input/output
Some things absorbed from the internet. I’m a serious political news addict at this point - I predict withdrawal systems will start Nov 6 (I’m 7 hours ahead of east coast news here, and probably won’t sleep next Tuesday night)…
1. An opinion post from Slate.com discussing the difference between a President’s need for cool-headed thinking and judgment and a fighter pilot’s need for bravery and skill, and how the latter doesn’t necessarily qualify one for the former. It includes a really interesting abbreviated historical look at how JFK made his decisions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Worth a read!
2. Check out these photos of Obama taken by Callie Shell. They are mostly from the primary campaigns but are very touching and give more depth to Obama’s image. The one of him with the mother of a solider killed in Iraq brought tears to my eyes.
3. Taking advantage of the building election excitement, I’ve been discussing the topic in some of my English lessons — not just Obama/McCain bio and policy differences but also the US Presidential Election process, our Electoral College system being the only of its kind in the world, I’ve found most students are fascinated by it and eagerly discuss the pros/cons etc. There’s a very clear video from www.commoncraft.com called “Electing a US President in Plain English” (also available here with subtitles, great for weaker students, and there’s even a transcript here).
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PS. It occurred to me the other day after hearing the phrase “working across the aisle” for the umpteenth time that perhaps we might have more bipartisanship in the US Senate if in fact they de-segregated themselves. Why do the Democrats and Republicans feel the need to sit apart in the Senate Chambers? Wouldn’t there be more cross-party discussion (or at least opportunity for it) if they all intermingled? From Wikipedia:
One hundred desks are arranged in the Chamber in a semicircular pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle. By tradition, Democrats sit on the right and Republicans to the left of the center aisle as viewed from the presiding officer’s chair. Each senator chooses a desk on the basis of seniority within his party.
