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It is not strange that the greatest nation on earth is facing nihilism—the destruction of the very philosophy of what it is as a nation—by the most innocuous of ideas, bipartisanship!
Many will disagree. It is not bipartisanship that is our enemy; it is the foundations of this nation, what we stand for that is the problem, why we are failing.
Interesting hypothesis, but in reality, if we measure this nation today is there any verification it could possibly be?
Let's look at the facts as they exist. The — now right here, we run into a problem. What is this nation? We began as a federation of independent colonies, united as states, creating a constitution…and more wondrous before that the 'Articles of Confederation…giving limited powers and submitting those same limits to that central government calling this nation the 'States united in America.
So that concept…perhaps the greatest form of government of society every conceived…was our genesis, our beginning. Who, who among us can say that nation, those ideals, that wonder, miracle has not as America's greatest tyrant identified, 'not perished from the earth?'
As anyone studies the course of history, one thing is clear. There is always opposition to whatever is proposed. Perhaps that is the sinew, the need for any society to preserve the liberty of man, we do not agree. There has never been any society anywhere known in the history of mankind that agreement, without argument, discussion, and reasoning was required—unless absolute destruction ended up as the result. From the known speculation of history, Sargon the Great, defeated foes creating an empire he required the sword, the law of the jungle—might over right—for one power to dominate another. Opposition, those not in agreement who were as much of the event as the event itself. The argument won with force, but the existence of disagreement created a choice of one over the other.
The Greek city-states, the concept of men of the community—those with the status of citizens—not universal suffrage—participated in the direction of government. It was not the unilateral agreement that led to choice, it was the opposition, and the antithesis of acknowledging and presenting the possible results of another course that led to…what they believed…were wiser decisions.
When this opposition is removed, what has history shown us is the result? In some cases, when the objective is world domination, we have the history of a time and in a place, been show it can succeed. Alexander the Great as a military force, conquered many peoples. The empire he created does not exist today. Is this not a question, something to identify that something was missing, something required, something identifiable that domination only works so long? What is missing that creates discourse leading to the dissolving of such societies? Were the people, not in agreement? Is this not confirmation that the opposition of some when not being subjugated will not last?
Each and every one of us have our own independence of thought. Resulting of course, that we, each and every individual, see and act toward the reality of life different. Some of us are a bit cynical, while others choose the path of compromise, acceptance, and conformity. Some easily agree, while others to nauseam can continually identify that errors exists, and it is only by accepting that the error is there, then agree. Some never see any errors, content in the world that man is god little (g) on earth, and as such comes up with such remarkable conclusions who could possible not accept the results?
Not a psychologist, not even a humanist, why this difference is, I'm completely without reason. That it does exist, I'm completely positive it does. For in my life, my life's experiences both of these personalities I've known, and interacted with. Often wondering if the cynicism of my thinking isn't the result of the environment of my youth. For in the family of my extension, the political positions were as polarizes as the difference between the planets North and South Pole.
As a youth, I could but listen, not knowing that the political parties, as the polarity of our earth, change polarity. Little knowing that the Republican Party was born on the wings of theft, while the Democratic Party had its genesis in the preservation of individual liberty, for in my youth that was not their position, as they had shifted and each become the other, to represent a different—and completely opposite—political spectrum.
As life continued and I learned, the realization that the nature of man, and his lust for power, was of greater interest to politicians than little things; like the preservation of this nation's wonder. Perhaps this is the true danger of the idea of bipartisanship. For when man in power, especially political power, decide that by cooperation for their benefit, the hell with the country, that country is in deep trouble.
Is that the reason I've always been enamored with the design of the Articles of Confederation? Perhaps, for life has taught me, if you give government no power, government has no power. It is as the Iroquois Federation has understood, and applied with results, in their society. How long, we'll never know. For their society had not the literacy of records, and the history of recording. How long did it last as the foundations for this nation, we know. A nation of individual liberty without the chains of slavery imposed by government existed from the 'idealism' of such, motivating those who fought to create this nation to join. Lasting from 1775, through the rebellion, through the beginning of this nation's entry to wonder, until quashed and destroyed by the Wigs in their determination to use government to enslave this society as all other societies always were, and are to this day, in 1789 embracing the constitution.
We know the names of our snake oil salesmen that sold us this wonder. If any names stand out in infamy Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams will always be enshrined in the hall of effigy for this nation. While the opposition to what they did, the very men who were so instrumental in the creation of the constitution, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, missed the whole danger of what they—as Frankenstein's monster—created. Even then, this worry, this problem with giving government power was so intrinsic in the American people it took the greatest sales job ever. It took the coercion of the impossibility…that something can come from nothing, as so many believe our universe is…to relive the debt of the states, and transfer it to the federal government, now that was true hallucination, to achieve man's mental disengagement. Even then, the people, with this intrinsic innate foundations of reality, would not buy in, until the ultimate—do we have a deal for you—was added to the pot, the Bill of Rights. Even then, think about this, it took several years, much rejection and the coalition of indoctrination before ratified. Both Alexander Hamilton, who was as opposed to a nation of liberty equal to our current president, and John Jay, about at self-centered a narcissist as our current president on each side of James Madison, who was the third member of a convention of wolves as a sheep as they decided what to have for dinner, to succeed.
There is and always has been one major problem with the concept of 'authorizing' power without responsibility. The examples are many. The absolute un-American concept of corporations, rejected at the original constitutional conventions as it is obvious, forgotten when those as Hamilton and Jay blinded the citizens of this nation allowing consolidation of central authority and power, the inverse of the design of wonder of our creation.
The reason that so many, many who understood the fallacy of granting power, and then thinking it can be enumerated also recognized. Think of this simple acknowledgement made by Benjamin Franklin, 'those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.' Is there any more prophetic enlightenment than that? Can any among us not identify that if we use reality as the measurement, we have achieved this exact speculation, this hypothesis? Who, where, and how is even the concept of 'liberty' a part of the conversation today? If known, share, for the rest of us in this nation do not hear these words! We do not hear the windows being thrown open, the voices rising in unison, 'I'm madder than hell and I'm not going to take it anymore'—and as Patrick Henry cry—'give me liberty or give me death.'
Is not the cry we hear, give me, give me, give me, the only sound resonating among those who are citizens of this nation? This is so intrusive and caustic it is not only from the citizens, it is also from those who are not citizens…here illegally…demanding what is theirs from that same government. Is not the question, what is theirs?
We often forget the worry of man, such as Thomas Jefferson about government. In his first inaugural speech he said; 'Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.'
Is it not somewhat ironic that the one we identify as the father of the Democratic Party has in the records of his lifetime been more of an inspiration to those of the current 'Tea Party' than any we can find in the empirical history of the Republican Party? Another anomaly that seems so bizarre and strange is that in the history of the Republican Party only two men stand out, and neither was the choice or the one that advanced the foundations of the Parties desires. One Warren Harding…who by the reality of reality my hypothesis was the first president eliminated by the very party he represented…who has the only 'Award of Cincinnatus' ever presented to a president, for he did all for the country, not himself and the party he represented…that reduced the size of government. That is about the most incomprehensible concept that is so foreign to this nation today it seems it has some impossibly of physics, preventing it, some barrier of existence, which will not allow such. A favorite son, as the Republican Party could not agree among himself what level of thief they could agree. Accepting a neutral, so neither group…for their own self-interest…of parasites gained advantage.
The other, strangely picked as the choice of the people. Think today, as the, could you visualize someone who loved this nation, its principles, its idealism, its philosophy as Ronald Regan being the choice of the Republican 'PARTY?' If so then you have a greater ability of a willing suspension of disbelief than even those who say they are Democrat and don't realize their party is communist.
Think of that, two men, two Americans while the others nothing but shills, actors, politicians, those who do a sleigh of the hand, the tap dance, talk the talk, but never walk the walk have been elected for the 'PARTY,' not the nation.
Thomas Jefferson made some remarkable observations that were as if he could see the future, see this absolute debacle, this travesty our nation has become. '[It is a] happy truth that man is capable of self-government, and only rendered otherwise by the moral degradation designedly superinduced on him by the wicked acts of his tyrant.' Is it not strange that it is the demagogue, the tyrant that has so often veered this nation's course? The beginning of nation debt, the theft of the corporation of Alexander Hamilton, buying up the debt of American, financed off the backs of the people, and accepted by the soldier, those who gave their live in harm's way, as payment. That because of the way it would be financed and repaid had been made worthless, much as our dollar today is being done by this present incompetent administration, where it was worth a 'continental,' as our dollar, devalued to worthless. Is it not strange that after buying up these worthless, as our current T-bills, at market value…then as the secretary of the treasury…after the mistake of accepting slavery of the constitution, deciding to pay back the debt not on market value, but on face value. Is it not interesting that those of the Hamilton, the Jays, all of those who had no problem with recreating all of the problems that had created the loss of liberty in other nation—national banks, centralized control of government…the constitution…national debt enslaving society for perpetuity. What did he do that was good for this nation? The answer all should know.
How did we get here, bipartisanship? Bipartisanship that the federal government, central banking, and all of the evils of intrusion into the wealth of this nation, by government, would be accepted to take the debt. Why did the Secretary of the Treasury take the debt? For he as a true tyrant, realized that if you control the money, you control the people. And we, the citizens of this nation have been paying for it ever since.
Did we pass the statement of Jefferson, when he declared, 'we are a people capable of self-government, and worthy of it.' Is the test finished, have we passed?
Perhaps we failed, and sadly, we didn't learn. For the next tyrant, think of this political campaign and the consequences. A spokesman for tariffs, national banks, and railroads, with a promise: 'Vote yourself a farm!' Sounds like he read Alexis de Tocqueville, 'as one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in.' Is that not a sad epitaph for any nation? Throw in the complete destruction of not only the constitution, the idealism we are a republic form of government, and add a war, and I think you'd agree we had a tyrant.
