary change for leaving Hoboken to the same Visigothic rapine that has nigh buried it already. This will also successfully re-brand Hoboken progressive reform as fecklessly disorganized and peevishly unempowered, as well as officeless in the longer term.

stop. Stop. STOP the madness.

Watch it.

Cry.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Take Action.

The World's First Openly Gay Leader

Icelandic Social Affairs Minister Johanna Sigurðardottir would be the world's first openly gay leader if she becomes Prime Minister of Iceland, as is widely expected. Although Per-Kristian Foss served as acting Prime Minister in Norway very briefly in 2002, this represents the first time that a gay leader would assume the reins of a modern state.

The Prime Minister of Iceland (currently) is expected to step down due to health concerns and the economic crisis. Read the rest of the article here. It is written kind of as a jest to the American public. Icelanders do not even ask the question or would care writes Ms. Erlingsdottir and find it offensive Americans would. If we could ever live in such a climate...

Playing for Change: Song Around the World

The Playing for Change Community is a group of artists trying to connect the world through music and create peace. Truly beautiful. Join the movement. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead.

ACLU Lays Off a Tenth of its Workforce

Thirty-six staffers, ten percent of the ACLU's workforce is now out of a job. Really shocking. The loss of jobs (which are primarily in the legislative office) mean lesser influence for the ACLU in a time when we need them to advocate for new policies at the Federal Level. The Director of the ACLU responded to the story and wrote to the Huffington Post that because of the Bernie Madoff scandal the ACLU is in dire straits. Mr. Madoff's scandalous behavior has decimated many of the left leaning organizations because foundations that once were (the JEHT and Picower Foundations) are no more:

"Like many organizations today, the ACLU is feeling the impact of the tough economic climate which has resulted in a decline of our assets and reduced the donations and grants that we rely upon to fund our activities, including those from two foundations that were wiped out by the Bernard Madoff scandal. We take very seriously our commitment to our donors and members who count on us to defend the constitutional rights of all Americans, even in difficult financial times. To safeguard the fiscal health of the ACLU and ensure that the vital work of defending civil liberties continues, we have taken a number of steps to cut expenses and streamline our organization, including instituting a hiring freeze, limiting travel, cancelling conferences, and reducing non-personnel costs, resulting in savings of more than $9 million. Unfortunately, additional measures were needed and as a result, the ACLU National Office has been forced to eliminate 36 staff positions, which represents 10% of the current staff. Although we did everything in our power to avoid taking this painful step, it was necessary in order to protect our long term viability and ensure that the ACLU has the flexibility and strength to meet the challenges ahead. In addition, we are freezing salaries for the next fiscal year, which will save an additional 11 positions, and our executive director has voluntarily reduced his pay by 15%. We are confident that making tough financial decisions in the short term will serve to strengthen the organization for generations to come," said Romero.

hob'art exhibits!

and

Thur, Dec 5 - Feb 14: "Our Hoboken", Sovereign Bank, Hoboken, NJ
As seen on NJ.com online and offline in 'The Waterfront'

and

Mar 1 - Apr 12: "hob'art's Hoboken", Hoboken Historical Museum, Hoboken, NJ
Mar 1: Opening Reception
Mar 29: Panel discussion

Thought of the Day

The Oscars are a joke. The nominations are out. At first glance "The Wrestler" which is THE best American movie this year by far. And no Sally Hawkins for "Happy Go Lucky" the best performance by a male or female this entire year. It is tragic and I know the reason is because as of late, the Oscars has been taken over by the independent film and the foreign film and word was this was the end of the road for that. It is supposed to be the best movies of the year, but constantly what the Oscars comes down to is the best crap of the year.

I guess I will root for Anne Hathaway for easily the most startling and surprising performance of the year in Rachel Getting Married. They cannot have Sally win this year because remember Ms. Cotillard for La Vie En Rose of France last year and her amazing speech and then her views on 9/11? Nope, ain't gonna have a European this year. They did stick in Melissa Leo for Frozen River, which is a nice gesture, but that is all it is...a gesture. And Angelina Jolie is the most undeserved, overrated actor of her generation. I guess that means she is in the lead!

The Dark Knight, while a piece of shit (well, a good piece of shit), Heath Ledger gives a brilliant performance and should be awarded, no doubt, but eight Oscar nominations? While I have not seen The Curious Case of Brad Pitt's Buttons, I hear it is melodramatic and needs an editor (I will see it eventually) and to put this in as best picture and best actor is silly and takes up spots for more well deserved films, like the fucking "Wrestler!" Robert Downey, jr for Tropic Thunder? What?! And while I feel Frost/Nixon was a good film, Langella is excellent, a best director nod for Ron Howard is wholly undeserved. The movie takes its premise from an event, but then creates fiction. The event happened, but they bastardize it and play with it and it comes out as fiction, much the same way "the Hurricane" was criticised as well as many other Hollywood crapolas.

And the thing is, if the Oscars needed to go Hollywood, why not go Wall-E, a film that is getting rave reviews from mommies and children to the New Yorker. Why not credit good films, rather than films that have some good stuff, but when seen in their entirety they are mediocre, much like Slumdog Millionaire. For my money the best of the crap this year is Milk. Milk, which really isn't crap was a really good film with a great performance from a great actor. It is also has perfect timing. But, it is about the seventh best film this year. But, my money is on Slumdog.

But, what do I know? I still can't believe they gave Julia Roberts an Oscar.

1/20/09

It should have been earlier, but I will take it.

