John McCain's Leadership

I urge all of you to follow John McCain's example: call your office and tell them you can't come in until the financial crisis is over.

Fear or Hope: Two Speeches, 9/23/2008

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First, the speech Sarah Palin had planned to give on 23 September:

activities ahmadinejad americans arm being citizens clinton commitment country crime denies different economic government holocaust international iran iranian iraq israel killed mccain nation nuclear people political program promise public reduce regime regional responsible risk sanctions senator share stop terrorists threat threatens today tomorrow united vulnerable weapons women work world year

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Barack Obama's speech on the same day:

absolutely administration american being billion called ceos collapse congress cooperate country crisis democrats directly economy expect final financial government homeowners homes housing include institute looked main market millions mistake money oversight paulson people plan president protections provide recovers reward saving secretary simply solve stability street system taxpayers wall ways work

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Palin is peddling apocalypse. Obama is talking about plans and hope. The pictures are clear to me.

It's About Choice

But if you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you will know you have other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same force that lit the stars — compassion, love, the sub-surface unity of all things. Not that that mystical stuff's necessarily true: The only thing that's capital-T True is that you get to decide how you're going to try to see it. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. You get to decide what to worship...

— David Foster Wallace

The Graphs of Life

Perhaps I need to put the book on data mining aside, but this appeals to me today.

George Saunders on Sarah Palin

Saunders, the author of Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, has a joyfully satirical piece on Palin in the 22 September New Yorker. And it's on line.