It was the foundations destroyed—the bipartisanship of agreement—while dismissing and acquiescing not to this nation's principles. This nation acquiesced to a government, accepting the bipartisanship that which is not, nor was not this nation's ideals. This nation acquiesced to a government, accepting the bipartisanship of the diametric opposite of our philosophy, our mores, our morals. All of what we are not, nor were ever designed to be, all in the name of some illusion, some misconstruction of a false misconception of what this nation was ever to be.
It doesn't end. It is a continuum, a miracle of how we become enveloped in actions lacking reason, all in the name of some irrational bipartisanship. Today in Texas, once again this compromising of irrational compromise again raised its ugly head. Today dealing with the problem of the ideologues with conviction of the inconceivable unproven and unverifiable concept, that something, our universe, came from nothing. In the clash with those who accept through faith that, something is required to create all there is and all there will ever be, reached a bipartisan compromise. The compromise, only those in education can be on the review for textbooks dealing with this question.
Does not that make you wonder about the creditability of whoever made this decision? I've met religious zealots in my journey of life, those that are fundamentalist in the Bible beyond anything I could ever conceive of accepting, but none of them, even the most off the top, over the cliff, and beyond reason can even come close to the indoctrination of falsehoods and lies perpetuated by the academic environment of our schools. Add to that the pseudo-science of being educated as an educator and you have the ultimate of an ideologue squared. I've never met anyone in academic education that even pretends they have any capacity to think. They are content that they have been indoctrinated, that they've learned, and in the pseudo-science world of academia, been given a piece of paper that confirms they know all. Who can challenge such verification? After all, talk to so many in our academic environment. Then you make your own decision. It would be as to say, in a school of tuna, we are only going to allow the swordfish, the power to decide anything about the tuna. Is not the self-interest of the academic employee more important to them, than truth or even the hypothesis of possibilities? How can we use this insanity of bipartisanship to reach any conclusion is beyond me.
Should not all questions be—as the oBOMBa health care fiasco should have been? No it is wrong, and as the opposition, we will not acquiesce. We will not make a version of the same disease, only our disease of society not yours. We will not stand silent; we will be in opposition, continually, never stop in our efforts to stop the mistake? Should that not be the opposition? How in the hell can anyone with any capacity of thought compromise on anything related to this irrational incomprehensible advancement of not our design, but communism, in this nation?
We need not bipartisanship. We need not just opposition. We as a nation for our survival need absolute rejection, non-ending rejection, and complete all-out effort against every policy, every idea, every action, which is in rejection of this nation's design. We as the people, as Americans must first stand for the preservation of this nation—our culture, our ethnicity, our design of a nation of liberty—while preserving the protection of men are equal.
We should shudder; chills should go up our back whenever we hear anyone say we are bipartisan. For bipartisan means, we the political parties working together in agreement, can reduce the liberty destroy your form of government more than each one of us…the political parties…can do alone.
Views: 236
Long Post! A great many in the GOP are "go along, get along", don't fight the leadership you may get on their black list. You can bet they don't want Term Limits, they just want to stay on the DC Gravy Train. Where ARE the answers (TRUTH) Special Select Committee for THE PEOPLE about: Fast & Furious, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the NSA trashing of our First Amendment Rights? Where are the Good Old Party boys fighting for OUR Second Amendment Rights? Where are OUR heroes who took an OATH OF OFFICE on the Bible to uphold OUR CONSTITUTION? Not all, but many of them are wheeling and dealing their way back imto office with anyone or anything that can get them there.
How did our country survive for almost 300 years before Obama, and how could life possibly go on without him and his cult of liberal cronies, government corruption, and Obamacare? I am sure somehow there must be a way. I just hope we have a chance to try it in three more years.
"Perhaps we failed, and sadly, we didn't learn. For the next tyrant, think of this political campaign and the consequences."
Let us name off a few tyrant's
Chris Christie - A blow hard and as my better half spoke today while driving, "the s***T head knew about the Bridge Incident" Response, No his not a s***t-Head. Just plain s****ttie as a person.
RUBIO - Been asked by many bloggers to fess up to his heritage -tries to bully his way to the top because he is a BUSH protégée.
Jeb BUSH - Here is a zinger on this idiot.
At 11th Hour, He Bought Enron. But Why?
By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: March 3, 2002
THREE months into the Enron scandal, many mysteries remain unsolved. Outside of those slowly unraveling in Houston, one of the biggest concerns the Florida state pension fund, which lost $328 million -- among the largest losses suffered by any Enron shareholder. All fall, as Enron's stock plunged, Alliance Capital and its star money manager, Alfred Harrison, bought more and more Enron shares for the Florida fund.
Mr. Harrison bought nearly 1.3 million Enron shares for Florida. In the end, Florida's Enron holdings shrank to $2.1 million -- pocket change for a $95 billion portfolio."
Bush was Florida Governor and should be required to repay the $328+ million. After all ENRON is the BUSH signature across the globe along with other wealthy families in on the scam.
A thief by fiat is not qualified to be President.
No need to name off HILLARY (the liar with a dead body count approaching 100)
Any BLACK candidate because most white people will not fall for that trick again!
Sarah Palin - was a great unofficial leader for awhile but did not even know what she was!
M. Bachman - not enough gutsy statements to tell people like OBAMA and the criminal element to eff-off.
McCain - dead rino that smells
Mitt Romney - lost the bubble in debates with OBAMA - Should have asked, "Show your papers?" Here are mine.
Our only bet can be on Scott Walker from Wisconsin or the Gov of Ohio.
All else are paid for and groomed BUSH people.
I look at bi-partisan as two wolves and a sheep are together and the wolves get to decide what is for lunch. The American people are the sheep and our elected political parties are the wolves. We ALWAYS lose whenever bi-partisan works. Bottom line is RINO'S moving left to satisfy the Democrats.
Dan, you said:
I've met religious zealots in my journey of life, those that are fundamentalist in the Bible beyond anything I could ever conceive of accepting, but none of them, even the most off the top, over the cliff, and beyond reason can even come close to the indoctrination of falsehoods and lies perpetuated by the academic environment of our schools.
That's your "money quote," I'd say. Although, the People In Charge of education get a lot more mileage out of half-truths, personal bias, and deliberate omissions, than from outright lies.
...Yeah, I don't feel like compromising with a) people who hate our country or b) their counterparts (the sellouts and defeatists) either.
The RINO leadership has crossed the aisle and are now defacto democrats. Every policy issue that comes up gets the democrat lead treatment by the RIno. We need to either inject TP candidates into the house and if that fails, start a third party.
How true.
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The Kalvoda family from Minnesota is spending their spring break in Panama City Beach.
"The grandparents are down here and when we researched it we found a lot of great things for the kids to do as well," said Ron Kalvoda.
According to a new poll, the Kaldova family is not the norm, when it comes to the type of spring break visitors we usually get.
That poll shows, Panama City Beach is not a top spring break destination for most families.
The beach has not been able to completely shake its wild stigma, but the Tourist Development Council said the beach is family friendly, and there is something for everyone.
"Our tagline is, "Real Fun Beach", and it really is a real fun beach," said Susan Estler, the vice president of marketing for the TDC. "There's something for everyone and an interest for everyone."
And they are quick to point out that March is the third largest collection month for the tourism bed tax, and the Spring Breakers are an important part of the beach's market.
However, June and July are the biggest months, which is when more families visit.
"We're here to have fun too, it's just a different kind of fun," said Kalvoda.

subset: commoncrawl


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Race: Surprise mayor
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Results of the Surprise 2009 general obligation bond election.
Minutes from Surprise General Obligation Bond Committee meetings, December 2008-May 2009.
Video of Oct. 23, 2008, Surprise City Council meeting.
Surprise's resolution on a citizen bond election committee.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- University of Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore announced today a $100 million fund-raising campaign for athletic facility improvements.
"Today, we formally announce to the public the Crimson Tradition drive," Moore said. "The funds raised by this campaign will enable us to fulfill our goal of elevating our athletic facilities and complex to a pre-eminent status by raising $50 million from private gifts and another $50 million from the issuance of bonds for a capital improvement project that will total $100 million.
"Currently, twenty-eight of our most loyal supporters have joined together with the University to form the Crimson Tradition Committee. To show their unyielding support, this group has pledged to floor this campaign.
"Each of these individuals recognizes that the improvements will not only positively affect our ability to recruit and compete in the Southeastern Conference but also understands the esthetic value the renovations and additions will lend to our campus and to the City of Tuscaloosa.
"The University of Alabama Athletic Department is also proud that at no time in its recent history has it asked for or sought state funds to help improve its facilities. The monies have come from self-sustaining funds, issuing of bonds; and in the case of the more recent completion of Bryant-Denny, the County of Tuscaloosa, the City of Tuscaloosa and the City of Northport so generously paid $4.5 million of the $37 million expansion."
Recent installation of a new surface for the Hank Crisp Indoor Building officially began the upgrading process. Architects are currently working on the other projects and when plans are officially approved, the building of these facilities will begin.
The necessity of accommodating fans for men's and women's basketball, gymnastics and volleyball will be vital in the architects' plans for work on Coleman Coliseum.
The facility improvement plan will include the following:
The plaza area will create a landscape that will not only vividly enhance the appearance of Bryant-Denny but also the entire campus.
Heery International, Inc., who spearheaded the west and east side expansions of Bryant-Denny, has been retained to continue the development of The University of Alabama Athletic Complex. Heery is located in Atlanta, Ga., and further information may be obtained at their web site:www.Heery.com.
