Wait … Now who was President in 1929? September 23, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI try to stay apolitical on my blog, but I just love ole’ Joe Biden. He says whatever he wants and sometimes, he angers his boss, sometimes he asks a man in a wheelchair to stand up, and other times he forgets history — but he is always sure to create some memorable quotes if he is given enough talking time. He reminds me of another VP - Dan Quayle of the infamous “potatoe” episode……..
Yesterday, in his interview with Katie Couric, it looked like he forgot to study his talking points closely. He said (video here):“When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, ‘look, here’s what happened.’”
As I was growing up, my grandparents always told me about the stock market crash of 1929. Two problems here: Television did not even exist in 1929, and FDR was elected in 1932, so he wasn’t even the leader at the time of the crash. When Joe was in history class, he must have been sleeping or doodling. Of course, TV celebrity Katie Couric made no effort to correct the Senator on this obvious error.
He certainly adds to the spice of this election……
Congress: 14% Say Doing a Good Job June 21, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a comment(Gallup) In the latest Gallup poll, only 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress. This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994. What does this say? Will we see great change in 2008 if no one is happy with their politicians? Will the disgruntled public change out their elected reps? What should our response be if so many are not happy with the decisions being made by Congress?
It’s worth remembering that Congress is basically nothing more than a mechanism for the representation of the people’s wishes. We all can’t go to Washington. So we elect men and women and send them off in our stead. It’s not an optimal situation, it seems to me, when such a low percentage of average Americans have confidence in this system. Generally speaking, Americans have been skeptical about Congress for decades now. But the current 14% confidence rating for Congress is down from 19% last year and is the lowest in Gallup’s history, surpassing the 18% confidence in Congress measured in 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Congress is now nestled at the bottom of the list of Gallup’s annual Confidence in Institutions rankings, along with HMOs. Just 15% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in HMOs. (By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list. More on this at galluppoll.com on Thursday).
Cool Globes This Summer May 7, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City , add a comment
It almost time for the new Chicago summer art installation — this time it is “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet”, which is a public art project designed to increase awareness of and promote solutions to global warming. Artists are finishing preparations on 122 five-foot fiberglass globe sculptures, which are all ready to be mounted along the Chicago streets and lakefront from June to September 2007. I am not a big global warming guy but the artistry on these globes is fantastic! We’re hoping to get one that our artists at Park Community Church can decorate.
“‘Cool Globes’ is public art with a purpose. We are hoping to inspire with a call to action to bring solutions to global warming,” said Wendy Abrams, President and Founder of “Cool Globes”. Just as the 1999 Cows on Parade art installation brought visitors to Chicago, the promoters of “Cool Globes” hope that Chicagoans and tourists stroll the (more…)
