Today is the end of the first full week of the Obama Presidency. He campaigned on the promise of change, but I doubt anyone expected this much actual change so quickly. After 8 years of laissez faire "leadership" from Bush it's refreshing to have a president that actually does something.

So what sort of change has come to America? In just the last few days we've seen:
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222 comments (Latest Comment: 01/31/2009 05:59:22 by Mondobubba)

The battle has been heating up over what the economic stimulus plan should be. Although there are differences between Obama's vision and that of Congress in general, the real battle lines are drawn along party affiliation. As in most things economic, the Republicans are wrong yet again.

The Democrats want to create jobs and work projects to get the economy moving again, ala the Roosevelt model during the Great Depression. The Republicans want to use tax rebates, tax cuts, and tax credits to put more money into people's hands. What's wrong with the Republican plan? Let us count the ways...
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122 comments (Latest Comment: 01/29/2009 06:40:47 by livingonli)

Are any of us this dedicated? On Friday, after sitting in front of the White House, under yellow tarp and board filled with flyers and posters asking for a peaceful end to American Nuclear Activities, William Thomas has left us. Many of you have seen him, or his ramshackle hut, in front of the White House. He and his wife, Ellen, were there for 27 years. He protested thru peace and non-violence.
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100 comments (Latest Comment: 01/27/2009 07:04:54 by livingonli)

A curious thing happened this past presidential cycle.

Seems that the "Big Three" were all sitting senators.

So....what happens when there's a senate vacancy? The constitution is actually fairly gray in that regard. Article 1 gives a long enumeration of who can be a senator, and what their duties are, but includes the following caveat:



So in the early days of the Republic, our senators were chosen by the state legislature. [Representatives were always selected by general election.]

But somehere along the way, Congress decided to ammend the procedure, and the result was the 17th Ammendment (circa 1913):



So what was initially a gray process became grayer still, as the Constitution now directs that the governor shall appoint a replacement unless the state legislator overturns the local authority and calls for a special election.

What this all means is that like many things in these United States...it's inconsistent. Using a local example, the Governor of this Commonwealth was empowered to appoint a replacement senator, and always had been.

Until 2004. That year, one of our senators almost became president. At the time, we had a Republican governor, and the state was paralyzed by the fear that he would appoint a Republican replacement. The state hurriedly passed legislation calling for a special election, and that's what we'll do the next time a Massachusetts Senator is forced to leave office before his term expires.

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24 comments (Latest Comment: 01/25/2009 03:17:39 by trojanrabbit)

Good Morning, everyone!

With Bob and Raine still on the road, here's a rare Thursday blog from your loyal TriSec.

It's not a fully-worked blog by any stretch of the imagination, but rather some disjointed observations about the weekend from my notes. (I'm very orderly when we travel...I always keep a journal and work it up into a full travelogue that we stash with the pictures. Sure helps with the ol' memory.)

In any case...here we go!


2008 was a rather tough year again financially. We had long planned a trip back to DC during one of the conventions, but wound up not having enough money to do it. So...we cancelled and stayed local.

Sometime around July, Bob had suggested that if we win this thing, let's all go to the inaugural. So, I booked a room right then, months ahead of anyone else. (ah, smart thinking.) Then it was just sit and wait.

November 4 came and went, and the holidays, and suddenly it was January 17!

We had driven down the coast in 2007, and I don't like to drive the same way twice whenever possible. So....we went down the Mass Pike from here to I-84 through Connecticut, finally down to and over the Tappan Zee Bridge. In my travels, I rarely drive down the Garden State Parkway, but we did this trip. Seemed quiet, little traffic...but it felt much longer than going down I-95.

In any case, there was not any problem getting to DC. We saw many cars heading south with Obama things plastered over them, including a compact car with Maine plates, stuffed to the gills with college kids. "DC OR BUST" and "HONK IF YOU LOVE O" scrawled across the rear windows.

South of Baltimore, Maryland was swarming with Cops....so we laid low and crawled into town. We stayed out near the University of Maryland...but right near Greenbelt and College Park stations on the Green Line.

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93 comments (Latest Comment: 01/23/2009 05:59:28 by Raine)