Also, PH&J Architects, Inc., of Montgomery, Ala., assisted in this project, helping develop the master plan for the facilities. For further information about PH&J call 334-265-8781.
The Crimson Tradition Fund Committee, chaired by Paul Bryant, Jr., is comprised of the following University of Alabama supporters: Owen W. Arnonov, Montgomery, Ala.; Randy Billingsley, Mobile, Ala.; Paul W. Bryant, Jr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Sonny Bunn, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Terry Bunn, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Angus Cooper, II, Mobile, Ala.; Gary Neill Drummond, Birmingham, Ala.; Elise Durbin, Birmingham, Ala.; Melissa Durbin, Birmingham, Ala.; William E. Ezell, Fairhope, Ala.; Wayne H. Gillis, Birmingham, Ala.; Joe Kelley, Nashville, Tenn.; John J. McMahon, Jr.; Birmingham, Ala.; Robert W. (Bud) Moore, Catherine, Ala.; Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore, Md.; Thomas L. Patterson, Birmingham, Ala.; Johnny Plott, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Farid Rafiee, Huntsville, Ala.; Ambassador Joseph M. Rodgers, Nashville, Tenn.; Richard Scrushy, Birmingham, Ala.; Britt Sexton, Decatur, Ala.; Bart Starr, Birmingham, Ala.; Ted Taylor, Prattville, Ala.;Michael D. Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; Stanley Verciglio, Birmingham, Ala.; Duncan Williams, Memphis, Tenn. and James W. Wilson, III, Montgomery, Ala.


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IMSI Assignment and Management Guidelines and Procedures
The "IMSI Assignment and Management Guidelines and Procedures" contains the guidelines and procedures for the assignment and use of International Mobile Subscriber Identities (IMSIs) in the United States with consideration given to other North American Numbering Plan (NANP) countries.
The document is updated and revised by the IOC as the need arises and is currently in Version 15.0, last updated March 2014. Revisions to the guidelines are effective upon publication by the IOC Secretariat.
IMSI Assignment and Management Guidelines Version 15 (.doc)
All applications for IMSIs are submitted and processed through the IMSI-A website.
For your convenience the following are available for download separate from the full Guidelines above:
IOC Issue/Appeal Identification Form (.doc)
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Application and Related Forms Package (.doc)


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Conversations On Diversity and Inclusion- She Said, She Said: A Multigenerational Conversation on Feminism
Category: Diversity
Where: BMU 210
When: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 from 12pm to 1pm
Cost: Free
Contact Info.: Office of Diversity and Inclusion — (530) 898-4764
The Conversations on Diversity and Inclusion series focuses on the complexities of group and individual identities and how they influence one another. The gatherings provide a safe space for members of the campus community to consider the often sensitive issues surrounding identity. These conversations are the committee's attempt to expose and treat the various ills we see reflected on our campus and in our community--xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, classism, ignorance, apathy, etc., as well as celebrate our differences. The series will be held from 12:00 – 1:00 pm in BMU 210. For more information contact the Office of Diversity at 898-4764.


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September 6, 1998
Box Score
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Bruins' women's volleyball team showed a taste of the future in their third match of the season as No. 18 ranked UCLA battled No. 13 Ohio State in a five game match before the Buckeyes pulled off the win, 1-15, 15-3, 11-15, 15-8, 15-11, in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday night.
The Bruins entered the match focused and looking to win their first game while the Buckeyes were 1-1 entering the match, upsetting No. 6 on Friday but losing to No. 14 Hawaii in straight games on Saturday.
Led by freshman outside hitter Ashley Bowles, who hit .395 and ended the night with a team-high 21 kills, the Bruins stunned the Buckeyes in the first game, 15-1. With the defensive strength of sophomore Michelle Quon and seven players over six-feet, UCLA hung on for as long as they could until succumbing in rally scoring. Junior outside hitter Rosie Snow led Ohio State with 27 kills and a .365 hitting percentage. Setter Jen Flynn contributed with the game's only double-double of 14 kills and 16 digs.
In the final match of the tournament, it took two hours and 42 minutes for No. 6 Florida to put away No. 14 Hawaii. But they still didn't win it all.
In front of a boisterous crowd of 5,536 (6,826 tickets issued) at the Stan Sheriff Center, the Gators defeated the Wahine, 16-14, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10. But due to the tie-breaker system used to determine the winning percentage of games won and games played, the Wahine walked away with the tournament's perpetual trophy. Florida went 2-1 and placed second in the tournament while Ohio State posted a 2-1 record to finish third.
All-Tournament Team
Rosie Snow Ohio State Jen Flynn Ohio State Veronica Lima Hawai'i Heather Bown Hawai'i Ashley Bowles UCLA Jennifer Sanchez Florida
Most Outstanding Player:
Jenny Manz Florida


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Each Thursday patrons will receive 25% off all bottles of wine priced at $100.00 or less all evening long.
And the restaurant will still be offering its weekly "Chef's Tasting" menu during the summer months. This is a 3-course prix-fixe available for $25.00 per person, Sunday - Thursday. Listed below is the latest tasting menu...
1st Course:
Kobe Beef Carpaccio
Pecorino Romano, Olive Oil
2nd Course:
Mixed Greens Salad
Soppressata, Blue Cheese, Raisins, Red Bell Pepper, Citrus Vinaigrette
3rd Course:
Seared Halibut
Strozzapreti Pasta, Olives, Tomatoes, Capers
Pork Loin Medallions
Peppercorn Crust, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Lingonberry Glaze
For more information, or to make reservations, please call (732) 292-1300.
Bon Appetit!


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By NEMS Daily Journal
Caleb Avent
MATHISTON – Caleb Ryan Avent, 5, died Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, in Mathiston.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Clarkson Baptist Church. Burial will be in Clarkson Cemetery in Webster County. Oliver Funeral Home of Eupora is in charge of arrangements.
In loving memory of Caleb Ryan Avent, a memorial account has been established with Cadence Bank. Please make donations to any Cadence Bank location or by mailing your contribution to Cadence Bank, N.A., P. O. Box 1187, Starkville, MS 39760. All donations will go directly to the grieving family.
Wayne Hall
TUPELO – Wayne Hall, 54, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo Chapel.
Virginia Ocallaghan
TUPELO – Virginia Ocallaghan, 56, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, after an extended illness. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo Chapel.
Maryian Petty
WARM SPRINGS, Ga. – Maryian Irene Stallings Petty, formerly of Birmingham and Montgomery, died Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. She was born in Cumberland, Miss. on Aug. 11, 1916.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ridout's Elmwood Chapel in Birmingham with the Rev. Tim Meadows officiating. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham. Johns-Rideout Funeral Parlors of Birmingham is in charge of arrangements.
She is survived by her children, Joy Ware of Villa Rica, Ga., Larry Petty of Manchester, Ga. and Gail Eulenstein-Juska of Estero, Fla.; ten grandchildren; and eighteen great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Erman Petty; her brother, Floyd Stallings; and a granddaughter, Kelli Burchfiel Wilson.
Doug Murray
BURNSVILLE – Doug Murray, 60, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at his home.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today at Poplar Springs Freewill Baptist Church with Bro. Malcolm Garrett officiating. Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include his wife, Connie White Murray of Burnsville; two sons, Douglas Wayne Murray and Donald Lee Murray, both of Clinton, Mich.; two daughters, Renee Lynn Nutt (Keith) of Westland, Mich. and Audra White Treadaway of Mobile; two brothers, Elmer Murray (Beverly) and Charlie Murray (Joyce), both of Burnsville; two sisters, Thelma Ann Stephens of Iuka and Margie Prince (Joel) of Slidell, La.; and five grandchildren, Keith, Shane and Jamie Nutt, Austin Murray and BreAnne Murray, all of Westland, Mich.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis D. and Gladys Brewer Murray.
Pallbearers will be Shane Murray, Doug Johnson, Jerry Wayne White, Roy Lee Richardson, Ricky Dotson, and Heath Johnson.
Honorary pallbearers will be Wilburn Joslin, Garry Moore, George Hudson, Dwayne Parsons, Tim Dotson and J.R. Blakney.
An online guestbook can be accessed at www.cutshallfuneralhome.com.
Jimmy Reeves
HOUSTON – Jimmy Dale Reeves, 49, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at his home after an extended illness. He was born May 19, 1960, to Howard Reeves and Mary Ann Washington Vance. He was a native of Houston. He was retired from Franklin Furniture Factory after approximately 20 years. He was a Nazarene.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Southern Funeral Chapel with Bro. Scott Sammuell officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife, Myra Duncan Reeves of Houston; two sons, Jonathan Reeves and his wife, Christine of Houston and Matthew Reeves of Houston; his mother, Mary Ann Vance and her husband, Curtis of Mountain View, Ark; his grandmother, Catherine Reeves of Houston; one brother, James Reeves of Nashville; one sister, Janice Reeves of Kentucky; and three grandchildren, Tyler, Charlie and Jayden.
He was preceded in death by his father, Howard Reeves, who died in 1988; his grandmother, Irene E. Washington; his grandfather, Ordell Washington; his grandfather, Marvin Reeves; his grandmother, Lucille Davis Reeves; and his aunt, Faye Wheeler Reeves.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 today at the funeral home.
Selina Whitmon
NETTLETON – Selina Whitmon, 33, died Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, at her home. An Aurora, Ill. native, she was born May 1, 1976, to Terry and Pam Oaks Stanley. She earned her associates degree in literature and her bachelor's degree in history. She married Marc Whitmon on June 7, 2008, and they made their home in Nettleton. She was a customer representative for New Corp. She was actively involved with Bethel Baptist Church and the Living Water Community Church. She loves the Lord. She loved her involvement in leading the Ladies Bible Studies and reading her Bible. She was a devout Christian. She loved to travel out west to the mountains. She loved to fish and her little dog, Pasquale.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today at The Jefferson Street Chapel of W.E. Pegues with the Rev. Martin Jamison and Bro. Horace Barns officiating. Burial will be in Dorsey Memorial Gardens.
