Respect

Yesterday, Premium T. and I went to fundraiser headlined by President Obama.

For about a half hour, he gave an expansive, funny, and optimistic speech that attacked Republicans for counting on voter amnesia and for offering nothing but cynicism and fear. Obama told a Lincolnesque anecdote about a man and a woman (the fundraiser was for Washington senator Patty Murray) who struggled mightily to get a car out a ditch while the driver looked on (sipping a Slurpee, according to the president). Just when the car was back on the road, the driver held out his hand and demanded the keys.

As he finished, I though to myself that this man and his family wake up every morning to an unrelenting torrent of vile racism from the right, a flood of invective that half the left ennobles as economic populism. He persists with a system so stacked against change that mediocrities like Scott Brown, toadies like Mary Landrieu, megalomaniacs like Joe Lieberman, frightened rabbits like Blanche Lincoln, hacks like Ben Nelson, and cynical hypocrites like Olympia Snowe can actually mold legislation simply by threatening to block it, and claim to stand on principle when they do.

And yet, Barack Obama can smile and tell us with conviction that we can believe in the American capacity for goodness and achievement. Me, I don't have that kind of courage or commitment, and I doubt that many do. Anyone who does, deserves respect even from those who disagree with him...

Bob Cesca on Ground Zero and the profaning of Gettysburg. What has happened to Gettysburg is why I revere this place, which is by comparison haunted and pure...

Sunday Funnies & Arts

As always, click to enlarge. For more Doonesbury, Tom Toles, Ben Sargeant, and Zippy the Pinhead, go here, here, here, and here...

Happy Birthday, Editilla!...

Happy songs...

Last night, Premium T. and I celebrated Valentine's Day at Cafe Juanita, where we got married. Here's the menu:

First Course

Maine Lobster with Green Apple Sorbetto and Lobter Butter Powder

Chiavennasca '07 Pietro Nera, La Novella

Second Course

Raviolo of Dog Mountain* Duck Egg and Full Circle Farms Sunchokes with Smoked Sea Salt

Barbera d'Alba '07 Bricco del Tempo

Third Course

Filet of John Dory with Winter Citrus

Rosso di Montalcino '05 Agostina Pieri

Fourth Course**

Loin of Veal and Crisp Sweetbreads with Brussels Sprouts, Truffled Potato Crema, Porcini Sauce and Pickled Quince

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo '04 Masciarelli, Marina Cvetic

Dessert

Pralus Chocolate Souffle

Porto '01 Dow's LBV

* A local organic farm

** I substituted Wagyu steak

The heck with Abraham Lincoln -- what about Rutherford B. Hayes? Now there was a real president...

So a big Texan stops at a local restaurant following a day roaming around Mexico. While sipping tequila, he notices a sizzling, delicious-looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful. So he asks the waiter, "What is that you just served?"

"Ah senor," the waiter replies, "you have excellent taste! Those are called Cojones de Toro: bull testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!"

The Texan hears that and says, "By God, bring me an order."

"I am so sorry senor," the waiter apologizes. "There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy."

The next morning, the Texan returns and places his order. Sure enough, that evening he is served the one and only special delicacy of the day. After a few bites, inspecting his platter, he called to the waiter and said, "These are fantastico, but they are a hell of a lot smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday."

The waiter shrugged and replied, "Si, Senor. Sometimes the the bull wins."

Speaking in Tongues: Novelist Zadie Smith (White Teeth, On Beauty) explores the links between George Bernard Shaw, Cary Grant, John and William Shakespeare, Lord Halifax, herself, Frank O'Hara, and L'il Wayne to Barack Obama in this tour de force:

It's my audacious hope that a man born and raised between opposing dogmas, between cultures, between voices, could not help but be aware of the extreme contingency of culture. I further audaciously hope that such a man will not mistake the happy accident of his own cultural sensibilities for a set of natural laws, suitable for general application. I even hope that he will find himself in agreement with George Bernard Shaw when he declared, "Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it." But that may be an audacious hope too far. We'll see if Obama's lifelong vocal flexibility will enable him to say proudly with one voice "I love my country" while saying with another voice "It is a country, like other countries." I hope so. He seems just the man to demonstrate that between those two voices there exists no contradiction and no equivocation but rather a proper and decent human harmony.

Citizen K. has begun following angels and people / life in New Orleans, a photographic witness of everyday happenings in the Crescent City...

Anthony Suau wins the World Press Photo of the Year Award for 2008...

Molly the Dog looks out at a dingy waiting room filled with discouraged people:

They look sad and tired. Most have been waiting there for hours. Some of them have appointments and some don't. For a few moments I think I'm working in a clinic in a third world country. Then I remember I'm looking at the poor in a major US city.

Sunday Gospel Hour: Aretha Franklin leads the Georgetown University choir in "Battle Hymn of the Republic":

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:"

Say A Little Prayer

Anyone who reads Citizen K. regularly knows that he took an eye-opening trip to New Orleans last spring, and that ever since then he become obnoxiously assertive about the importance of New Orleans, its greatness, and the extent to which the federal government failed it in the wake of the manmade catastrophe initiated by Hurricane Katrina. And remember: Disasters can happen anywhere, and it would be nice to know that we can all count on an effective government response.

Citizen K.'s New Year's Resolution is to do his small part to help by putting a link to at least one article or photo about New Orleans every day. Luckily, there are great resources like the New Orleans Ladder, the New Orleans Daily Photo, Offbeat, and WWOZ. (In addition, these sites help me keep the NOLA Happenings sidebar current.) So:

BeauSoleil performs live in the WWOZ studios today at 3 p.m. CST...

When it comes to FEMA, Congress has its work cut out for it. But there are some things it can do: 

Real recovery will require action by Congress, especially when it comes to post-disaster housing. Of the many tragic failures of FEMA in the last seven years, those related to housing were among the most conspicuous. And they were caused in part by Congressional blunders.

Going green in New Orleans:

Amidst the challenges is a remarkable vitality, a life force as artful as the oak trees lining St. Charles Avenue. Live music and Second Lines reflect a city that honors its heritage, while new additions, like the Prospect.1 biennial, embrace the future. It makes sense that this city of rebirth is a locus for sustainable design, green non-profit groups, and art projects that are both innovative and eco-aware.

Friday's Choice: Aretha Franklin -- the incomparable Queen of Soul -- says a little prayer for all of us: