Audacity of Hope or Audacity of Greed

My thoughts stem from an ad in the Chicago Tribune from February 2nd which asks:

“Why is Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) proposing to use your money to bail out Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Carlyle, Blackstone and other private equity firms?”

The concern is that Obama’s stimulus plan may provide money or tax cuts to these private equity firms and companies with CEOs receiving HUGE salaries and massive bonuses.

Shouldn’t the stimulus plan be helping main stream America, as the candidates reiterated in the presidential debate?

Will Obama’s stimulus plan be successful or has greed and mis management gone too far to be turned around?

The Perils of Nature

From the time of the Wright Brothers, in 1903, to NASA’s trip to the moon, man has mastered the art of flying. Despite the advances in technology, there are numerous risks with every takeoff and landing. Continental Flight 3407 took off from Buffalo Niagara Airport on Februrary 12th. Along the way the pilots noted ice on the wings. The crash ended in a fireball(link to video of plane an fireball), with a loss of 49 lives. Earlier this year, another flight, US Airways flight 1549, was scheduled to land in Charlotte, N.C., on January 15th, encountered a flock of birds which caused the engines to fail. Miraculously, Captain Sullenberger managed to glide the plane into the Hudson River, saving everyone on board. It seems that most of us take for granted such technological advances and our safety. In both of these instances it seems that nature stepped in with disastrous consequences.
How can we come to terms with the loss of lives in Flight 3407? What can we learn from these events? What other perils has nature created for us?

What's Next After the Cowboy President?

Recently I read an article in the February 8th Chicago Tribune, “State of the uniform,” discussing Obama’s clothing choices. The article stated that, “Few presidents’ fashion choices have attracted as much attention as Barack Obama’s, yet each has left an impression in the annals of style.” The author, Constance White, goes on to discuss six presidents’ clothing choices. I found her analysis of George W. Bush the most interesting. White commented, “Evoking oil and swagger, George W. Bush’s cowboy boots and belts now seem emblematic of the Wild West Mentality.” This directly relates to our in-class discussion dealing with cowboys and furthermore the post similarly dealing with the “Myth of the West” and how several presidents have capitalized on this myth to give themselves and their administration an air of strength and purpose. White states that Obama’s “uniform” can be described as dapper, modern, classic, big-city polish, and confident. However, there is currently no theme like the “Wild West” associated with him as of yet.
What do you think Obama’s style will evolve into? What do you think his style will be called?

Messages Behind First Lady’s Clothes

I discovered an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “The First Lady Sends Messages With Dresses.” The author discussed the interesting style choices Mrs. Obama wore and the messages she portrayed through the designers she chose.
“The designers embodied multiculturalism, the universal immigrant’s success story and the quest for the American dream- and their frocks, as a result, were much more than just pieces of silk and crystals stitched together. They provided a powerful visual symbol of the struggles and triumphs that Barack Obama has spoken of in his sweeping speeches about this country,” stated Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan.
Obama’s day dress and jacket were designed by Ms. Toledo, a small fashion business owner born in Cuba who left for the U.S. as a child in search of a better life.
The evening gown she wore was created by Jason Wu, a 26 year old Taipei-born designer who lived in Paris and Vancouver before launching his own line in 2006.
Also, messages were sent out by the outfits of the Obamas’ daughters. They were designed by J. Crew, not high-end outfits. This was in an attempt to send a message regarding the challenging economic times.
As our class discussed, secret messages appear in all artifacts of history. These immigrant designer’s success stories and search for the American dream echo the messages presented in President Obama’s speeches.

Do you think that Mrs. Obama’s designer choices will continue with this style in the future?
“Will she be less likely to take chances on the Jason Wu’s of the world?”
How can these messages help our country?
What other ways is the Obama family sending positive messages to the public?