Survivors include her husband of nearly two years, Marc Whitmon of Nettleton; her parents, Terry and Pam Stanley of Dorsey; her grandparents, Dalton Oaks (Jane) of Pontotoc and Dottie Negre of Herrin, Ill.; her father-in-law, Bro. William Whitmon (Susan); her mother-in-law, Phyllis Clark (David) of Ocala, Fla.; two stepsisters, Amy Michaels (Jeff) and Jennifer Roberts (Jody), both of Pratts; and several aunts and uncles.
She was preceded in death by her infant child.
Pallbearers will be Rick Carson, Bro. Bobby Thompson Jr., Officer Ken Stanford, Mickey Phillips, Rodney Marshall and Todd Nichols.
Expressions of sympathy may be left at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Danny Potts
BURNSVILLE – Danny Potts, 59, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at his home. He was a drywaller for over 35 years before becoming ill. He was a member of Rowland Mills Baptist Church, and he enjoyed farming and fishing.
Services will be at 11a.m. today at Temple Baptist Church with Bro. Frankie Smith and Bro. Gerald Glidewell officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Memorial Funeral Home in Corinth is in charge of arrangements.
He is survivived by his wife of 37 years, Pamela Potts; his mother, Louise Potts; his sons, Gary Potts and Jay (Heather) Potts; his brother, Ronnie Porterfield; his sister, Han Porterfield; his grandchildren, Casey Flack and Madeline Potts, all of Burnsville; his caregivers, Nita Calton and Rita McCoy; a special friend, Joe Glidewell (Joyce); and a host of family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, J.C. Potts.
Pallbearers will be Patrick Bobo, Dustin Lambert, John Wells Jr., J.R. Blackney, Richie Wilmeth and Merrill Arnold.
Honorary pallbearers will be Leroy Ward, Johnny Vanderford, Jimmy Dean Vanderford, Sammy Bonds and James Bonds.
Katherine Hall
BELMONT – Katherine Hall, 85, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at the Red Bay Hospital. She was born March 23, 1924, in Prentiss County to Claude and Fannie Barron Aldridge. She was a factory worker and a member of New Bethel Baptist Church.
Services will be at 1 p.m. today at New Bethel Baptist Church in Belmont with Bro. Chad Albright officiating. Burial will be in East Prentiss Cemetery in New Site. Deaton Funeral Home of Belmont is in charge of arrangements.
She is survived by a very dear friend and companion, Hollis Wooten of Dennis; three children, Linda Johnson of Russellville, Ala., Randall Lewey of Dennis and Charles Hall (Emily) of Mantachie; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Hall; a son, Gary Hall; a granddaughter, Sidney Hall; two sisters; and three brothers.
Visitation will be until service time today at the church.
Grace Clark
WEST POINT – Grace Spencer Clark, 85, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at Dugan Memorial Home in West Point. She was born Sept. 3, 1924, in Houlka to John Thomas and Elma Blevins Spencer. She married Vernon L. Clark Feb. 16, 1945. The young couple moved to West Point in 1954. She worked for more than 40 years at Harris & Riley Drug Company, which later became Rose Drug Company. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church and enjoyed traveling with the Joy Club.
She leaves hundreds of adoring friends she made over the years, especially during the past seven years she spent at Henry Clay Retirement Center. She could be found each day at noon 'holding court' at the big round table downstairs in The Point Restaurant. Her friends nicknamed her the 'Queen of The Henry Clay Hotel.' Her friend, Sara Roberts, who was among her frequent lunch guests, was in awe saying, 'you know, many people in her situation would just retreat and feel sorry for themselves. Not Grace, she made this a place where we want to come.' Mrs. Sara also added that Grace would come down early each morning and fold napkins for The Point and prepare the silver ware, a thankless job, but one she did joyfully.
She was aptly named by her parents. Her zest for life was contagious in her community, and friends, from all walks of life, joined her for lunch each day. She lost her leg when a melanoma threatened her life. She took it in stride, learned how to navigate the landscape in her wheelchair but still spread joy and laughter wherever she went.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Calvary Baptist Church with Dr. James Towery officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. Robinson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Pallbeaers will be Bob Atkins, Bill Atkins, Corey Clark, Barrett Clark, Kenny Dill, R.B. Davis, Judge Jim Kitchens and Don Permenter.
Honorary pallbearers will be Dewey Cox, Kieth Middleton, Ed Swoope, Jim Swoope, Dake Swoope, Mancil Ray, Jessie Harmon, Dr. T.N. Braddock, Dr. Robert Lott, Jim Helveston, Michelle Easterling, Andy Williams, Greely Nash, Robert Harrell, Jimmy Miller and Rush Robinson.
She is survived by her daughter, Norma and her husband, William 'Bubba' Atkins of West Point; her sons, James 'Jimmy' Clark and his wife, Judy of West Point, Larry Clark and his wife, Lisa of Amory; her sister, Anna S. Byars (Rueben) of Vardaman; her brother, John C. Spencer (Delores) of Houston; her sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Dye, Helen Clark, Mary Clark and Charlene Clark; her brother-in-law, J.Z. McCormick; seven grandchildren, Bob Atkins (Shannon), Bill Atkins (Caroline), Kim Bridges (Jon), Corey Clark (Kristen), Barrett Clark and his fiance, Katie Miles, Caroline Clark and Kelly Bends (Chis); and 11 great-grandchildren, Montomery Atkins, Clark Atkins, Hunter Atkins, Evan Atkins, Hannah Atkins, Alex Bends, Maddie Bends, Caroline Bridges, Anna Clark Bridges, Hallie Clark, John Ross Clark..
She was preceded in death by by her parents; and her husband of 52 years, Vernon Lee Clark in 1997.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Robinson Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Methodist Senior Services of Henery Clay Hotel PO Box 1567 Tupelo, MS 38802 or charity of doners choice.
Eddie Troupe
HAMILTON – Eddie James Troupe, 80, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bethel M.B. Church in Hamilton with the Rev. Homer Cannon officiating. Burial will be in Bethel M.B. Church Cemetery. Belle Memorial Funeral Home in Aberdeen is in charge of arrangements.
Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday.
To sign the online register book, visit www.bellememorialfuneralhome.com.
Julia Hall
AMORY – Julia Carole Adams Hall, 60, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, in Amory. Born July 8, 1949, she was the daughter of Frances Varnon Presley and Rudolph Walter Adams Jr. She married Fred Hall in 1984; he died in 1999. Before becoming disabled, she was an LPN at the Amory Manor Nursing Home. She was a member of the Meadowood Baptist Church. She enjoyed playing dominoes, her cat Shasta and attending her 40th class reunion.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the E.E. Pickle Funeral Home Chapel in Amory with Dr. Lloyd Sweatt and Bro. Ryan French officiating. Burial will be in the Baker Cemetery.
Survivors include her mother, Frances Presley of Amory; one daughter, Lalana Mason Glasgow (Adam) of Amory; one sister, Nancy Lee Foster of Aberdeen; and two grandchildren, Katelyn A. Glasgow and Quinton E. Glasgow.
She was preceded in death by her father; her stepfather, Merle Presley; her husband; and one sister, Susan Tubb.
Pallbearers will be Howard Hall, Cleve Hall, James Hall, Ronnie Colburn, Dylan Colburn and Tony Adams.
Honorary pallbearer will be Johnny Tibbetts.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and will continue until service time on Friday at the funeral home.
Richard Frazier
TUPELO – Richard Clark Frazier, 63, died Feb. 7, 2010, at the Veteran's Hospital in Memphis. He was born April 13, 1946, in New Albany to George Albert and Iccy Lee Wingo Frazier. He was a Vietnam War Veteran, having served in the U.S. Army. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. He was retired from the U.S. Postal Service.
Services will be at 11a.m. today at United Funeral Service Chapel with Bro. Marty Merritt officiating. Burial will be in Beulah Cemetery in Myrtle. United Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.
He is survived by one brother, George Frazier of Myrtle.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Pallbearers will be Jimmy Roberson, Alan Cousar, Woody Hill, Dwight Pickens, Clyde Gullick, Milburn Carter and Hollis Simpson.
Honorary pallbearers will be The American Legion.
In honor of Mr. Frazier's service to his country, The U.S. Army flag will be flown during his visitation and service.
For online condolenences, visit unitedfuneralservice.com.
James Jackson
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – James Troy Jackson, 20, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, in Montgomery, after a sudden illness. He was born Oct. 4, 1989, in Jackson, Miss. and later moved with his family to Montgomery. He and his family spent six and a half years in Kijabe, Kenya, working as medical missionaries with Africa Inland Mission. There, he attended Rift Valley Academy until the family returned to Montgomery in 2004.
He was a 2008, graduate of Trinity Presbyterian School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, the French Club, Theatrical Sound and Lighting and Science Olympiad. He attended Mississippi State University and was a student at Auburn University in Montgomery. He was an active member of Youth Fellowship and Choir at Trinity Presbyterian Church. He had a strong faith in Jesus Christ and was loved by people of all ages.
To his many friends and family, He was larger than life, a free spirit filled with joyful enthusiasm and playfulness, a kind and loving heart and an unmatched exuberance for whatever lay ahead.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. Southern Memorial Funeral Home in Montgomery is in charge of arrangements
He is survived by his parents, Carol Montjoy Jackson and William Raymond Jackson Jr.; and two brothers, William Wilson Jackson and Kenneth Sellers Jackson.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Robert 'Bobby' Montjoy Jackson.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Africa Inland Mission, P.O. Box 178, Pearl River, New York 10965, www.aimint.org or to the Troy Jackson Youth Mission Fund at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Montgomery.
