Weekly Address Plus

President Obama's first weekly address reviews his plan for economic recovery:

As part of his commitment to operate an open government, the president announced a new web site called recovery.gov as a vehicle for citizens to track the the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and see "how and where your tax dollars are spent..."

I am pro-choice and come from a close-knit family. Although I know better in my head, the term "pro choice" conjures a decision to get an abortion as something that comes about after reasoned consultation with family and with the family physician, and that the aftermath will occur in the context of a supportive environment. I find myself oddly pleased that the abortion will not occur in a back alley or back room. At Caterpillars and Butterflies, Molly the Dog's account of a poor and pregnant 20-year old who can't go through another abortion reminds me that -- for too many women -- this is a fantasy:

She began to tell me about her dreams of going to college in the fall. She wants to be a medical assistant but now doesn't know if she can do it. She started telling me in a young, whiny voice how tired she is and wants a note to let her employer know why she keeps putting her head down on the desk. I was struck by the immaturity of this, the need for a note from her doctor, like she's still in high school and needs an excuse because she has the flu. She's about to cross that bridge to adulthood too soon, I thought.

Then there's Molly's account of another 20-year patient who wants to adopt a foster child in need of a bone marrow transplant. Be sure to read about this encounter with a truly remarkable young woman...

Foxessa wonders why anyone would object to Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Day hat (I loved it, myself) and concludes that they are ignorant of the statement it made...The way I look at it, this is Aretha Franklin we're talking about here. The Queen of Soul. Someone who has brought untold happiness and joy to millions of people. She can wear whatever hat she wants whereever she wants. But as Foxessa explains, the choice of hat was not random...

The search for a new FEMA director is on. Arabian horse breeders need not apply...

Obama's inauguration allows Katrina activists to hope, cautiously: 

It's cool we have a brother in the White House now...But guess what? The election of the first black president has happened, it's over and now he's got to fulfill the hope that I have felt that his election would bring to the Gulf Coast.

R. I. P., David "Fathead" Newman, band leader and sideman for the likes of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Doug Sahm, Lowell Fulson, and T-Bone Walker. Here, Newman leads his quartet through "Cristo Redento:"