goddess of clarity: a blog about politics, culture, and serenity
Archive: May 16 - May 31, 2005
May 25, 2005 — 09:18 EST
The Unflattering Politician Photo of the Week
(Rochester Presidential Visit Edition)
President Bush: "Heh, heh, heh. Hi there, folks. It's great to be here in Rah-chest-terr."
Actually, that's a pretty good summary of the "town hall meeting" the president held on Social Security here yesterday. It wasn't much more enlightening. Bush exchanged folksy banter with the invitation-only crowd (tickets were given to community groups and local politicians to distibute; interestingly, Rochester's Democratic mayor wasn't even invited) and a couple of local families were hand-picked to ask the president "questions." Tough, hard-hitting, probing questions like: "I'm a young American who knows for a fact that I have a greater chance of being abducted by aliens than I do of ever seeing a Social Security check. Could you explain to us why your plan to save Social Security is so wonderful and why we should all support it?"
I am, of course, taking the piss—but only very slightly. Here is a excerpt from the actual transcript of the event:
THE PRESIDENT: So you've got grandmom here, you've got mom here.
MR. BROWN: I've got the brother out in the audience—one of the three is out in the audience, the other grandparents.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. First of all, what are you doing with yourself these days?
MR. BROWN: Well, I'm 18; I'm a sophomore at Canisius College, in Buffalo. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: What's your major?
MR. BROWN: I'm dual-majoring in business marketing and business management.
THE PRESIDENT: Great. All A's?
MR. BROWN: Hopefully. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, don't worry about it. That won't disqualify you from being President. (Applause.) All right, Jeremy, get going, will you?
MR. BROWN: Well, being the younger generation, I'm just starting to pay into the system. I like the idea of having these personal accounts, getting a better rate of return in the end, and compound interest and everything so I build up something for myself that I could leave for my future kids and everything. And I like the fact that I'll have something to show for it, because people go and pay decades and decades into Social Security and when it comes time for me to retire, if we don't change, I'll have nothing to show for it.
THE PRESIDENT: You know what's interesting—I say this a lot when I travel around the country—is that a lot of young people think it's more likely they'll see a UFO than a Social Security check. (Laughter.) What do you think, Jeremy?
MR. BROWN: I don't know. I'd rather see Social Security change. (Laughter.)
Sigh. You can read the full transcript, if you think you can stomach it, at the White House site.
—lori.
May 24, 2005 — 13:00 EST
Rochester's annual Lilac Festival just ended this past weekend, and Mr. Goddess and I took the new digital toy up to Highland Park. (I've posted some flowery photos.) We always go to the festival early in the morning before anything actually opens. I know that's probably not very "festive" of us, by I like my festivals quiet and devoid of other people.
—lori.
May 20, 2005 — 12:38 EST :: permalink
BREAKING NEWS! It was just confirmed that President Bush will be in Rochester on Tuesday to continue his social security roadshow. Note to self: stay away from the vicinity of Greece Athena High School unless my John Kerry bumper sticker and I want to land ourselves in a free speech zone somewhere in Irondequoit.
—lori.
May 19, 2005 — 13:25 EST
It only took us about eight months of research and assorted hemming and hawing, but we finally pulled the trigger on our digital camera purchase. I must say I have no buyer's remorse whatsoever, and I'm extremely happy with our new Kodak EasyShare DX6490 4.0 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 10X optical zoom lens. Armed with this serious piece of gadgetry, I can now take digital pictures of things I never would have thought to capture on film. And what's more, I can then share these Kodak moments with my fellow cybercitizens.
Starting now:
It's my Oscar the Grouch latch hook pillow! Actually, it's a bit premature to call it a "pillow." It is more accurately described as a "flat fluffy square," which I think you'll agree has limited utility. The problem is that the turning-it-into-a-pillow phase of this project requires, well, skills. Namely sewing skills. As opposed to latch hooking skills, nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills ...
—lori.