Burma Brown
AMORY – Burma Mae Armstrong Brown, 86, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at the Gilmore Memorial Regional Medical Center in Amory. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by E.E. Pickle Funeral Home of Amory.
Berniece Wood
FULTON – Burniece L. Wood, 94, died Jan. 26, 2010, at the Courtyards Health Care Complex in Fulton. She was born Oct. 16, 1915, in Mississippi to Arthur and Cera Cooley Comer. She was a member of the Friendship Methodist Church. She loved her church and was active in Sunday school and share groups.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Senter Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Tom Sheffield officiating. Burial will be in Keys Cemetery.
Survivors include one son, Ralph Wood of Scottsdale, Ariz.; one brother, Leo Comer of West Memphis, Ark.; two sisters, Etoile Grissom of Mantachie and Vonnie Tims of Memphis; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Aline Smith
NESBIT – Aline Smith, 86, died Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, at Landmark of Desoto.
Services will be at 1 p.m. today at Cutshall Funeral Home. Burial will be in Mt. Evergreen.
An online guestbook can be accessed at www.cutshallfuneralhome.com.
Rachel Hastings
CORINTH – Rachel Louise Hastings, 69, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at her home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Magnolia Funeral Home Chapel of Memories. Burial will be at Wheeler Grove Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and from noon until service time Friday at the funeral home.
Gordon Adams
MARIETTA – Gordon Adams, 76, died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, at his home.
Services will be at 1p.m. Friday at the Booneville Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Greg Smart officiating. Burial will be in Corinth National Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Levora Jeffries
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Levora Pegues Jeffries, 85, died Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, N.C.
Services will be at noon Friday at Anderson Chapel CME Church in Holly Springs. Burial will be in Cottrell Memorial Garden in Holly Springs. J.F. Brittenum & Son Funeral Home in Holly Springs is in charge of arrangements.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home and from 11 to 11:55 a.m. Friday at the church.
Annis Walker
CORINTH – Annis R. Walker, 66, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Patterson Memorial Chapel in Corinth.


text:
By CATHLEEN FALSANI
Copyright 2006
I have an ongoing conversation
with God.
"I think there is an
enormous danger on the part of public figures
to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God's mandate."
GUY BY NAME AND FLASHING A BIG GRIN AT THE REST OF THE ROOM. He grabs a bottled
protein shake from the cooler in the back and settles at a table near the
soft-drink dispenser, doffing his suit jacket along the way.
Barack Obama is alone on this Saturday
afternoon in the city, his press secretary nowhere in sight. He's not carrying
anything with him. Not even notes.
Yet he appears perfectly confident as he
answers questions about his spiritual life, a subject that would make many
politicians – on or off the campaign trail – more skittish than a long-tailed
cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
It's a few weeks after Obama has won the
Democratic primary in Illinois for the open Unites States Senate seat he will
eventually win in a landslide against the Republican candidate, Alan Keyes. And
while it's months before his debut at the Democratic National Convention, where
Obama will become a household name in the rest of the nation, here at home,
people for months have been whispering that he's sure to be the first black
president of the United States. It's just a matter of time, they say. He
shrugs coolly at such suggestions, striking a balance between self-deprecation
and the calm assuredness of someone who is wise enough to realize his own place
in history.
So if a public conversation about his
faith unnerves him, the lanky senator-to-be with the boyish good looks is not
letting on. He fields without hesitation the first question: What does he
believe? "I am a Christian," Obama says, as one of the nearby customers
interrupts to congratulate him on winning the primary. Obama shakes the man's
hand and says, "Thank you very much. I appreciate that," before turning his
attention directly back to the question. "So, I have a deep faith. I'm rooted
in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same
place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are
connected as a people, that there are values that transcend race or culture,
that move us forward, and that there's an obligation for all of us individually
as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived. I
probably spent the first forty years of my life figuring out what I did believe,
and it's not that I have it all completely worked out, but I'm spending a lot of
time now trying to apply what I believe and trying to live up to those values."
He is saying, essentially, that all people
of faith – Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone – know the same God.
It is, perhaps, an unlikely theological position for someone who places his
faith squarely at the feet of Jesus to take. But that depends on how you hear a
verse from the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me," Obama says.
His theological point of view was shaped
by his uniquely multicultural upbringing. Obama was born in 1961 in Hawaii to a
white mother who came from Protestant midwestern stock and a black African
father who hailed from the Luo tribe of Kenya. The future senator describes his
father, after whom he is named, as "agnostic." His paternal grandfather was a
Muslim. His mother, he says, was a Christian. "My mother, who I think had as
much influence on my values as anybody, was not someone who wore her religion on
her sleeve," he says. "We'd go to church for Easter, but she wasn't a 'church
What she really was, as he put it in his
1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was
"a lonely witness for secular humanism." He says now, "My mother's confidence
in needlepoint virtues depended on a faith I didn't possess, a faith that she
would refuse to describe as religious; that, in fact, her experience told her
was sacrilegious: a faith that rational, thoughtful people could shape their own
When he was six years old, after his
parents divorced, Obama moved with his mother and her new husband – a
non-practicing Muslim – to Indonesia, where he attended a Roman Catholic school
and lived until he was ten. "I went to a Catholic school in a Muslim country,
so I was studying the Bible and catechisms by day, and, at night, I'd hear the
{Muslim} prayer call," Obama recalls. "My mother was a deeply spiritual person
and would spend a lot of time talking about values and give me books about the
world's religions and talk to me about them. Her view always was that
underlying these religions was a common set of beliefs about how you treat other
people and how you aspire to act, not just for yourself but also for the greater
Obama earned a degree in political science
from Columbia University in 1983 and in 1991 graduated magna cum laude with a
law degree from Harvard University. Since 1993, he has been a lecturer at the
University of Chicago Law School. Those intellectual experiences, as much as
his multireligious childhood, affect how he expresses his faith. "Alongside my
own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion," he
says. "I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. I am a big
believer in our constitutional structure. I mean, I'm a law professor at the
University of Chicago teaching constitutional law. I am a great admirer of our
founding charter and its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming and its
resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root in this
country. I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to
rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God's mandate. I don't think
it's healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to
insulate themselves from criticism, or avoid dialogue with people who disagree
with them."
Even so, Obama is not shy about saying he
has a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ." As a sign of that
relationship, he says, he walked down the aisle of Chicago's Trinity United
Church of Christ in response to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's altar call one
Sunday morning in 1988.
The politician could have ended his
spiritual tale right there, at the point where some people might assume his life
changed, when he got "saved," transformed, washed in the blood. But Obama wants
to clarify what truly happened. "It wasn't an epiphany," he says of that public
profession of faith. "It was much more of a gradual process for me. I know
there are some people who fall out. Which is wonderful. God bless them. For
me, I think it was just a moment to certify or publicly affirm a growing faith
in me.
"I retain from my childhood and my
experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma, and I'm not somebody who is always
comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that
my faith is automatically transferable to others," he continues. "I'm a big
believer in tolerance. I think that religion at its best comes with a big dose
of doubt. I'm suspicious, too, of too much certainty in the pursuit of
understanding. I think that, particularly as somebody who's now in the public
realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them
apart, there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of
religion and certainty."
When he is in Chicago, he attends the
11:00 a.m. Sunday service at Trinity in the working-class Brainerd neighborhood
every week – or at least as many weeks as he is able. But how exactly did he
become a churchgoer? It began in 1985, when he arrived in Chicago as a
$13,000-a-year community organizer, working with a number of African-American
churches in the struggling Roseland, West Pullman, and Altgeld Gardens
neighborhoods, which were dealing with the devastation caused by shuttered steel
"I started working with both the ministers
and the laypeople in these churches on issues like creating job-training
programs, or after-school programs for youth, or making sure that city services
were fairly allocated to underserved communities," Obama explains. "And it was
in those places where I think what had been more of an intellectual view of
religion deepened because I was spending an enormous amount of time with church
ladies, sort of surrogate mothers and fathers. Everybody I was working with was
fifty or fifty-five or sixty, and here I was, a twenty-three-year-old kid,
kicking around. I became much more familiar with the ongoing tradition of the
historic black church and its importance in the community. And the power of
that culture to give people strength in very difficult circumstances, and the
power of that church to give people courage against great odds. And it moved me
Obama reads the Bible, though not as
regularly as he'd like given the ever-increasing demands on his time that
political life has brought. But he does find time to pray. "It's not formal,
me getting on my knees," he says. "I think I have an ongoing conversation with
God. Throughout the day I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm
doing, why I am doing it. One of the interesting things about being in public
life is that there are constantly these pressures being placed on you from
different sides. To be effective, you have to be able to listen to a variety of
points of view, to synthesize the viewpoints. You also have to know when to be
a strong advocate and to push back against certain people or views that you
think aren't right or that don't serve your constituents. And so the biggest
challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the
conversations I'm having with God internally. I'm measuring my actions against
that inner voice that, for me at least, is audible, is active. It tells me
where I think I'm on track and where I'm off track.
"This election comes with a lot of
celebrity. I always think of politics as having two sides: There's a vanity
aspect to politics, and a substantive aspect to politics. Now, you need some
sizzle with the steak to be effective, but I think it's very easy to get swept
up in the vanity side of it, the desire to be liked and recognized and
important. It's important for me to take stock throughout the day, to say, Now,
am I doing this because I think it's advantageous to me politically or because I
think it's the right thing to do? Am I doing this to get in the papers, or am I
doing this because it's necessary to accomplish my motives?"
