Year: 2009

The Year of the Ox is the Year of the Obama

Trish

Chinese New Year began Monday, Jan. 26, ushering in the Year of the Ox. As is customary, many Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Asian families spent a few days cleaning their homes to sweep away the bad luck from last year and make way for the good fortune to come.

Understanding the symbolism of the ox helps appreciate the meaning of this new year.

  • The ox is the second icon in the Asian zodiac. Because of its position near the top of the zodiac hierarchy, the ox typically represents a period of renewal and rebirth, or a fresh start.
  • For this Lunar New Year, the ox falls in alignment with one of the five important elements (fire, water, metal, earth and wood) identified in feng shui. This year may also be referred to as the Year of the Earth Ox. The earth element is commonly associated with stability, growth and a solid foundation.
  • The ox is strong and is viewed as a beast of burden. This year’s ox isn’t overly aggressive, and is viewed as more thoughtful in its approach to business and relationships. Oxen pull rather than push.
  • People born in the Year of the Ox are supposed to inspire others to become leaders. Oxen are also considered patient, dependable, hardworking, ambitious, modest, logical, resolute, and tenacious.
Pres. Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961 — the Year of the Ox

So who’s an ox? Anyone born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997 or 2009. Pres. Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961.

If that doesn’t make the hair on your arms stand up, consider this. The Vietnamese use a water buffalo instead of an ox, meaning the animal is more closely associated with the element water.

Since water and earth are considered opposites, some Asians and Asian Americans may view this year as a year of turmoil, instability and conflict.

Let’s just go with the Chinese version and leave it at that.

Except for one more thing. George W. Bush was born July 6, 1946, which was the Year of the Dog.

[Dogs] have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people’s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues.

There might be something to this zodiac stuff after all…

Super Bowl Players are Among Obama’s Biggest (and We Mean Biggest) Fans

Trish

Cardinals mascot “Big Red” sends a message


The world (well, except for Buck and Jon) will watch as the Arizona Cardinals, who have never been to a Super Bowl, try to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have won the big game five times. The winners will take home gold and diamond rings, along with bragging rights that last right up until their next big loss.

But even though the Cardinals would like to show the world once and for all that they are a real football team by actually winning the Super Bowl, not just finally playing in one, there’s another reason they want to prevail: the team that wins Super Bowl 43 will have a chance to meet President 44.

“History has been made with Obama,” Arizona receiver [Steve Breaston] said. “I would be ecstatic if we could be the first team to go in and shake his hand.”

A day after the Steelers won the AFC championship and the Cardinals added to their surprising playoff run by claiming the NFC title, Obama took the oath of office in the nation’s capital. In central Florida, Arizona defensive end Bertrand Berry was filming a promotional spot with his daughter, but he took time off to watch history unfold.

“It was really emotional for me,” Berry said. “I don’t believe I stopped crying the whole time.”

You would think the team from John McCain’s adopted home state would be a little bitter toward his rival. But who besides Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter would stoop that low? In fact, the same opportunity to meet the president is motivating Pittsburgh.

“That would be very special,” Steelers linebacker James Farrier said Wednesday. “Everybody is excited about our new president. Being the first African-American president, it’s a great time in our country. We definitely want to be the first team to go meet him after the Super Bowl. That would be one of the highlights of being in the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl.”

Why the Republicans Better Support Obama’s Stimulus Package

Buck Banks

Remember how everybody likes to describe the Democratic Party as behaving like a circular firing squad? Well House Republicans appear to be taking careful aim at both feet by threatening to oppose President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package. The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder makes a pretty compelling case for why the GOPers should wise up and lay off:

Over a 48 hour period when 100,000 job layoffs have been announced, Hill Republicans have decided to take a stand against the stimulus.

Now — President Obama’s approval rating is about 70 percent;

Congressional approval is still around 20 percent;

After the election, Democrats still have a 9 point lead in generic identification.

The public approves of the stimulus plan by a very large margin — the numbers vary with the wording of the poll question, but it’s at least a plus 40 percent.

Obama is the most talented political figure of our generation — Boehner and McConnell are, uh, less talented.

Obama’s got the megaphone, they’ve got …

Squat, frankly. Ambinder makes the further point that the GOP continues to call for tax breaks instead of spending increases. Of course their tax breaks are not aimed at those of modest means, but at the wealthy. If they continue to cleave to tried-and-failed Bush-onomics, they will get steamrolled by the people-backed Obama-nomics. And pity the fools (or not) when the mid-terms roll around in 2010.

Sarah Palin Just Won’t Go Away

Buck Banks

sarahpac.jpg

Former vice presidential candidate and governor of Alaska Sarah Palin has created a political action committee named — are you sitting down? — SarahPAC. On the Web site, which features some beautiful panoramas of Alaska’s snow-topped mountains and a kind of disturbing image of Palin who, by the look on her face, is up to something, Alaska has been moved from the neighborhood of Russia to the center of the Lower 48. Indeed, the entire Midwest is obliterated by an Alaska-shaped hole.

What’s that message? That Midwesterners and Alaskans share a common vision that is Palinesque? Or does it say that Palin is in charge of a state that’s a third the size of the rest of the states put together? Or is it just a weird, unsettling graphic?

