Thinking The New Year

I was lucky to click through to a good post by Stowe Boyd on resolving to be the best you. It's called "Nature or Nurture In Social Networking" [not a compelling title to me], but what makes it important to my thinkings it that it reminds me that we make our own heaven or hell. [Even though he says that we don't.]

In doing a good job of synthesizing recent research on happiness in social networks, Boyd also points up a few resolution/techniques that can help us (read ME) do something to make ourselves happier. [See this is the irony in him saying that our happiness is not within our own control and then giving some steps that ARE in our control. Still, it works for me.]

Resolve to surround yourself with people who are actively involved with activities and behaviors you want to do more of.

Avoid people who are involved with activities and behaviors you want to do less of.

When in contact with people who want to emulate you, be aware that you have this sort of impact on them. --from Stowe Boyd

I was thinking, is depression contagious? I now recognize that I have spent the last two years living with and loving people with depression. Can this be having an effect on my own natural optimism?

Optimists think that they can fix it. Depression isn't "fixable" in a traditional pull-yourself-out-of-it kind of way. And when you love somebody, it doesn't do you any good to resolve to avoid them because their negativity is contagious.

On the other hand, could my optimism help my social network feel more optimistic? I choose to think so--especially since I have no intention of removing the nodes with depression from my network.

Glass definitely half-full. Game on!

The People's Choice

OMG! News flash!

Conservatives are WORRIED! Distraught, I tell you.

Perhaps even SHOCKED, that they disagree with Obama's cabinet picks and/or his policies. And somehow, once they wake up, that the 66,882,230 people who voted for Obama are not going to be happy.

According to the WashPost

"It is disturbing," said Roger Clegg, a conservative..."The transition team as described to me was made up of nothing but people on the far left. Though Obama is more moderate, that makes you wonder what kind of advice the president is given, and what range of choices he'll be given when it comes time to make appointments."

Oh no! Nothing but people that disagree with the current failed policies of the Bush administration.

Note to Mr. Clegg: Your side LOST!

A few months into the Bush presidency--you know the election when Bush lost the popular vote* and then came in running the place like he had a frickin' mandate-- I saw my friend David at the local bar and grill.

David: You know, I never, ever got the hatred and bile that people had for Bill Clinton.
Me: There was alot of hate and bile.
David: Yeah, there was. But now I get it. I really can't stand the "W." I now know how the other side feels.

Reminder to the other side--this is what it feels like.

Except that this new Prez-elect actually thinks it's important to listen and acknowledge differences. That this new Prez-elect understands that he is a member of our national government, that was founded in 1776--that it did just not pop out of his head. And that this Prez-elect is the leader of a movement that has been embraced by the majority of the American voters.

Like in a democracy.

'Nuff said.

*BTW--50,456,002 people voted for G.W. Bush in 2000. That's more than a half-million fewer than voted for Al Gore. See more.

Portrait of A Thug As A Young Man

Yes, here is the Foreman High School class of '75 photo of that thug-Governor of Illinios, Rod Blagojevich. He really is the worst of the worst of political corruption. Creepy.

I look at this guy's picture and I can almost hear him say "the Senate seat is a f-ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

And what an idiot. Knowing he is under investigation he still can't keep his mouth shut and spouts this crap over the phone? First-class stupidity or supreme arrogance? Oy! How do we elect such people? Oops! Almost forgot, being smart works against candidates for a part of the electorate.

I hope that Bluto / Blago goes to jail soon.

Colin Powell for Secretary of Education

Look at this picture.


What do you see? I see some little kids who are really, really excited to see the next President of the United States. Their fresh, smiling faces are full of hope.

I want each of these kids to read great books and newspapers, make informed decisions, vote and be responsible for themselves and each other. I want them to go to college, to get good jobs and to always be as happy as they look here.

Prez-elect Obama demonstrates that being smart can be cool--book smart is cool, too. He shows that these kids can be true to themselves AND do well in school and that getting an education is not selling-out.