He uses prayer as a litmus test for
altruism? "Yeah, something like that," he says, smiling sheepishly. "The most
powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned
with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I'm talking to a group and I'm
saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements
that is different than when I'm just being glib or clever."
Is that power the Holy Spirit? "I think
it's the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth
that is being shared between me and the audience. That's something you learn
watching ministers – what they call the Holy Spirit. They want the Holy Spirit
to come down while they're preaching, right? Not to try to intellectualize it,
but what I see there are moments that happen within a sermon where the minister
gets out of his ego and is speaking from a different source. And it's
powerful. There are also times when you can see the ego getting in the way,
where the minister is performing and clearly straining for applause or an amen.
And those are distinct moments. But I think those former moments are sacred."
Obama has many friends in the clergy who
help keep his moral compass set, such as the Reverend Michael Pfleger, a white
Roman Catholic priest and pastor of St. Sabina Church, a mostly black activist
congregation in the rough Auburn-Gresham community on Chicago's South Side. "I
always have felt in him this consciousness that, at the end of the day, with all
of us, you've got to face God," says Pfleger, who has known Obama for almost
twenty years. "Faith is key to his life, no question about it. It is central
to who he is, and not just in his work in the political field but as a man, as a
black man, as a husband, as a father. I don't think he could easily divorce his
faith from who he is."
Another person Obama seeks out for
spiritual counsel is Illinois State Senator James Meeks, who is also the pastor
of Chicago's Salem Baptist Church and heir apparent to the helm of the Reverend
Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. The day after Obama won the primary in
March 2004, he stopped by Salem for Wednesday-night Bible study. "I know that
he's a person of prayer," Meeks says. "The night after the election, he was the
hottest thing going from Galesburg to Rockford. He did all the TV shows, and
all the morning news, but his last stop at night was for church. He came by to
say thank you, and he came by for prayer."
Obama recognizes that it's not easy for
most politicians to talk about faith, at least not in any real, genuine way.
"The nature of politics is that you want
to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you," he
says. "Oftentimes, that's by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the
lowest common denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as
personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is.
The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some
level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There's the belief,
certainly in some quarters, that if people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as
their personal savior, they're going to hell.
Obama doesn't believe he, or anyone else,
will go to hell. But he's not sure if he'll be going to heaven either.
"I find it hard to believe that my God
would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can't imagine that my God
would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the
Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my
religious makeup," he says. "What I believe in is that if I live my life as
well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of
what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is
in the here and now or in the hereafter, aligning myself to my faith and values
is a good thing."
"When I tuck my daughters in at night and
I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am
transferring values that I got from my mother and that they're kind people and
that they're honest people and that they're curious people, that's a little
piece of heaven."
April 2004
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text:
Neil puts the 2012 election into a generational perspective. If you are looking for Neil to pick a winner, read no further. He's an academic at heart and never tells you what he thinks will happen. But, he supplies plenty of data for you to make up your mind. Based on his breakdown of voters by generation it seems that the Millenials will decide this election. They are still strongly in Obama's camp, but their enthusiasm for Obama has waned. If they don't vote in significant numbers or if Romney can split the young white vote, the election would go to Romney. The old farts are strongly in Romney's corner. GenX is split down the middle. The yuuts will decide this election.
Pundits have long been predicting that the presidential election will be much closer and much meaner in 2012 than it was in 2008. Closer it now is. According to the RCP Poll Average, the race is now a virtual tie: Incumbent Obama now leads by a mere 1.8 percent over Romney, whereas challenger Obama led McCain by 7.6 percent exactly four years ago. It will certainly revolve around a very different array of issues—much less argument about the war on terror and GOP performance, and a lot more about the stagnating economy and Democratic performance.
In one respect, however, the next election will be a replay of the last: There will be a historically large divide in the preferences of younger voters (under 30) versus older voters (65+). In 2008, this divide (21 percentage points) was wider than in any election since the advent of age-bracketed voting data in the 1960s. The second-biggest divide (16 percentage points) was back in 1972, when nearly half of all young voters voted for McGovern while older voters went overwhelmingly for Nixon.
I've been tracking generational leanings in the polls pretty carefully. The Pew Research Center has issued several reports (most notably, The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election) exploring this divide, and Time followed up with its own cover story ("The New Generation Gap"). More recently, Mike and Morley, Forbes, The New York Times, and many others have also weighed in.
Bottom line: Every generation is today a bit more favorable toward Obama than they were in 2010 and a good deal less favorable than in 2008. The partisan gap between the Democrat-leaning young and the Republican-leaning old, however, remains as strong as ever—at around 20 percent.
Back in 2008, the big story was how and why today's rising Millennial Generation voted by a large and decisive margin for the Democrats. This fall, the media focus may shift. The big story could be how and why today's angry, aging Silent Generation put the Republicans over the top. The relevant parallel here is 1972, when Nixon was able to split the young Boomer vote with McGovern—and then crush McGovern with all voters over age 30. (Nixon's popular margin in 1972, 23.2 percent of the electorate, is the fourth largest in U.S. history.) Romney, of course, cannot hope for Nixon's margin. But the basic logic still stands. Romney doesn't have to win the youth vote; he just has to contain youth losses enough so that his huge advantage among older voters puts him ahead.
The 2012 election will hinge on the collective choices of five generations of voters, each with a different collective life story shaped by its own location in history. Let's take a look at how each of these stories is likely to determine the outcome. (Throughout, I will borrow shamelessly from Pew's wonderful cohort-tracking research and graphics.)
Because this piece turned out to be pretty long, I'm going to break it into two posts. This post will look at the generations themselves. The next will look beyond generations to the election outcome.
At the very elder edge of the electorate is the G.I. GENERATION, born between 1901-24. (Sample leaders: John Kennedy, LBJ, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr.) With its youngest members now age 87 and older, the G.I.s today comprise just 2 percent of likely voters. Except during the late 1960s and 1970s, this "greatest generation" has always heavily favored the Democrats, having come of age as huge supporters of the "big government" presidency of FDR. Indeed, in every election from 1994 to 2004, the peers of Jimmy Stewart were more likely than younger Americans to vote Democratic. [See the "Roosevelt" chart on this page from the Pew study.] Even in 2008, according to Gallup, Obama ran almost even with McCain among these overwhelmingly white 80+ voters—better than he did with any other age bracket over 40. Apparently, generation trumps age when it comes to racial bias. Prediction for G.I.s in 2012: slight edge (3 percent) to the Democrats.
Now let's turn to the "young old." Dominating the ranks of retirees is the SILENT GENERATION (born 1925-42, today age 69 to 86), comprising 13 percent of likely voters. (Sample leaders: Robert & Ted Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Gary Hart, John McCain.) Coming of age during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy presidencies, when Americans generally were voting Republican, the young, conformist Silent leaned more Republican than the rest. While the Silent produced nearly all of the most famous civil-rights leaders and "good government" reformers of the post-war era, they have never favored a strong executive (no Silent has ever been elected President) and have tended to return to their GOP roots as they have grown older. In seven of the last nine elections, they have voted more heavily than other Americans for Republicans. [See the "Truman" and "Eisenhower" charts on this page.]
Since 2008, the Silent's pro-GOP tendency has widened considerably, along with their unhappiness with the direction of the country. Polls show the Silent are upset not just because they are "angry" at government (they are twice as likely as Millennials to say this), but also because they are "uncomfortable" with positions they associate with younger Obama Democrats on issues such as immigration, marriage, homosexuality, religion, and the Internet. The Silent are the least-immigrant generation (per capita) in American history, and they grew up at a time when the rules of life were clear and simple. Today they are disoriented by the bewildering diversity of today's younger generations, and they can't figure out what the new rules are.
Most Silent recognize that are doing well economically compared to younger Americans. But they worry that America is losing its sense of exceptional "greatness" and gaining an addiction to endless public debt—faults they attribute more to Democrats than to Republicans. Many fear the nation is headed back toward the Hard Times they witnessed in their childhood. According to recent Gallup surveys, the Silent favor Romney by 14 percentage points. Prediction for the Silent in 2012: large margin (15 percent) to the Republicans.
Occupying midlife and already surging past age 65 is the BOOM GENERATION (born 1943-60, today age 51 to 68), today comprising 31 percent of likely voters. (Sample leaders: Bill & Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Condoleeza Rice.) Boomers came of age during the social and cultural upheavals that rocked America during the late '60s and '70s—giving them a fixation on vision and values that defines them even to this day as a generation of individualists and culture warriors (left versus right, "blue" versus "red"). As they grow older, Boomers increasingly call themselves "conservative," but not necessarily Republican.
First-wave Boomers (today in their 60s) have more years of education than younger Boomers, have done better economically, vote more reliably, gravitate to humanist or mainstream churches, and vote more for Democrats. Last-wave Boomers (today in their 50s) experienced a rapid fall in SAT scores and college attendance, lag far behind first-wavers economically, vote less often, veer toward atheism or "born-again" evangelicalism, and vote more for Republicans. In recent elections, first-wave Boomers have tilted to the Democrats; their younger brothers and sisters have favored the GOP. [See the "Kennedy/Johnson," "Nixon," and "Ford/Carter" charts on this page.] In recent months, Gallup shows Boomers favoring Romney by about 5 percentage points. Prediction for the Boomers in 2012: medium edge (5 percent) to the Republicans, with red-leaning last-wavers slightly overpowering blue-leaning first-wavers.