Change Has Come

The first person Obama called as the leader of the free world is Mahmood Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian people and promised to work toward a "durable peace." He called him hours after taking the oath of office and told him he was the first person he called as the American President.

Obama said: "This is my first phone call to a foreign leader and I'm making it only hours after I took office, according to Abbas' assistant.

I am encouraged and while Abbas has been very critical of Hamas (some of it very justified) it is a step forward. Maybe change has trule come. Along with closing down Guantanamo Bay trials and pledging a new transparency, I am hopeful.

Obama's speech

On a first read after a first hear this is so far my favorite part of the speech. There are several highlights I think and all in all is a good speech and only history will judge just how good, but I like these four stanzas in a row.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, 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 and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Americans take for granted the "peaceful transition of power" that is widely discussed in most inaugural addresses. It is true, the vast array of nations do not enjoy this transition and it is, on January 20th a startling sight to see, a marvel we should all be glad to witness and enjoy the fruits of such peace in at least, our homeland.

Especially, after living with these last eight years and the coup that occur ed in December of 2000. We did not take to the streets and cause violence. We chose to accept the decision of our Supreme Court, however illegitimate it might have been and the subsequent damage that has been done to our democracy since. Talk of impeachment, however should have been on the table, but again I digress because that is a different issue in some regards.

January 20th will be a sweet day for many and will usher in a new day for our nation with again a peaceful transition of power, a day the world waits for feverishly. It got me to thinking though, what are the greatest inaugural speeches? In modern day, of course it is Kennedy's which I posted earlier in the week, certainly a work of literature: Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace...

Roosevelt's first, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" and certainly George Washington's first address that was more a historic moment because of what it meant. But, the greatest speech by a President at an inaugural address is widely considered Lincoln's Second Inaugural address. Actually it isn't even disputed anymore and the speech is considered to have a place next to the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. He was our greatest President for many reasons that could and should be discussed, but in my opinion his skill as an orator, as a writer and as a person to convey what our nation means, not only in freedom and liberty, but in the tremendous contradictions and hypocrisy that endowed our nation. In his Second Inaugural Address he conveys all of this and is a man humbled by his mistakes and by his ability to have kept our nation in tact. Some say, he alone could have done that.

When I first read his speech I was going through personal crises and needed to come to terms with some painful realities and I read this speech and it helped because of its message of hope, humility and understanding. Lincoln conveyed to our nation our mistakes, but also our grandeur. This type of humility is unknown to politicians today (although Barack is a welcome change) and it is why he is considered our greatest gift to the world. It is such a marvelous document I wanted to share it with the SG. It is not only a work of literature, it is a work of art.

The London Spectator said of the speech at the time: "We cannot read it without a renewed conviction that it is the noblest political document known to history, and should have for the nation and the statesmen he left behind him something of a sacred and almost prophetic character."

It is also different in that it is tremendously short, much like the Gettysburg Address. Brevity is the key to wit could have been invented after Lincoln. He must have also been a marvelous lawyer to convey something so profound in so short an amount of words. Please read:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it--all sought to avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissole [sic] the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether"

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Paradise

Our friend Rajeev took this picture of the city by the bay. Ahhhhhh...I can feel my stress drift away.

Krispy Kreme as a Tool for Abortionists?

The very non-controversial Krispy Kreme doughnuts just became a political issue. They thought they might use inauguration day as a promotional tool to allow customers in their shops (much like Starbucks did on election day). It is probably a copy cat promotion indeed.

Anyway, first the Krispy Kreme promotion:

"Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies -- just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet 'free' can be."

The American Life League (look if you must) is protesting and is not happy with the "liberal" use of the word "choice." Take a read:

"The unfortunate reality of a post-Roe v. Wade America is that 'choice' is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of 'freedom of choice' is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand," the group's president, Judie Brown said in a statement. This lady has nothing on Anita Bryant.

It actually gets worse: "The next time you stare down a conveyor belt of slow-moving, hot, sugary glazed donuts at your local Krispy Kreme, you just might be supporting President-elect Barack Obama's radical support for abortion on demand - including his sweeping promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he steps in the Oval Office, Jan. 20. I tell ya this makes me want to go by a whole box.

On a happy note I did not know Obama planned to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act" as soon as he steps into office. It is actually true. Barack said: "The first thing I will do is sign the Freedom of Choice Act..." Good!! Let's hope Barack. Let's hope.

Anyway, they go further: "As of Thursday morning, communications director Brian Little could not be reached for comment. We challenge Krispy Kreme doughnuts to reaffirm their commitment to true freedom - to the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - and to separate themselves and their doughnuts from our great American shame.

If Krispy Kreme caves into these fundamentalist nutjobs I will never eat another Krispy Kreme again (I have only had a couple in my life, not that many up north). If they do not, I will happily visit a Krispy Kreme on Tuesday.

Eric Holder as Attorney General

Eric Holder, as Dick Durbin indicates changes the world with three words: "Waterboarding is torture." Progressives certainly have some gripes with the way some of the administration has come together, etc., but it will be nice to know we no longer live in a world where the United States tortures people - legally. Holder holds his own with this fundamentalist fanatic, John Cornyn, Senator from Texas. He gives him the Jack Bauer scenario (how did this make it through to our venacular) and Holder towards the end kind of chuckles at him, respectfully of course.

The Nation Cover

See if you can pick out all of the historic figures in this beautifully drawn cover of the Nation. Here is a list of some of them.