Great Speakers

I'm a big fan of speeches. I remember in High School when I discovered Patrick Henry and his speech on freedom.

Today, I've watched 3 great speeches. First, I watched Martin Luther King Jr. on a low resolution, black and white youtube video talking about his children playing with white children. Then, I watched Obama's speech from 2004 on a low resolution, color youtube video, when he talked about there not being a Red America and a Blue America but a United States of America. And finally tonight, I listened to Barack accept the nomination for presidency in front of 75,000 people in my mile high home state on a glorious full resolution, color youtube video with great sound. That's progress!

By choice, I haven't watched any analysis of the speech, and that's the great thing about YouTube. But here are the things that stood out to me:

"We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past."

"Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them."

"America, now is not the time for small plans."

"And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need."

"Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise."

"John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives."

"We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe."

"So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. "

"I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things."

"This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZCrIeRkMhA

Listen up

Listen up because this is important. How can I support Barack Obama when I believe myself to be conservative? Former representative and Republican, Jim Leach spoke at the Democratic National Convention last night:

...the way today’s Republican Party has broken with its conservative heritage.

The party that once emphasized individual rights has gravitated in recent years toward regulating values. The party of military responsibility has taken us to war with a country that did not attack us. The party that formerly led the world in arms control has moved to undercut treaties crucial to the defense of the earth. The party that prides itself on conservation has abdicated its responsibilities in the face of global warming. And the party historically anchored in fiscal restraint has nearly doubled the national debt, squandering our precious resources in an undisciplined and unprecedented effort to finance a war with tax cuts.

How can anyone call themselves a conservative and support military operations overseas? How can anyone call themselves a conservative if they let the government choose what a woman can do with her body? How can a conservative government have so much power that they may ask telecommunications companies for records which incriminate American citizens, and they would comply? Would a party aligned with conservation spend more than it takes in?

Sure, there are some policies I'm not in favor of because I think they will be costly. But in my voting decision, I'm going for total cost conservatism not just line item.

Joe Biden

I'm really getting into the election this year. it would be easy to be disenfranchised with this circus, but I'm so sick of the current administration, that I look forward to something new. Like I said last time I wrote about politics, nothing political is worth discussing unless you have nothing to talk about, and I neatly tied up my entire summer in my last post.

I like Obama. There, I said it. And today, he announced he is running with Joe Biden. Horray! More characters in this drama! :) Congratulations Joe and Barrack, good luck to you both!

Summer

Well it happened again, I haven't kept up with blogging. I feel stuck because I can't create a new post until the old ones are out of my system and the old ones are old. I currently have drafts for 3 posts in my box, and no desire to complete them. But Jen called me out on it this weekend, so I'll quickly sum up and then be done with it. Maybe I'll even be better about blogging :D

1. WWDC happened. It was a lot of work, and I once again presented to a room of over 300 ravenous Quartz Composer developers. I did much better this year too, which is awesome. I also spent some good quality time with Ryan and Jay getting sloshed at the edge of a Hobson's Choice punch bowl.

2. immediately following the daily commute to San Francisco for WWDC, I flew out to NY for some well earned vacation and a visit to my sister, Tabitha. I wasn't sure if I could handle another week of city life, I was kinda sick of San Francisco and last time I visited NY it was oppressive feeling. But I walked, A LOT, and really felt free this time. It was great not to have to drive or even ride in a car for a whole week.

3. I took another vacation to Colorado this past weekend, the 14th of August. My wonderful friends Lily and Andrew were tying the knot (quite literally) and it was a big reunion of some pretty awesome people who have scattered to the wind.

That's the update. Thank goodness that's over now, so I can try updating more often.