Today's emerging leaders and the parents of most school-age kids belong to GENERATION X (born 1961-81, today age 30 to 50). Gen Xers now comprise 35 percent of likely voters, a slightly larger share than Boomers. Gen X's share should be much larger, but their tendency to vote less often than older generations dilutes the impact of their raw numbers. (Sample leaders: Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Kirsten Gillibrand, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal.) The left-alone children of the Consciousness Revolution who later came of age during an era that stressed free agency, personal ownership, and survivalism, Gen Xers have mixed feelings about the two parties. Xers like the social and cultural liberalism of Democrats (whatever "works for me" is perfect), but they also like the economic conservatism of the GOP (hey, don't even think about picking my pocket!).
Like Boomers, they show a strong political trend from oldest to youngest, but it's in the opposite direction. First-wave Xers, born in the early 1960s, first voted during the early Reagan years and have thereafter leaned heavily to the GOP. (Just over 70 percent of today's state governors and members of Congress born from 1961 to 1965 are Republican—the biggest partisan tilt of any five-year cohort group.) Late-wave Xers came of age with Clinton and now lean more toward the Democratic Party. [See the "Reagan/Bush" and "Clinton" charts on this page.] According to recent Gallup polls, Generation X favors Obama by 1 percentage point. Prediction for Gen Xers in 2012: dead even, with GOP-leaning first-wavers exactly neutralizing Democratic-leaning last-wavers.
Finally comes the youngest generation of voters, the adult members of the MILLENNIAL GENERATION (born 1982-93, today age 18 to 29), comprising 18 percent of likely voters. (As yet, they have no national political leaders.) Twenty years ago, they were the special and fussed-over "Friends of Barney." Today, they're telling older Americans to share their toys and put a smile on their face. For Millennials, the team comes first: They are more likely than older voters to favor strong communities, urge consensus solutions, trust "big government," and shrug at paranoia over privacy. With their trademark confidence, Millennials embrace many of the social trends (related to race, ethnicity, religion, homosexuality, and the Internet) that older voters find threatening. Millennials are the least likely to believe such trends undermine patriotism or family cohesion. They are the most likely to be optimistic about America's long-term future.
This outlook puts Millennials decisively in the Democratic camp, with roughly two-thirds of them (66 to 32 percent) voting for Obama over McCain in 2008 and (according to Gallup) a smaller yet still impressive margin of three-fifths of them favoring Obama over Romney today. [See the "Bush/Obama" chart on this page.] The big question is whether the waning enthusiasm Millennials now show in re-electing Obama—combined with the extra fervor Silent and Boomers show in defeating him—will allow the GOP to prevail. Nonwhite Millennials are as overwhelmingly pro-Obama in 2012 as they were in 2008 (roughly a 60 percentage point margin). Yet Democrats should worry about the recent Pew finding that, among white Millennials, the 10 percentage point margin for Obama in 2008 has been fading away and nearly disappearing over the past year. If young whites split anywhere close to 50-50 in 2012 (remember, non-Latino whites still comprise 60 percent of this generation), then it hardly matters what young minorities do: The GOP will possess an almost insuperable advantage. Prediction for Millennials in 2012: very large margin (20 percent) to the Democrats, led by a 4-to-1 advantage among young minorities.
It's always great to have the young on your side. After all, youth represent the future. In the decades to come, if the Millennials stay their political course, they would confer a huge advantage to the Democratic Party. But in the next election, they are still outnumbered by two larger generations of voters (Gen X and Boom), and they may well be outworked by a more energized generation of seniors (the Silent). The young can sometimes lose elections, and lose them badly. It happened in 1972, when the Boomer youth who voted for McGovern were overwhelmed by all the midlife and senior voters (the G.I. and Lost Generations) who favored Nixon.
Two years later, of course, Nixon resigned. The age gap closed almost entirely by the next election and pretty much stayed closed all the way until 2008. As if to close the circle, many of the Millennials who now favor Obama are children of the same young "peacenik" Democrats who once voted for McGovern. That's what makes elections so fascinating—their power to surprise and to reveal, both who are today and who we will become tomorrow.
If you do all the arithmetic with the voter shares and margin predictions cited above, you will find that my overall prediction is for a dead-even tie between Obama and Romney. Meaning: The 2012 winner is going to have to put together a generational scorecard that is, in some combination, better than the figures I have revealed.
How likely is it that Obama or Romney will put together that scorecard? I look at that in the next post.
This happens often. After I write about generational drivers or changes in the social mood, readers will contact me and ask: OK, so much for the drivers and the theory, Neil—what do you think will actually happen?
So let me try to pre-empt those readers. In my last post, I talked about how and why different generations lean toward or against the 2012 presidential candidates. In this post, I'll talk about the connection between generations and some of the more conventional ways pundits currently handicap the election. I won't exactly say who I think will win, but I will discuss some of the indicators I am following closely.
Futures Markets. Everyone knows that Republicans believe in futures markets (and in weird options and derivatives based thereon, like CDFs) more than anyone else. So here's the bad news they have to swallow: Futures markets are now predicting Obama to beat Romney by roughly 16 percentage points. (This is not the predicted voter margin in the election; it is the probability margin by which of most investors think Obama will sneak by in at least a razor-thin victory.) That's 57-40 percent on Intrade or 58-42 on Iowa Futures. Obama has been leading in these markets since last fall. Bless those markets. Because of the "law of one price" (look this one up under "arbitrage"), all of these futures market prices have to match, worldwide. Even brainy liberals (see Infotopia by Cass Sunstein, ) give very high praise to futures markets.
I agree that futures markets have a great track record and need to be taken seriously. Why do they lean more pro-Obama than the weekly polls? Maybe they sense that the sentiment for Romney is merely the way Americans vent their anger (always at the incumbent when talking to pollsters) before settling down and voting for the incumbent after all. Or maybe they sense that the strong preference of the rising generation for a cool and pragmatic Gen Xer as POTUS really does represent where the nation is heading—and that most voters will wake to that fact come November 6. Young Pompey once declared (to aging Sulla) that "more people worship the rising than the setting sun." Maybe the markets agree.
Then again, markets no less than polls can be greatly mistaken this far away from the election. At the very least, I think that buying a Romney contract on Intrade at $4.00 and waiting to sell it once it hits $4.50 is an extremely safe trade—since sooner or later Romney is bound to have a surge carrying him at least this far. Even John McCain in 2008 surged in early September to 0.47 in the futures markets. It is also possible that the markets could gradually drift to a sizable Romney advantage between now and mid-October, and that after Romney wins everyone will congratulate the markets for being so prescient.
The Economy. According to the Pew Research Center, Romney leads Obama in his handling of one big issue, the economy, no matter how you phrase the question. And the economy—for example, the creation of jobs and the revival of wage growth—is now far more important to voters than any other issue (environment, gay marriage, immigration, foreign policy, what have you) by a very large margin. This is a big advantage for Romney. The unemployment rate is now 8.2 percent; looking at current indicators, it may not decline at all between now and November. No President since FDR has won an election with an unemployment rate over 7.2 percent. (That was the rate in November of 1984, when Reagan won re-election; and unlike Obama, Reagan brought the rate down from the date of his first election.) See The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight column for a detailed update on the link between the economy and election outcomes.
The economy is as good an argument for Romney as the futures markets are for Obama. Still, it has potential weaknesses. Voters have yet to buy into Romney's economic program—or even to understand it—in any big way. Is Romney going to cut deficits faster than Obama? Who knows? However he runs deficits, Romney says he wants to do it more through tax cuts than spending increases. Is John Q. Public OK with this? Also, keep in mind the "no President since FDR" proviso. If the public comes to equate George W. Bush with Hoover—and Obama with FDR—well then all bets are off. FDR won as an incumbent in 1936 with an unemployment rate of 16.9% and in 1940 with a rate of 14.6%.
I agree that if the economy worsens in the next couple of months, or if we simply learn more about how bad the economy now is (at least one eminent forecasting group thinks we're already in a recession, it just hasn't been called yet), the news will certainly give a further boost to Romney. But the link between each generation's pocketbook and vote is seldom simple or direct. The Silent Generation has done the best economically in recent years and will never bear much of the burden of large deficits, yet the Silent are the most anti-Obama. For the Millennials, it's the other way around. Liberals often complain that red-zone Americans would switch parties if they only understood their own economic self-interest. Conservatives say the same today about Americans under age 30. The problem is, most people don't respond to piecemeal economic incentives. They either do, or do not, buy into a whole vision.
Likeability. How much do you like the candidate? How much would you like to have a beer with him? These are the sorts of warm-and-fuzzy questions that many political analysts believe turn the tide in an election. In most of the critical elections I can remember, GOP candidates have had the likeability advantage: Reagan over Carter; Bush Sr. over Dukakis; Bush Jr. over Kerry. But this election, it's tipping the other way: The Democratic candidate in 2012 is currently much more likeable than the GOP candidate. It hardly matters what you ask—which candidate is more "friendly," "connecting," "honest," "good," "trying," or "engaged,"—Obama comes out ahead, typically by double digits. Likeability could be a huge plus in an era of great anxiety when many voters will want to go with their "gut. It certainly worked for FDR.
Speaking of whom, there actually was a time when the least likeable candidate was, routinely, the Republican. And that was the 1930s and 1940s. Herbert Hoover and Alf Landon were less likable than FDR, and Tom Dewey was less likeable than just about anyone, including FDR and Harry Truman. So Democrats, yes, can be likeable. Are we reverting to the last Fourth Turning in party likeability? Or is there a simpler explanation? Perhaps Mitt Romney, whom nearly everyone who knows him would call him very "likeable," has simply not yet had the chance to get his charm on in prime time. We'll see.