The Prez-elect can bring this message all the way home by appointing former Secretary of State and Chair of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell as his Secretary of Education.

1. It would elevate education to a top-tier department by virtue of General Powell's star power. You take a high-wattage leader and it shines on the entire department.
2. Powell has been working on youth issues since he founded the America's Promise Alliance in 1997--including efforts to prevent students dropping out of high-school.
   
3. Powell's pragmatism, commitment to public service and leadership certainly makes sense in an Obama administration.
   
4. Powell, too, has a compelling story--a Harlem native who became the first ROTC officer to chair the Joint Chiefs and counselor to four presidents.
   

Powell gains from this, too.

When he endorsed Obama, Powell said, "I think the American people and the gentlemen running for president will have to, early on, focus on education more than we have seen in the campaign so far." Being Ed. Secretary lets him put his money where his mouth is. Last, joining the cabinet would aid in rehabilitating Powell's reputation. To be honest, he's still dirty from the run up to the Iraq War. A high profile gig at Ed would be a great bookend to his public service.

I saw the picture above, and fell in love with each of those kids. And I want them to have every opportunity to be great people and great Americans. Let's put a star at Ed.

Giving Thanks

I have been quite a laggard in postings. My apologies to my loyal reader. As the turkey roasts, I am thinking about the thanks I am giving.

• I am thankful that the 17-year-old hooked me up with my new favorite band. Great music to prep Thanksgiving Dinner by.
• I am thankful that the Spouse has cooked dinner pretty much every night since September 15. AND has done the dishes, too.
  
• I am thankful that the 14-year-old has introduced me to the FIERCE sport of wrasslin'. Little girls cried during the last meet. Fierce, I tell you.
• I am thankful for working in the Bush administration. Without those guys, I would have never learned new levels of tolerance--and never loved so many Republicans. Yes, they are people, too.
• I am thankful that we have good health insurance, didn't get dumb in the mortgage market, live within our means and have stable jobs. I pray that the new guys--with our help--make changes so that more people can give this set of thanks next year.
• I am thankful for Facebook. Sounds dumb, but it's like living in a far-flung dorm--low pressure way to be in the lives of people you care about. (Sibling, get on the stick!)
• I am thankful that my mother is a fighter. She has been in rehab 3 times over the past year, after a fall, a broken ankle, and then major GI surgery. Each time we worried that she might be too tired to push her 85-year-self through rehab. And each time she proves us wrong.
• I am thankful that I have the best spouse, kids and dog in the whole wide world. Bar none. No one can dispute this. Don't even try.

And I am thankful to you, my loyal reader. I write this mostly for me, but am thankful that you take some of your time to think with me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Who Wasn't On Stage With Obama and Should Have Been?

Steve Clemons is right to question the optics of President-elect Obama's first presser. It's not that the folks on the stage don't have experience and know-how, but they are of the past. And the guy that I voted for said that we were no longer going to be shackled to the past. The same way of doing things.

Many folks on the stage are the guys who thought the tweaking of monetary policy and the cooling of inflation were the answer to long-term prosperity. The same guys who supported a President who during the dot-com bubble said that economic cycles don't apply anymore. Remember irrational exuberance?

Well, the housing bubble replaced the dot-com bubble. But a quick view shows a commonality. Both bubbles were based on paper and pushing paper around to create the illusion of wealth. Especially for the people holding the paper.

We need to look at our economy and remember that we need to make things of *VALUE.* That's why I am so excited about Prez-elect Obama's green energy initiative. Creating new forms of energy is a thing of value. That's what will make a strong economy. And some new thinking.

We Are The Change

Tonight marks the end of the baby-boom.

The baton is being passed to a new leader for whom flower power is not part of his memory. He will help lead us into the future. The one that we don't know yet. But the one that we need to work on together.

Not Red States. Not Blue States. But the United States.

I am waiting for President-elect Obama's speech. The speech that I never thought I would hear. But the one that I was hoping to hear. I have to be out of the house extra early tomorrow, but I am waiting up to see the start of our future.