Although the site is slim on info about what SarahPAC is up to, indeed, it seems t be aimed mainly at capturing e-mail addresses and contact info, it probably won’t surprise you that SarahPAC is anthropomorphized into a thing that believes stuff:

SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.

SarahPAC believes energy independence is a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.

SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all. Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals. Join us today!

Overall, my takeaway from the site was: CREEPY!

Please, someone, make SarahPAC go away …..

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

Drinking to excess is what separates us from the Greeks. Being drunk is what separates us from the beasts. And what’s more, drinking makes me happy. Not drinking makes me unhappy. Which means if I do as I’m told by Gordon Brown, I’ll be sad all the time.

— Columnist Jeremy Clarkson, in the Times of London

Hate Moves to Facebook – Anti-Gay Group Seeks Friends

Jon Ponder

Wildmon

Don Wildmon, the leader of the Mississippi-based, virulently anti-gay group, the American Family Assoc., joined Facebook recently, and has sent an email blast to his followers urging them to sign up so that they can use the social networking platform as an outlet for propagating hatred and intolerance of gay people.

“I have joined Facebook. Please join me on Facebook and become a friend of AFA,” reads the email’s headline. In the body, Wildmon explains what Facebook is and hints at how his followers can use it to promote the homophobia agenda:

Every day new technologies are emerging on the Internet. For several years now Internet “social networking” has been the preferred choice of many for keeping in touch with friends and family. From Yahoo! 360 to MySpace to Facebook, people of all ages are enjoying quick, easy, and inexpensive ways of communicating with others near and far. And best of all it’s FREE!

I have joined Facebook. I hope you will join, too, and become a friend of AFA. Facebook allows users to send and receive emails, add comments, post photos and videos, share links, and join groups or causes. You can also learn about the people you meet or would like to meet. And you can network with like-minded people concerned about America’s moral decline. Once signed up, you can invite your family and friends to visit or join your homepage. You can also search the entire Facebook site to see if relatives, friends, acquaintances, and classmates are already members. Facebook is informative, fun, and easy to use. There simply is no reason not to join!

Take Action!

It’s likely that most Facebookers are not familiar with the AFA, which is among the wealthiest of the groups that raise money based on gay-hate mongering. In fiscal year 2006, the last year for which figures are available, it claimed net assets of $37 million. The AFA generates almost all its revenue in advertising campaigns designed to raise the specter of hatred of gay people, mostly among less educated, low-income whites.

The AFA is known for its “off with their heads” approach to boycotts. It even targets companies that exercise free speech — and free enterprise — by marketing to gay consumers. The list of companies boycotted by AFA is a who’s who of American brands, including 7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl’s Jr., Clorox, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tide, and Walt Disney Company.

The group is not just opposed to gay marriage, it even attacks companies that provide partner benefits for their employees:

[…]

Cook: One President, Two Nations

Buck Banks

The National Review’s Charlie Cook had a very interesting column today that gives a pretty good overview of where we are as a nation in relation to our new president. It’s worth a read:

John Edwards was right when he spoke about there being “two Americas.” The way Edwards framed it, there was an America of “haves” and an America of “have-nots.” My version is a bit different. There is an America that watched with hope and excitement as Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States. And there is an America that watched with dread and skepticism.

It’s not exactly that they want Obama to fail but more that they feel they have little reason to believe that he will succeed in a way that helps them personally.

In the first and much larger group, there are many people who have a deep appreciation for the historic nature of Obama’s presidency and a sense that he is the right person for the job and will do well. A subset of this group is so worried about the nation’s economic problems that they hope Obama succeeds even though they didn’t vote for him.

The second group is profoundly pessimistic. Because of his race and education, Obama is very different from any of their friends, neighbors, or co-workers. The people in this group are deeply suspicious of his motives. Some are afraid that he will dismantle our nation’s military and leave America vulnerable. Others fear he will tax away everything they worked hard to accumulate. It’s not exactly that they want Obama to fail but more that they feel they have little reason to believe that he will succeed in a way that helps them personally. Voters in this group rarely support a Democrat for president, but their pessimism about this particular Democratic president is especially acute. I doubt that Obama will ever be able to win these people over. The bigger question is whether they will ever accept him as president.

Recent poll results are fascinating and confirm that the first group is substantially larger than the second. Gallup found that 83 percent of Americans approved of the way that Obama handled his transition, compared with 12 percent who disapproved. This favorable rating is significantly higher than those of Presidents-elect Clinton or George W. Bush. In two Gallup Polls taken after Election Day, Obama’s approval numbers were 78 percent and 75 percent. Clinton’s final pre-inaugural Gallup approval rating was 68 percent; Bush’s was 61 percent.

[…]

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

We’ve been impressed by the mastery of public policy, newshound-like familiarity with the events of the day, and remarkable facility with banter displayed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich … In all probability the governor will soon be unemployed … and frankly, he could use a good medical plan to defray the expenses of psychiatric care.

— WGN Radio program director Kevin Metheny, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, on the station’s offer to the likely-to-be-impeached Illinois governor to host its afternoon time slot.