Intangibles & Wildcards. I give most of the intangibles at this point to Romney. He is the challenger, and it is an old maxim (though some disagree) that challengers do better late in the campaign. A much larger share of his supporters say they are "enthusiastic" about this election—no doubt reflecting the higher relative energy of older voters this time around. He also remains relatively unknown, which means that millions of Americans will be taking a close look at him for the first time in the ten weeks between the GOP convention and the election. Since much of what is known about Romney thus far is negative (thanks to the attacks from his primary opponents and to the Obama campaign's efforts to "predefine" him), it is likely that his strengths—for example, his intelligence, wit, and dedication to his family and the community—will get plenty of play. Romney may surprise voters during the debates by coming across smarter and warmer than most voters are expecting.
Another possible plus for Romney is the "reverse coattails effect." Since the GOP are odds-on favorites to retain a majority in the House and gain a majority in the Senate, Romney could be pulled along by state and local candidates. That assumes of course that most voters prefer to vote a straight ticket and have a single-party government. It's often said that Americans are happy with divided government, but according to one recent study a large (and possibly rising) majority say no, they really do want one party in charge.
Any intangibles for Obama? Confidence, maybe. Though Obama supporters are less enthusiastic, they are more likely to say they want to cast a positive vote for their candidate (as opposed to voting against the other guy) and are a lot more confident than Romney supporters that their candidate will win. Obama must hope that confidence doesn't morph into complacency and that his supporters are still ready to sprint. Many pundits also say that Obama has an advantage in the electoral college by leading in the bigger states. That could make a difference, but only if the popular vote is extremely close.
As for wildcards—meaning sudden big surprises—these usually break for the incumbent Commander in Chief, unless voters associate them with mistakes made by the incumbent. An attack on Iran (by Israel and/or the United States, though the most likely date now mentioned in the media is October, after the election), would likely break favorably for Obama. Seismic financial news (like a crash triggered by an impending breakup of the Euro) may not break as well, since it may persuade many voters that the world needs better global economic leadership.
Obama and Romney. Let me conclude with a few thoughts on the two candidates themselves—and how they are, or are not, representative of their generation.
As readers of our books and this blog know, I consider Obama (born, 1961) to be a first-cohort member of Generation X (born 1961-81). The Gen-X dates we've explained and defended at length elsewhere (too many books to hyperlink!). But what about Obama? Does he fit the basic Xer picture? I've always thought so: Son of a new-age mom; child of a broken family; growing up disoriented amid incessant travel, change, and social experimentation; coming of age agoraphobic, feeling (as he puts it) "like an outsider"; and ultimately constructing his own persona (like Gatsby), a quality I see in many successful Xers. What's more, Obama knows he's not a Boomer: In his books (Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope), he repeatedly mentions how he feels he came along "after" the Boomers and wants to put an end to much that Boomers have done wrong (culture wars, ideological polarization, and so on). Back in 2008, Obama often referred to this as a contrast between an earlier "Moses" generation and his own "Joshua" generation.
Obviously, opinions differ about who Obama "really" is. I think he is at heart a canny survivor, a masterful tactician, a pragmatist who doesn't let emotions cloud his judgment. He knows when to play rope-a-dope (always let the GOP make the first budget move, then counter), or when to rouse his base by inveighing against Wall Street tycoons (even while hiring them to staff his Treasury), or when to ignore his own base and make a shrewd cost-benefit call (War on Terror by Predators, anyone?). On the Boomer cusp, Obama is certainly capable of crusading oratory—which adds to his versatility. Many of the most memorable crisis-era leaders in American history have been, like Obama, Nomad-Prophet hybrids: FDR, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Adams. Yet clearly Obama would need a very different and far more effective second term—and another opportunity handed to him by history—to enter these ranks.
As for Mitt Romney (born 1947), no one doubts he is a Boomer. He's led a committed religious life; he's always won accolades as a driven achiever; he's made tons of money as a blue-chip yuppie; he believes in Values and Culture and Principles; and he tends to see America's future in heavily moralistic terms (for example, in his recent book, No Apology: Believe in America, he juxtaposes his father's "Greatest Generation" against his own "Worst Generation"—a dark figure of speech that Obama would never use). Will his religion be a problem? There is lots more talk about Mormonism as a Christian heresy among older than among younger Americans, that's for certain. Many Millennials are impressed by the strong community ethic of Romney's LDS Church.
One mystery about Romney, though, is the impression he gives to many of his fellow Boomers that he never shared their passionate coming-of-age experience, never broke from Mom and Dad, and never drank from the same deep well of authenticity and inner fire. We used to call this the "Dan Quayle problem." Boomers have never been drawn to someone who seems to paint by the numbers. In the GOP primaries, when running against Gingrich and Santorum, Romney consistently did worse among Boomers than among other generations.
Yet in the general election, this weakness may rebound to his advantage. In the GOP primary, Mitt Romney consistently did better with young voters than any of the other candidates (with the occasional exception of Ron Paul). Millennials may actually like Romney's cool and precise 7-point memo responses. (Romney, far more than McCain, will be able to debate Obama this fall on his own Ivy-League level.) Silent voters, similarly, may also prefer the buttoned-down Romney over the totally unplugged Boomer radical.
Yet at some point, for all of his advantages on paper, Romney will have to show some flame, some focus, and some real killer instinct. He will have to get ahead, stay ahead, and systematically thwart his opponent's comebacks. In a national election, Romney has not yet demonstrated he has that endurance and resolve. Obama has.


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iSpeech is named a 2013 Star Performer by Speech Tech Magazine
text to speech
We are excited to be recognized, alongside Google, for our growth and achievements in both text to speech (TTS) and Speech Recognition (ASR). Having nearly 30,000 developers using our API, iSpeech is continuing to expand into new markets including the connected home.
iSpeech will have a presence at SpeechTEK 2013, Aug 19-21 in NYC @ New York Marriott Marquis. In addition to our CEO, Heath Ahrens, participating on a panel (Powering the Connected Home With Voice), you can also find us at the iSpeech booth #711 – Stop by!
Read more…iSpeech is a Star Performer
DriveSafe.ly featured on the Today Show
DriveSafe.ly was featured on The Today Show as a must-have gadget for a road trip.
Listen up!
Big news, blog readers...iSpeech has officially released a publishing platform and API that
allows publishers and developers to instantly convert any content into audio form.
Two major companies are fans already.
Pearson is using the PDF option to create audio books. Our tool enables them to convert PDF books into audio files, at a fraction of the cost of professional voice talent. Score!
Evernote is using the API offered to enhance their Clearly product. Now, their customers can actually have the web read to them, while having all of the distracting stuff filtered out. Hallelujah!
It is our vision that with these cool options we're offering, you really can read with your ears.
Pearson likes it, Evernote likes it, you will too..
Check it out: http://www.ispeech.org/publishers/
iSpeech Launched Publisher Platform – Announcing Evernote and Pearson as Partners
Text to Speech Demo
iSpeech launched a platform for book publishers to create audio books using text-to-speech.
Talkz wins audience choice award at TC Disrupt Pitchoff
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We pitched our latest app Talkz at the TC Disrupt Pitchoff and Won Audience Choice.
iSpeech COO, Yaron Oren, Speaks at AutoTech Council Event
iSpeech COO, Yaron Oren, Speaks at AutoTech Council Event
DriveSafe.ly featured as a safe driving app in Outside Magazine
DriveSafe.ly, the app that reads your text messages aloud as you drive, has been featured on page 85 of the February 2013 issue of Outside Magazine.
ISpeak4U Debuts HandySpeech for iPad
Handwriting-to-speech app helps those with severe language difficulties.
ISpeak4U has announced the availability of HandySpeech, the only handwriting-to-speech application for the iPad.
The assistive technology application supplements or replaces speech for people with spoken language difficulties, such as autism, stuttering, stroke, muscular dystrophy, post-operative voice difficulties, and others. Users write what they want to say in any one of thirteen languages, and the software converts the handwriting into speech.
HandySpeech was created by 12-year-old Eric Zeiberg, who was inspired by his sister, Julie, who has speech disabilities as a result of autism.
HandySpeech's features include:
- Handwriting recognition technology by PhatWare
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- Multilingual support with 13 major languages in a male or female voice
- Adaptive learning of the user writing patterns
- Cursive, print, and mixed handwriting style recognition
- Use of simple finger gestures to insert special characters such as space and return
- Alternative keyboard input
Read More: OT's with Apps, App Annie
iSpeech congratulates customer Plivo
Congrats to iSpeech customer Plivo on their successful fundraise
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iSpeech congratulates customer Evernote on Clearly launch
Congrats to iSpeech customer Evernote on the launch of Clearly with text to speech capabilities.
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BRUNSWICK — Brunswick is one of only 10 communities in Ohio awarded a gold-level designation as a Healthy Ohio, Healthy Community for 2013.
Only two other Ohio communities, the cities of Warren and Westerville, received higher honors — platinum level designations.
"We're very excited to receive this award," said John Piepsny, Brunswick's parks and recreation director.
Piepsny credited the city's partnership with Southwest General Hospital for providing "a lot of health and wellness initiatives for the residents of Brunswick."
He said the city's partnership with the hospital provides various health screenings monthly at the Brunswick Community Recreation and Fitness Center.
"Because of the effective partnership and the health and wellness initiatives created to create a healthy community, we were able to bring home the gold this year," Piepsny said.
The criteria for the award stress community offerings of nutrition and physical activity programs and education.
"Brunswick won a Creating Healthy Communities award from the Ohio Department of Health for demonstrating a high level of commitment to public health in their community," Shannon Libby, a spokeswoman with the Ohio Health Department. "They also are doing an excellent job of working with local partners on initiatives that improve the health of their residents in terms of better nutrition, free health screenings and support groups, and increased physical activity."
A total of 21 Ohio communities will be honored with awards for their commitment to promoting a healthy community at the Ohio Society for Public Health Education conference on Oct. 24.
Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4065 or firstname.lastname@example.com.